"noname" wrote in message
...



Again, this is an entirely a new setup which has not been installed
yet. What I'm seeking here is some input on the best way to do that.
I'm fairly familiar with the basics of dipole antennas, but hoping for
some solid advice from those with a lot more experience than my own.


Matching issues aside, common thinking on the balun issue is that it greatly
attenuates current on the outside of the coax.

In certain rare cases, I suppose such current could be a good thing, giving
additional radiation in a desired direction, but I'd never try to predict it
or control it. Use the balun because the benefits of keeping the RF "out
there" are considerable: Less TVI, no false ringing of your telephones, less
squawking from your computer speakers, no computer mouse or keyboard doing
its own thing, no cable modem resetting itself, no RF burns on your
fingertips (although there are other ways to get them, hi-hi).

The lack of a balun may not cause every listed malady, above, but that's a
short list of some that I have caused or witnessed from a quick-rig antenna
that didn't have a balun. They went away when one was installed.