[Elecraft] Balanced solution for KAT500 tuner?

[Phil Hystad]

Don,

Actually, my antenna works quite well and so far is the best performing wire antenna I have raised
up for 80/40/30.  My previous delta loop was pretty good for 80/30 but it was a bit too narrow due to limited
space and the and 40 just did not perform as well as I had hoped.

My 450 ohm ladder line is 96 feet long.  It does not have to be that long but I chose a feed point
further from the shack.  The closest possible feed point was too short and only about 30 feet.
My coax is roughly 30 feet.  I have not actually measured it but the length that is outside the
shack is 25 feet and I have a four foot piece on the inside of the shack to my current tuner
which is a Palstar AT1KM. 

I have a pass-thru box that feeds through the wall from the outside to the inside.  This adds a few
extra inches.

The dipole radiator length is 130 feet center fed.

Regarding your comment:
> In other words, your setup works for you, but it may not work with different feedline lengths.

Well, of course!  I was not selling that idea that people who use a 4:1 balun will get my same
results.  Indeed, I was actually agreeing with your original comments that there were no hard
and fast rules you can apply for which type of balun to use.

peh


On Sep 29, 2012, at 7:20 PM, Don Wilhelm <w3fpr at embarqmail.com> wrote:

> Phil,
> 
> That depends on the exact length of your feedline and the lengthy of your radiator.
> 
> As I indicated, the impedance in the shack will depend on the feedline length, a well as your radiator length.  Would you kindly share both lengths with us so we can duplicate your results.
> If you are like most hams, the feedline is cut to a length that reaches "from here to there", which is fine for an individual situation, but cannot be extended to a general case.
> 
> In other words, your setup works for you, but it may not work with different feedline lengths.
> 
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
> 
> On 9/29/2012 10:07 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>> I have a Comtek 4:1 and a Comtek 1:1 BALUN (from DXEngineering) that I
>> have where I can easily hook up my 450-ohm ladder line to either one.
>> 
>> I have tested both across all the bands that I use on that particular antenna
>> which is 80, 40, and 30.
>> 
>> In every case, the Comtek 4:1 gives the better solution as measured by my
>> MFJ 459 antenna analyzer.  I do agree that it is not always true that a given
>> 4:1 is better then a 1:1 because on a previous antenna (a delta loop), the 1:1
>> just so happened to be a little bit better then the 4:1.
>> 
>> In all cases though, I measured impedance right from the shack where about
>> 30 feet of coax ran up to the baluns which were mounted outside.  On the
>> current antenna, I have close to (but not exactly) 100 feet of 450 ohm ladder
>> line to the antenna feed point.  My current antenna is center-fed dipole of about
>> 130 feet in total length.
>> 
>> 
>