Balanced ANT help

[biferi]

I was readding about Un Balanenced and Balanced ANT on the net and I wanted to know if I unstand it right?

A Dypole ANT has Left and Right ANT Arms.
Now coming from the Left Arm will be a Coaxle Cable and coming from the Right Arm will be a Coaxle Cable.

And the Two Cables will connect in the center of the ANT. to a Balun.

Now from the Balun will come one Coaxle Cable that will go into the Shortwave Radio RIGHT???

 

[W5LZ]

A typical balun used with a dipole has three connection points. One for the left side wire, one for the right side wire, and usually an SO-239 that the coax feed line screws onto. The other end of that coax screws onto the radio.
Some baluns have eyelets that hold the wire before that wire is connected to a terminal, strain relief, etc. Some are constructed differently. No idea which balun type you may have so can't say exactly how to connect anything to it. That ought'a get you close anyway.
- 'Doc

 

[biferi]

I thought that a Balanced ant. was when the one Coaxle Cable connected to eatch side of the ant. Then came to a center point and whent to the radio????????????????????

 

[Dealer]

I thought that a Balanced ant. was when the one Coaxle Cable connected to eatch side of the ant. Then came to a center point and whent to the radio????????????????????

______________________________________________________________________________________

Forget About Coax as an antenna OK.

Coax is a Unbalanced Line, and is usually used as a feed line.

The antenna in its self will be Wire of some guage 12,14,16 ect..
and can be used with or without insulation on it.
It can be solid or stranded wire.

You can use BALANCED feedline ie. 300 ohm 450 ohm ect. or coax as a feed line...

So far I have described a send and receive antenna, Because of your reference to a
two side antenna going to a balun.

If we are talking about a sortwave antenna then a long wire is usually in order.
Depending on your radio, It will have some bearing on the type of feedline used.

My Icom R-71A likes coax as a feed line. However the antenna its self is wire.
Not all radios have the trait that mine does.

READ<Read read on the webb and get it right in your mind, then it will all make sense.


Best Regards, John
KD5WJY

 

[W5LZ]

A balanced antenna is one that's two 'sides' are equal. Bad way of putting it but the simplest way. All antennas have two 'sides'. One is usually recognized as a general 'antenna shaped' thingy, the other 'side' (what that recognizable part 'works against', uses for "ground" which is a really terrible way of saying it) can be almost anything as long as it provides the necessary electrical characteristics (metal car body for instance). Huge number of "buts" and "ifs" in that, and I would suggest more reading like 'Dealer' said. For someone who has no understanding about antennas, this isn't simple at all. For those that have some understanding about antennas, it still isn't 'simple', but a lot simple'er, sort of. Because there are also a huge number of internet sites that don't have things exactly right, I would suggest a few of them old fashion paper books. And unless you are doing this stuff profesionally, I'd suggest those books coming from the ham community. Not because they are more 'correct', but because they are definitely simpler.
For only listening, I honestly wouldn't bother with a balun. Transmitters are 'picky' about such things as balance and impedance matching (what baluns do, sort of), but receivers aren't very 'picky' at all. Typically don't need a balun. It's your choice though!
- 'Doc

 

[biferi]

Coaxle feed

OK ok I am sorry I don't think I told you it right.

I am going to use a Coaxle Cable just as a feed Line to go from my ANT. to my Shortwave Radio.

And I am going to use just Wire for the Left side and Right side of the ANT Arms.

Now what I need is this?
When I use the Coaxle Feed Line to go fromn my Radio to my ANT when it gets to my ANT. I need it to screew into a Device of some kind.

That Device will then let me connect the Left wire to it and the Right wire to it.

And this is how it will go.
The Coaxle Feeed Line will go from my Radio to my ANT but befor it gets to the ANT I will put a PL-259 connector on it.

Then the PL-259 connector can screew onto the SO-239 connector.
It is the SO-239 connector that will let me connect the Left and Right wire to it that make up the arms.

Do I have it now???

 

[W5LZ]

That's basically it, you got it. It does help if that SO-239 is mounted on an insulating plate to make things easier to do that connecting. Doesn't have to be very large, just big enough to mount that connector on, and some space on each side to put a hole to hold the ends of that wire. Whatever that 'plate' is has to be strong enough to hold up under the strain of those wires and the feed line pulling on it. After that, it's more or less whatever you happen to have or can find, sort of. Something the size of 4" on a side should be plenty big enough (more than big enough, but oh well).
- 'Doc


Got a local window shop? See if they happen to have any scrap plastic used as screen door windows, whatever.

 

[ajm1571]

Before I got my ticket I had a swan 350 that had NO mic so it was used just for receive, like a shortwave radio. All I used for an antenna was a really long piece of satellite cable (80-100ft) with a pl-259 soldered on one end to go into radio. I laid the antenna on ground an ran it through the wall to the swan. I pretty much could listen to everything between 10-80m with ease. Now the messed up part, it stayed that way all winter with over 3ft of snow on it and still heard the upper peninsula of Michigan at 10 over 9! Not saying that will work for what you want, but worked for me.

 

[biferi]

connectors help

I can't find the PL-259 connector and the SO-239 connector.

What are the real names?
Thankx

 

[Beetle]

Those ARE the real names.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I can't find the PL-259 connector and the SO-239 connector.

What are the real names?
Thankx

PL-259 = UHF Male

SO-239 = UHF Female