[HCARC] Baluns and Unun's

[Gary and Arlene Johnson]

The whole subject of balun's and unun's still confuses me.  I pretty much know what each one does, and pretty much know which to use when, the problem is where to get them or do you make them??  They are expensive ($30) if you buy them and much less expensive if you make them, but then you have to figure out which toriod to use, and figure out where to get one of those.

Do you use them??  Do you buy them or build them??  Where do you get the parts and what parts do you get??  Ebay has bunches of toroids, but the numbers on them don't mean a thing to me.

For instance - I have a G5RV antenna that has the correct amount of ladder line downlead from it's center point.  To connect this antenna to the radio shack will require hooking it to underground coax running 150 feet.  What kind of Unun do I attach between the ladder line and the coax to change the feed from balanced to unbalanced??

Gary J
N5BAA
HCARC Secretary (2013)