[Elecraft] Balun suggestions

[Jim Brown]

On Thu,2/4/2016 12:55 PM, Jim Allen wrote:
> I am changing around my modest antenna configuration now.  I have been using the K2/100 with my AH-4, and now wish to use the KAT100 with balanced feedline antennas.
>
> What balun, homebrew or commercial, if any, should I use?  I almost always run 5 watts, all CW

You didn't say what your antenna is or what bands you want to work. 
Antennas, feedlines, and tuners are a SYSTEM, and must be considered as 
a system. Why do you want to use "balanced" line? Has someone told you 
it's lower loss, and you can use any random wire (or some "magic" length 
of wire on all bands?

Are you trying to use a non-resonant antenna on multiple bands? If so, 
why? Is that the only sort of antenna you can hang? There are serious 
issues with this sort of antenna. First, there can be significant 
feedline losses. Second, these antennas are nearly impossible to choke 
to kill common mode noise, so they can be noisy. Off-center-fed antennas 
are unbalanced by their nature, so they're inherently noisy. Even a 
center-fed antenna will be unbalanced by its surroundings -- sloping 
ground, variable height, proximity to other conductors on one end but 
not the other, etc.

Take a look at the antenna planning tutorials on my website. All of the 
options shown there are superior to most "all-band" wires.

73, Jim K9YC