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| Reviews Summary for Balun Designs 4:1 balun |
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Reviews: 22
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Average rating: 5.0/5
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MSRP: $54.95
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Description: 2kw current balun based on Jerry Sevick's (W2FMI)proven design. Provides good matching for multiband and off center fed dipoles.
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More info: http://www.balundesigns.com
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write your own review of the Balun Designs 4:1 balun.
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W8CCY
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 7, 2010 11:59
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Need a Balun? - This is the place!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Ordered my third balun from Bob today. Using one on my Tennadyne T-8 log and one to feed my 80 meter doublet fed with 450 ohm window line. The new one will feed my 160 meter doublet.
I have done numerous a/b tests (swapping baluns of diff ratios and no balun) using an inferior commercial balun acquired before meeting Bob. Besides the obvious superb quality construction. They perform as well as they look.
The 160 meter doublet at 1.8 mhz, currently, (I am pruning it w/o an analyzer) has a 20 to 1 swr w/o a balun. Ie: using Bob's 4113t 4 to 1 balun swr is 4 to 1 at 1.8 mhz. My auto tuner (LDG 1000 Pro) easily handles the mismatch and everything else up through 10 meters.
With the other commercial balun the auto tuner is stresssed and struggles to find a usable match on 160 where the reactances seem highest and, also on some of the higher bands.
Bob is a person of integrity and fun to do business with. He will not steer you wrong. IMHO I think his products are some of the best values in amateur radio.
If you call "Cousin Bob" pse tell him "Cousin Larry" referred you. No, we are not related. Just a little joke and he will know you read this. hi!
Thanks, again, Bob for the great service and quality products, I can only equate with the good folks at Elecraft.
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KI9A
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 2, 2009 07:58
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Great workmanship
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Great balun. Professional workmanship. Used it in a couple of CW contests using 1KW, and worked FB, no heating, no problem.
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K6TPJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 26, 2009 14:13
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Great Product
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I was one of those Hams that thought "A Balun is a Balun". Well, I stand corrected. I have a doublet up about 125 feet fed with 450 ohm window line, which was used with one of those "other" Baluns. The antenna worked well, but there were a few oddities in the tuning, and in fact I couldn't get below a 3:1 swr in some spots.
I bought a Balun Designs 4:1. Tuning is smooth and predictable. Even more important, tuning is now repeatable. Bob was a pleasure to deal with and stands behind his product. The Balun itself is a thing of beauty.
I can't comment on the Balun's power handling capabilities since I've never run over 500 watts, and currently run QRP for the most part. However, judging by the quality of the design and build, I'm confident it can easily handle legal limit power.
A very nice product.
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K4FX
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 23, 2009 15:12
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Great Baluns
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After burning up a few different types of homebrew baluns on my OCF antenna, I finally splurged and bought a 4 to 1 current balun from Bob, my SWR is a lot lower across 80, 40, 30 20, 15 and 10 bands thab with the others I had built, the quality is well worth the cost, and Bob gives fast service, ordered on a Thursday and received it the following Monday,
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K2VI
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 28, 2008 18:04
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Maserati of baluns
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I purchased the 4115T from bob, The old balun i used smoked when trying to tune 160 with my 130' ladderline fed dipole. When i explained to bob my problem he recomended the dual core 4115t heavy duty balun, Well i must say it tunes up flat now and with a few long winded qso's the balun is cool as a block of ice.I won't push my luck and try the amp. The antenna is just not long enough to try it However the construction is military grade, indestructable housing and only the best parts, I tip my hat to bob for not cutting any corners and giving the best balun you can buy.Bob will help you with any problems and not try to promote a sale, he is a true gentlman.Way to go balun designs.
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VK2LOB
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 22, 2008 02:56
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Great Quality
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have balun model 4113, 4:1 with a 1:1 Choke in the balun which i used to construct a Windom, the quality of this Balun is great and works better than I expected. I cut to pieces of Stainless Steel wire 90 ft and 45 ft and swaged the wire up,the SWR on 80 meters is 1:4, 40m is 1:1 20m is 1:3 10m 28.520 is 1:1. I am receiving great signal reports. Customer Service is great, Bob returned my email inquiry within hours and advised me of which Balun to purchase for the job. The Balun arrived in 6 days later.
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VE6JKV
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 17, 2008 10:37
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Fabulous Product!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have been using an OCF dipole for a while now, and the balun has been giving me problems. I looked around for a better balun and was lucky enough to come across Balun Designs. I got the 4:1 balun with the 1:1 built into it. I finally got it installed, and I have to say that I'm extremely impressed. It improved my S/N ratio quite a bit, and I am getting even better signal reports than I had previously. This is a wonderful product, and I would highly recommend it. Any questions I had were answered instantly, and customer service seems to be a priority.
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KO7V
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 26, 2008 14:39
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Best 4:1 current balun yet
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I had trouble feeding a 134 foot OCF dipole with 50-feet of 300 Ohm twin lead with a Johnson Matchbox. The twin 300-Ohm lead was connected at the '200-Ohm point', about 1/3 from the end. I used to have to ground the tuner or the SWR was unstable, hand capacity tuning effects, etc. -- basically unuseable. Same thing with an MFJ-949E tuner with its built-in balun output feeding the twin lead. Also got RF feedback when using a 600W linear. With the tuner grounded, things were much more stable, but the tuner was really 'working' hard, and I knew there was lots of ground (common mode) current. I got weak reports on 80M, 40M was so-so, but 1 or 2 S-units below my 40M dipole at a nearby location Only 20M was pretty good, as long as I did not use the linear else I got RF feedback.
Looks like the Johnson matchbox was not the ticket unless I was willing to go center fed, but then I lose the odd harmonic bands. The problem with the MFJ-949E was the voltage balun on the output. I had a Ferrite '61 core and made a 4:1 voltage balun, but it didn't do any better than the MFJ balun..
Having no practical experience with power baluns, I asked Bob (KZ5R) which of his baluns would be best or my situation. I got his suggestion, the 4115E dual-core 4:1 (a REAL current balun, stainless steel connections). With the MFJ tuner coax output feeding 5 feet of RG-213 to the balun then the 50 foot twin lead to the OCF, the SWR easily tunes 1:1 on 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10M, no RF on anything, no hand capacity effect, and the system is exactly the same with or without a tranceiver or tuner RF ground (the tranceiver runs off a isolated 110V AC switching supply). On 20 Meters I don't need to touch up the tuner across the band it stays below 1:1.2 , and on 40M only a small tuner adjustment across the band. On 80M tuner adjustment is required across the band, but it still tunes to 1.1 and the adjustment has that smooth low-Q feeling you know is 'right'.
Now I have a huge improvement on 80M and 40M and am ready for some sunspots too. If you need a 4:1 current balun, I recommend Balun Designs - Thats where my next one is coming from.
Ron Fial KO7V
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AE4CW
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 16, 2008 14:06
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Outstanding Designs, Quality, Service and Value
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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If you need a balun, unun, or common mode current choke, look no further. Without question, Balun Designs and it's owner Bob Rumsey are in my opinion the best in the business. Where else do you get all these from a single vendor: 1) Designs based on the proven theory and construction techniques of Jerry Sevick, arguably the foremost authority in this field; 2) Construction using the best available materials (thermaleze wire, Teflon tubing, epoxy coated ferrites, stainless hardware, waterproof NEMA enclosures; 3) A detailed internal description including photos of each design along with measured impedance transformation results; 4) Custom designs to fit any unique need you have; 5) Personal contact with the owner/builder, and 6) A 30-day money-back guarantee and lifetime warranty.
I ordered the single-core 4:1 model #4113 and it arrived in three days. I measured the transformation accuracy using my AIM-4170 and found the SWR less than 1.04 to 1 from 1.8 to 60 MHz. I've used it to feed an OCF dipole at 500+ watts with no heating what-so-ever. I knew going in that the single-core 4:1 model might not be a good match for an unbalanced antenna like the OCF dipole but decided to see how well it performed. An OCF dipole is a VERY difficult load for any balun, and so I was not surprised to see that I needed more common mode impedance. For an inherently balanced antenna like a simple dipole with perpendicular feedline, the single-core #4113 should be fine.
So, a word of advice: If you are feeding an inherently unbalanced antenna like an OCF dipole, you should choose either of the models #4113ocf or #4115 (see my review on this one as well). Both of these dual-core models have substantially greater common mode (choke) impedance which will greatly reduce RF current flow on the outside of your coax feedline (keeping RF out of the shack and preventing feedline radiation) and ensure more nearly balanced currents into the antenna.
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WU1E
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 18, 2008 17:38
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Mod III Tuner Balun is Fantastic
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Bought one of these to replace a cheapo balun that was causing problems for my multi-band dipole and auto tuner. This is a fantastic piece of hardware. Problem is I hate to only use it on that one antenna. It's a serious piece of quality hardware and I'm itching to try some other antenna projects using it. That's the beauty of Bob's Baluns. You can count on them for the long haul. I will definitely be a repeat Balun Designs customer.
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