In Defense of the 4:1 "Single Core" Balun

Recently a few of the less open minded purists in our hobby have begun a negative compaign focused on the 4:1 single core balun (SCB) that we and and at least 10 other balun producers offer.  It is important to note that we are only referring to baluns built utilizing a single core or single set of stacked cores wound with two separate windings.  In addition to this balun type, we also offer a classic two separate core wind in the model 4115 and our hybrid balun model 4116, each with there own "best application".

So as we enter our 20th year of building baluns and interfacing with tens of thousands of customers, these are the reasons we offer the SCB balun in models 4110, 4113 and 4114:

• A growing majority of hams are now living in high density housing and/or HOA controlled homes with limited real estate space. This means close proximity of roof lines, sides of houses, garages etc which can result in high levels of reflected RF. Dual core windings of the same ratio cannot tolerate high levels of reflected RF at high power and can result in permenant damage to a balun or unun.
• Amplifiers (1kW+) have become plentiful and available for very reasonable prices on the used market.
• New digital modes such as FT8, FT4 and PSK variants exert high levels of stress on baluns due to their demanding duty cycle. Please refer to our Tech Article "Baluns, ununs and Power Ratings" for more info.
• In attempt to compensate for compromised antennas and property constraints, many hams are increasing their transmit power.
• The vast majority of hams are not aware of or fail to monitor the elevated SWR changes that occur as they tune up and down different bands with a fixed length antenna.
• The term "I only use 500 watts on FT8" is often heard and is good practice right up until that rare DX station appears on the display.  Legal limit, FT8 and 3:1 SWR means the end to most of the competition's 4:1 baluns.
• Our model 4114, a 4:1 SCB, offers near perfect transformation, extremely low SWR across full HF frequencies and excellent return loss.
• As a retailer we need to provide a broad offering of balun types that customers can tailor to their particular installation as deed restrictions and higher density living become more common place.

We agree the SCB is not a perfect solution and we do not recommend this balun for all antenna installations/types. However, if you combine an SCB balun with a good 1:1 isolation choke such as our model 1115 or 1116d, you have what we consider the best possible solution for high power when using digital modes with a compromised antenna.

All of this adds up to why we offer several SCB units to help hams be successful with their antenna installs.  Utilizing a classic 4:1 balun such as our model 4115 in a compromised setting utilizing 1 kW+ and FT8 at 2+ SWR can be a receipe for  meltdown.  Our hybrid is a great alternative but is limited to 3kW.  Yes we could build a hybrid for higher power but it would weigh 4+ pounds, require a 6x6x6 inch enclosure and could not be produced for a reasonable price.