Radio Balun Antennas 1-30Mhz Shortwave Radio HAM Equipment NXO-100 Magnetic Balance Kit DIY

I will be buying and building more of these. Other reviews mention the instructions are wrong for one of the balun types but I was building a different type (1:1). I still checked the internet for clarification. I'll build some different ones for different types of antennas. I found the whole process pretty easy. You do need to know how to solder but you don't have to be a pro. There is something satisfying about putting it together yourself, and if it doesn't work you have no one to blame but yourself. When it comes to radio, that is important to me. There are so many things that can go wrong in radio, I like to know the components intimately.

Direction are fuzzy but the product is good. Had to google the install instructions.

While much has been said about the incorrect wiring diagram, I thought I’d mention that I’ve purchased two of these so far. The first one I set up for my ‘extended G5RV’ (sometimes marketed as a ‘G5RV MAX’ and with my IC-756’s internal tuner I get great matches across all the bands (I haven’t really tried 160m) and have had great success both regional and DX’ing on SSB, CW and a few of the digi-modes. I picked up the second one, intending to try another dipole-style configuration but ended up winding it as a 49:1 transformer to use with an end-fed random-wire (I’ll probably trim it to a specific length at some point). I did a 35-wind secondary and 5-wind primary using the supplied wiring (it’s rather nice and the enameling is thick enough to not worry about damaging) and so far the resulting performance has been AMAZING. Yes, you can buy the parts separately cheaper or whatever, but this is a GOOD kit and it’s at a good price. If you take care with the construction and seal it and seal your coax correctly it’s darned near bulletproof. I’ve had the first one out in the open for about a year now and it’s endured all types of weather and still works like a champ.

No surprises as to the contents. It has everything I expected and needed for my project. But... Is there a trick to soldering the wire included with the kit? I've been soldering one thing or another for 40 yrs. I've done this once or twice. No matter how I prep the wire, the solder runs off like water on a ducks back. Tried no flux, low solids flux, acid flux, strip/scrape/sand, various type of solder. Nothing is making it behave like normal copper wire. EDIT: The coating on the wire is quite thick. Tried again with coarser emery paper and it came off w/ a bit of effort. After that it soldered as expected and went together quickly. Changing review to 5 stars. The kit is kinda hard to build if the solder wont stick to any of it.

This is a wonderful balun kit, was easy to assemble, and is superior to many kits on the market. The parts are of high-quality, and we are given an option of making it either a 1:1, 1:4, or 9:1 balun. I chose 9:1 for my end fed long wire. I own a couple of high quality commercial baluns, and this balun is at least as good as the others that cost nearly twice the price. In my case, I wanted an EFLW of 41’ in length for higher frequencies in the HF band, and it has exceeded my expectations with this balun kit. As for assembly, the seller printed out a color printout of instructions that were well thought out and easy to follow. Let me emphasize that this is, in my opinion, a high quality balun kit that will provide one with excellent results.

Interesting product, but you literally have to build it all the way down to putting the shrink wrap insulation on the wires. You WILL need a fine point soldering iron. VERY tight spaces.

The kit is well made and is worth the money. But the wiring diagram for the 9:1 UNUN is wrong. See my picture for the correct diagram

I assembled the (1:1 balun configuration) in about 1 hour (not bad considering my clumsiness and foggy vision). It is a bit smaller than I had expected, which made soldering coiled toroid to attachment points more challenging. At one point the side of my soldering iron touched the edge of the box doing a bit of damage. The kit is of high quality - though mechanical instructions would have been helpful. I was surprised that the insulation was separate from the wire, but sliding the wiring into the insulation (albeit uncomfortably similar to a catheter being inserted...) was straight. I have not yet tested its RF behavior - the unit is intended as a classroom demonstration of "What is a balun?", hence the desirability of a clear plastic cover. Checking DC continuity after soldering showed that all points that are supposed to be connected were.