Posts Tagged ‘Choke’
The 1:1 isolation choke do-over.
January 18th, 2023 | 
Author:
 |
| New 1:1 choke with RG316 coax |
I have the Hustler 4BTV vertical antenna and have a 1:1 choke at the base of the antenna made by Balun designs. Some time ago I made a second choke that was placed at the radio end and posted the build here on the blog. I had a few comments regarding the coax that I used (RG8X) and that there could be an issue with the bending radius of the coax around the core. I was informed that over time the centre conductor could migrate toward the braid.
I also did some internet searching and found that the bending radius could pose an issue and I know the "issue" if and when it happened would do so at the most inopportune time. I decided to make another 1:1 choke from a thinner coax. I did have some RG316 coax from a mobile antenna mount I was not using and it would be ideal for the tight turning radius.On one end of the coax, there was a mini-UHF to PL-259 adapter which meant I only had to add one PL-259 connector. I will be using again an FT240-31 core with 10 turns. I decided on 10 turns as this will afford me decent characteristics on the HF bands. Using the RG316 coax the bending radius is no longer an issue.
Ham Radio & PLT devices
In recent stories I have heard audio samples and read stories of how these devices can create S9+20db of noise. Thus reducing the amateur bands unusable.
I wanted to see for myself the effect of using PLT devices in my property. So I visited PC World and purchased 2 devices from NetGear. The Powerline 500 promise 500Mbit/s and this would solve a huge problem I have in my home right now, but feared for what it would do to my beloved radio.
The results were interesting and nothing what I expected. You can see my full test in the video below – but for a spoiler alert keep reading....
The results were - It did nothing. It had zero effect on any of the bands I use at home. After the video I monitored the shortwave bands and tried other frequencies. Again, nothing. I tried it while the network was busy - I streamed 4K films and copied a 25Gb file. Guess what. Nothing.
The moral ? – Don’t believe the hype.
Ham Radio & PLT devices
In recent stories I have heard audio samples and read stories of how these devices can create S9+20db of noise. Thus reducing the amateur bands unusable.
I wanted to see for myself the effect of using PLT devices in my property. So I visited PC World and purchased 2 devices from NetGear. The Powerline 500 promise 500Mbit/s and this would solve a huge problem I have in my home right now, but feared for what it would do to my beloved radio.
The results were interesting and nothing what I expected. You can see my full test in the video below – but for a spoiler alert keep reading....
The results were - It did nothing. It had zero effect on any of the bands I use at home. After the video I monitored the shortwave bands and tried other frequencies. Again, nothing. I tried it while the network was busy - I streamed 4K films and copied a 25Gb file. Guess what. Nothing.
The moral ? – Don’t believe the hype.
