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Reviews For: Balun Designs 1:1 Feedline Isolation Balun

Category: Antenna parts, accessories, incl. baluns, hardware, etc.

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Review Summary For : Balun Designs 1:1 Feedline Isolation Balun
Reviews: 43MSRP: 49.95
Description:
1:1 3kw and 6kw baluns providing balanced to unbalanced transition and common mode choking for feedline decoupling
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.balundesigns.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00435
KC6JQT Rating: 2011-01-13
Excellent product, well designed and works! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I run a fixed 10M vertical, LMR400, Amadon choke beads at feed point, a very good dual 8' rod ground bus 3' out the wall from radio desk and had two issues. First off was the local noise that would come and go. It was a constant warbling humm with some digital pulses in it from time to time. I believe it was a near by Plasma TV or other noisey switching supply radiating from a near by home. Secondly, even with the beads and a perfect 1:1 VSWR I had RF getting into the house with power above 200W. Clearly, my vetical was using the outer LMR400 shield as a radial. It would not effect the well designed/filtered TV's, radios, but would saturate the cheaper or poorer desiged electronics. I have a Nakamichi AMFM reciever in the radio room and with all leads disconnected except for the power cord, audio was heard clearly through the speakers when keyed up. The news is that with the #1113 installed at about 3' below the feed point both issues are resolved. The ham radio reciever is more quiet but without noticable RX sensitivity loss and the warbling humm can just barely be detected and is down 3db from its annoying past level. No that I need it but my operating bandwidth also increase at 1:1. I evaluated a bandwidth now of 1.2MHZ at 1:1 up from 800khz It's obvious that Balun Designs has the right mix of cores, wire, construction, and analyzers to insure what leaves the shop is functional and dialed in. The balun may seem pricey for some but I can attest I tried to build my own and never got mine to work to this level. I'll be back for another when I'm ready to set up my horizontal dipole. 73's
W2RKJ Rating: 2011-01-07
What happened to my noise level? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'll add my 2 megahertz into these reviews. I had what I thought was a pretty good balun up for about 7 or so years that I thought was performing well. The SWR looked real well on my analyzer on my 3 band inverted V dipole so who thought there may be a problem. I was however suffering from excessive noise lately on the 75/40/20 meters. I questioned other stations on their noise levels and it appeared I was hearing more trash. I did everything including had my power company come out and investigate and replaced some bad spots in the area. This helped but still my noise level was excessive. I'm talking about minimum levels of S8 to S9. When I switched to my vertical (out of band) the noise went away. I switched to another dipole again out of band but the same company balun noise again. Both baluns are about the same age but no way they both could be having the same problem. I did some research and learned of these baluns and checked their reviews here and decided to give them a try. On their website it states they are for noise reduction. I called Bob and sent him a photo of my homebrew inverted V. Initially on the phone we agreed I should be using a 1:4 balun, after seeing the picture, and because it was a fan dipole it should be a 1:1. I received my custom designed balun. As with all serious hams, it had snowed on the east coast and I put the balun up with about 3 feet of snow on the ground. As per instructions, I drilled the weep holes in the bottom, used 3M rubber tape to seal the PL 259 and the connectors on the sides where the wires are attached to my antenna. I came into the shack, the noise was GONE! My noise level on 20 meters (S4) vanished. 75 and 40 (S6) considerably reduced and unbelievably readable. I have since tuned all three bands for resonance and tune up is a dream. My station has NEVER heard this well --EVER. On the noise, my Ten Tec Jupiter can show a noise level on the meter but the radio is dead quiet. My S6 noise level on 75/40 meters is now very pleasant on the ears. To you folks who say you don't need a balun on a dipole I'm not so sure about that, you may need to re-think your theory. As soon as I get off of this computer I'm calling Bob to order a new balun for my other dipole I have cut for 11.175 MHz that is noisy on my Yaesu receiver. As stated by other reviewers his construction is top rate. Hands down worth every penny. GIVE THESE BALUNS A TRY.
W6IZT Rating: 2010-12-13
Quality Product Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have several center fed wire antennas that I feed with balanced line. I purchased one of Bob's 4:1 tuner baluns for use with a Nye Viking MB-V-A. The balun in the MB-V-A would not provide balanced current to the feedline. The Balun Designs balun works as expected with equal current applied to the transmission line. As others have stated the quaality ad workmanship is supurb.
WN9D Rating: 2010-05-24
Great Balun Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bob offers the best components and workmanship.
The quality is first rate. I won’t shop anywhere else for my future balun needs.

If you're in the market for balun or choke related items, go with Balun Designs products. I'm using the 1:1 ATU Current Balun Model 1114x which has made a world of difference… no more stray RF in the shack. Tuning up my ladderline fed dipole is also much simpler.

Bob’s customer service is second to none. My order got mixed up, so I sent an email to Bob. The replacement arrived at my doorstep in a matter of a few days, all at his expense. I rate Balun Designs a solid 5 plus.

'73, Randall WN9D
NI7AA Rating: 2010-01-28
The best there is! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
All I can say is WOW! What a great investment. The best components and workmanship are here. If you're in the market for balun/choke related items, do yourself a big favor and get a Balun Designs. You won't be dissapointed. I'm using the 1115ud and it has made a world of difference in RF and noise reduction.
SM0SUV Rating: 2010-01-06
Excellent Workmanship Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Great performance with my 3-el Yagi. Before installation I opened the unit to discover excellent workmanship in wiring/assembly. Fast delivery to Sweden and good after sale support when I had some questions on best practice installation.

73 de Göran SM0SUV
K5BJM Rating: 2009-11-04
GREAT BALUN Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Used it on my Carolina Windom. Less noise and 1 s unit better signal than 2 other baluns that i tried. Built like a tank!
KV4AN Rating: 2009-11-01
You Can Hear the Difference Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this to match a 60 meter vertical wire antenna. I got it with lugs on the top, so the antenna wire connects to one lug and the ground the other. The unit is mounted on a tomato stake and the antenna wire is held up by a cooperative tree branch. Works very well on 60 meters and with 43 feet of wire, I'm able to tune up 80 through 10 meters (except 30 meters) with the internal antenna tuner. I could hear the difference between no-balun and with the balun. Shipping is very fast and after-sale technical support is superb. Bob answers all e-mails personally and quickly. You won't be sorry about getting one of these for your antenna.
KJ4FGI Rating: 2009-08-08
What a Difference Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I decided to purchase this balun after reading other reviews and corresponding with Bob several times. I had questions and called Bob twice and right away on the phone no press 1,2 ,3, ect… got him live right away. He answered my questions recommended this Balun, Bob had the balun to me in 2 days.

When it arrived I opened the weatherproof box and was highly delighted to see the high quality material, yep, even Silver SO-239, no cheep stuff in here at all just all high quality materials.
Now for the Meat, this Balun eliminated electrical noise, highly improved reception on my home built Dipole which is up in my Attic due to HOA rules where I live.

I will only by Baluns from Bob, DON’T BY CHEEP you’ll end up paying twice. Give Bob a call first and tell him what you need a Balun for and he will recommend the right one. As you can tell I am VERY HAPPY
W9AC Rating: 2008-11-23
An excellent balun Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
After using three of Bob's baluns, I am very satisfied with the results. The primary reason for purchasing Bob's balun over his competition is that I know the design and materials used in the product. If I cannot determine what's happening inside the box, I won't use it. Manufacturers of similar products "pot" the core in an attempt to keep others from duplicating their work.

Each balun is carefully assembled and inserted into a weatherproof and gasketed NEMA enclosure. My most recent balun was customized for use on the input to my AG6K balanced ATU. I provided Bob with cable specifications and a few days later, the balun arrived, ready to be placed into service.

A solid 5.