This is the stuff every other Armature Radio TH-cam channel just glosses over because they think it's common knowledge without thinking of the newbies trying to get into the hobby. Thank you for explaining things in simple terms beginners can understand. This is also the best video I've watched on the subject! I didn't get into armature radio to nerd flex on other nerds. I'm into armature radio because I'm legitimately excited on how it all works. We all want more people to play radio with. Thank you again for helping more people get into the hobby.
@@RichardEnglander Trust me, the day i pass that exam, you will know it... im getting more and more correct answers every time i fail, so projections are I'll pass some time in the next decade :(
Great explanation Walt, concise and to the point to help beginners understand the fine points of antenna building. This is why I really like and recommend the videos on your channel. Also that's a nice Hammarlund in the background, I have an HQ-160 that I have had since my teen years in the mid 1970s! I started out with it listening to shortwave in my teens and it stoked my interest in ham radio.
Thanks! I was heavily into shortwave in my teens as well. I got that HQ-180 by luck a couple years ago. My neighbor across the street found it in his attic and gave it to me.
@redstickham6394 @COSTALWAVESWIRES Similar situation here. I listened to short-wave in the late 1960s getting many DX broadcast stations using a long wire antenna in my parents attic. But I didn't get into Ham radio until very recently.
Thank you, first time I think I understand the difference between UNUN and BALUN. I get lost quickly when David Cassler starts drawing on the whiteboard giving likely correct but very complicated answers to simple questions 😅
Different learning styles. I need to have the “why” stuff to internalize information. But I understand that most people learn better with technique vs theory. So this video left me unsatisfied. But it works for many (most) people. Awesome that we have so many Elmers right here in one place (TH-cam)!
@@Frisky0563 I like Dave. He's like a gnome in his workshop trying to explain the hardships of Santa to the elves. Honestly, I mean that in a good way. But yeah, he talks in his language from his perspective. I have noticed that sometimes even he isn't technically correct even if in a practical sense he is. I think it comes down to what people are familiar and comfortable with. I like gnomes. ☺Cheers.
@@mewintle I'm the same way in needing to know the why and how of things for them to fit and stick into their place in my understanding of things to see and figure out how things work in relationship with each other and what needs to be done when. While it isn't perfect of course, things such as the water analogy for electrical circuits have gone a very long way for me. Taking that further, RF is perhaps a bit like sonar... 🙊Cheers.
Just getting back into the HF side of the hobby after some 20 years of inactivity. Originally licensed in 1980. This video is a great example of why this is my favorite ham radio YT channel. Thanks much, Walt, and 73. Tim, W4TAF
Thanks Walt. I’m a new ham and finding simplified information isn’t easy. Too many content creators talk over the new guy’s head. I don’t know if they fear that dumbing it down will cost them views by more experienced operators, or if they just assume that we come in with a certain amount of knowledge. Anyway, I truly appreciate your content. Your DXing videos are what pushed me to get my general ticket and buy a G90. Hopefully I will catch up to you on the air sometime. Thanks and 73!
Good explanation. Many former Elmer's are smiling down on you from the great beyond. I agree that the KISS way of explaining things is the best approach.
Thank you Walt for giving me a good basic understanding of baluns and ununs. You gave me a good understanding of why they are used and what type of antennas these transformers should be used on. You gave me a great foundation to build on. Other TH-cam videos explain the windings and turn ratios, etc. without explaining why and where they are used. You are a great teacher/instructor. Thank you very much.
Walt, THANKS! As you know, I have been a long-time Ham, but I am new to building antennas. And you were right. This is the video I needed to watch. I have a list of notes to stick in my POTA case to help me in the field. Thanks again for all you do to help this amazing community. 73s.
I've been searching for a while now for a simplistic, concise, yet understandable explanation of UNUNs and BALUNs. You have provided it in this excellent video. Thank you so much for this. Subbed!
Good job addressing the issue. While I have an in-depth understanding of electronics, I have just rekindled interest in HAM after 60 years and could not understand the jargon of "ununs" and "baluns" until you video on the subject. I am now a subscriber and look forward to future content. Thank you.
Simple, explained well for the beginner, your channel is great as its no nonsense to the point with simplicity, well done Walt. Im sure we all appreciate your time.
Many years ago (during my CB days) I learned a balun can be a really neat thing. But you have to be willing to experiment a little. Someone gave me a 4-element beam which had an insulated dipole driven element with a hairpin match (He did not know how to feed it). Not wanting to try and feed it directly with coax (did that with another similar beam one time with poor results), I decided to try and feed it with a 1:1 balun. Since the dipole driver would have a 75-ohm feed point impedance, I connected the balanced side to the hairpin, and used 75-ohm coax to feed it (not CATV coax). All I can say is 'wow'! Not only did the antenna work very well, it was also the quietest antenna I have ever had. The SWR measured at 1.3:1, and I could hear signals others could not, especially in dry-air Santa Ana conditions when the air becomes 'charged' and a lot of static is present. The hairpin match provided an awesome DC ground which, in combination with the balun, provided a virtually noise-free beam. I used it for many years before a wind finally blew it down. Wish I still had it!
Year's ago I remember a schematic where I built a tuned matching circuit consisting of a air coil and a small vari cap for a 2 meter 1/2 wave antenna for a ht. It worked quite well, I believe one could be built for a single hf band as well.
Walt, thanks for the info! Today I decided to build a 41' random wire. I was impressed with the fact that my 7300 tuned across all of the bands. Unfortunately for me I didn't have the means to get it up in the air very high so incoming signals were kind of weak. Next spring we'll get it up higher to see how it performs.
Walt, very nice explanations. For those who requested this video let me say Google is your friend. Read. The more you read your retention becomes greater. Is it more work? Yes but it makes you think. Over time all the pieces fall into place. Still confused? Keep reading until it clicks. It doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll be glad you did.
Aloha Walt, I just bought the LDG 4:1 and the LDG 9:1 Unun based on two of your videos. I love random wire and telescopic antennas with my Xiegu G90’s. ❤
I learn sooooo much from your videos. My hat is off to all the hams who learned the art of Ham Radio prior to the You Tube era. Best regards from Texas!!
That radio has an incredible story. It belonged to a SK that lived in the house across the street from me. He died decades ago and the people that own the house now told me there was an old radio in the attic I could have if I would climb up there and get it. Well, there it is in my shack.
I keep revisiting this topic, and man, this was the perfect video for me to bookmark and keep coming back to!!! How do you not have 100K subscribers yet?
We live on the far eastern fringe of the Los Angeles area, in San Bernardino County, and my stereo systems AM/FM receiver struggles to pull in even the mighty KFI 640kz signal with their tower located not that far away. Everything else is just noise. So far, I'm just using the wimpy post-card sized wound wire antenna that came with my receiver, which only excels at bringing in noise from our lights and other electronics. Now I'm no ham operator. I was an avionics tech and airborne radio operator on USCG aircraft in the distant 70's, and I've been a fan of the AM band, static and all, since I was a kid. I recently found a Radio Shack longwire antenna kit amid my garage debris, and thought I might string it up on the roof, going from one chimneys the other and then across the roof a bit more. The twisted copper antenna wire in the kit is about 75-80 feet long. Way short for full wave or even half wave So I'm not TXing here, just RX. Should I go with the full 80 feet or trim it down? To use the full length, I'd have to dog-leg it, up to 90 degrees or so. Would this degrade my reception, or possibly improve off axis reception? I'll be using maybe 20 feet of 50 ohm coax for a lead-in. Would I benefit from a unrun? (Something I never even heard of before). Anyway, any help is greatly appreciated. Great and Informative video. George Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Walt.. Thanks for this.. I'm about to do a "Choke" video and was doing some research and this popped up! Still confused when I would EVER use an Unun..!! LOL
Thank you, Walt. 🙂 I got the basic thought (matching the feed point impedance to the impedance of the coax, and to what the transceiver expects). However, what I do not yet understand is why the 1st random wire antenna in the video has 300..360 Ohms, whereas th 2nd one has 150..250 Ohms and thus they need different UnUns. The table you showed suggests that it has to do with the length of the driven element, as the ones above 8 m require 9:1 as opposed to the 4:1 of the shorter ones. Is that feed impedance something that one can calculate/measure to make the right choice for the UnUn ratio? If so, how? 🤔
Thanks Walt, very much appreciated, now we have an idea why a Baluns and a Ununs is required....also explains why some home built antennas SWR OK work and some don't.
Thanks Walt. That was helpful. I had a couple EE classes in college 40 years ago when I earned my mechanical engineering degree, but there was zero material about RF antenna design. A friend of mine has a MS in EE and even that didn't cover much about RF. It was mostly IC design and signal processing for him. If the terminology was unbalanced match and balanced match versus unun and balun that would go some distance. The next step would be describe the circuit in a balun and the circuit in an unun and explain why it works for each type of antenna, respectively.
Thanks! I’m not sure if TH-cam is ready for a structural design engineer to break down the circuit design of a balun or unun but I guess I could give it a try LOL. All the best and 73, Walt
Thank you… my confusion is no longer there. Your explanation is simple and correct. Your material (IMO) should be thought and provided in our question pools. So many ridiculous questions that are not relevant. 🎙️W1FYG
Great video giving an easy to understand explanation. When I got licensed, UnUns weren't really being used but now they seem to be pretty popular. I had a random wire(not sure how long it was) antenna that was fed with single wire that went straight into the tuner. I wonder who many hams still do that? It worked well but on some bands the RF in the shack made the rig go a little haywire if the power was up too high. Your videos are always informative. Keep up the great work.
Thank you so much! I’ve been thinking about building a long wire antenna with that TenTec antenna coupler I showed in the video. So it would pretty much be like your antenna you described. 73 my friend!
New guy here. Trying to build my shack and scared to death of lightning strikes as we get them fairly regularly. Antennas seem to be the most complicated part of radio. Proper grounding is the concern I'm trying to learn about most.
Hey Walt! another great video! I like making my own, rather than buy them. When you describe the impedance in ohms, That is exactly how you test them. I have resistors soldered together that approximate the EFHW, Random wire, or delta loop. Connect them to the antenna connection and the counterpoise connection or to the shield side of the coax. Then connect your swr meter, and if they give a close to 1:1 reading, you know they will do the job. When you make your own, you can tweak the windings, and tune them up even more. Have you seen the Gabil GRA-HF750T antenna setup? You can turn your qrp rigs into an HF walkie talkie with these. Add a short counterpoise and they will amaze you.
The sum total of my knowledge as learnt for my foundation licence (oh errr !). UnUn - unbalanced to unbalanced . Balun - Balanced to Unbalanced. The rest is down to magic. 73 and Happy New Year to all.
Walt, your videos are so great and easy to understand. Thank you for simply breaking this topic down and easy to understand. Where or how do you build that cool on air sign? That looks awesome!
So you helped build Ocean Beach huh? LOL..... Well you figured out the plans and the structures and I nailed them together. Started my construction career in Newport Beach back in 75 when I got out of the service. Lived on a boat in the back bay while learning to pound nails and string wire. 73 and thanks for the great video. Still a little to learn about these things. Like how do you determine the impedance of the wire you are connecting to the ballun as a driven element?
Thanks for commenting! Determining the impedance of the wire can be done with an antenna analyzer and also by modelling the antenna. I basically go with known lengths and trim to suit. It would probably a good idea to do a video on that topic thanks. All the best and 73, Walt
Please do because I don't know what you mean by modeling. Please know that I am old and come from the TUBE days. Having a hard time with all the digital crap for the general test because of that. Wish I had gotten my General much earlier before all this digital stuff. LOL...@@COASTALWAVESWIRES
And here I was scared you were going to pull up a Smith chart(kidding!). Thanks for the simplified approach of impedance matching coax/feed line to the antenna.
Great explanation on baluns/ununs.....thanks!! For wire antennas though, are baluns and ununs primarily just a tool for connecting the wire to the coax....and doing that in a way that will closely match up the two with a transformer, (as well as to keep RF from making its way back to the radio)? I have my first HF radio on the way, and I ordered a manual tuner as well, since I thought it was a good idea to always use one. If I'm understanding correctly, the two options are....1) to use a balun/unun so you don't need a tuner and 2) to use a tuner with a choke so you don't need a balun/unun and just connect with a banana clip? In other words....using balun/ununs keeps the equipment to a minimum and gets you on the air quicker? Seems obvious now that I think about it.....but confirmation that I'm thinking correctly is appreciated.
Check your Balun/Unun. I bought a cheap 4:1 balun and installed it on a 17-5 antenna. Could not get the antenna to work properly. Narrowed the problem down to the balun. Took the balun apart and realized it was wired just opposite. It was a 1:4 instead of a 4:1. Simple to unsolder and rewired. That fixed the problem. SWR on 20 meters was less than 1.5:1. Probably rare problem but it can occur.
An excellent explanation as always Walt. It makes sense to those who don't know. However, there is one basic assumption that most YTers make, they assume that a budding antenna builder knows what the impedances are to start with for a prticular aerial configuration, I recall I think DC showing a dipole fed in the centre = 50 ohms and then moving the feed point to one end until it became an EFLW and the impedance was as high as it was "going to get". Obviously the baluns for this would start at 1:1 going through 4:1, 9:1 and so forth on to 49:1, maybe that is a reference diagram that needs drawing by somebody? Then there could be coverage of those in the 64:1 range or special configurations? Just a thought - 73 de Terry
Maybe there is a market for a digital power meter that shows SWR and the impedance figure? I know that you can get meters to measure the impedance, but to have it on a straightforward 3 in one meter (that doesn't need a tutorial to remember how to drive it every time) would be a handy bit of kit? @@COASTALWAVESWIRES
Thank you for simplifying this for newbs like me. Follow up question: how do you know the impedance of your antenna? Where’d you get 2450 ohms for the end fed half wave?
For the $30 an LDG UNUN or BALUN costs, you also get their product literature. This page supplies a nice quick reference chart for which transformer ratio to use with which antenna and when to use a 1:1. The reference is almost worth the $30 by itself!
So does that mean that the antenna tuner is doing the same matching, but between the transmitter and the coax? I guess the impedance of the amplifier output would change depending on what frequency you've selected, and that's why you need a whole other device? Because it seems that transmitter manufacturers could reasonably predict that 50 ohm coax is what they're gonna see on the output side otherwise. Maybe you could clarify antenna tuners in another vid, but this was really clear and simple for explaining the un/bal-un concept - thanks!
Thanks for watching. Yes the tuner is pretty much doing the same thing at the feed point. Basically with the random wire antennas and the 9:1 the idea is to get the match close enough for the tuner to somewhat "fine tune" it. Great idea, I'll look into doing a video on antenna tuners. 73, Walt
This video helped me for sure. One thing that would have made it the GOAT Bal/Un/Un video would have been to tie in the mantra that you should just try it. Show us the impact of no Bal/Un and then show the beatiful matching impedence after. So, will you still make a contact using a 4 to 1 instead of 9 to 1? Will you make a contact with a 49 to 1 or without?
The real question is “would your transceiver’s tuner tune the antenna with a 9:1 instead of a 4:1 or 49:1” the answer is probably not because the purpose of using a 4:1 versus a 9:1 versus at 49:1 is to make the feedpoint impedance as close to 50 ohms to match the coax and radio. You may even be able to tune one of the others with a different transformer but have greater loss in the coax and out of the antenna meaning not making that contact.
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES the good news is, I totally understand now. In theory anyway. I'll be putting it into practice very soon! Love the videos. Keep em coming.
Thank you for your inspiring video. I am starting with HF and have space for a End Fed Random Wire of about 12 meters. I hope this will give me some possibilities on 10, 20 & 40 meter. How do i measure what the impedance of that wire is, so i know what ratio of Unun i need in order to transform it down to 50 Ohms. Thank you and 73's ... Bert
Good simple explanation, I understand now the need and differences between baluns and ununs and what antennas they are used on. As a shortage listener only, will I notice a difference if I match the balun/ununs to my antenna type?
This is the stuff every other Armature Radio TH-cam channel just glosses over because they think it's common knowledge without thinking of the newbies trying to get into the hobby. Thank you for explaining things in simple terms beginners can understand. This is also the best video I've watched on the subject!
I didn't get into armature radio to nerd flex on other nerds. I'm into armature radio because I'm legitimately excited on how it all works. We all want more people to play radio with. Thank you again for helping more people get into the hobby.
Nerd flex - excellent and absolutely right.
not to nerd flex but armature doesn't mean what you think it does
4 hours before my amature radio exam tonight.. the text book gave a way too complex explanation, so your 9 minutes here may have saved my bacon :)
How are you getting on 7 months later?
You pased right?
@@RichardEnglander Trust me, the day i pass that exam, you will know it... im getting more and more correct answers every time i fail, so projections are I'll pass some time in the next decade :(
Great explanation Walt, concise and to the point to help beginners understand the fine points of antenna building. This is why I really like and recommend the videos on your channel. Also that's a nice Hammarlund in the background, I have an HQ-160 that I have had since my teen years in the mid 1970s! I started out with it listening to shortwave in my teens and it stoked my interest in ham radio.
Thanks! I was heavily into shortwave in my teens as well. I got that HQ-180 by luck a couple years ago. My neighbor across the street found it in his attic and gave it to me.
I did SWL as a teen as well using a Heathkit. It later got me interested in ham radio as well.
@redstickham6394
@COSTALWAVESWIRES
Similar situation here. I listened to short-wave in the late 1960s getting many DX broadcast stations using a long wire antenna in my parents attic. But I didn't get into Ham radio until very recently.
Thank you, first time I think I understand the difference between UNUN and BALUN. I get lost quickly when David Cassler starts drawing on the whiteboard giving likely correct but very complicated answers to simple questions 😅
Thanks for the great comment!
That’s exactly what I was referring to 😂
Agree with you I don’t care much for Dave. I just can’t relate to him, no disrespect
Different learning styles. I need to have the “why” stuff to internalize information. But I understand that most people learn better with technique vs theory. So this video left me unsatisfied. But it works for many (most) people. Awesome that we have so many Elmers right here in one place (TH-cam)!
@@Frisky0563 I like Dave. He's like a gnome in his workshop trying to explain the hardships of Santa to the elves. Honestly, I mean that in a good way. But yeah, he talks in his language from his perspective. I have noticed that sometimes even he isn't technically correct even if in a practical sense he is. I think it comes down to what people are familiar and comfortable with. I like gnomes. ☺Cheers.
@@mewintle I'm the same way in needing to know the why and how of things for them to fit and stick into their place in my understanding of things to see and figure out how things work in relationship with each other and what needs to be done when. While it isn't perfect of course, things such as the water analogy for electrical circuits have gone a very long way for me. Taking that further, RF is perhaps a bit like sonar... 🙊Cheers.
I didn't even need to watch the whole thing and knew this video was needed. Thanks Walt for putting it together. Great primer for LDG products!
Thanks!!!
Just getting back into the HF side of the hobby after some 20 years of inactivity. Originally licensed in 1980. This video is a great example of why this is my favorite ham radio YT channel. Thanks much, Walt, and 73.
Tim, W4TAF
Thanks Walt. I’m a new ham and finding simplified information isn’t easy. Too many content creators talk over the new guy’s head. I don’t know if they fear that dumbing it down will cost them views by more experienced operators, or if they just assume that we come in with a certain amount of knowledge. Anyway, I truly appreciate your content. Your DXing videos are what pushed me to get my general ticket and buy a G90. Hopefully I will catch up to you on the air sometime. Thanks and 73!
Good explanation. Many former Elmer's are smiling down on you from the great beyond. I agree that the KISS way of explaining things is the best approach.
Thank you so much! 73, Walt
Thank you Walt for giving me a good basic understanding of baluns and ununs. You gave me a good understanding of why they are used and what type of antennas these transformers should be used on. You gave me a great foundation to build on. Other TH-cam videos explain the windings and turn ratios, etc. without explaining why and where they are used. You are a great teacher/instructor. Thank you very much.
Thank you for watching and for the kind words!
Walt, THANKS! As you know, I have been a long-time Ham, but I am new to building antennas. And you were right. This is the video I needed to watch. I have a list of notes to stick in my POTA case to help me in the field. Thanks again for all you do to help this amazing community. 73s.
Love the simplicity of your explanation Walt, thank you so very much for putting that out there.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
Thanks for a no nonsense, no ego video. One of my favourite channels. 👍🏻
Thank you so very much! 73, Walt
I've been searching for a while now for a simplistic, concise, yet understandable explanation of UNUNs and BALUNs. You have provided it in this excellent video.
Thank you so much for this. Subbed!
Thanks for subscribing!
Good job addressing the issue. While I have an in-depth understanding of electronics, I have just rekindled interest in HAM after 60 years and could not understand the jargon of "ununs" and "baluns" until you video on the subject. I am now a subscriber and look forward to future content. Thank you.
Simple, explained well for the beginner, your channel is great as its no nonsense to the point with simplicity, well done Walt. Im sure we all appreciate your time.
Thank you so very much! 73, Walt
Many years ago (during my CB days) I learned a balun can be a really neat thing. But you have to be willing to experiment a little. Someone gave me a 4-element beam which had an insulated dipole driven element with a hairpin match (He did not know how to feed it). Not wanting to try and feed it directly with coax (did that with another similar beam one time with poor results), I decided to try and feed it with a 1:1 balun. Since the dipole driver would have a 75-ohm feed point impedance, I connected the balanced side to the hairpin, and used 75-ohm coax to feed it (not CATV coax). All I can say is 'wow'! Not only did the antenna work very well, it was also the quietest antenna I have ever had. The SWR measured at 1.3:1, and I could hear signals others could not, especially in dry-air Santa Ana conditions when the air becomes 'charged' and a lot of static is present. The hairpin match provided an awesome DC ground which, in combination with the balun, provided a virtually noise-free beam. I used it for many years before a wind finally blew it down. Wish I still had it!
Thanks so much for the clearest explanation I have seen.
Thank you for delivering! Great video as always Walt.
Thank you for watching and commenting!
Thank you for taking the time to make, explain and publish the video.
Thank you for taking the time to watch!
Year's ago I remember a schematic where I built a tuned matching circuit consisting of a air coil and a small vari cap for a 2 meter 1/2 wave antenna for a ht.
It worked quite well, I believe one could be built for a single hf band as well.
I'm just getting back into Ham and am starting in HF. Your videos are invaluable. Thanks!
Walt, thanks for the info! Today I decided to build a 41' random wire. I was impressed with the fact that my 7300 tuned across all of the bands. Unfortunately for me I didn't have the means to get it up in the air very high so incoming signals were kind of weak. Next spring we'll get it up higher to see how it performs.
Walt, very nice explanations. For those who requested this video let me say Google is your friend. Read. The more you read your retention becomes greater. Is it more work? Yes but it makes you think. Over time all the pieces fall into place. Still confused? Keep reading until it clicks. It doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll be glad you did.
Thanks and roger that!!!
This is the best explanation I've gotten, I think I finally understand it! Thank you and 73 de KC1JMH
Thanks so much for watching and commenting! 73, Walt
Thanks Walt. Aerospace engineer myself and getting into the hobby...lots to learn, which makes it interesting.
Thanks for watching and commenting. It’s such a great hobby and you are right lots to learn.
Nicely explained. I understand them now, bit of a mystery before. Now I'm motivated to build one.
Aloha Walt, I just bought the LDG 4:1 and the LDG 9:1 Unun based on two of your videos. I love random wire and telescopic antennas with my Xiegu G90’s. ❤
I learn sooooo much from your videos. My hat is off to all the hams who learned the art of Ham Radio prior to the You Tube era. Best regards from Texas!!
Love the ol Hammarlund radio. I had an HX145. Probably like yours without the clock. Vintage 1963, just like me.
That radio has an incredible story. It belonged to a SK that lived in the house across the street from me. He died decades ago and the people that own the house now told me there was an old radio in the attic I could have if I would climb up there and get it. Well, there it is in my shack.
Thanks for making it easier for
Us newbies. Keeps us interested in the hobby and not so overwhelmed
Thanks for watching and commenting. 73, Walt
Hey man, thank you for this video. Very helpful. I’m an SWL trying to learn more about antennas. TYFP!
Hey Walt - a masterful job. These aspects of antennas, etc. always seem to elude me, but NOT anymore! Thanks, be well and 73, Rich W2FKN
Thank you for the kind words Rich! 73 my friend
I keep revisiting this topic, and man, this was the perfect video for me to bookmark and keep coming back to!!! How do you not have 100K subscribers yet?
Thank you so much for the kind words. Maybe someday!
Best channel on TH-cam. Thanks Walt for another great video!
Thank you so much for the kind words!!
Thanks Walt a good explanation of ununs and baluns, I look forward to your further videos in 2024. Happy new year and best 73s from Ireland.
Thank you and Happy New Year! 73, Walt
Excellent as it will help a lot of people new to amateur radio
We live on the far eastern fringe of the Los Angeles area, in San Bernardino County, and my stereo systems AM/FM receiver struggles to pull in even the mighty KFI 640kz signal with their tower located not that far away. Everything else is just noise. So far, I'm just using the wimpy post-card sized wound wire antenna that came with my receiver, which only excels at bringing in noise from our lights and other electronics.
Now I'm no ham operator. I was an avionics tech and airborne radio operator on USCG aircraft in the distant 70's, and I've been a fan of the AM band, static and all, since I was a kid.
I recently found a Radio Shack longwire antenna kit amid my garage debris, and thought I might string it up on the roof, going from one chimneys the other and then across the roof a bit more. The twisted copper antenna wire in the kit is about 75-80 feet long. Way short for full wave or even half wave
So I'm not TXing here, just RX. Should I go with the full 80 feet or trim it down?
To use the full length, I'd have to dog-leg it, up to 90 degrees or so. Would this degrade my reception, or possibly improve off axis reception?
I'll be using maybe 20 feet of 50 ohm coax for a lead-in. Would I benefit from a unrun? (Something I never even heard of before).
Anyway, any help is greatly appreciated. Great and Informative video.
George
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Nice, easy to understand explanation of Baluns & UnUns!
Thank you!!!
I was just driving by and saw this. 🤣Good job Walt. We (the "ham fam") need to talk more about this subject. There is SO much to learn! 73 OM
Hahaha Roger that my friend!
Another great video. Would love if you did a basic video on how to get the G90 on the air and what sets to start at and what they do.
Thanks! I will try to di that soon.
That would be awsome! Thank you@@COASTALWAVESWIRES
I especially liked the use of the hands and arms to demonstrate the matching of the antenna and feedline... ;)
Hahaha I’m one of those guys that talks with my hands.
That was clear and concise and no nonsense.
I’ve subscribed.
Thank you very much!
Walt.. Thanks for this.. I'm about to do a "Choke" video and was doing some research and this popped up! Still confused when I would EVER use an Unun..!! LOL
Thanks for watching Callum! Yes you definitely do not need an unun with your antennas hahaha All the best and 73 my friend!
THESE VIDEOS ARE EXTREMELY HELPFUL….MANY THANKS
Absolutely great explanation - distilled to the essentials!
Thank you! 73, Walt
The picture ( Giovanni Boccasile)you see behind you shows that you are not only a great technician but also a classy person
Thank you! I love that picture
Thank you ! This video helped me to understand the antennas a little better!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
73, Walt
Finally Im understanding this topic better. Thank you for this video Walt!! Newbie here
Thanks for watching and commenting! I'm glad it helped!
Very nice simple to understand explanation.
Thank you!
Thank you, Walt. 🙂 I got the basic thought (matching the feed point impedance to the impedance of the coax, and to what the transceiver expects). However, what I do not yet understand is why the 1st random wire antenna in the video has 300..360 Ohms, whereas th 2nd one has 150..250 Ohms and thus they need different UnUns. The table you showed suggests that it has to do with the length of the driven element, as the ones above 8 m require 9:1 as opposed to the 4:1 of the shorter ones. Is that feed impedance something that one can calculate/measure to make the right choice for the UnUn ratio? If so, how? 🤔
Wait - seems like my question is obsolete: I just found your other videos "Antenna Wire Length - Demystifying Feedpoint Impedance" ... 🙂
Oh that’s great and thank you for supporting the channel!!! 73, Walt
Walt this is Gold!! It would nifty to talk about more of this!!! Keep up the Great Work!!! 73 de N9RAN
Those splaining glasses does the work! Easy to understand for new hams!
Hahaha those splaining glasses work!
Thank you for the useful information. Thanks for simplifying it for us dummies , as it is very confusing.
Really good tutorial here, thanks so much since I am a newbie here...
Great video 👍👍👍 Knowledge about where to use 1:1 , 1:9 or 1:49 is a must.
Thank you so much my friend!
I'm in Massachusetts, love to drive down and watch you operate someday as a newbie.
Thanks so much a good clear explanation that I can understand and helps me learn.
thank you at last someone who gives it over simply.
Thank you so much for watching! 73, Walt
Thanks Walt, very much appreciated, now we have an idea why a Baluns and a Ununs is required....also explains why some home built antennas SWR OK work and some don't.
Thanks for watching and commenting! 73, Walt
As a fellow ham, Greatly appreciated the breakdown and explanation as this always confused me.
Thanks Walt. That was helpful. I had a couple EE classes in college 40 years ago when I earned my mechanical engineering degree, but there was zero material about RF antenna design. A friend of mine has a MS in EE and even that didn't cover much about RF. It was mostly IC design and signal processing for him. If the terminology was unbalanced match and balanced match versus unun and balun that would go some distance. The next step would be describe the circuit in a balun and the circuit in an unun and explain why it works for each type of antenna, respectively.
Thanks! I’m not sure if TH-cam is ready for a structural design engineer to break down the circuit design of a balun or unun but I guess I could give it a try LOL. All the best and 73, Walt
Thank you… my confusion is no longer there. Your explanation is simple and correct. Your material (IMO) should be thought and provided in our question pools. So many ridiculous questions that are not relevant. 🎙️W1FYG
Thanks so much for the kind words my friend! Hope you are doing well.
Great explanation Walt. Thanks.
Thank you! 73 my friend
Great video giving an easy to understand explanation. When I got licensed, UnUns weren't really being used but now they seem to be pretty popular. I had a random wire(not sure how long it was) antenna that was fed with single wire that went straight into the tuner. I wonder who many hams still do that? It worked well but on some bands the RF in the shack made the rig go a little haywire if the power was up too high. Your videos are always informative. Keep up the great work.
Thank you so much! I’ve been thinking about building a long wire antenna with that TenTec antenna coupler I showed in the video. So it would pretty much be like your antenna you described. 73 my friend!
that was a great explanation for an overview.
Very clear and helpful, thank you.
Thanks Walt, easy to follow and very helpful.👍
Thank you! 73 my friend
New guy here. Trying to build my shack and scared to death of lightning strikes as we get them fairly regularly. Antennas seem to be the most complicated part of radio. Proper grounding is the concern I'm trying to learn about most.
Earth grounding is important for permanent installs. Most of what I'm showing here are portable antennas.
Really useful presentation thank you
Thank you! 73, Walt
Another great explanation of something I was wondering about.
Thanks! 73, Walt
Good explanation! For those who only listen to shortwave, we don't get this knowledge like hams do.
Thanks for watching! I’m a SWL guy myself.
Hey Walt! another great video! I like making my own, rather than buy them. When you describe the impedance in ohms, That is exactly how you test them. I have resistors soldered together that approximate the EFHW, Random wire, or delta loop. Connect them to the antenna connection and the counterpoise connection or to the shield side of the coax. Then connect your swr meter, and if they give a close to 1:1 reading, you know they will do the job. When you make your own, you can tweak the windings, and tune them up even more. Have you seen the Gabil GRA-HF750T antenna setup? You can turn your qrp rigs into an HF walkie talkie with these. Add a short counterpoise and they will amaze you.
That's great info, thanks for sharing!
Just got my Gabil. I loooooove it.
Very good explanation. Thanks
Great explanation of a very deep subject.
Thank you!
Thanks Walt! That was a great video. BTW I just got the cool N4WIS qsl card from Joe.
Thanks! Awesome, glad you got the card!
The sum total of my knowledge as learnt for my foundation licence (oh errr !). UnUn - unbalanced to unbalanced . Balun - Balanced to Unbalanced. The rest is down to magic. 73 and Happy New Year to all.
Happy New Year and 73!
Good stuff, thanks, it makes it clear now. I need different transformers for different antennas if messing with them, cheers from UK.
Mike
Thank you! 73, Walt
Walt, your videos are so great and easy to understand. Thank you for simply breaking this topic down and easy to understand. Where or how do you build that cool on air sign? That looks awesome!
Thanks!
Thanks so very much Kevin! 73
So you helped build Ocean Beach huh? LOL..... Well you figured out the plans and the structures and I nailed them together. Started my construction career in Newport Beach back in 75 when I got out of the service. Lived on a boat in the back bay while learning to pound nails and string wire. 73 and thanks for the great video. Still a little to learn about these things. Like how do you determine the impedance of the wire you are connecting to the ballun as a driven element?
Thanks for commenting! Determining the impedance of the wire can be done with an antenna analyzer and also by modelling the antenna. I basically go with known lengths and trim to suit. It would probably a good idea to do a video on that topic thanks. All the best and 73, Walt
Please do because I don't know what you mean by modeling. Please know that I am old and come from the TUBE days. Having a hard time with all the digital crap for the general test because of that. Wish I had gotten my General much earlier before all this digital stuff. LOL...@@COASTALWAVESWIRES
Excellent explanation! I really enjoy all your videos, cheers!
Thank you! 73, Walt
Simple and clear explained . 👍🏻
Thank you and thanks for watching!
And here I was scared you were going to pull up a Smith chart(kidding!). Thanks for the simplified approach of impedance matching coax/feed line to the antenna.
hahaha thanks for watching!
Great video thanks, short and simple 👍👍
Thanks!!!
Great explanation on baluns/ununs.....thanks!! For wire antennas though, are baluns and ununs primarily just a tool for connecting the wire to the coax....and doing that in a way that will closely match up the two with a transformer, (as well as to keep RF from making its way back to the radio)? I have my first HF radio on the way, and I ordered a manual tuner as well, since I thought it was a good idea to always use one. If I'm understanding correctly, the two options are....1) to use a balun/unun so you don't need a tuner and 2) to use a tuner with a choke so you don't need a balun/unun and just connect with a banana clip? In other words....using balun/ununs keeps the equipment to a minimum and gets you on the air quicker? Seems obvious now that I think about it.....but confirmation that I'm thinking correctly is appreciated.
Great explanation Walt!
Thank you!!
Check your Balun/Unun. I bought a cheap 4:1 balun and installed it on a 17-5 antenna. Could not get the antenna to work properly. Narrowed the problem down to the balun. Took the balun apart and realized it was wired just opposite. It was a 1:4 instead of a 4:1. Simple to unsolder and rewired. That fixed the problem. SWR on 20 meters was less than 1.5:1. Probably rare problem but it can occur.
An excellent explanation as always Walt. It makes sense to those who don't know. However, there is one basic assumption that most YTers make, they assume that a budding antenna builder knows what the impedances are to start with for a prticular aerial configuration, I recall I think DC showing a dipole fed in the centre = 50 ohms and then moving the feed point to one end until it became an EFLW and the impedance was as high as it was "going to get".
Obviously the baluns for this would start at 1:1 going through 4:1, 9:1 and so forth on to 49:1, maybe that is a reference diagram that needs drawing by somebody? Then there could be coverage of those in the 64:1 range or special configurations?
Just a thought - 73 de Terry
Good thought Terry, 73 Walt
Maybe there is a market for a digital power meter that shows SWR and the impedance figure? I know that you can get meters to measure the impedance, but to have it on a straightforward 3 in one meter (that doesn't need a tutorial to remember how to drive it every time) would be a handy bit of kit? @@COASTALWAVESWIRES
Thank you for simplifying this for newbs like me. Follow up question: how do you know the impedance of your antenna? Where’d you get 2450 ohms for the end fed half wave?
For the $30 an LDG UNUN or BALUN costs, you also get their product literature. This page supplies a nice quick reference chart for which transformer ratio to use with which antenna and when to use a 1:1. The reference is almost worth the $30 by itself!
Great video! I have to ask how do you find the impedance of your antenna wire? Thanks!
Nicely done Walt! Thanks, Don / KM4SON
Thanks Don!!
I used to stomp around OB! I miss Newport, and sunset cliffs.
Very well said. Enjoying going thru your videos and getting some new ideas.
Thank you! 73, Walt
Great video. This is the video of yours I have watched. Have you made a video on how to find the impedance of an unknown antenna?
Thanks! No I haven’t but that would be a great topic. 73
thanks for the post, as always it was very helpful.
Thanks for watching!
So does that mean that the antenna tuner is doing the same matching, but between the transmitter and the coax? I guess the impedance of the amplifier output would change depending on what frequency you've selected, and that's why you need a whole other device? Because it seems that transmitter manufacturers could reasonably predict that 50 ohm coax is what they're gonna see on the output side otherwise. Maybe you could clarify antenna tuners in another vid, but this was really clear and simple for explaining the un/bal-un concept - thanks!
Thanks for watching. Yes the tuner is pretty much doing the same thing at the feed point. Basically with the random wire antennas and the 9:1 the idea is to get the match close enough for the tuner to somewhat "fine tune" it. Great idea, I'll look into doing a video on antenna tuners. 73, Walt
This video helped me for sure. One thing that would have made it the GOAT Bal/Un/Un video would have been to tie in the mantra that you should just try it. Show us the impact of no Bal/Un and then show the beatiful matching impedence after.
So, will you still make a contact using a 4 to 1 instead of 9 to 1? Will you make a contact with a 49 to 1 or without?
The real question is “would your transceiver’s tuner tune the antenna with a 9:1 instead of a 4:1 or 49:1” the answer is probably not because the purpose of using a 4:1 versus a 9:1 versus at 49:1 is to make the feedpoint impedance as close to 50 ohms to match the coax and radio. You may even be able to tune one of the others with a different transformer but have greater loss in the coax and out of the antenna meaning not making that contact.
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES the good news is, I totally understand now. In theory anyway. I'll be putting it into practice very soon! Love the videos. Keep em coming.
@@tsp2jxd thanks! Hope to catch you on the air!
Thank you for your inspiring video. I am starting with HF and have space for a End Fed Random Wire of about 12 meters. I hope this will give me some possibilities on 10, 20 & 40 meter. How do i measure what the impedance of that wire is, so i know what ratio of Unun i need in order to transform it down to 50 Ohms. Thank you and 73's ... Bert
Hi Bert, checkout this website. It will give you a better understanding:
www.hamuniverse.com/randomwireantennalengths.html
Good simple explanation, I understand now the need and differences between baluns and ununs and what antennas they are used on. As a shortage listener only, will I notice a difference if I match the balun/ununs to my antenna type?