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Re: [TowerTalk] Current Baluns

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Current Baluns
From: Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: jim@audiosystemsgroup.com
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2021 21:36:37 -0700
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 3/19/2021 8:01 PM, john@kk9a.com wrote:
That is interesting, a balun wastes power. How by minimizing feedline
currents?

If you include audio and video systems, the word "balun" has been used to describe nearly a dozen VERY different things over the years. I can't think of any commonly used in ham radio that waste any more transmitter power than the very small loss in the short section of transmission line used to wind them. This table shows the loss for my RG400 designs for 2.4-in o.d. cores. Depending on the band, worst case differential dissipation in recomended choke for bands where they are intended to operate is in the range of 0.06 dB, and is due to ordinary transmission line loss. For legal limit operation, two chokes in series may be required. My computations for loss assume about 6-in for leads.

http://k9yc.com/Chokes-2r4inRG400.png

There is also some dissipation in the common mode circuit, but the greater the choking impedance, the lower the loss.

FWIW, I use Array Solutions W1JR baluns which are really chokes.

Yes. But unless Joe has changed his design, they are not very effective, because he uses Fair-Rite #61, so the choking impedance inductive at HF. He and I talked about this 10-12 years ago at Visalia. An inductive choke can have its impedance cancelled if it is inserted in a line whose common mode impedance is capacitive at the frequency of interest.

My designs use the resistance at the choke's very broad parallel resonance to limit common mode current. This, by the way, is exactly what W2DU did many years earlier when he chose #73 material for his "string of beads" designs. Those beads, by their nature, have a parallel resonance in the middle of the HF spectrum, but HUNDREDS of them are required to achieve high enough choking Z for even moderate power levels, and all of those I've seen claiming to use his design use less than a quarter of those used in his higher power designs.

73, Jim K9YC



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