[TenTec] 160 meters, ten ted 238 tuner, part two

[Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP]

Jim, YES!  
I sure wish the names you listed were what people use.  That would eliminate
a lot of the confusion.

The problem is, text books and all of the retailers selling these things
continue to use "balan" and "choke" and "current balun", etc.
So when I write about it, I find myself in a dilemma; shall I just call it
what everybody else calls it or try to change the world!

I think your work is among the best in the industry.
Unfortunately most people don't even know it exists.
I promote it every chance I get.

On my own web site, after a very brief description of common mode current, I
send people on to the page on (CMC Theory".
My page on theory instructs them to read W7EL's document and view your
PowerPoint slides.  It has links to both.
I also mention Steve's web page with the color chart suggesting core
material and number of turns.
Oh, and I also recommend Ian White's (RSGB) web Power-Point presentation.  

THEN I send them on to the "Advanced CMC Theory" page where I give them the
link to RFI-HAM.

I think it is important for people to read this stuff in the proper
sequence.
If someone jumps straight into RFI ham, I'm sure he'll get a shock, unless
he is pretty tech savvy.
Once he gets some background information, then it's the best document there
is on the subject.

(apologies again to Mike for hijacking his thread)

73
Rick, DJ0IP

-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jim Brown
Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:40 PM
To: Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP; Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] 160 meters, ten ted 238 tuner, part two

On 10/31/2013 11:51 PM, Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP wrote:
> Please help me out here

I've done my best, both in the RFI tutorial and in the Power Point on
coaxial chokes that are on my website.

Throughout, you insist on using the word "balun" with some qualifying
adjective. Why use the word "balun" at all? It is clearly inadequate to
describe the device in question, and is a major obstacle to understanding.

If what we want is a common mode choke, we should CALL it a common mode
choke.  Then we realize that we must understand what it does in the common
mode circuit to understand how it works and what its limitations are. When
we call it a current balun, we don't know what it is or how it acts -- 99.9%
of hams view it as a mysterious black box.

If what we want is a half wave of transmission line to go from the feedpoint
of one side of a  dipole driven element to the other, we should call it a
half wave of transmission line, because that's what it is. And when we CALL
it what it really is, we understand how it works, and we understand that it
only works at the frequency where it is a half wave.

73, Jim K9YC
_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec at contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec