There’s still plenty of opportunity to spend time in the backyard upgrading your operation before winter’s grip takes hold. If you were frustrated with your station’s performance in 2021, a better balun is a great place to begin your plans for improved results in the coming year. So why not get the best available?
When DX Engineering introduced its Maxi-Core 20 Baluns and Feedline Choke not too long ago, the company made its message about these revolutionary, next-generation devices loud and clear: Get ready to hear and be heard like never before.
The baluns signal a new era of RF performance across the 1.8 to 54 MHz frequency range by reducing or eliminating currents on the outside of feedlines.
The finished product marked the culmination of years of R & D, major advancements in test equipment and techniques, the development of custom ferrite materials, and a team of dedicated ham radio engineers working on breakthrough solutions to problems that have broken the spirit of many an amateur operator over the years.
Designed to handle full-legal-power-plus, the four baluns and one choke making up the Maxi-Core 20 lineup provide a much higher common mode impedance (CMI) across a greater frequency range—AM Broadcast band and HF/6M spectrum—compared to competing models.
What do hams say?
Five Stars (MC20-1-1T): “I highly recommend this balun from DX Engineering! It is built to handle varying impedances as expected with my multi-band dipole which is fed with 600-ohm wire line into the balun. The waterproof enclosure and hardware are top notch. As a retired engineer, it’s easy to see this is a solid design, both electrically and mechanically. After a week of operation, I have been more than pleased with the performance, yielding very good results.”
Five Stars (DXE-MC20-FC): “I had an issue with HF RF coming back into the shack on the feedline. It was a mess—caused my transmit voice to come through external speakers, etc. I’m running a tuned vertical sitting about 150 feet from my second floor location. It’s tuned, but nothing is perfect as always. I had some ferrite beads which helped a bit showing me what needed to be done. I ordered this item as a better option. I installed it on the antenna coax in my shack to try it out. ALL RF is now completely gone! I may add the ferrite beads on the coax at the antenna in the future, but the problem was solved. Well-made and very effective product from DXE.”
Choose from these Maxi-Core 20 models:
DXE-MC20-1-1 1:1 Current Balun Choke: For all HF-6M balanced antennas with a 50-ohm feedpoint, including resonant dipoles, Yagis, and beams.
DXE-MC20-FC 1:1 Feedline Choke: This high CMI line isolator is perfect for use inline on 50-ohm coaxial feedlines, at the antenna, tower or shack end of the feedline.
DXE-MC20-1-1T Current Choke Balun: This 1:1 “T” model is for force-feeding an antenna with a tuner. Use it at the end of ladder line of any impedance or mounted on a coax-fed non-resonant antenna. It’s built to tolerate operation at high SWR on non-resonant multi-band antennas.
DXE-MC20-C4-1 4:1 Current Choke Balun: For use on antennas with a 200-ohm feedpoint and on any impedance ladder line, especially antenna systems with higher impedance. This model tolerates operation at high SWR on non-resonant multi-band antennas.
DXE-MC20-V4-1 4:1 Voltage Balun: This model is a 200-ohm to 50-ohm transformer for use on random long-wire and OCF antenna applications. This true voltage balun tolerates high SWR and is intentionally designed with low CMI for antennas that need a transformer without RF choking for easier antenna tuner operation.
For many more details about Maxi-Core 20 Baluns and Feedline Choke and mounting options (Wire Antenna Balun Mounting Bracket Kit, Balun Upgrade Kit, 1:1 Balun and Mount Kit, and Feedline Choke and Mount Kit), visit DXEngineering.com.
