Simple Ham Radio Antennas

Like many radio amateurs (hams), I use 450 ohm ladder line to feed my HF antennas.  The only problem is connecting the balanced feedline to the 50 ohm input of my HF transceiver. While I use a 1:4 balun to transition from the 50 ohm output of my transceiver to the 450 ohm nominal impedance of the balanced line, there are other methods of achieving the rig-to-antenna union. In this video from AE4VJ, we see another way of accomplishing this goal at a minimum cost. While this method works, you may encounter a terrible impedance mismatch without using an antenna "tuner" (i.e. transmatch) to match rig to antenna. If you use the method outlined in this video, please use very low power to determine if a balanced tuner or balun is needed. Here are some comments from AE4VJ: In this episode, we go over how to transition from coax to ladder line. Its not that complicated really. Sometimes, all you need is someone to spark an idea and it becomes very clear. This is a very simple and c