Which Style Balun Is Better?

[Stereocraig]

My choices for a DIY, would be between the standard 4:1 x-frmr and the PCB type.

I know that the PCB style would be more sturdy/ dependable, but what about matching and SWR, etc?

Thanks,
Craig

[rabbit73]

The 4:1 transformer balun works well for VHF & UHF; the PCB balun works better for UHF than for VHF. The new UHF antennas with a built-in PCB balun don't pick up VHF channels as well as the older UHF antennas that used a separate 4:1 transformer balun.

So, it really depends upon your application.

If you need a low-loss balun for one channel, then the best choice is a DIY halfwave 4:1 coaxial balun cut for the frequency of that channel.

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/antennas/temporarypage.html

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=1840674&postcount=761
Awhile back, ADTech said that NEWER 91XG used a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) balun which uses unequal stripline delays to form the equivalent of a Coax Balun, which ONLY works on UHF Band and severely attenuates Hi-VHF. You probably could figure out a way to replace the PCB Balun....perhaps ADTech can help...
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=1606810&postcount=3
DB4e and DB8e use PCB (Printed Circuit Board) Baluns, which are VERY lossy in Hi-VHF Band, which is something NOT modeled by 4nec2:

[Stereocraig]

Thank you for a great explanation, Rabbit!