DAB Aerial.

[Yorkie]

Is there any balun function in that aerial?

The reason I ask is that I'm getting conflicting ideas (like yer do) when doing a web search eg: "The coil is a choke balun" and is doing both...."It's choke therfore it can't be a balun"

Lawrence.

As you probably know Lawrence, a dipole is a balanced antenna, but the antenna connection on the radio is unbalanced, in that one side is connected to earth. The role of a balun (Bal-Un - balanced to unbalanced) is to match the antenna to the radio, much more important in a transmitter to ensure that the antenna - not the feeder, radiates the RF power. Coiled coax 'choke baluns' as they've come to be known feature in many antenna systems.

This might be of interest:

http://www.hamuniverse.com/balun.html

Receiving antennas don't need quite the same careful considerations that transmitting antennas do, which is why many modern solid state amateur radio transceivers progressively reduce the output power if connected to a mismatched antenna and often have a built-in automatic antenna tuning unit to try to make as good a match as can be attained between the antenna and transmitted output.

For VHF or DAB, the most important aspect is height, given that VHF/UHF is line of sight, so the higher up the antenna, the better the signal received will be. True, in strong signal strength areas a set-top TV aerial will be fine. However, to get all Freeview TV channels without any pixilation we have a proper Labgear digital TV antenna on a 3M pole on the chimney, with a mast-head amplifier and low loss feeder. (I've only got one DAB radio - a 'Pure Evoke' which works well enough on its telescopic antenna). Don't want to spark a debate about the merits or otherwise of DAB/FM, but DAB sounds fine to my ears).

Waffled and dribble Yorkie, back home readjusting after a week in London with three granddaughters, a dog, and trying to get to sleep under the flight path of Heathrow. The silence is very spooky - no planes, no police/ambulance sirens, no dogs, no kids practising the flute, saxophone and piano, no traffic noise. I just hope I've not gone to heaven!