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How can I test how well a choke balun is performing? I know how to test a
transformer balun, but am cluless as how I can compare several different choke balun approaches. One possible method comes to mind... use an RF current probe to see how much RF is actually flowing on the outside of your feedline. I've seen plans for such probes, made from a clamp-on ferrite choke core and winding (making a simple RF transformer) plus a diode, cap, and meter. In order to distinguish conducted RF (which the balun would be expected to be able to stop) from induced RF from the antenna itself (which would probably go right around the balun) you might want to try disconnecting the antenna itself from the output of the balun, and substituting an equivalent resistance/reactance at the frequency of interest. Push a few watts into the "dummy load", run the current probe down the feedline from the balun to your rig, and see what the peak current is. Repeat at multiple frequencies, and (if practical) with different feedline lengths. Using a half-wavelength-long coaxial feedline would probably maximize the sensitivity of the test, as it would present a low RF impedance on the outside of the coax at the "bottom" of the current balun. Repeat with other current baluns and compare. To be complete, I suppose that you'd also want to measure the temperature of each balun before and after a high-power test, to try to get some feeling for the amount of loss in the balun itself. -- Dave Platt AE6EO Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads! |
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