[TowerTalk] BN-86 Balun

[Jim Thomson]

Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 11:15:30 -0400
From: "KB1H" <kb1h at ct.metrocast.net>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] BN-86 Balun

I believe the answer is simple. It has to be cheap (not expensive) for the 
ham market. A quality product can be made but those that would spend the 
extra cash are too few thus making the product even more expensive.

## The BN-86 was junk back in 1963... it was junk in the mid 70's.. and it's 
junk today. Hy- gain has no right to even build it.  Pure fraud. 

##  I incinerated 3 x bn-86's [ on 3 x different ants]  back in the mid
70's.   Any bozo can see what the design flaw is... once you open one
up with a bandsaw.   9 x more BN-86's got blown up  around town here
within 2 x yrs. 1976-1979.



American thinking is the product has to do the job not necessarily with the 
highest quality or best technology.  I run up against this everyday for the 
last 30 years!

## so where is the cost savings ???   Joe ham replaces one BN-86
after another after another ??    Why doesn't the ARRL lab just test it
with a 2 kw cxr.. and 2:1 swr.... poof.. bye bye balun.  Then don`t accept
any advertising on the  BN-86... until they fix the problem.

  We measure power output at the ant.. AFTER feed line loss.   There is at least
25+  blown up  BN-86 baluns here in town.  The Attorney general
for what ever state these pieces of junk are made in... should be 
tossing  MFJ-Hi-gain-shue  in the slammer...for false advertising.  Heck, they
are not even 1:1  ratio on 10m.  

##  I had Ken Hirchberg  at  Cal-AV labs  custom  build me  5 x new
baluns several years ago.    They worked  so good, and are so reliable,
I convinced Ken to perhaps  make it a standard product...EB-3.   Pumped
full of silicone goop... done in a VAC chamber.  Special  7-16
DIn connector's used.  Silver plated Teflon 10 ga wire.   I wanted 8 ga, but the
thought was the RG-393 teflon coax used is only 13 ga.  Everything is silver
soldered...and all teflon is 1st etched in a lab in Colo.     They are 17 inchs
long.. and will function from 7-60 mhz.  I have the 80m version as well.. which is
24 x inchs long.    The 160m version is  30 x inchs long. 

You can`t get water into em.. and you can`t blow them up.   The EB1 and EB2 
baluns are excellent as well.   Array solutions has a lot of other good baluns..
like the W1JR  versions.. which use 393 coax as well as 7-16 dins, etc. 

If you want to buy half a doz BN-86`s.... go for it.   One good balun is a lot
cheaper than 20 x BN-86`s.  If you want to HB a balun... just slide type-43
large beads over your 213-U.   Having to  remove the yagi from the top of a
100`tower.. just to change a BN-86 balun is plane nuts.  They should never have to
be rerplaced.  In some cases, cranes are used...and pro -installers used.  I`d send the
Bill to martin himself.  
     
later... Jim  VE7RF 
    





Dick - KB1H