Antennas
Probably the best DX site in the world
 DX news
Balun or Antenna Tuner?
It all depends...

From: Steve Byan (steve@hi.com)
Date: April 25, 1995
Original source: Usenet's rec.radio.shortwave

Jim Tucker (Jim_Tucker@mindlink.bc.ca) asked:
What is better to add to a simple longwire antenna -- a balun or an antenna tuner?

Neither.
Start with a well-grounded good-quality coax feedline. Move the base of your longwire antenna as far as possible from noise sources such a houses, powerlines, etc. Connect the center of the coax to the loingwire. Ground the coax shield at the base of the antenna and near your house. Bury the coax a few inches under ground. Use RG-6 or RG-213 or "RG-8" coax - avoid Radio Shack RG-58, as it's shielding is not good enough. You want something with at least a 95% shield coverage.
Later, you can add a matching transformer or antenna tuner, as you prefer. Use the antenna tuner if you like to twiddle knobs, otherwise use a matching transformer (sometimes miscalled a "balun").

Front page
DX News
Logs
Andes DX
Antennas
DX Lab
In Print
Web Stories

 Archives
Web Archive
Mail Archive

 Search
Search all HCDX
mail since 1995

 About us
About us
Write to us

Copyrights
FAQ
HCDX mail list


antennX  Cebik  FM antennas  Werner's links  Antenna Elmer  Coax basics  DX-Tools.com