Hi Jeff, the short, simple answer , for a long wire antenna, is: you would
use an antenna tunner, NOT A BALUN !
A BALUN converts from an unbalanced source (or load) -- read that :
COAX, to a BALANCED load
(or source) Like TWIN-LEAD, or LADDER LINE! The 1:1, 1:4, and 1:9 is the
impedence ratio (like a transformer) 1:1 means that , say 75 ohm in will
still be 75 ohm on the output side, 1:4 means that the same
75 ohms in will become matched at 300 ohms on the output side, 1:9 would
give you 675 ohms on the output
side! BUT, a longwire antenna is a different beast, altogether!! its
impedence can change drastically, depending upon length, frequency applied,
height above ground, ect. A antenna tuner can match our 75, or 50 ohm from
a transciever, to very complex impediences , even reactive impedences Like
67 ohm capacitive and 22 ohm
resistive, or even inductive reactances ! and, for recieve, probably
makes little difference, unless you have
lots of feedline loss! It would be the same for transmitting, except, that
many rigs (especially solid state) dont
like impedences that the were designed for, causinf a swr monitoring device
to shut down the power amp, or worse-- causing excessive voltages to appear
across the pa, causing self destruction! To use a tuner, simply adjust it,
until you have a 1:1 match on an swr bridge, placed between the tuner, and
your transmtter!
And, btw, maximum power transfer occurs when the input impedence and the
output impedence are the same!
that is what the tuner does-- makes the input impedence match the output
impedence-- have fun! Jim NN7K


"Whoopydoo" vk3kcg@guess the rest.con wrote in message
u...
http://dxantennas.com


"Richard" wrote in message
...

"JEFF UK" wrote in message
...
Hi.
Would some please explain to me the different types of SWL Baluns and
what type should be used for which antenna.?
I use a long wire at the moment. What is best for this.?
1:1, 1:4, 1:9 ??? Not sure what all this means.
Is there a site where i can see different homebrew projects for each
of
these ?
All help welcome
Regards
Jeff