Thanks for the positive feedback from you and others. :) I made the video because I felt embarrassed after I understood how simple the concept really is. After I understood it, I felt that other explanations are too complicated. So I made this video. It makes me happy to know that although its not perfect (voice intonation etc.) it helps people to spread the knowledge.
Terrible explanation. Many guys think (erroneously, like the one who made this video) that the signal in a coaxial cable goes through the central conductor and that there is no signal through the mesh !!! This is a serious conceptual error. The mesh HAS THE return SIGNAL, and due to the geometry it results in a line that almost does not produce interference and that has great immunity to external interference. This error is also seen in the explanation given by some people of how a vertical antenna works. Since they don't see the return electrode, they think it doesn't exist. But it's not like that. The signal goes through one conductor and returns through another. If there is no return, it does not work.
Sorry that I've not replied sooner. Thanks for pointing-out that there is a flaw. By Mesh you mean the coax shielding and by Line you mean the coax cable?
Why can’t one connect the coaxial feed-line shield to one side of the dipole? It seems to me that your difference between unbalanced and balanced is one of perspective. If you attached a current measuring device with its common (reference) lead to one side of the dipole and its measurement lead to the of the other side then would you not see the signal? The same thing if you hooked a voltage measuring device to the ends of the antenna. I guess if your feed-line shield was connected to earth ground then that might cause the antenna setup grief.
I’m not sure, I’m just studying for my advanced cert, but I’ll take a guess. For starters, driving the shield on a coax cable means that the connector will give you an RF burn if you touch it, so radio manufacturers probably wouldn’t like the liability factor, so when they use coax, they just run the shield to the ground. Second thought is, if the currents are in phase but in reverse directions, then the shield will be making a counterclockwise magnetic field while the conductor core is doing the exact opposite, so you’d probably lose some energy from the magnetic field. Also, coax is technically a long, strip-shaped capacitor because it’s literally two conductive elements separated by a dielectric (a resistive material) so RF current can and will travel between the two like they’re directly connected anyways, so I think if you drove both the shield and the conductor, you would basically be electrifying a high-pass filter, and I think that means you would lose more energy the higher the frequency and the longer the coax cable. And because of the magnetic field, you’d probably wind up with back-EMF issues. Then you run into the issue of the shield and centre conductor having different velocity factors… now that I try to think about it, it seems like balanced systems aren’t even ideal unless theres a really good reason to use them. 🤔 I’m not sure about what all I said though, so keep that in mind. I should go ask an Elmer.
You can there is literally antennas that consist of a length of coax that at some point is split in half, the shield goes one direction, the center feed goes another to make a dipole. I have never used a balun on a dipole and have worked almost all states and 20 countries with no issues
Thank you. A lot of other videos by hams seem to assume the viewer know more than the viewer does. I guess the main reason to use a balun is because coax is a much more versatile feed than paired wires.
Hi, it was unintentionally made for the animation. If you put the coax balun directly onto the end node of the antenna, this delay is zero. I personally think that there may be a small delay as the signal travels from the rod to the coax through solder. When you get from the simple theory covered in this video towards the application, things will always get a bit more messy. :)
First of all nice video, but I think you are mixing up differential pairs and the reason, why balun is used with antennas... When balun is used with a dipole, it is trying to solve the problem with currents, that flow at the outer side of the outer coax conductor (and yes, for RF the outer conductor in coax acts like it has an inner and outer side..). These currents can cause problems with directivity etc...
Hi, thanks for your reply. I created the video just because first time I felt like I understood concept of baluns it felt to me that most of the explanations are too complex and it would be a sin not to share the explanation which felt simple. I am not a physicist, so I might've mixed things. I had it checked by few people I trust, but that does not make it correct either. Are you referring to impedance matching? Or something else?
Hi, I did it in blender + scripting. Maybe I would use just python+matplotlib nowadays. Using blender on simple 2D is like using a scewdriver to hammer-in a nail. :P
You made the topic so simple, i finally understood.
Finally an explanation that I understand. Thank you!
this is the first video, which has a animation which makes in possible for understanding it as a beginner! thanks!!!
Thank you for the clearest explanation I have found so far.
Excellent video! This video really helped me understand the concepts of balUns more.
Great video... Best Balun video in the internets :)
Great video! I finally understood the concepts with your explanation. Thank you!
Thanks for the positive feedback from you and others. :) I made the video because I felt embarrassed after I understood how simple the concept really is. After I understood it, I felt that other explanations are too complicated. So I made this video. It makes me happy to know that although its not perfect (voice intonation etc.) it helps people to spread the knowledge.
What a bloody awesome video!!!
Thank you so much!!!
I finally understand what Baluns are, thank you very much for the visuals and simple explanation! Very helpful!
Very good and easy to understand visualisation of the BalUn working principle!
Fantastic explanation!
Terrible explanation. Many guys think (erroneously, like the one who made this video) that the signal in a coaxial cable goes through the central conductor and that there is no signal through the mesh !!! This is a serious conceptual error. The mesh HAS THE return SIGNAL, and due to the geometry it results in a line that almost does not produce interference and that has great immunity to external interference.
This error is also seen in the explanation given by some people of how a vertical antenna works. Since they don't see the return electrode, they think it doesn't exist. But it's not like that. The signal goes through one conductor and returns through another. If there is no return, it does not work.
Is there capacitance at the middle between the two ¼ wavelength wires?
@@goedeck1 Obvioulsly. Between any pair of wires there is capacitance. Small but always there.
You beat me to it.
Sorry that I've not replied sooner. Thanks for pointing-out that there is a flaw. By Mesh you mean the coax shielding and by Line you mean the coax cable?
Top quality. Can you do one on how antenna tuners work?
Why can’t one connect the coaxial feed-line shield to one side of the dipole? It seems to me that your difference between unbalanced and balanced is one of perspective. If you attached a current measuring device with its common (reference) lead to one side of the dipole and its measurement lead to the of the other side then would you not see the signal? The same thing if you hooked a voltage measuring device to the ends of the antenna. I guess if your feed-line shield was connected to earth ground then that might cause the antenna setup grief.
I ask the same question to myself and have impression that nobody can clearly explain it. After all, it's about a common point of reference. Isnt it?
I’m not sure, I’m just studying for my advanced cert, but I’ll take a guess.
For starters, driving the shield on a coax cable means that the connector will give you an RF burn if you touch it, so radio manufacturers probably wouldn’t like the liability factor, so when they use coax, they just run the shield to the ground. Second thought is, if the currents are in phase but in reverse directions, then the shield will be making a counterclockwise magnetic field while the conductor core is doing the exact opposite, so you’d probably lose some energy from the magnetic field. Also, coax is technically a long, strip-shaped capacitor because it’s literally two conductive elements separated by a dielectric (a resistive material) so RF current can and will travel between the two like they’re directly connected anyways, so I think if you drove both the shield and the conductor, you would basically be electrifying a high-pass filter, and I think that means you would lose more energy the higher the frequency and the longer the coax cable. And because of the magnetic field, you’d probably wind up with back-EMF issues. Then you run into the issue of the shield and centre conductor having different velocity factors… now that I try to think about it, it seems like balanced systems aren’t even ideal unless theres a really good reason to use them. 🤔 I’m not sure about what all I said though, so keep that in mind. I should go ask an Elmer.
You can there is literally antennas that consist of a length of coax that at some point is split in half, the shield goes one direction, the center feed goes another to make a dipole. I have never used a balun on a dipole and have worked almost all states and 20 countries with no issues
Thank you. A lot of other videos by hams seem to assume the viewer know more than the viewer does. I guess the main reason to use a balun is because coax is a much more versatile feed than paired wires.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
On the coax balun arrangement, why does the directly connected node have a small delay?
Hi, it was unintentionally made for the animation. If you put the coax balun directly onto the end node of the antenna, this delay is zero. I personally think that there may be a small delay as the signal travels from the rod to the coax through solder. When you get from the simple theory covered in this video towards the application, things will always get a bit more messy. :)
Amazing video man thanks
First of all nice video,
but I think you are mixing up differential pairs and the reason, why balun is used with antennas... When balun is used with a dipole, it is trying to solve the problem with currents, that flow at the outer side of the outer coax conductor (and yes, for RF the outer conductor in coax acts like it has an inner and outer side..). These currents can cause problems with directivity etc...
Hi, thanks for your reply. I created the video just because first time I felt like I understood concept of baluns it felt to me that most of the explanations are too complex and it would be a sin not to share the explanation which felt simple. I am not a physicist, so I might've mixed things. I had it checked by few people I trust, but that does not make it correct either. Are you referring to impedance matching? Or something else?
Very clear,thks
Good explanation for us novices to electric theory
Hello, thank you for great explanation of the topic! What software do you use to create such nice animations?
Hi, I did it in blender + scripting. Maybe I would use just python+matplotlib nowadays. Using blender on simple 2D is like using a scewdriver to hammer-in a nail. :P
Nice video!
Thank you!!
It would be helpful if captions worked with your instructional video.