[Antennas] Use of Baluns on Inverted V HF antennas to convert ladder line feed to coax at entrance to house or shack

Sun Sep 9 07:07:59 EDT 2007

Dave,
Yes, I've done that, and used a 4:1 balun; however, a 1:1 balun 
should work just as well. The 4:1 balun does not "transform" the 
impedance of the 450 ohm transmission line to 50 ohms because the 
impedance of the 450 ohm line is not 450 ohms at the point where you 
are planning to connect the balun. It varies and depends on the band 
and length of transmission line to the antenna. As at could be 
anything from nearly zero to several thousand ohms, the 1:1 balun is 
as close to matching as the 4:l balun. You will have standing waves 
on the 50 ohm coax, but your losses should be small as the distance is short.
Chas, W1CG
At 12:40 AM 9/9/2007, Dave, K2DP wrote:
>Am considering using a balun to convert the 450 ohm ladder line feed 
>on my 160-30 mtr inverted V antenna to coax to just get the feed 
>line into the shack. It appears that both DX-Engineering and Array 
>Solutions make products specifically for this purpose, allowing you 
>to use a short length of coax from the balun to the "in shack" 
>antenna tuner. In other words, I would mount this balun on the 
>outside of the house at the point where the ladder line enters the 
>shack, then use RG-213 or equivalent coax to run from the balun to 
>the tuner at the station (15 feet or less).
>>Here's the question: DX-Engineering recommends using a 1:1 Balun, 
>PN DXE-BAL050-H10-AT. On the other hand, Array Solutions recommends 
>their 4:1 balun, AS-200-T.
>>Has anyone used either of these baluns in this application and what 
>success have you had with them ?
>>Thanks and 73,
>Dave, K2DP, St. Louis
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