Does a dipole antenna need a balun?

A dipole is what is termed a balanced antenna. In an ideal world a balun should be used with coaxial feeder (which is unbalanced) to make the transition between balanced and unbalanced systems. The use of a balun will prevent the coax radiating any power or picking up any noise.

Why is a balun used in an antenna?

A balun is a type of transformer: it’s used to convert an unbalanced signal to a balanced one or vice versa. Baluns isolate a transmission line and provide a balanced output. A typical use for a balun is in a television antenna….balun.

Balanced	Unbalanced
Parallel-wire transmission line	Coaxial transmission line

How do I know if I need a balun?

Firstly, we will need a balun to use a balanced line feeder or balanced antenna in any case as radios today are not presenting a balanced output. The next point is the effect that any close by objects have on the balanced feed line, walls, buildings in general, towers, all metal objects, ground, everything!

What type of balun is used for dipoles?

The best balun for the Windom or Off-Center Fed Dipole is a 4:1 ratio current balun. or the DXE-BAL200H11-C. Off-Center fed antennas have a large amount of feedline when compared to a conventional dipole. This means they are more sensitive to their surroundings than a center fed dipole.

Is a full wave antenna better than a half wave?

It’s length (half of the wavelength) gives you the better performance than other lengths….. It may be gain, efficiency, directivity, return loss, etc….. I think the gain of the half wave dipole is higher than the full wave length antenna. I also see that the input impedance of the full wave dipole is infinity.

What is a choke balun?

Essentially, a choke balun is designed to “divorce” your antenna from the feed line. If your feed line is coaxial cable then you don’t want it to be part of your antenna. You want to be able to deliver all your power to the radiator itself, i.e. “the antenna”. A choke balun does this admirably.

Which feeding method is best for dipole antenna?

As the dipole antenna is a balanced antenna, a balanced feeder would be the natural choice to use to feed it. Whilst balanced open wire feeder offers very low levels of loss, and is ideal from many respects it is rarely used.

What is the difference between a UNUN and balun?

A Balun is used to match a balanced line to an unbalanced line. An Unun is used to match an unbalanced line to another unbalanced line. This is a 4:1 Current Balun. The only difference between the Unun and Balun is how you connect the feed line.

When should I use an antenna balun?

Baluns are used in many areas to transition between balanced & unbalanced scenarios: one key area is for radio frequency, RF applications for antennas. RF baluns are used with many antennas and their feeders to transform a balanced feed or line to an unbalanced one.

Is a full wave dipole better than a half wave dipole?

It gives more directive pattern as compared to one dipole antenna. GAIN is high. It’s length (half of the wavelength) gives you the better performance than other lengths….. I think the gain of the half wave dipole is higher than the full wave length antenna.