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Re: [TowerTalk] 135 foot dipole, 300 ohm twinlead

To: "Buck - N4PGW" <n4pgw-list2@towncorp.net>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] 135 foot dipole, 300 ohm twinlead
From: "Tom Rauch" <w8ji@contesting.com>
Reply-to: Tom Rauch <w8ji@contesting.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2005 15:52:39 -0400
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
> The tuner is the TenTec 247.  The problem is everywhere on
the TV. The balun
> is a toroid wrapped in wire inside the tuner.

I've worked on or desigend a lot of tuners, but not that
one. I'd need to know more about the balun.

The TT tuners I could find use 4:1 baluns, and that
generally means they are voltage baluns or transformer type
baluns rather than transmission line baluns.

Voltage baluns are **very** susceptable to load impedance,
and fall out of balance very easily on real world systems.
They are the most load critical balun style we could use.

By far a much better balun is a choke or current balun of
1:1 ratio. It would have to be on a good ferrite core, not a
iron core (or worse yet air).

The correct balun on the output of that tuner can really be
just as good as a balanced tuner.


> > If the problem is channel specific, like say only on low
VHF
> > channels, you most likely have harmonic issues.
>
> Nope!  It is on all channels.

Sounds like common mode RF. Harmonics are channel specific.

> > How is the twinlead routed? Is it kept away from other
> > things?
>
> Outside it hangs from the antenna, drops to about a foot
above the ground
> and comes into my window along with several pieces of
coax.  It goes under
> my desk about 6-8 feet and wraps back to the top to the
tuner.

Ouch. How do you keep it isolated from the coax?

> I am considering the dual coax connection described in
another reply to keep
> the lead from having problems with surrounding metals.

Well, that might work. It won't be any less loss than moving
the balun outside the house and running a single line of
coax back inside from the balun to  the tuner. Whatever coax
you use, use good low-loss cable.

73 Tom

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