Debunking Myths in Ham Radio — Technical Articles

The Debunking Myths in Ham Radio Knowledge Base tackles the most persistent misconceptions in amateur radio. From SWR and resonance to ground systems, baluns, and tuners, we cut through decades of folklore with measured data and engineering analysis. Each article below is datestamped so you can see when it was last validated.

Debunking Myths in Ham Radio — Technical Articles

• [2025-09-09] 50 Ω Coax — Balanced at Its Design Impedance, Unbalanced When It’s Not
  
• [2025-09-09] Do Tuners “Tune the Antenna”? Resonance, Conjugate Match & Maxwell
• [2025-08-27] HF vs GHz Circular Polarisation: Myths, Limits, and Benefits
• [2025-08-26] The Ugly Balun: Why Are We Still Doing This?
• [2025-08-24] The Hybrid Balun Trap: Why 0.05λ Chokes Work, Hybrids Don’t
• [2025-08-14] The Coax-to-Earth Clamp Myth: When Good Intentions Kill Your Choke
• [2025-08-12] The EFHW 80–10 Myth: Why It’s Not the Magic Antenna Many Believe
• [2025-08-10] Common Misconceptions in Ham Radio
• [2024-08-05] Why Your Ferrite Might Be Cooking Alive
• [2025-07-29] Debunking the Height Myth: Why a 20M Yagi May Not Be Your Best Choice
• [2025-07-15] The Back-to-Back EFHW UNUN Transformer Measurement Myth
• [2025-07-05] In Praise of Doublets (And Why the G5RV Is a Card House Made of Apple Cake)
  [2024-07-01] The Illusion of Resonance: When Coax Becomes the Antenna
  
• [2025-07-01] Debunking the 4:1 Balun Myth for Open-Wire Feedlines
• [2025-06-23] Why Shielding Balanced Feedlines for HF Ham Radio Is a Bad Idea
• [2025-06-20] Remote Tuners: Stop Putting Them Where You Don’t Need Them
• [2025-06-19] SWR Demystified: Understanding the Real Impact of SWR
• [2025-06-05] Reciprocity Is a Mathematical Theorem
• [2025-05-23] ON6URE PoTaSupreme™ Eats POTA Performer for Breakfast
• [2025-05-08] The Hidden Truth About the Counterpoise: It's Not What You Think!
• [2025-04-24] The Limitations of NEC
• [2025-04-20] Don’t Make This Mistake: Why RG402 is the Worst Choice for Common Mode Chokes
• [2025-04-10] Why an LNA Won’t Fix Your Receiver’s Dynamic Range
• [2025-03-27] The Ham’s Obsession with Resonance
• [2025-03-12] The Truth About SWR, Resonance, and Efficient Radiation
• [2025-03-07] Debunking Myths in Common-Mode Choke Measurements with a VNA
• [2025-02-25] Antenna Tuners Don’t Tune Antennas: The Transmatch Misconception
• [2025-02-09] The “Faraday Cloth” Radial Myth
• [2025-01-24] The SWR Myth: The Story of the "Lost" Power That Isn’t Lost
• [2025-01-09] To Resonate or Not to Resonate — That’s the Ongoing Question… [NL]
• [2024-12-20] Why Comparing Antennas Is Like Comparing Apples and Oranges
• [2024-12-05] The End-Fed Half-Wave Myth: Why Most EFHWs Are Doing It Wrong
• [2024-11-21] Antenna Tuners for End-Fed and Longwire Antennas: Myths and Realities
• [2024-11-06] Short Radials and the Myth: Misreading Rudy Severns’ Work
• [2024-10-22] “Mythbusting the Mythbusters”: 1/4 & 5/8 Verticals Don’t Work the Same
• [2024-10-12] RX Chokes: Why You’re Still Thinking Like a Transmitter
• [2024-10-07] Coaxial Cable: The Myth of Being “Unbalanced”
• [2024-09-19] ARRL K6WX “Ground Is a Myth!” — But There’s Much More to the Story
  
• [2024-09-09] Why a 1:1 Balun Makes an Asymmetric Tuner Perform Like a Symmetric One