Zero-Five Antennas
43 FOOT 10 THROUGH 160 METER
MULTIBAND VERTICAL
INSTALLATION NOTES
Radials are required
Your ground radial system is the most important part of vertical antenna performance. When installing ground-mounted radials use radial lengths between 20 and 43 feet, with 43 foot being the choice for best performance. If you have to use shorter length radials, put more down. good place to start is a minimum of 32 with 120 being the best. When choosing radial wire, #14 insulated stranded wire should be used. You can buy it at Home Depot or most local hardware stores. When installing radials on a ground-mounted vertical, they do not have to be cut to resonance. Only when using elevated radials isolated from ground do the radials need to be cut to length for the various bands. A radial plate should be used and all connections soldered and coated with liquid electrical tape.
COAX CHOICE
A good low loss coax should be used with this vertical. For runs up to 150 feet, Bury flex or LMR 400 works great. For longer runs or near-legal-limit operation use LMR 600 or ½ inch heliax. Please remember that this antenna system is NOT resonant on any of the amateur bands. As a result, the feed line is operating at a higher than normal SWR most of the time. This can cause additional stress on the coax run especially under high-power conditions. Be sure to use a coaxial cable heavy enough to carry the power you’ll be using plus an additional safety margin due to the high SWR conditions.
ANTENNA TUNER CHOICE
A good quality antenna should be used with this vertical. Examples are Palstar, Dentron, Ameritron ATR 30. Some SGC remote tuners will not match some bands on this vertical and should be avoided. Most rigs with built in antenna tuners will have no problem with matching this vertical if the radio power only will be used. If your tuner doesn’t match the antenna on a particular band, try adding 10 to 25 feet of coax using a barrel connector and try matching again. Sometimes, certain lengths of coax cable will cause an antenna to not match on one or more bands. This is function of the length of the coax cable NOT a design defect in the antenna itself. See almost any ARRL Antenna Book for a discussion of feed line lengths and proper coax use.
A BALUN IS REQUIRED
This antenna REQUIRES a 4 to 1 balun be used at the feed point if you are feeding this antenna with coaxial cable. The balun should be rated for the power level you intend to use. For full legal limit installations we recommend that the balun be capable of around 5 KW for best performance and safety. Baluns with a lower power rating may fail due to heating of the balun under high power levels and extended transmitting times. Again, the balun and feed line are under some stress during normal use so don’t skimp when choosing a balun or coax cable especially under full legal limit conditions. If a “tuner” version of your favorite balun is available, please use that. Tuner versions of baluns tend to tolerate the higher SWR better and have less heating under high power conditions.
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THIS ANTENNA SYSTEM IS NOT RESONANT ON ANY OF THE AMATEUR BANDS. As a result, the feed line is operating at a higher than normal SWR most of the time.
installation tips
