| KX8V |
Rating:      |
2017-02-25 | |
| Quality product |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Works great at 800 watts. If I need another balum I will buy another without reservation . |
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| N5VU |
Rating:      |
2016-09-30 | |
| Works as advertised |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
There's not much really to say, I'm a chronic antenna builder (wire and aluminum).
Everyone I've ever purchased worked like this;
1-Unbox it.
2-Install it.
3-Observe its specified performance.
4-Forget about it.
It works as advertised. That's why I bought it.
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Earlier 4-star review posted by N5VU on 2013-07-25
Purchased from DX Engineering, great service as always. Bought the mount to affix it to my new TH3-MK4 boom. All fit as it was suppose to.
Using a Ten Tec Centurion into the balun, it was happy with 1200 plus watts. It remained stable. I.e., the SWR didn't change after applying carrier for a while. Core saturation heating is well under control with this device. It's truly a QRO device. |
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| N9TF |
Rating:      |
2014-07-10 | |
| Extremely happy! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I've been thinking of putting up an 80 meter OCF dipole. Thanks to the helpful reviews here, I purchased a 4113ET 4:1 current balun from DX engineering a few days ago. Just put up OCF dipole today, 45'X89' at 35' apex. SWR on 80/75 no higher than 2.5: at high end of band. 1:1 at 3.7, and 2:1 at the bottom. 40, 20, 17, 12, 10, and 6m 1.5:1 or lower. 15 meters 2.5:1 across entire band. Very happy camper! I will update review again after I have had more time to operate. The construction of this balun, and initial on air trials are second to none. The wires of each leg needed to be bent at some point to fit on my small lot. The 89' leg bends about 100 degrees to the north at about the 75' point and the 45' leg bends about 45 degrees to the west at about the 30' point. The antenna is generally broadside NE/SW. Looking forward to the winter DX season on 80! |
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| W5RHR |
Rating:      |
2014-01-14 | |
| great value for the money |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I am actually using two of the W2FMI Baluns on yagis I purchased from DX ENgineering, a TH3 JR and A CushCraft 12/17 meter antenna.
The Baluns are well constructed, heavy duty, and suffer no ill effects from a full KW into them.
DX Engineering has a great on line resource for selecting the correct balun, or you can pick up the phone and ask for help based on your antenna configuration
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Earlier 5-star review posted by W5RHR on 2014-01-14
I am actually using two of the W2FMI Baluns on yagis I purchased from DX Engineering, a TH3 JR and A CushCraft 12/17 meter antenna.
The Baluns are well constructed, heavy duty, and suffer no ill effects from a full KW into them.
DX Engineering also has a great on line resource for helping you choose the correct balun, or simply call them for great tech advice on the proper balun.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by W5RHR on 2012-12-12
I really cannot find anything to fault about these Baluns. I have purchased two one for an 80 meter loop, one for a doublet fed by ladder line.
Both have endured the weather here in La so far and have withstood a 1KW power input.
DX Engineering has a great price and selection, and their tech support page on Balun selection and application is a wealth of information, and helpful in making the correct choice, but you can pick up the phone and talk to the folks at DXE and receive help, also.
As someone mentioned previous, they aren't "glitzy", the Carlton electrical box they are housed in is utilitarian(but has a water resistant gasket), however the materials and workmanship are first class.
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| KD5OEI |
Rating:      |
2014-01-07 | |
| Tough as nails |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Accidentally, the 2.5KW dual core Comtek 4:1 current balun was subjected to 700W of RF for almost an hour with a shorted transmission line connected to the terminals. It got so hot that the NEMA case's lid softened to where a fingerprint was painfully left in it, and the wire ties inside began to melt. Upon inspection, the balun core and its own wires, their insulation, and the rest were perfectly fine. Once the fault was cleared and the balun cooled off, it continued to work as expected. I suppose it might eventually have been ruined, but 1 hour is a very long time on a fault of that size at home. (BTW the Tucker TX didn't even notice it..) I am very satisfied with the product because it was not destroyed or damaged in any way and I will keep using it. It was worth every penny of the $80 I paid. The same RF source, at 1500W but without a load issue, had previously destroyed a balun in a big name "3KW tuner". A mighty fine 939. (Really a decent 'tuner' but not the best for LL-AM.) It was then that the Comtek balun was put in use. There has never been any complaint with the balun. I would recommend this balun for anyone using a high power AM transmitter or other demanding application and if they have a store-bought 'tuner' having an internal balun, that they use a Comtek balun externally instead of the one provided in the tuner. During a few short full power tests of the "1KW" transmitter, I have put 3600W PEP at 7100KC through the balun into a matched load with no ill effects. YMMV In any case, I'll never destroy it with the TX set to the appropriate ham level power. When I use AM, the TX is often keyed for 10 minutes at a time for those long-winded and 'old buzzard' session RTs and there has never been an issue. |
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| W6EEP |
Rating:      |
2013-12-07 | |
| High Efficiency - Easy Tuning |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have the 11130T 1:1 tuner version of this balun. Following the directions in W8JI's publication "Choosing the Correct Balun" (available from DX Engineering's website), I built a 110 foot 10-80 meter doublet out of a single piece of 16 gauge lamp cord as a proof of concept. With it up at 35 feet and 90 feet of feedline, I'm here to tell you that my signal was quite loud on 75 meters short skip. Even though this balun was sitting right on top of my radio, I had no problems with RF in the shack. Based on my results with the lamp cord version, I later purchased insulated antenna wire, 300 ohm ladder line and some gray Alpha Delta style insulators from DX Engineering to build the 220 foot 10-160 meter version of this antenna. Highly recommended and a good value. |
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| N4KC |
Rating:      |
2013-07-26 | |
| Perfect for the job at hand |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I, too, bought the 1:1 balun to transition from ladder line to a short run of coax for my 135-foot dipole. I mounted it on the wall outside, right next to one of the larger DX Engineering 4:1 baluns (an excellent device, too, though a bit pricey) that I had previously used for this purpose. Now, if the impedance is too low on the operating frequency with the 4:1, I can switch quickly to the 1:1. I find that with the Sevick the antenna tunes better 90% of the time as compared to the 4:1, which rarely gets used anymore.
Though I use no more than 600 watts, the Sevick seems solid and has been in use for more than two years with no signs of weather issues. The price is reasonable, too.
What more could I ask?
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| WG5N |
Rating:      |
2013-06-11 | |
| Comtek Baluns - GREAT Product |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I recently purchased a Jerry Sevick Series COM-BAL-11130ET Balun for use on one of my antenna projects. I had previously used a "cheaper" Balun with less than satisfactory results. The COM-BAL-11130ET resolved my problems and is performing flawlessly. The Balun appears to built from high quality products and to exacting standards. I recommend DX Engineering's Comtek Baluns. |
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| VE2TH |
Rating:      |
2013-05-02 | |
| 4:1 & 1:1 comtek balun |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I recently purchased twice times baluns, because I want to rebuilt my wire antennas, now the spring is upon us.-
First of all, it is a very useful, and a very good idea to put on DX Engineering web site the document
"HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT BALUN" it is very helpful to help amateurs to choose the right one. I love it.-
Now, these baluns are very well designed and made of high quality products, very sturdy, and most important, all the bolts nuts etc,
are stainless it is really built to last.
Another very useful thing I bought, is the BALUN MOUNTING BRACKETS KITS, what a wonderful idea, it is much more easier
to install and it does a real neat and solid job. especially a top my fold over mast.-
Just for fun I checked them on my RIG EXPERT model AA-54 antenna analyser,with the appropriate resistor as an antenna,
and those baluns are completly flat 1:1 on all bands, it is amazing.-It is the first time I see a Balun with such an uniformity all over the spectrum.
About the service, hats off, to the crew at DX-ENGINEERING, it is the best service I have got up to date.I t is fast, and most of all really well packed with precaution.-
Two times I ordered on sunday evening, and it arrived to my door on thursday. I live in Québec city Canada.
We will definitely buy again, for sure, as we are two sastified customers, and we have many other antennas projects in the future.-
73, Michel VE2TH
73/88 Georgette VE2RH
The OM/XYL TEAM :--)))
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| NY4D |
Rating:      |
2013-03-09 | |
| They get the job done |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I am using the 4:1 Comtek just outside the shack to transition from RG-8 coax to 45 feet of ladder line feeding an 85 foot dipole. Even though this antenna is really a tad short for 80 meters, I am able to tune the entire 80 meter band and all ham bands through 10 meters with an older Ameritron ATR-15 tuner.
Can't fault anything about this balun. Hardware is robust. Internals are just as they should be. For me the buying choice for baluns is a tossup between the Comtek and the Balun Designs models. Both good products from good companies.
I run up to 500 watts into the balun and it does what it is supposed to do with no muss or fuss. |
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