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Topband: Use of CAT 5 cable to feed a Beverage

To: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Topband: Use of CAT 5 cable to feed a Beverage
From: Herb Schoenbohm <herbs@vitelcom.net>
Reply-to: herbs@vitelcom.net
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 12:39:13 -0400
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>
I have just been given a 1000' roll of shielded CAT 5 cable of seemingly high grade. I would like to feed a far away start point to a 900 foot Beverage but not exactly sure on how this will work. Do I tie all cross pairs together? I understand there will be a need to have a small toroid to match the Beverage itself and see the advisability of floating the shield there. But do I ground the shield at the station end to try and create a Faraday shield to reduce common mode pick up or does this only work at AC and not at RF?


Just curious


Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ




On 8/13/2013 3:16 AM, Jim Brown wrote:
On 8/12/2013 2:10 PM, JC N4IS wrote:
50/75 BALUN

Thanks for the detailed post, Carlos. BUT -- please let's use the right words to describe things so that people understand what you're describing and how it works. I strongly suspect that at least some of those things you are calling a "balun" are really a simple transformer -- that is, a primary and a secondary with magnetic coupling between them, and probably on a ferrite or powdered iron core. If it's a transformer, let's call it a transformer. Likewise, if we have a common mode choke formed by winding a coil of the transmission line, it is a common mode choke, not a "balun." Using the word "balun" confuses things, because that word is used to describe at least a dozen very different things that I know of.

When we use the word "balun," it's a magic box that few hams really understand. When we use the right word, most hams have a chance of understanding what it does in a circuit. :)

Yes, there are arrays of common mode chokes that can be used to transform impedance, and there are transmission line transformers of various sorts that can do that as well.

BTW -- your discussion of phasing between elements of an RX array causes me to add an important post script to my advice that a perfect match is not required. When ANY passive network is used to produce phase shift, the source and termination impedances DO matter. The tricky part, though, is knowing what the input Z of the RX is, and if you're doing something like a phased array using phasing lines that end at the RX input, it might be a good idea to actually measure input Z and the antenna Zs with a VNA.

73, Jim K9YC
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