They who discuss "power radiated from the feedline", yet are unable to
measure (in watts) or calculate (in watts) the MAGNITUDE of the
effect, belong to a set of waffling old wives.

How is it possible to decide whether or not a choke or balun is
needed, and where to locate it, unless the magnitude of what one MIGHT
wish to prevent is known.

Do we always, without valid reason, just copy the practical
construction details from ARRL handbooks, on the grounds that if it
once worked OK for somebody else it might work for me.

But of course, you'll never get to know, having copied a very simple
system which contains a choke, unless you remove the choke and observe
what happens to system performance. Or alternatively, add a choke if
the ARRL handbook implies that you don't need one, and then make more
observations.

My guess is that in many cases hardly anything will happen or be
noticed. Simply because the MAGNITUDE of the effects due to line
radiation is too small to be of consequence or detected even.

If you can't measure or calculate the MAGNITUDE of the effects, stop
worrying about it.

The frequency at which "radiation from the line" is mentioned in this
newsgroup is out of all proportion to its importance. There's a
tendency to drag it into the discussion because it is the last of the
few remaining technical topics available to argue about. You have at
least heard about the subject in the magazines.

The very last, of course, will be SWR. Because there is a meter which
supposedly measures it but doesn't. And it is difficult to argue
against meter users, such as Bird, suffering from delusions of
accuracy, who are invariably convinced they are right.
----
Reg, G4FGQ