[HCARC] Amidon balun Kits - Truly Amazing Info - HELP

Fri Aug 2 16:06:13 EDT 2013

No, Dale has proven his knowledge and usefulness to be far in excess of your "average" lawyer (glorified ambulance chaser).  Dale really is just an Engineer masquarading as a Lawyer.   In fact it was Dale who showed me which kit to buy.  Since Dale has figured out how to build this kit, and has built more than one of them,  I am hoping he and Kerry will provide the necessary knowledge in what to do with a T200-2 toroid and 10 feet of 14 gauge enamaled wire.  Who knows, maybe we can get Dale and Kerry to do a Tag Team Tech Corner Dog and Pony show in September.  Kerry can give the theory behind a balun/unun and why they do and don't work (depending on function expected) and Dale can show how it's done in the real world with a real world kit.   Obviously it can't be all that hard with a kit containing only 2 parts plus some soldering, but I am sure the function has to do something with the kind of toroid,  the number of turns on each side of the toroid, the numbers of parallel wires making these turns and which wires hook up to where in the system.

On the subject of Tech Corners, it appears from reading the websites of other clubs that they are much more active in the Tech Corner business - much to the benefit of new(er) Hams.  Baluns, Ununs, Ugly Baluns and the like are just a few of many possible topics that in the everyday life of a Ham operator, there is need for practical knowledge.  I think many times we have gotten lazy in letting the internet and YouTube videos take the place of old fashioned teaching.  Good Tech Corners might also increase our monthly turnout for meetings - last nights meeting had only 33 people in attendance, several of which were visitors.  Yes, I know it is summer and people are out of town, but 30% attendance by club members is pathetic.  Worst of all the new Hams from the last few training sessions that Dale gave are the ones most likely to benefit from interesting informative presentations, but were the most evident being missing from Field Day and recent meetings.  Ham radio is slowly dying.  Recent statistics from ARRL indicate that since the code requirement was dropped, there have been approx 175,000 new Hams added - HOWEVER the average age has risen in the last 10 years from 65 to 67 years old.  It is a self fulfilling prophesy that eventually most of the Hams will pass on and the knowledge they have will go quietly with them.

Gary J
N5BAA
HCARC Secretary 2013
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Bob Richie 
  To: Gary and Arlene Johnson 
  Sent: Friday, August 02, 2013 1:18 PM
  Subject: Re: [HCARC] Amidon balun Kits - Truly Amazing Info - HELP

  Well, we have Dale Gaudier. He is both a lawyer and a ham operator. Will he have to give up one or the other?

  Bob
  K5YB
  Kerrville, TX 78028

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  From: Gary and Arlene Johnson <qltfnish at omniglobal.net>
  To: hcarc at mailman.qth.net 
  Sent: Friday, August 2, 2013 12:35 PM
  Subject: [HCARC] Amidon balun Kits - Truly Amazing Info - HELP

  Called Amidon his morning and inquired how they recommend using THEIR AB200-10 kit to make a 4:1 Balun.

  Their answer:  

  "On the advice of our lawyers we cannot provide instructions or advice on how to make a balun USING OUR KIT.  We suggest you go to Jerry Sevick's book (Graduate Engineer Theory Stuff - my degrees are in Microbiology for heaven's sake) and learn to make one from there."  They did indicate that the idea we had last night to keep winding until the wire was too short to wind anymore is not right according to them.  Go Figure!!!

  They won't tell you the number of turns, etc to make either the 1:1 Unun or the 4:1, 9:1, and 16:1 baluns this kit supposedly will make.  Maybe e reasons why manufacturers of the old time radio kits don' make them any more is because of Lawyers and Liabiliy if you don't follow their instructions.  

  THE WORLD HAS WAY TOO MANY LAWYERS AND NOT NEAR ENOUGH HAM RADIO OPERATORS (or doctors, scientists, etc for that matter).

  For Kerry K5KS the core is a T200-2 core (whatever that means).  It's color is RED.

  Gary J
  N5BAA
  HCARC Secretary 2013
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