[Elecraft] ladderline and balun question

[Jim Brown]

On 1/11/2012 1:34 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> You said the original arrangement worked fine. Why not go back to it?

Agreed. Don, you got bad advice from someone who didn't understand the 
fundamentals of how antennas and feedlines work.

Strike the word "balun" from your vocabulary and start using words that 
describe what the part is really doing. Have you noticed that the 
manufacturers of these so-called baluns almost never tell you what's 
inside, or give you any performance specs?
Many so-called baluns are really lossy transformers. Some are 
combinations of common mode chokes, but the common mode chokes aren't 
very good.  Some are phasing lines. Often the companies (or hams) 
selling this stuff have no real understanding of what they're selling -- 
they are businessmen, and it's monkey see, monkey do.

What you WANT at the feedpoint of BOTH antennas is a very good, low Q 
COMMON MODE CHOKE with a high choking impedance and rated for whatever 
power you're running. See the specific winding recommendations in my RFI 
tutorial.

http://audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf

73, Jim K9YC