Whilst I’m sure this is not an original thought, here’s my solution to a problem that I have when the feeder for a portable antenna hangs down from the driven element, and the driven element is some way from the pole holding it up. The extra weight of the feeder hanging down and swinging around as you turn the beam causes problems for me in keeping the antenna balanced on the pole. Especially if it gets a bit windy.
I decided to add the balun, but to fix it permanently to the spar that holds out the connector for the driven element, as shown in attached photographs. The other issue that it solves is that I can now directly attach a ‘normal’ BNC plug without having to remember to take the inline adapter with me.
I’m also thinking of trying to find a velcro tag that can be attached to the coaxial cable at the feeder end and wrap that around the support pole as I extend it, so that the antenna is in better balance without the feeder swinging about.
The extra coax at the terminal end serves two purposes. 1st it avoids strain on the socket/terminal glue joint and 2nd it forms a drip loop for those very few days in the UK when it drizzles or rains on you during a SOTA activation…