1:1 HF ROD BALUN FOR 1 TO 50 MHz

Here we take a look at the relatively cheap 1:1 Rod Baluns available online. In this video we test performance on the 17M ham band compared to an EFHW antenna.
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[@dwightc3080]

Nice unit, small and compact. I made a bullet 9:1, 4:1 and 49:1, they work very well.

[@WHNorthcote]

Go the fan dipole route. See how well it goes with multiple lengths on it.

[@Superfandangoo]

I was about to ask the same

[@stewartrv]

I have had one for a few years I got from china, and that's what I did. I have 80m 40m 20m and it would also work on harmonics - works very well really.

[@TechMindsOfficial]

That’s a great idea! I will have to try it out. Thanks!

[@riz94107]

For videos of this type (new antenna, comparing new vs. old), i would recommend switching back and forth more times to demonstrate the difference - that last one, we would have benefited from seeing it on the EFHW more. Good overall - and while I have no plans to buy this balun, I'm certainly going to make some of my own!

[@LB4FH]

Always fun to see what you can achieve with a simple balun and dipole 👍🏻

[@jamesbradley9233]

And the balun isn't even needed

[@AdamSWL]

Recently bought a 4:1 of similar design and it works very well set up as a 4 band windom. Enjoy your videos. You have a nice presentation style!

[@marcelotoniolo4434]

I have 2 half wave dipoles made with exactly the same balun. One is for 17m band and the other is for the 30m band. They are just 6m high and have been there for years. They are the best antennas I ever made and I managed many DX on FT8 with them. As I suggestion, I would put the antenna wire around the metal cap on top so the tension is on the cap not on the connection on the side. The wire may break at the connection after some strong wind.

[@butchdingle1000]

Maybe it was the orientation of the antenna which aided the higher gain of the antenna ?. Keep up the good work deffo food for thought. 73

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Thanks!

[@AZREDFERN]

I’ve had a very similar one from Amazon for a few months now. It’s a good balun, but I’d be interested to see what it looks like on the inside. So many other Amazon baluns are just loosely wrapped around to the point where the magnet wire is almost falling off. Being a rod as opposed to a toroid, it can cause losses and interference. The magnetic field is basically flying out of both ends of the rod, instead of being captured by the toroid in a loop.

[@alanhughes1262]

i put the same one on a 20 m 3 el mono Yagi with a hair pin match been up for 6 years worked the world on 400 watts never let me down for long qso,s swr stable i think its rated at 500 continuous. even with all the lighting around over 6 years still works , but my hairpin match is dc to boom ground Had them on inverted v,s also work a treat running 400 ssb for long hours on hot 40 deg c days .Even worked 1 watt qrp on my beam into the uk from Australia on this balun l/path so very low loss.

[@FredGarvin-gr3vx]

Thanks.. Perhaps I missed it. Did you bypass the internal ATU, go to FM mode and ptt for an SWR test? Ex. ATU disabled(bypassed). 10 watts, FM mode. Now transmit and record the SWR at multiple freqs within the 17m band. 73, n6spp-cm98

[@GaryLordsWayMinistry]

I always use the shrink wrap that has the sealant in it to make it a watertight seal for my coax ends.

[@feeatlastfeeatlast5283]

What were you testing? What did you expect, with two half wave antennas, you expected them to work differently? Or you expected the balun might have so much loss that you would be able to see it on your scope or S meter? Do you expect a passing grade in this course, or you just making videos for fun?

[@SapperGB]

I'm fairly sure that he runs an EFHW for either 80 or 40m so it would not be a half wave when used on 17m

[@hugovanderzee4944]

I made a dipole with the same aliexpress 1:1 balun for 11 meter and it works very well. I got a good SWR, and I am getting more or less the same signal reports (DX) as my sirio gainmaster 5/8, quite impressive. However the dipole needs to point more or less in the direction of the other station, but that is to be expected. Another thing I noticed is that with balun the dipole wires need to be shorter than indicated in order to get a good SWR. So it seems the balun does affect the dipole length. I did not find anything on that. Any ideas?

[@galileo_rs]

So how do you know that it does anything?

[@daveN2MXX]

Sales video

[@bendeleted9155]

I was concerned about the weight as well so I wrapped the wire around the anchor and then to the wing nuts

[@bendeleted9155]

And I meant to ask if this could be any kind of a problem.

[@m3hnl]

awesome bit of kit

[@ismaelcruz7295]

Excelente video 73 desde ciudad de México XE1JC

[@aerofart]

You make the BEST videos my friend.

[@jakobblaauwtaekwondo1143]

can you use yhis for a magnetic loop antenna?

[@christophersmith1155]

why do we need a balun ?

[@christophersmith1155]

do I still need a balun if the antenna is mono band and I am on that band. ?

[@Yosemite_Sam]

@@christophersmith1155 yes you need a balun because, on top of reasons explained above, connecting coax to a dipole (unbalanced coax to balanced dipole) will give incorrect vswr readings. A simple balun is so easy to make.

[@pasixty6510]

What‘s inside the balun? Please open it.

[@preston963]

I just make my baluns out of a piece of coax n tape it down the side of the radio's coax n this is how I've done it for over 4 decades in the communications industry mind you I'm talking RG-6 with RG-59 as a balun up a 200Ft tower runnin 500 watts commercially as a repeater.

[@DavidLopez-bz4rj]

What kind of balun is that? Can you describe it, please? Thank you

[@preston963]

@@DavidLopez-bz4rj There a tuned baiun for a specific freq you use a formula which I can't remember anymore to work out the length of the coax then you short the inner n shield together on one end n the other end you put in series with the driven dipole.

[@DavidLopez-bz4rj]

@@preston963 Ah ok, I think it is a quarter wave cable, but at some frequencies it is a bit impractical because of the length, but it is very simple to build, thanks

[@preston963]

Yes that's very true but we were using this around 500-750 Mhz.