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Inherently balanced ATUs reported an experiment to measure the balance of a simulation of Cebik’s “inherently balanced ATU”, and following articles explored balance in some different scenarios, but none of them real antenna scenarios.

As pointed out in the articles, the solutions cannot be simply extended to real antenna scenarios. Nevertheless, it might provoke thinking about the performance of some types of so-called balanced ATUs,  indeed the naive nonsense of an “inherently balanced ATU”.
Continue reading Inherently balanced ATUs – part 4

Inherently balanced ATUs reported an experiment to measure the balance of a simulation of Cebik’s “inherently balanced ATU”.

This article reports the same asymmetric load using the MFJ-949E internal voltage balun.

The third experiment

The test circuit is an MFJ-949E T match ATU jumpered to use the internal balun and resistors of 50Ω and 100Ω connected from those terminals to provide a slightly asymmetric load.

The voltage between ground and each of the output terminals was measured with a scope, and currents calculated.

Above are the measured output voltage waveforms at 14MHz. Continue reading Inherently balanced ATUs – part 3

Inherently balanced ATUs reported an experiment to measure the balance of a simulation of Cebik’s “inherently balanced ATU”.

This article reports the same equipment reversed so that the common mode choke is connected to the output of the MFJ-949E.

The second experiment

The test circuit is an MFJ-949E T match ATU followed by A low Insertion VSWR high Zcm Guanella 1:1 balun for HF.  A banana jack adapter is connected to the balun output jack, and resistors of 50Ω and 100Ω connected from those terminals to provide a slightly asymmetric load.

The voltage between ground and each of the output terminals was measured with a scope, and currents calculated.

Above are the measured output voltage waveforms at 14MHz. Continue reading Inherently balanced ATUs – part 2

Hams are taken by fashion and pseudo technical discussion more than objective circuit analysis, experiment, and measurement. Nowhere is this more evident that the current fashion for “True Balanced Tuners”.

LB Cebik in 2005 in his article “10 Frequency (sic) Asked Questions about the All-Band Doublet” wrote

In recent years, interest in antennas that require parallel transmission lines has surged, spurring the development of new inherently balanced tuners.

Open wire lines require current balance to minimise radiation and pick up, the balance objective is current balance at all points on the line.

Cebik goes on to give examples of his “inherently balanced tuners”.

Above, Cebik’s “inherently balanced tuners” all have a common mode choke at the input, and some type of adjustable network to the output terminals. Continue reading Inherently balanced ATUs

I have been asked to expand on the calculation of voltage magnitude and phase set out in Voltage symmetry of practical Ruthroff 4:1 baluns.

Above is Ruthroff’s equivalent circuit, Fig 3 from his paper (Ruthroff 1959). Focusing on the left hand circuit which explains the balun as a transmission line transformer (TLT), and taking the node 1 as the reference, the loaded source voltage appears at the bottom end of the combined 4R load, and transformed by the transmission line  formed by the two wires of the winding, and inverted, at the top end of the combined 4R load.

It is the transformation on this transmission line that gives rise to loss of symmetry.

The complex ratio Vout/Vin is dependent on the complex reflection coefficient Gamma at both ends of the line and the line propagation constant gamma, all of which are frequency dependent complex quantities. Continue reading Voltage symmetry of practical Ruthroff 4:1 baluns – finding TLT Vout/Vin