WEBVTT

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This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you

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by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables,

00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:13.099
and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259

00:00:13.099 --> 00:00:17.780
.com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, logged

00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:23.000
it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash amateur

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for more information about ICOM radios. with

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neoprap here we go welcome to amtoply calling

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let's talk neils your guy amtoply Hey everybody,

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I'm back. It's HamTalk Live episode number 312,

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Toroids and Balans, recorded on Sunday, January

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29th, 2023. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG.

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Thanks for tuning in to this episode of HamTalk

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Live. Today we're joined by John Portun, W6NBC.

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And last episode, Michael Colley, W4ORL, and

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Mike Banigan, KJ4UDO, were here to talk about

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the Orlando hamcation. And that's just a couple

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of weeks off. the award winners from the hamcation

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committee uh so if you missed that show you can

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listen anytime over at ham talk live dot com

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or on your favorite podcast app or on youtube

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well i do have uh several quick announcements

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here before we get to talking to uh john about

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uh what do you need to know about toroids and

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balans and what what can you do with them and

00:02:02.950 --> 00:02:06.019
what How do you make them work right? Well, we'll

00:02:06.019 --> 00:02:08.680
get to that here in a little bit, but here are

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a few things that that you can do in the meantime.

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First of all, the AM rally is returning to the

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HF and six meter bands for the sixth year. That

00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:26.199
is starting on Friday, February 3rd, and it's

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just to encourage the use of AM on 160, 80, 40,

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20, 15, 10 and six meters. uh... just to highlight

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some various types of a m equipment that's in

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use today it's open to any and all radio amateurs

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running full carrier amplitude modulation standard

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a m any kind of radio equipment new old whatever

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uh... this year's event is from zero hundred

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zulu saturday february fourth uh... which is

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friday night uh... seven p m eastern if you're

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in the eastern time zone so zero hundred zulu

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saturday zero seven hundred zulu on monday february

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six so uh... that uh... 2 a .m. Eastern on on

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Monday So that way we have it a little later

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for the the West Coast people so again zero hundred

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Saturday to zero seven hundred on Monday February

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6 more information available at a am rally a

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are a M R a ll y calm So make sure you check

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that out. Also, Carole Perry, our friend WB2MGP,

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is accepting nominations for the Young Ham Lens

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the Hand contest until April 1st. And that winner

00:03:49.990 --> 00:03:52.789
will receive a $100 stipend and will be announced

00:03:52.789 --> 00:03:55.689
at the Youth Forum at the Dayton Hamvention.

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This is what she needs. She needs name, call

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sign, age, address, telephone number, and why

00:04:06.009 --> 00:04:08.689
this nominee is deserving of the award. So just

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a paragraph or two about what this young ham

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has been doing to lend a hand. And that may be,

00:04:15.110 --> 00:04:18.029
you know, Involve Ham Radio may not, but they're

00:04:18.029 --> 00:04:22.129
ham and they're helping out. So you can email

00:04:22.129 --> 00:04:25.389
that information, name, call sign, age, address,

00:04:26.129 --> 00:04:29.300
cell number. home number, if there's one, and

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why they're deserving of the award to WB2MGP,

00:04:34.740 --> 00:04:39.060
that's Whiskey Bravo 2, MikeGolfPapa at gmail

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.com by April 1st. And they'll announce those

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again at the Youth Forum at Hamvention. And then

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the last thing, there's a special event that's

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looking to grow. and we may talk about it here

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on the show later on when it gets closer to time

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but the Elmer special event is looking for some

00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:07.339
operators. This is the Whiskey One Echo special

00:05:07.339 --> 00:05:10.980
event and it honors Elmers who have helped us

00:05:10.980 --> 00:05:15.060
along the way here in Ham Radio and the organizers

00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:17.600
know there's a lot more stories out there about

00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:21.139
Elmer's and lots of thank yous to share for Elmer's

00:05:21.139 --> 00:05:24.120
so it's going to start on September 29th, but

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if you are thinking about you know the why and

00:05:28.750 --> 00:05:31.689
how you where you are now an amateur radio now's

00:05:31.689 --> 00:05:34.790
the time uh... to let rich know uh... and maybe

00:05:34.790 --> 00:05:37.470
you can be uh... one of the operators for this

00:05:37.470 --> 00:05:40.529
special event so uh... you can contact him at

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marzo seven zero eight eight that's M A R Z O

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seven zero eight eight marzo seven zero eight

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eight at yahoo dot com so uh... We'll hear more

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about that later, and that's also featured on

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Amateur Radio Newsline this week, so make sure

00:06:01.259 --> 00:06:03.959
you check that out. Alright, well, enough of

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the announcements. I'll be back with John. We'll

00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:09.860
talk toroids right after this word from Tower

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Electronics right here on HamTalk Live. His two

00:06:16.779 --> 00:06:24.079
cents is worth $37 in change. He once ran a marathon.

00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:31.860
because it was on his way to Dayton. He works

00:06:31.860 --> 00:06:41.240
FT8 by ear. He once worked North Korea on every

00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:49.060
band in one minute using only a microwatt. He

00:06:49.060 --> 00:06:52.779
slowed down his code speed to work a de -expedition.

00:06:53.959 --> 00:07:01.980
to 200 words a minute. He is, indeed, the most

00:07:01.980 --> 00:07:07.199
interesting ham in the world. I don't always

00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:12.019
put on my own PL -259s, but when I do, I prefer

00:07:12.019 --> 00:07:15.779
them from Tower Electronics. Stay resident, my

00:07:15.779 --> 00:07:20.069
friends. Tower Electronics has all the adapters,

00:07:20.389 --> 00:07:25.389
cables, connectors, and yes, PL -259s you need

00:07:25.389 --> 00:07:31.649
at a ham fest near you. Or visit PL -259 .com.

00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:37.680
And coming up on the tower electronics ham fest

00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:41.000
schedule they will be at or the Orlando hamcation

00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:45.120
February 10th 11th and 12th then February 25th

00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:48.959
will be in Dalton, Georgia March 4th, Cave City,

00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:54.000
Kentucky March 19th, Maumee, Ohio and March 25th

00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:56.920
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin But you can visit them

00:07:56.920 --> 00:08:03.639
from anywhere at PL -259 .com Who is the most

00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:06.819
dangerous person in the world? A ham with some

00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:11.699
wire, a potato gun and an idea. Ham Talk Live!

00:08:23.819 --> 00:08:30.129
Welcome back to Ham Talk Live! Today, John Portun,

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W6NBC, joins us on the Orlando Amateur Radio

00:08:34.389 --> 00:08:38.110
Club and hamcation Zoom line. John's been a ham

00:08:38.110 --> 00:08:42.889
since 1965 and he's active on everything. 160

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meters to two and a half gigahertz and helps

00:08:46.250 --> 00:08:50.629
people get on the air and new licensees. He manages

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a remote base. He does a lot of 2 meter and 40

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meters from his RV and he's married to KF6OEB

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and has three children, twelve grandchildren,

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retired in 2002. Spent most of his career working

00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:13.840
at KNBC in Los Angeles as well as Ampex and Sony

00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:19.539
and he's a frequent contributor to QST magazine

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and we're today we're talking about some toroid.

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So John, welcome back to the show. Thanks for

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being here. Oh, it's my pleasure, Neil. Always

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welcome. Always glad to chat about ham radio.

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Oh, yeah. So it's something we can't get out

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of our blood. It stays there. I appreciate all

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your talks here today and we're going to do a

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new one here for us about toroids. But before

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I get to that, I do want to mention that John

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has club presentations available. He's got a

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whole list of Things to talk about PowerPoint

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presentations and all kinds of things and you

00:10:05.629 --> 00:10:08.789
have a new email address So if people are trying

00:10:08.789 --> 00:10:11.490
to get a hold of you to do one of these club

00:10:11.490 --> 00:10:14.610
presentations tell Everybody how they get a hold

00:10:14.610 --> 00:10:18.230
of you Yes, indeed. Well, first of all you go

00:10:18.230 --> 00:10:23.009
to my website W6nbc .com and it will tell you

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all about how to sign up for a free zoom presentation

00:10:28.860 --> 00:10:33.100
to be made in your radio club or if you're putting

00:10:33.100 --> 00:10:36.320
on an expo someplace, a ham expo, and you'd like

00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:39.659
to have a presentation on a ham topic. And as

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Neil says, I do have quite a number of topics

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which are being presented around the country

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and in fact around the world, almost any of the

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English speaking part of the world, South Africa,

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New Zealand, Australia, UK, I've been making

00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:58.220
presentations there by Zoom. And they've been

00:10:58.220 --> 00:11:00.860
pretty well received. So if you'd like to make

00:11:00.860 --> 00:11:03.919
presentations, just get on the website and it'll

00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:05.820
tell you how. And you send me an email, we'll

00:11:05.820 --> 00:11:08.279
sign you up and give your club a presentation

00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:12.179
by Zoom. It's a great fun. Sure is. And make

00:11:12.179 --> 00:11:15.480
sure you check the website for that new email

00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:17.659
address because if you use the old one, you may

00:11:17.659 --> 00:11:21.360
not get too far. Well, we're going to talk about

00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:24.340
some some ferrites, the toroids, all that fun

00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:29.549
stuff today. First, let's start off talking about

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what's a toroid? What does it do? Well, a toroid

00:11:35.250 --> 00:11:40.929
is just a ring inductor, just a magnetic ring

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that's used to make inductors. But its principal

00:11:48.169 --> 00:11:53.129
use in ham radio is to make balance. We know

00:11:53.129 --> 00:11:58.669
about balans by name, and of course we use them

00:11:58.669 --> 00:12:03.570
typically, but not too many hams are really aware

00:12:03.570 --> 00:12:08.590
of how to make a balan from a toroid, how to

00:12:08.590 --> 00:12:12.090
pick out a toroid, and then how to wind a wire

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onto it to make a balan. And that's pretty much

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the topic that is one of the common topics that

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I talk about and I'm frequently lecturing on.

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Now, if you're going to go get a toroid for a

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certain application, how do you pick that? What

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kind of mix do you have? What kind of size? How

00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:41.139
do you pick out the right one for the job? Okay,

00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:43.559
there are two things you need to keep in mind

00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:51.700
when picking out a toroid. the mix and the size

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of the toroid. And the mix determines the frequency

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that you're going to operate the ballon on. And

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that really there are only three choices of mix

00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:09.740
in picking out a toroid. And they are mix 31,

00:13:11.439 --> 00:13:16.080
mix 43. These are the HF mixes. Now you might

00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.279
find a lot of variation looking in the books

00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:23.019
and so forth, but if you're picking out a toroid,

00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:29.940
mix 31 and mix 43 are the ones you want to pick.

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They're the HF toroid. Now a lot of hams swear

00:13:33.059 --> 00:13:38.399
by the 31 mix, but it's no better than the 43

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mix. even though a lot of hams think it is. It

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just doesn't quite need as many turns. That's

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the only reason. And the mix 61 mix is the VHF.

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So you've only got three choices. 31, 43, 61.

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31 and 43 are for HF, 61 is for VHF. So that's

00:13:58.490 --> 00:14:01.269
picking it for the frequency. For the power,

00:14:02.169 --> 00:14:04.830
you really only have two choices. You only have

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two sizes that you need to be concerned about.

00:14:08.220 --> 00:14:13.080
the 240 and the 140, which means 2 .4 inches,

00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:17.279
1 .4 inches in diameter. The 240 will handle

00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:20.139
pretty much a kilowatts and the 140 is pretty

00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:23.700
much good for 100 watts. That's pretty much all

00:14:23.700 --> 00:14:26.700
you need to do. So in picking out a toroid, you

00:14:26.700 --> 00:14:32.159
pick out an FT, that's ferrite toroid, 240 or

00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:38.309
140 for the power and then hyphen for either

00:14:38.309 --> 00:14:43.789
31, 43, or 61 for the frequency. So again, if

00:14:43.789 --> 00:14:49.629
you're picking on a 100 watt toroid for HF, FT240

00:14:49.629 --> 00:14:54.970
43 would be a 2 .4 inch diameter toroid mix 43,

00:14:55.210 --> 00:14:58.370
which means it would be a 1 kilowatt ferrite

00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:01.950
for HF. That's the way you that's the way I pick

00:15:01.950 --> 00:15:03.909
them out. It's pretty simple You don't have to

00:15:03.909 --> 00:15:06.090
you don't have to get it make it really cut You

00:15:06.090 --> 00:15:08.529
don't have to go to a lot of radio books look

00:15:08.529 --> 00:15:10.929
up a lot of charts and a lot of graphs Although

00:15:10.929 --> 00:15:12.929
you'll find them in the radio books. They're

00:15:12.929 --> 00:15:15.490
more confusing than they are a help. You really

00:15:15.490 --> 00:15:20.529
only have those three choices 31 43 or 61 and

00:15:20.529 --> 00:15:22.549
you and that's pretty much all you need for ham

00:15:22.549 --> 00:15:28.149
radio and then size 240 or size 140 for one kilowatt

00:15:28.149 --> 00:15:31.730
or 100 watts and that's the only size toroids

00:15:31.730 --> 00:15:35.710
you really basically need to ever pick out. And

00:15:35.710 --> 00:15:38.350
this mix that we're talking about is the mix

00:15:38.350 --> 00:15:42.309
of different substances that are put into making

00:15:42.309 --> 00:15:44.809
this thing. So it's got iron in it and there's

00:15:44.809 --> 00:15:49.370
a certain percentage of iron and these other

00:15:49.370 --> 00:15:53.279
materials and so that Changes the number of turns

00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:56.440
that you have to make to get it to work like

00:15:56.440 --> 00:16:02.879
you want it. That's right the mix Ferrites are

00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:07.539
Ferro ceramics or magnetic ceramics. It's a ceramic

00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:10.759
just like your teacup. Just like just like your

00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:14.919
china vase It's just clay baked in a kiln or

00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:18.440
fired in a kiln. So it's a ceramic but it's got

00:16:18.669 --> 00:16:22.909
It's got magnetic particles added into the clay

00:16:22.909 --> 00:16:27.070
when it's fired, so it's a ferro -ceramic. And

00:16:27.070 --> 00:16:30.509
depending upon how much of that ferro material

00:16:30.509 --> 00:16:34.029
is put into the ceramic, determines how magnetic

00:16:34.029 --> 00:16:38.269
or what its permeability, that's the technical

00:16:38.269 --> 00:16:40.970
term, but you don't need to bury yourself in

00:16:40.970 --> 00:16:46.450
technical terms in making balance. And you don't

00:16:46.450 --> 00:16:48.929
need to worry about what kind of the material

00:16:48.929 --> 00:16:51.269
it is, even though they'll go into great discussions

00:16:51.269 --> 00:16:54.590
in the technical books and confuse you. You really

00:16:54.590 --> 00:16:57.509
only need to pick ferrite. You don't need to

00:16:57.509 --> 00:17:00.590
worry about iron powder or any of that kind of

00:17:00.590 --> 00:17:03.509
stuff. Forget all of that stuff. For ham radio,

00:17:04.069 --> 00:17:06.250
ferrite is what you want to pick. Don't worry

00:17:06.250 --> 00:17:09.670
about iron powder. So ferrite, and only of those

00:17:09.670 --> 00:17:11.890
three mixes, they're the only ones you'll ever

00:17:11.890 --> 00:17:16.630
really be concerned about. 31, 43, or 61. And

00:17:16.630 --> 00:17:19.950
43 or 31, you can use them interchangeably. The

00:17:19.950 --> 00:17:23.609
31 is not any better than 43 for making a balance,

00:17:23.690 --> 00:17:26.990
even though some people swear by 31. And no,

00:17:27.130 --> 00:17:29.869
you don't need to do that. 43 works just as well.

00:17:30.130 --> 00:17:32.529
And it's cheaper and more readily available,

00:17:32.549 --> 00:17:36.900
by the way. and a lot of surplus 43 material

00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:40.660
out there or 31 material yes is available but

00:17:40.660 --> 00:17:43.460
it's not available surplus i buy i usually buy

00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:47.720
surplus 43 ferrites and and by the way you can

00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:50.759
buy them from ferrite they're the main company

00:17:50.759 --> 00:17:54.579
that makes ferrite toroids in the United States.

00:17:54.900 --> 00:17:56.460
And I thought, oh, you know, couldn't buy them

00:17:56.460 --> 00:17:58.779
from them. You probably got to buy 10 ,000 of

00:17:58.779 --> 00:18:01.259
these things from ferrite. No, you don't. They've

00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:03.839
got a nice retail sales department. They'll sell

00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:06.240
them to you just as well as ham radio outlet

00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:09.160
will sell them to you or anybody else. So you

00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:11.180
can just get on the Internet and buy them from

00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:14.779
ferrite quite easily. Yep, and DX Engineering

00:18:14.779 --> 00:18:18.059
even has the color -coded one, so you just look

00:18:18.059 --> 00:18:21.839
at the color and see which one it is. Well, there's

00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:28.140
all these toroids available, so this hopefully

00:18:28.140 --> 00:18:33.759
simplifies your selection process. and how you're

00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:36.940
going to use these. So let's dive in a little

00:18:36.940 --> 00:18:39.640
bit here. We're going to take a break here in

00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:42.519
just a few minutes, but let's dive in a little

00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:45.680
bit to, okay, what do I use these things for?

00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:50.500
What do I need these for? Well, you need them

00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:53.660
to make a balance. And I'll only deal with this

00:18:53.660 --> 00:18:58.079
briefly to one kind of big issue that I have,

00:18:58.299 --> 00:19:03.799
and that is I don't like the name Because you

00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:06.640
ask the average ham, what's the main purpose

00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:09.940
of a ballot? Just that simple question. What

00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:12.680
is the main purpose of a ballot? If you ask that

00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:15.420
in a radio club nine out of ten times, you're

00:19:15.420 --> 00:19:18.380
going to get the simple answer, which is not

00:19:18.380 --> 00:19:20.799
really an answer as far as I'm concerned. And

00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:23.279
the answer that you commonly get is, what's a

00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:25.640
ballot for? Well, it's to make balanced into

00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:28.339
unbalanced. But what does that mean? It really

00:19:28.339 --> 00:19:31.980
doesn't mean that much to most people. I like

00:19:31.980 --> 00:19:35.240
the term because it describes what a ballon does.

00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:39.759
It chokes off the shield current on the outside.

00:19:40.940 --> 00:19:45.640
I like to call these things outside shield current

00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:49.220
chokes. That's what they really are. Because

00:19:49.220 --> 00:19:54.140
here's the issue. A coax, a piece of coax, you

00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:58.039
might think it's a two conductor transmission

00:19:58.039 --> 00:20:01.720
line. No, it's not. It's a three conductor transmission

00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:04.960
line. So where's the third conductor? The third

00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:10.160
conductor is the outside of the shield. Because

00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:15.339
of skin effect, the shield breaks up into two

00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:18.539
separate conductors. The inside of the shield

00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:22.339
and the outside of the shield. Skin effect separates

00:20:22.339 --> 00:20:26.059
the shield into two separate conductors, very,

00:20:26.059 --> 00:20:28.960
very distinctly. And current can flow on the

00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:32.700
outside in the opposite direction, separately,

00:20:33.140 --> 00:20:35.660
independently from current flowing on the inside

00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:41.559
of coax. And that makes the shield into two separate

00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:46.779
conductors. So coax is a three conductor transmission

00:20:46.779 --> 00:20:51.450
line. But right at the end of coax, right where

00:20:51.450 --> 00:20:57.009
coax ends, the skin effect also connects the

00:20:57.009 --> 00:21:00.150
two of them to each other. So when you hook a

00:21:00.150 --> 00:21:03.269
dipole or an antenna to the end of a piece of

00:21:03.269 --> 00:21:07.430
coax, the currents coming back from the antenna

00:21:07.430 --> 00:21:11.759
can go back. to the transmitter, which it has

00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:14.539
to go back to the transmitter to complete the

00:21:14.539 --> 00:21:16.920
circuit from the transmitter. But it can also

00:21:16.920 --> 00:21:19.240
get on the outside of the shield. We know this.

00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:22.559
We've heard about shield current. We don't want

00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:25.339
this. Why? Why don't we want shield current?

00:21:25.609 --> 00:21:29.250
because it can disrupt the whole antenna system.

00:21:30.349 --> 00:21:32.450
Because we don't know where that outside shield

00:21:32.450 --> 00:21:35.490
current is going to go. It can go back to ground.

00:21:35.529 --> 00:21:38.730
It can go all sorts of nasty places. It can radiate.

00:21:38.890 --> 00:21:42.579
It can do nasty things. We don't want... any

00:21:42.579 --> 00:21:45.559
current on the outside of the shield, and that's

00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:48.940
what the ballon is for. We want the ballon to

00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:51.839
get rid of the outside shield current. We want

00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:55.039
it to choke the current off of the outside of

00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:58.319
the shield. That's what a ballon is for. So if

00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:01.119
anybody asks you, what is a ballon for? Don't

00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:04.779
answer to convert balance to unbalance. Answer

00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:09.460
to get rid of the outside shield current. And

00:22:09.460 --> 00:22:15.839
so that's what we use a toroid for. We wind enough

00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:23.079
windings on the toroid to choke off that outside

00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:26.880
shield current. The inductance of that coil chokes

00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:29.980
off the shield current. It can't get through,

00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:38.480
but it can get through on the inside. It's difficult

00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:42.779
to explain this in words alone, but that's essentially

00:22:42.779 --> 00:22:47.480
what a ballon does. It prevents the current from

00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:49.779
getting onto the outside of the shield. It's

00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:52.359
an outside shield choke, and that's what it's

00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:56.900
for. But let's move on now next, maybe after

00:22:56.900 --> 00:23:02.279
your break here, and let's move on to how you

00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:05.539
determine how many windings to put on this toroid.

00:23:07.579 --> 00:23:10.660
Yeah, we're going to take a break and that's

00:23:10.660 --> 00:23:15.019
exactly where I was headed. Okay, now let's figure

00:23:15.019 --> 00:23:17.480
out how many turns we need and what kind of antenna

00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:19.619
we're going to make, but we'll do that after

00:23:19.619 --> 00:23:22.920
the break here. So I will be back with John right

00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:27.160
after this word from ICOM America right here

00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:31.710
on HamTalk Live. Happy New Year from ICOM! Didn't

00:23:31.710 --> 00:23:34.549
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00:23:41.009 --> 00:23:43.630
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00:23:43.630 --> 00:23:47.799
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00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:51.220
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00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:05.819
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00:25:09.460 --> 00:25:11.819
use compatible batteries and headsets, and you

00:25:11.819 --> 00:25:15.180
can use the same Android app for D -Star operation.

00:25:15.420 --> 00:25:19.559
The IC9700 creates your own band opening. This

00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:22.019
transceiver brings direct sampling to the UHF

00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:24.980
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00:25:44.250 --> 00:25:47.650
And finally, the IC7300 is a high -performance

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and spectrum scope, the real HF fun. starts here.

00:26:12.890 --> 00:26:15.670
Visit icomamerica .com slash amateur for more

00:26:15.670 --> 00:26:19.589
information on ICOM radios. For the love of Ham

00:26:19.589 --> 00:26:52.480
Radio. We put the ham in Ham Talk Live. And welcome

00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:55.660
back to HamTalk Live. Be sure to check us out

00:26:55.660 --> 00:26:59.880
on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We'll let

00:26:59.880 --> 00:27:03.319
you know what's happening with the show. And

00:27:03.319 --> 00:27:06.720
before we get back to John Portun, W6NBC, talking

00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:10.160
about toroids and balance, it's time for another

00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:14.809
N9GSU Joke of the Week. Now it's time for the

00:27:14.809 --> 00:27:18.089
HamTalk Live Ham Radio Joke of the Week, the

00:27:18.089 --> 00:27:20.849
part of the show where Rick tells us a ham radio

00:27:20.849 --> 00:27:23.750
joke. The HamTalk Live Ham Radio Joke of the

00:27:23.750 --> 00:27:27.490
Week is brought to you by QRM Labs. Now, here's

00:27:27.490 --> 00:27:31.769
Rick Garrett in 9GSU with today's HamTalk Live

00:27:31.769 --> 00:27:39.500
Joke of the Week. Mountain Dew is my drink of

00:27:39.500 --> 00:27:41.660
choice when I'm doing parks on the air activations.

00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:44.099
It gives me that extra shot of energy I need

00:27:44.099 --> 00:27:46.819
for those long activations and my wife told me

00:27:46.819 --> 00:27:50.240
that I was spending far too much time researching

00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:53.099
Mountain Dew prices trying to find the cheapest.

00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:56.660
I told her I was just doing my dew diligence.

00:27:57.869 --> 00:28:01.430
This has been the ham talk live ham radio joke

00:28:01.430 --> 00:28:05.109
of the week with Rick Heron in nine GSU Tune

00:28:05.109 --> 00:28:08.230
in again next week for another joke from Rick

00:28:08.230 --> 00:28:16.329
And we're back with John portune w6 NBC he is

00:28:16.329 --> 00:28:19.859
here and to talk a little bit about uh... toroids

00:28:19.859 --> 00:28:23.460
and balans and all this fun stuff and so we've

00:28:23.460 --> 00:28:26.319
talked a little bit about uh... what a balan

00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:31.059
is and what it does so now john how do i know

00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:34.799
how many how many times to wrap this wire around

00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:38.839
those things uh... to make the the kind of antenna

00:28:38.839 --> 00:28:44.950
that i want Now that you've picked yourself a

00:28:44.950 --> 00:28:47.890
toroid you picked a 240 or a 140 and you picked

00:28:47.890 --> 00:28:52.049
a 43 or you picked a 31 mix for the power and

00:28:52.049 --> 00:28:54.250
the size of the toroid. You've got the toroid

00:28:54.250 --> 00:28:55.869
sitting in front of you. You want to know how

00:28:55.869 --> 00:28:58.609
many turns to put on it, which will choke off

00:28:58.609 --> 00:29:00.950
the outside shield current, because that's what

00:29:00.950 --> 00:29:02.829
it is. It's an outside shield current choke.

00:29:03.170 --> 00:29:06.309
That's its function in life. Balance to unbalance

00:29:06.309 --> 00:29:08.869
is a meaningless kind of a term to me, as far

00:29:08.869 --> 00:29:11.190
as I'm concerned. Yes, it does that. That's real.

00:29:11.609 --> 00:29:17.589
But that doesn't help you visualize what it does.

00:29:18.700 --> 00:29:22.359
What I recommend you do, you need to go to coil

00:29:22.359 --> 00:29:26.460
32 or coil 64 and get that little calculator.

00:29:26.980 --> 00:29:30.240
It's available free on the internet. And it will

00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:34.000
have embedded in it a little calculator that

00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:36.460
Amidon toroids, you've probably heard of Amidon

00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:40.660
toroids. They're in Oceanside, California. They

00:29:40.660 --> 00:29:43.140
sell toroids. They're a big seller of toroids.

00:29:43.460 --> 00:29:45.519
Buy your toroids from them if you want. They

00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:48.319
have a wonderful little calculator that does

00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:51.619
the calculation for you of how many turns to

00:29:51.619 --> 00:29:56.829
put on your toroid. you put on your toroid. It

00:29:56.829 --> 00:29:58.950
lets you put the mix in, it lets you put the

00:29:58.950 --> 00:30:02.450
size of the toroid, and then the third thing

00:30:02.450 --> 00:30:07.369
it needs, it needs the inductance. How many microhenries

00:30:07.369 --> 00:30:10.990
the toroid needs to have on it. And that's just

00:30:10.990 --> 00:30:13.410
the thing you need to figure out. You need to

00:30:13.410 --> 00:30:17.829
figure out how many microhenries you need on

00:30:17.829 --> 00:30:20.789
that toroid, and that's quite easy to figure.

00:30:21.190 --> 00:30:24.089
There's a fairly simple little little formula

00:30:24.089 --> 00:30:27.289
that you can use. I should have written it down

00:30:27.289 --> 00:30:32.069
here. I don't have it memorized. But you need

00:30:32.069 --> 00:30:34.990
to calculate how many microhenries you need to

00:30:34.990 --> 00:30:39.289
do. It's 1 over 2 pi f times the frequency in

00:30:39.289 --> 00:30:44.150
inductance. 1 over 2 pi f L is the formula. You

00:30:44.150 --> 00:30:47.289
need to figure out how many microhenries you

00:30:47.289 --> 00:30:52.410
need. As I say, the number of microhenries is

00:30:52.410 --> 00:30:59.109
1 divided by 2 pi times the frequency in hertz.

00:30:59.869 --> 00:31:03.609
If you do it in microhenries, you can do it in

00:31:03.609 --> 00:31:08.589
megahertz. And then you get the number of microhenries

00:31:08.589 --> 00:31:14.000
that you need. And that needs to equal. 200 ohms

00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:17.279
AC resistance. That's the amount of ohms you

00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:22.799
need to have to choke off the current. Because

00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:25.740
you're in a 50 ohm system, remember coax is 50

00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:28.400
ohms, you need to have at least four times the

00:31:28.400 --> 00:31:33.599
amount of resistance on the toroid. And that

00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:36.700
needs to be about 200 ohms. You need to get 200

00:31:36.700 --> 00:31:41.019
ohms of resistance, AC resistance in inductance.

00:31:41.079 --> 00:31:44.380
in wire. And that little calculator that that

00:31:44.380 --> 00:31:47.380
little calculator that's that that Amidon provides

00:31:47.380 --> 00:31:52.940
and that calculator can be found at coil32 .net.

00:31:53.599 --> 00:31:57.339
Again that's coil32 .net and go to the calculators

00:31:57.339 --> 00:32:01.180
and there's one there for ferrites. Handier than

00:32:01.180 --> 00:32:03.559
scat. Then it'll push the button it'll tell you

00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:06.240
wind four turns or wind two turns. If you want

00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:08.220
a good example if you want I'll see all of this

00:32:08.220 --> 00:32:13.329
in writing. Look at the Look at the ARRL's publication

00:32:13.329 --> 00:32:16.170
on the air. That's the Newby magazine. You know,

00:32:16.250 --> 00:32:18.410
the Newby magazine that they publish every month,

00:32:18.789 --> 00:32:21.710
every two months. The current issue of the Newby

00:32:21.710 --> 00:32:24.990
magazine shows you how to do all of this. All

00:32:24.990 --> 00:32:27.750
of this that I'm talking about here today, including

00:32:27.750 --> 00:32:30.910
describing what a ballon does and so forth. The

00:32:30.910 --> 00:32:33.769
Newby magazine has an article that I just wrote

00:32:33.769 --> 00:32:36.470
showing you how to do that and showing you how

00:32:36.470 --> 00:32:39.029
to get that calculator and where it is and all

00:32:39.029 --> 00:32:41.630
of that stuff. It's all in this all in this current

00:32:41.630 --> 00:32:44.470
issue of On The Air magazine, which you can get

00:32:44.470 --> 00:32:47.589
a copy of just by going to the ARRL. And if you

00:32:47.589 --> 00:32:49.970
remember and reading this month's issue of the

00:32:49.970 --> 00:32:57.089
magazine on a FT 140 toroid. Alright, so we go

00:32:57.089 --> 00:33:00.049
and get the calculator and we put in our frequency

00:33:00.049 --> 00:33:03.269
and we figure out how many turns that we need

00:33:03.269 --> 00:33:06.970
to wrap this wire around it and then where we

00:33:06.970 --> 00:33:10.670
go from there. Well, then you stall the ballon

00:33:10.670 --> 00:33:15.990
wherever your coax ends. Yep, okay. So it's time

00:33:15.990 --> 00:33:21.250
to put up the antenna. You know, again, we've

00:33:21.250 --> 00:33:24.890
got different ones for HF and VHF because you've

00:33:24.890 --> 00:33:30.589
got a big gap in frequency coverage there. Yeah,

00:33:30.609 --> 00:33:32.529
well, you need a different mix for the different

00:33:32.529 --> 00:33:34.930
frequencies and you need a different number of

00:33:34.930 --> 00:33:37.609
turns because it doesn't need as many turns at

00:33:37.609 --> 00:33:41.450
VHF as it does at HF. And if you're building

00:33:41.450 --> 00:33:44.130
it for lower frequency HF, you need more turns

00:33:44.130 --> 00:33:46.190
and so forth. But the little calculator lets

00:33:46.190 --> 00:33:51.009
you take care of that. Okay, very good. So yeah,

00:33:51.089 --> 00:33:53.509
make sure you check out On The Air. Let's see,

00:33:53.509 --> 00:33:57.069
we're recording this on January 29th of 2023.

00:33:57.230 --> 00:34:00.470
Do you know if that's the... It's the current

00:34:00.470 --> 00:34:03.490
one, which I think is... Ah, okay, okay. That

00:34:03.490 --> 00:34:09.070
is the January and February 2023 issue of On

00:34:09.070 --> 00:34:12.309
The Air Magazine, which is indeed the current

00:34:12.309 --> 00:34:17.329
issue on arrl .org right now. Well, John, anything

00:34:17.329 --> 00:34:20.750
else we should know about toroids today? Oh,

00:34:20.769 --> 00:34:25.010
yes, I might mention that if you're making a

00:34:25.010 --> 00:34:28.409
one -to -one or a four -to -one or a nine -to

00:34:28.409 --> 00:34:34.230
-one balance for an end -fed long wire, the same

00:34:34.230 --> 00:34:37.750
principles apply. You only need to concern yourself,

00:34:37.889 --> 00:34:41.750
though, with the smaller winding. a smaller winding

00:34:41.750 --> 00:34:44.789
that's the only one that needs to the calculator

00:34:44.789 --> 00:34:46.929
only needs to be used on the smaller winding

00:34:46.929 --> 00:34:49.329
because if you put on let's say two turns on

00:34:49.329 --> 00:34:53.070
a nine to one and 18 turns on the on the other

00:34:53.070 --> 00:34:56.670
side you know uh for the uh for the for the nine

00:34:56.670 --> 00:35:00.710
the nine side of the the nine to one or a balance

00:35:01.260 --> 00:35:05.199
You only need to concern yourself with the side

00:35:05.199 --> 00:35:07.880
that connects to the coax, because that's where

00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:10.400
you need the choking, is on the coax. You don't

00:35:10.400 --> 00:35:12.980
need the choking on the antenna side. You need

00:35:12.980 --> 00:35:17.380
the choking on the coax side of the balance.

00:35:19.440 --> 00:35:22.820
A one -to -one is the same on both sides. Another

00:35:22.820 --> 00:35:26.699
point I might make about winding ferrite balance

00:35:26.699 --> 00:35:32.199
is the use of zip cord. Common zip cord is great

00:35:32.199 --> 00:35:37.159
stuff for winding balance, because it lets you

00:35:37.159 --> 00:35:39.820
wind the double winding that you always wind

00:35:39.820 --> 00:35:43.320
on a toroid, one for the input, one for the output.

00:35:45.260 --> 00:35:52.480
Because zip cord is pretty much 50 ohm. transmission

00:35:52.480 --> 00:35:55.039
line it's very close to 50 ohm transmission line

00:35:55.039 --> 00:35:58.019
it's amazing take your common extension cord

00:35:58.019 --> 00:36:00.579
and cut a piece that's what I used in the current

00:36:00.579 --> 00:36:04.199
article in on the air magazine was just a piece

00:36:04.199 --> 00:36:07.260
of common extension cord and the little calculator

00:36:07.260 --> 00:36:10.059
said wine four turns of it so I won four turns

00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:12.920
of common zip cord hooked one end up to an SO

00:36:12.920 --> 00:36:16.599
239 the other end to a couple of eye bolts and

00:36:16.599 --> 00:36:22.670
we had a balance Yeah, that's a neat thing and

00:36:22.670 --> 00:36:24.809
always helps when you can just use some stuff

00:36:24.809 --> 00:36:28.510
laying around the house or Pick up the restore

00:36:28.510 --> 00:36:31.289
or something like that, you know, you don't have

00:36:31.289 --> 00:36:35.809
to have all the fancy stuff Well, the newbies

00:36:35.809 --> 00:36:41.769
like that kind of stuff But Sam's we like cheap

00:36:41.769 --> 00:36:47.500
too we do like cheap stuff Well, John, thank

00:36:47.500 --> 00:36:50.940
you so much for being with us here to talk about

00:36:50.940 --> 00:36:55.659
some toroids and balance and so for people getting

00:36:55.659 --> 00:37:00.699
the urge to build an antenna to get out there.

00:37:01.199 --> 00:37:05.800
I know I've got this in fed up now. At least

00:37:05.800 --> 00:37:09.480
I have something out there. That's not my...

00:37:09.519 --> 00:37:14.340
I like it. My preferred antenna, but as you are

00:37:14.340 --> 00:37:20.820
well an expert at as well, the HOA police haven't

00:37:20.820 --> 00:37:25.860
found it yet. I fight them all the time. By the

00:37:25.860 --> 00:37:28.719
way, I like NFID half waves. I think they're

00:37:28.719 --> 00:37:32.000
great antennas. They have the unique quality

00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:38.420
with a nice 9 to 1 or 49 to 1 balance. Some people

00:37:38.420 --> 00:37:40.940
get confused about why they call it a 9 to 1

00:37:40.940 --> 00:37:44.780
or a 49 to 1. 9 to 1 is the turns ratio, 49 to

00:37:44.780 --> 00:37:47.460
1 is the impedance ratio of the same ballon.

00:37:48.079 --> 00:37:51.320
For the nice 49 or 9 to 1 ballon at the end of

00:37:51.320 --> 00:37:56.219
an NFID half -wave antenna, it not only works

00:37:56.219 --> 00:37:59.179
at the lowest frequency, it works at the harmonics

00:37:59.179 --> 00:38:02.780
too. That's what I like about the NFID half -wave.

00:38:03.119 --> 00:38:08.219
You know, I've been kind of happy with it. F

00:38:08.219 --> 00:38:13.179
-Four... for some things. It's not helping with

00:38:13.179 --> 00:38:17.360
these de -expeditions on Antarctica and things

00:38:17.360 --> 00:38:21.619
like that, but it gets the job done. It's a compromise

00:38:21.619 --> 00:38:24.719
antenna, no question about it. It's easy and

00:38:24.719 --> 00:38:28.679
cheap, you know. It works pretty well for a piece

00:38:28.679 --> 00:38:34.619
of wire. It works well for the one criteria which

00:38:34.619 --> 00:38:42.349
is nobody can see it. yourself a piece of 26

00:38:42.349 --> 00:38:45.730
gauge Davis Davis stealth flex and it's barely

00:38:45.730 --> 00:38:49.670
visible. Yeah, that's another good piece of another

00:38:49.670 --> 00:38:54.030
good tip. And most of the ham dealers sell Davis

00:38:54.030 --> 00:38:59.110
stealth flex. It's a very, it's made of very,

00:38:59.250 --> 00:39:03.829
very fine wire, and it's copper clad steel wire,

00:39:04.070 --> 00:39:07.510
so it doesn't stretch. It doesn't stretch in

00:39:07.510 --> 00:39:12.110
many, many, fine, many, many, fine strands. And

00:39:12.110 --> 00:39:16.590
then it's covered in a very, very tough polyethylene

00:39:16.590 --> 00:39:20.750
jacket. So I've had, and they make it in, I think,

00:39:21.010 --> 00:39:25.869
26 gauge, 13 gauge or 14 gauge, and then I think

00:39:25.869 --> 00:39:30.150
11 gauge or 12 gauge. It's moderately, it has

00:39:30.150 --> 00:39:34.260
a moderate price tag on it. Excellent for putting

00:39:34.260 --> 00:39:38.440
up wire antennas. I've had a loop of 26 of their

00:39:38.440 --> 00:39:43.119
20 26 gauge wire around my house for a long time.

00:39:43.420 --> 00:39:45.599
That stuff has been up there for a little for

00:39:45.599 --> 00:39:50.659
ages. It never stretches. Great wire. Good for

00:39:50.659 --> 00:39:54.260
good visible antennas. Yeah, well, that's that's

00:39:54.260 --> 00:39:57.519
the name of the game right now. So till I can

00:39:57.519 --> 00:40:02.780
remedy that so So it's at least got me on the

00:40:02.780 --> 00:40:06.760
air, I will say that. 20 meters, yeah, not so

00:40:06.760 --> 00:40:10.860
much, but it's at least got me on the air. Well,

00:40:10.860 --> 00:40:13.400
John, thanks again for being here and educating

00:40:13.400 --> 00:40:18.039
us on this stuff and we'll talk to you soon.

00:40:18.159 --> 00:40:23.400
And again, watch for articles from John in QST

00:40:23.400 --> 00:40:27.739
and on the air. So a good place to find some

00:40:27.739 --> 00:40:31.130
good projects to do. Thanks, John. Appreciate

00:40:31.130 --> 00:40:36.150
it. My pleasure and all the best. That is a wrap

00:40:36.150 --> 00:40:39.369
for this edition of HamTalk Live. I'd like to

00:40:39.369 --> 00:40:43.679
thank my guest, John Portun, W6NBC. and everybody

00:40:43.679 --> 00:40:46.119
out there in cyberspace for listening and invite

00:40:46.119 --> 00:40:49.039
you back next time and coming up we will be coming

00:40:49.039 --> 00:40:53.639
to you live from the Orlando hamcation here in

00:40:53.639 --> 00:40:57.059
a couple of weeks so make sure you tune in for

00:40:57.059 --> 00:41:00.719
that we may have may have be on the air one more

00:41:00.719 --> 00:41:04.239
time before then but we'll Definitely be on from

00:41:04.239 --> 00:41:08.659
Orlando, so make sure you catch that. For a list

00:41:08.659 --> 00:41:11.579
of all of our upcoming guests, go to HamTalkLive

00:41:11.579 --> 00:41:16.139
.com. So for now, this is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG,

00:41:16.199 --> 00:41:21.500
saying 7 -3, 7 -5, and may the good DX be yours.

00:41:31.920 --> 00:41:36.019
To you and your family I'll be seeing you further

00:41:36.019 --> 00:41:40.500
down the line It's hard to believe that you're

00:41:40.500 --> 00:41:43.559
empty indeed Cause you sound just like a local

00:41:43.559 --> 00:41:49.599
up here But why don't those whistling Mediterranean's

00:41:49.599 --> 00:41:50.480
check it with a ring?
