[CQ-Contest] HyGain BN4000 Balun Question

[David Pruett]

Jim George wrote:
> We will almost certainly be replacing a HyGain BN4000 one-to-one balun here 
> shortly with a WX0B one-to-one balun. It is important to get the "center 
> conductor" connected to the same half-element of the driven element in 
> order to maintain polarity and phase in a stacked yagi system of 205CAs. 
> Can one use an Ohmmeter to check which output lead of a BN4000 goes to the 
> center conductor of the PL259 and which lead to the shield?
>
> Jim George
> N3BB
>
>
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>   
Jim,

A lot of modern baluns are nothing more than ferrite beads strung on a 
length of coax inside the case.  Those can be phase tested easily with 
an ohmmeter.  But then again, some baluns are not.  I use Radio Works 
baluns on my 5/5/5 15M and 5/5 20M stacks, and while I've never opened 
one of these baluns up to examine the internal design, the ohmmeter test 
seemed to work fine to get the phase right (i.e. feedline center 
conductor continuity to one side, shield to other, and no measurable 
resistance between).

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'd replace the baluns on both 205CAs rather 
than trying to match the phase between two dissimilar baluns.

The modern baluns just work better and last longer.  I've blown up my 
share of HyGain baluns over the years, particularly after the power 
limit went from 1KW input to 1.5KW output in 1983 :-(  Never blown up a 
balun here at K8CC :-)

73,

Dave