Balun One Nine v2 - Small Low-Cost 9:1 (1:9) Balun with Input Protection & Enclosure for HF & Shortwave. Great for Software Defined Radio (RTL-SDR & SDRPlay), Ham It Up, and Other Capable Radios

I installed this on a random wire end fed (80ft) antenna I put up for my shortwave receiver. It really helps with pulling a nice clear signal on pretty much every band.My only wish is that the case was weatherproof but I just put it in a little plastic box and sealed the wire holes.

I used this balun as an unun for my random length (I chose 119 feet based on my research) long wire antenna and my Eton Elite 750 shortwave receiver. I compared it to the telescoping unit antenna on several bands and the long wire antenna through the Balun One Nine V2 had superior reception every time. It also was better on FM reception. I was cautioned that this is for receiving only and the Balun One Nine V2 CANNOT be used for transmitting, if you're a HAM looking at it for that purpose. I'm very satisfied and glad that I didn't choose one of the many balun kits available online. I just attached it to my antenna wire, ground wire, and coax on the other side and I was on my way. I used a LeMotech ABS Plastic Dustproof Waterproof IP65 Junction Box (5.9" x 5.9" x 2.8"), available on Amazon, to put the balun into for weatherproofing. Search the questions on this product for a good description on which lug is ground. Again, it works really well.

Very satifieg

The media could not be loaded. This balun works. It cleared up medium wave reception enough to receive stations. I would have pulled the balun out of the antenna system to show the mountain of noise there is which was blocking any reception except the strongest radio station but it is mounted to high up and I don't have a ladder to reach it.In the video you see SDRuno software which is interfaced with the SDR Play RSP1a. You can see some noise and hear some noise. That is with the balun one nine v2 with a ground wire connected to it.I don't see much of an improvement on shortwave reception up to 30MHz. I wouldn't expect a miracle. It is just a balun. It matches an unbalanced antenna to a balanced receiver.I do recommend the Balun One Nine V2 with the case. It is a nice little product and is somewhat effective.

I have used this balun for untuned small loops as well as large loop-on-ground antennas. It gets the job done for a very reasonable price. I prefer the enclosed version for durability but I’ve also used the bare one when weight was a concern for small indoor loops. The variety of connector options is very handy as well.

I got one of these for portable use while traveling. I have a half-dozen 9:1 baluns I made in Altoid tins using instructions I found online. I did a comparison between this and one of my homemade ones. Signals above 9 MHz were a bit weaker using this, but still comparable and acceptable. Below that signals were a lot weaker. By the time I got down to the AM (medium wave) band, about all it received were a few strong local signals. My homemade baluns work great on AM. They market this unit for HF so maybe there is some sort of built in attenuation for lower frequencies. Verdict: the unit is acceptable for the middle and higher HF frequencies but you would be better off building your own.

I'm an RF engineer and I found this device to be extremely well thought out and well made. I especially liked the overvoltage protector that the balun incorporates, that just speaks to 'doing it right'. This is my second one, I got it for portable operation.

I love this product.It was an essential element that helped me experiment with wire antennas for shortwave and single side-band HF ham radio. It is intended for random wire setups and is not meant for transmitting. You'd likely damage a perfectly nice radio if you used the 9:1 balun for transmitting.In my opinion, this thing brings in more signals with greater clarity than other listening antennas I have used.