[TowerTalk] A poll of Cubical Quad qwners

[N7mal]

I'm an 'ole-timer'. I have been using quads on/off for 50 years. I've used 
them in California, Illinois, Okinawa, Thailand etc etc. I have never, let 
me repeat NEVER, used any kind of balun device. All my quads have been 3 
banders and I have tied all 3 loops together to one feedline. Yes it takes a 
little more time to get everything adjusted, SWR, f/b, etc, but all those 
quads performed and performed very well. Unless someone can show me 
''''side-by-side'''' improvement I won't change. Theoretical software 
designs are NOT side-by-side. I want to see a 'real-world' difference.......
Best 73


MAL
N7MAL
BULLHEAD CITY, AZ
http://www.n7mal.com
Everyone in the world is
entitled to be burdened
by my opinion


----- Original Message ----- 
From: John King
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2009 20:34
Subject: [TowerTalk] A poll of Cubical Quad qwners


Hello to all on the List. I decided that I needed to join the list since I 
have antenna questions and this is where the knowledgeable hams, regarding 
antenna things, hang out.

I am ready to install my 2 element, five band Cubex Cubical Quad on my tower 
and have been anguishing over whether to install Choke baluns for each band.

I am feeding the quad with separate coaxial matching transformers for each 
band supplied by Cubex.

Question: How many of you, using Cubical Quads feed them directly with Coax 
cable and how many of you install a balun  and what type? Since I am feeding 
each, of the five elements, separately, if I use the unbalanced to balanced 
device such as a Choke coil, five separate  choke coils (baluns) would be 
required.

For those of you, who have fed them both ways, what actual differences have 
you experienced in quad performance with and without the balun?

I spoke with W5ZR, this morning, at the Hammond, Louisiana Hamfest about 
this subject and he recommended going with direct coax feed without the 
unbalanced to balanced device. He has two large quads and is happy with the 
manner in which he feeds them.

I am not into "knat's eye performance", I just want the quad to perform 
well. I also don't want to build any problems into the array due to the fact 
that it will be at least 75 feet on a fixed/guyed tower.

For those of you who received my earlier query about resonant freq with the 
20 meter antenna wires two feet off the ground, I learned that the 20 meter 
element is resonant at 14.000.00 mhz that close to the ground according to 
my antenna analyzer. I am pleased with that resonant point because I know 
the resonant point will rise, as the antenna is raised to 75 feet, and the 
ground capacitance diminishes.

If this topic, (balun fed quads) has been covered previously, I would 
appreciate it if you would so direct me to the archives. Your knowledge, 
based upon your experience, will be greatly appreciated on this subject 
(balun feeding quads). Thanks and 73, John, K5PGW