Full Line Product

Information
Antenna Trimming Chart - 60
Ground Loop Solution - 13
Installing Line Isolators - 16
Installing Antennas in Trees - 20
Power & Control Line Isolators - 18
RF Ground Systems - 7
Second Floor Grounding - 15
Tower Installation - 32
Ultimate Sealing Technique - 4
Weatherproofing - 3

Installation Checkoff Lists - 26

Inverted-V
Before installing your antenna as
an inverted-V, read page 61.

IMPORTANT - Read pages 2 - 4

and all related instructions before
beginning any installation!
Box 6159, Portsmouth, VA 23703 U.S.A.
757-484-0140
Copyright © 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006 All rights reserved FAX 757-483-1873
WEB Site http://www.radioworks.com
 CAUTION
Read This Text
This page is included to help you make your antenna installation safe. The following
cautions are general, and they apply to all antenna and balun installations; they are not
specific to any RADIO WORKS antenna, balun, or accessory.

HAZARDS This antenna or antenna component is USER INSTALLED. The

RADIO WORKS has no control over its installation. Before you begin, you
must be qualified and must be fully aware of the CONSEQUENCES and
DANGERS involved in antenna, balun and transmission line installations.
If you are not totally familiar with SAFE antenna and balun
installation practices, GET COMPETENT HELP and ADVICE before
installing this antenna, antenna part or accessory.

POWER LINES DO NOT build, erect or install any antenna or tower (or part of an
antenna, such as a balun or transmission line) near POWER LINES,
POWER POLES, OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH THEM. THIS
INCLUDES THE POWER LINES THAT RUN FROM A POWER
POLE TO A BUILDING. Mount your antenna so that it CANNOT fall (or
be blown by high winds) into power lines.

LIGHTNING LIGHTNING is providential, and provisions must be made for it. Use
appropriate LIGHTNING protection, and install it following the
instructions supplied with the device. Also, disconnect all your antennas
from your equipment and disconnect your equipment from the power lines
during weather that is likely to produce lightning.

SHOCK HIGH VOLTAGE may exist on certain parts of antennas, baluns, and
transmission lines. This represents a possible SHOCK or FIRE HAZARD!
It is not a fault of the design or the designer. It is a consequence of the
physical laws involved. Most antennas will develop HIGH VOLTAGE at
some point on their physical structure. HIGH VOLTAGE can occur in
some antenna types even when applying low RF power. Be certain that
your antenna installation provides for this POTENTIAL HAZARD. Locate
all parts of the antenna well out of the reach of people. It is also desirable
and proper installation practice to keep all antenna components away from
any object not made of insulating material.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

2
 WARNING!
PROTECT YOUR WARRANTY!
THE ENCLOSED CoaxSeal® MUST BE USED AND APPLIED CORRECTLY.

Most weatherproofing techniques used by Hams are not reliable. Occasionally, a

customer returns an antenna or balun that no longer works properly. In nearly every case, the
product had not failed. Connectors or coaxial cable had failed as the result of improperly
applied weatherproofing. Often, no weatherproofing was used! Nearly all failures have been
traced to corroded connectors and moisture contaminated coax.
As a service to our customers, we are including CoaxSeal® with each product.

Applying CoaxSeal ®

* If any other weather sealer or weatherproofing technique is used with any RADIO WORKS
product or if the CoaxSeal® is not installed according to directions, the warranty is void.

It is not necessary to seal the

eyebolts. Seal only the wires
exiting the case and the
coaxial connector.

1. Make sure the coaxial connector and the

coaxial cable are clean and dry.
Baluns, Line Isolators, and Matching
Transformers are filled with a sealing
2. Peel approximately five (5) inches of
compound. However, to prevent any moisture
CoaxSeal® from its paper backing. Start
from entering the case, apply CoaxSeal® to fill
winding from the coax jacket towards the
the holes where wires exit the balun’s or
connector. Allow one-half overlap with each
matching transformer’s case.
winding, making sure all joints are well
covered. This is shown in the illustration,
Pull lightly on each of the two wires to be sure
“STEP 1 & 2.”
they are fully extended out of the case. Peel a
small piece of CoaxSeal® from its paper backing.
3. After the entire connector and coaxial cable are
Ball up this CoaxSeal® and press around one of
covered with 3/16" layers, mold and form the
the wires where it exits the case. Press and
CoaxSeal® with your fingers to make a smooth
mold the CoaxSeal® so that it sticks to the case
surface and to force out any air. CoaxSeal®
and to the wire’s jacket.
must stick to the connector and coax’s jacket.
See illustration “STEP 3.”
Repeat for the second wire on the opposite side of
the case.
4. If more CoaxSeal® is necessary to complete the
seal, simply cut the needed amount from the
Inspect for complete sealing.
roll and add it to the existing CoaxSeal®. Mold
and press into the other material. CoaxSeal®
Again, pull LIGHTLY on each wire to be sure that
sticks to itself with slight pressure.
the seal is secure.
5. Carefully inspect the seal to make certain
that all openings are covered and sealed. 3
 Ultimate Sealing Technique
All sealing products are available at the RADIO WORKS.

You need Coax Seal, STUF, Cold- Apply STUF to the When connector is tightened, “STUF”
shrink and electrical tape connector as shown. is compressed and forced to fill any
voids in the connectors. Moisture and
excess STUF is forced out.
Important
Clean off excess STUF
A layer of quality electrical tape
is carefully applied in overlap-
ping layers. The PL-259 connec-
tor is completely covered from the
balun case (or other surface) to
at least 1” on the coaxial cable.
Compression causes STUF to fill all cavities and voids inside the Overlap a layer of electrical tape
connectors. Since all voids are filled with STUF, a Teflon dielectric from body of the device and continue
material, any path for moisture reentry is eliminated. well on the cable.

Apply one overlapping layer of IMPORTANT - Make sure the Optional, but recommended, apply
Coax Seal. Press so that it sticks Coax Seal is well whetted (stuck) a layer of Cold-shrink tape com-
to the device and covers at least 1” to the device as well as to the cable. pletely over the Coax Seal.
of cable. The seal must be solid
from device to cable.
Cover the Cold Shrink with a layer of electrical tape
You should enjoy years of trouble-free service from this sealing
technique.
STUF seals from the inside
Electrical Tape makes removal of the Coax Seal easier and forms
the next layer of protection.
Coax Seal provides a totally waterproof seal
Cold-Shrink Tape is a tough, solid outer layer which puts a squeez-
ing force on the Coax Seal to improve the seal. It provides an extra
layer of protection.
4
 Important - Power Ratings
Check the Specs Most products are rated at 1500 watts peak output on CW and SSB
under normal amateur radio duty-cycles. Antennas, baluns, and Line Isolators are not rated for
AM, FM, RTTY, or other high duty-cycle modes unless specifically rated for those modes in the
specifications.

Baluns and Line Isolators

All RADIO WORKS’ products’ power ratings are for standard Amateur Radio SSB and CW duty-cycles. Normally,
that is 25%, which equates to 25% transmitting time followed by 75% listening time. Often these numbers are even
more conservative in actual amateur service. We do not rate any of our products for high duty-cycle modes. This
includes AM, FM, RTTY and high duty-cycle digital modes. Essentially, these modes require devices designed for
commercial service. I have checked on prices for a commercial 2 kW balun and the price was nearly $1500. This is
certainly beyond the range of most of our budgets. I know that there are balun manufacturers that claim very high
power ratings. However, they say nothing about duty-cycle nor do they mention the load conditions under which they
will survive their rated power. I am being up-front with our ratings.

It has been only during that past five years that the interest in very high power operation has been more than a very
isolated case. We have been building baluns and Line Isolators for nearly two decades, and our power ratings were
more than adequate. Most operators were using SSB and CW. Most still operate those modes. Then came the
resurgence of AM operation and the apparent disregard of power limits. For example, an AM transmitter generating
1500 watts of carrier produces 6 dB higher output when fully modulated. In other words, the 1500 watt transmitter
delivers 6000 watts of modulated RF to the antenna components. That’s for a fully plate modulated carrier. The
legal limit is 375 watts of carrier, by the way. That results in 1500 watts of modulated output.

The operating style of AM, FM and most RTTY operators, especially when contesting or when just being long-winded,
is to run key-down for long periods of time. The same goes for the new digital modes. There is no cool-down time for
antenna components. Another problem with older transmitters which run “class-C” output stages is the very high
harmonic and spurious signal components in the output signal. Some antenna components, among them, high quality
current baluns and Line Isolators, absorb much of the harmonic and spurious energy. This can result in core saturation
and excessive heating. You may say that this doesn’t happen in other types of devices. The reason is that these
devices just pass the harmonics and spurious signals along to the antenna. This isn’t to say that current baluns and
Line Isolators can be used as “low pass filters.” Special devices are needed for that purpose. Each has its own
function and they should be used together.

PSK-31 operation is OK, and our baluns and Line Isolators will not contribute to distortion products or increasing
your IMD. Just keep the power in the 100 watt range.

I have to mention the PSK-31 operators. While PSK-31 is a high duty-cycle mode, nearly every operator I’ve heard on
the bands runs low power and gets through just fine. One reason for this is that PSK-31 operators are very conscien-
tious about keeping their IMD products low. They reduce power until their rigs produce a clean signal. I wish this
concern for clean signals would spread throughout operators of other modes. Perhaps if our receivers had an IMD or
“distortion” meter, things would change.

Antennas
The matching transformers and Line Isolators used in our antenna systems are based on the same designs and parts
used in our baluns and undedicated Line Isolators. Therefore, all of the above information on power limits applies to
our antenna systems, too.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

5
 IMPORTANT
Do Not Ignore the Installation Checkoff Lists

CAUTION
KEEP ANTENNAS AWAY FROM ELECTRIC UTILITIES

An RF ground is very important. See the grounding information in this product

manual starting on page 7.

DO NOT use your house ground system as your radio ground system. This is sure
to cause RFI and even more serious problems. Do not use water pipes for grounds.

If your radio room is not on the ground floor where very short ground runs are
possible, you will probably have RFI and RF feedback problems with any antenna
system. The solution is to install ground mounted and in-station Line Isolators.
Use a “single-point” ground system and run multiple ground runs. See page 15.

The checkoff lists start on page 26, following the complete general installation instructions
on page 20. These lists are step-by-step installation guides. Use them. They are specific
and detailed. Also, pay attention to the “Do’s and Don’ts” list on page 25.

For maximum life and performance from your antenna, do not assume that the “Installation
Checkoff Lists” are not important.

If your antenna is not installed properly, it will not perform properly!

If you call with questions about your antenna installation, we use the lists to help identify
any problems with your antenna system. In 99% of the calls, the problems could have
been avoided if these instructions had been followed.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

6
 RF GROUND SYSTEMS
The UN-GROUND . . . .
Ground systems that aren’t ....
From the telephone calls we receive, many of you
are having problems with RF ground systems. RF
ground? Yes, most of us have ground systems that
provide adequate DC grounding. Unfortunately, a good
DC ground system may not be a good RF ground system.
In fact, you may have an ‘UN-GROUND.’
UN-GROUND? Absolutely. There are situations
where your ground system may actually un-ground your
station. The reason lies in the fundamental difference
between DC and RF circuits.

Definition
IMPEDANCE
The total opposition (resistance and reactance) a
circuit offers to the flow of alternating current.
Impedance is measured in ohms. The common
symbol is Z.
Definition
REACTANCE
Symbolized by X, it is the opposition to the flow of Why? As illustrated above, the inductive reactance of
alternating current. Capacitive reactance (XC) is the wire that is one-quarter wavelength long is very high
opposition offered by capacitors and inductive and impedes RF current flow (thus the term -
reactance (XL) is the opposition offered by a coil or impedance).
other inductance. Both are measured in ohms. On other bands, where the length of the wire
Any wire will have inductance and therefore, inductive is not an odd multiple of a quarter wavelength long,
reactance. The longer the wire, the higher the inductive the inductive reactance (XL) is at some intermediate
reactance and the higher the opposition to the flow of RF or low value.
current. The fatter or larger the wire, the lower the
opposition to the flow of RF current. The effect is similar to
the DC resistance of a wire. The longer the wire, the higher
High RF Voltage
the DC resistance will be. Figure 2 shows a grounding diagram
The fatter the wire the lower the DC resistance for the of a typical ham station.
same length wire. There is an important ‘however,’ that There is a heavy ground strap running along the back
we must consider. When the XL (inductive reactance) is of the equipment. The ground strap eventually reaches
measured along the length of a wire, the magnitude of XL the earth ground system, a ground rod, through a heavy
(the opposition to RF current flow) varies from very low to gauge copper wire 11 feet in length. The ground
very high values. It continues to alternate between low connection for each piece of equipment goes directly to
and high values in cycles that have a direct relationship the heavy ground strap that runs behind the station
between the length of wire and the frequency of the applied equipment. The antenna is a ladder-line fed, 80
RF energy. DC resistance, on the other hand, has no cycle. meter dipole used on all bands. The ladder line is
It simply increases linearly with the length of the wire. brought directly into the operating position where it
When measuring XL, its value is very high when the connects to the balanced output of the tuner
length of the wire is around one-quarter wavelength long. (transmatch). The ladder line is about 60 feet long and
Increasing the length wire to one-half wavelength, returns goes directly to the antenna, but passes very close to a
XL to a low value. metal rain gutter. Such a station should be effective
The length of the wire does not have to be very long for and trouble free. Unfortunately, this station is
this effect to be observed. For example, at 28 MHz an 8' experiencing problems on several bands. There is RF
ground wire (or any wire for that matter) is approximately feedback distorting the transmitted signal, and there
one-quarter wavelength long. If this 8 foot long ground wire are some TVI and RFI problems. What could be wrong?
connects your 10 meter rig to may actually prevent RF from
traveling to ground. This is an UN-GROUND!

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

7
 HIGH ABOVE THE GROUND
Coax Coax The ground wire is about 11 feet long. On 15
Transmitter Linear Amp Transmatch
meters, this length is almost exactly 1/4 wavelength
Ground Loop Ground Loop A length of wire or coax that is 1/4 wavelength long
Ls
is an impedance inverter. One end is at low impedance, so
Ground Bus the other end presents a high impedance to the circuit
Earth Ground connected to it. In other words, the ground wire is near zero
impedance at the ground end, but due to the impedance
If we tune up on 20 meters, the 80 meter inverting characteristic, the station equipment ‘sees’ a very
dipole becomes a center-fed, two wavelength antenna. high impedance at the equipment end of the ground wire. In
The feedpoint impedance is around 4500 ohms. The effect, the equipment is UNGROUNDED at high RF
length of the ladder line feeding the antenna is about frequencies.
one wavelength long. It is a characteristic of On 20 meters, the 11 foot ground wire is .15
transmission line that it will duplicate its load wavelengths long. Referring to figure 1 and interpolating
impedance every half-wave along its length. So, the between zero and 1/4 wavelength, the inductive reactance of
very high antenna feedpoint impedance appears right the ground wire is still quite high. To our station equipment,
at the tuner’s (transmatch) output terminals. the ground wire simulates an inductive reactance in series
However, before reaching the tuner (transmatch), the with the resistance of the ground wire. This is illustrated by
ladder line runs very close to a metal rain gutter. the coil LS in figure 2. We’ll disregard the DC resistance of
Feedline balance is upset, and it begins to radiate at the ground wire.
that point. Without getting into great detail, let’s just agree that
The tuner (transmatch) uses a voltage-type it would be better if the station had a direct, low impedance
path to ground. In this illustration, this is not the case. The
balun to create a balanced output. Baluns do not work
path to ground is a high impedance on the higher frequency
well in high impedance circuits, and voltage-type
bands. In fact, there are alternate grounds available to the
baluns are especially bad in this application.
station equipment. Other, undesirable, ground paths may
With a high impedance load, the voltage balun’s core
present a lower impedance path to earth or may act as a
will saturate even at moderate power levels. Output
counterpoise. Unfortunately, one of those ground systems is
balance is poor.* This contributes to additional
the electrical power lines at the operating position. RF from
radiation from the balanced line.
the transmitter, seeking a ground path, may have to pass by
In this illustration, we have several problems,
or through several electronic appliances (TVs, VCRs, etc.)
each compounding the other. First, all of the ground
that would work better if they were isolated from your
system and ground loop problems still exist, but we
transmitting equipment.
now have a tuner (transmatch) balun that is
Due to the inductive reactance of the ground system,
saturating and generating high level harmonics.
none of the equipment in this station is effectively grounded
Signal distortion may be noticeable because the balun
on the higher HF bands. If an RF potential exists on the
is no longer operating in its linear region. The ladder-
station ground system, the entire station may ‘float’ up to
line is not balanced so it radiates, and the equipment
that RF potential. Thus, the earth ground reference is
at the operating position becomes part of the antenna
actually several volts above ground. All sorts of RFI problems
system. Here is a real shocker! There is RF all
can be the result, including RF feedback into station
over the equipment. The Microphone is biting your
microphones, computers, monitors, TNCs, power supplies,
lips. Your computer crashed. The packet TNC will
etc.
not talk to you anymore, but none of this matters
because the station power supply shut itself down and
Solid state equipment is especially sensitive to
you are off the air. Sound impossible? Unfortunately,
ground problems.
it’s not. This is a true story and this isn’t the end.
Solid state equipment is especially sensitive to ground
problems. Each piece of equipment in figure 2 is
* Voltage-type baluns provide their best balance when
interconnected by two ground paths, a ground strap and the
feeding matched loads. Current baluns provide better
coaxial cable that interconnects the equipment. The two
balance under most conditions.
paths form a ground loop. Since there is high system gain
involved from the millivolts of the transceiver’s input circuits
to the kilovolts of the linear’s output circuit, ground loops
can be a serious problem. It’s even worse if the ground system
is ineffective and the entire station is ‘floating’ above ground.
Breaking the ground loops can lead to the solution to long
unsolved RFI problems.

The RADIO WORKS’ Line Isolatorstm are very

effective at solving ground loop problems.
The RADIO WORKS 8
 The Shocking Truth
Have you ever
calculated what the Of course, it’s never this simple. My numbers
voltage across a 4500 are only representative, but they do serve as an
ohm reactive load is illustration. The RF voltage on the station ground
at 1.5 KW? It is more system does reach very high levels under some
than a few volts. circumstances. I have had hams tell me of severe RF
Actually, it’s a few burns and visible ‘arcing’ from microphones, equipment
thousand volts. It’s chassis, ground busses. Obviously, at these levels of RF
unbalanced, and it’s voltage, there will be terrible problems. But, what
looking for somewhere happens when the RF voltage on the ground system is
to go. As we predicted only a few volts? You may not know that RF energy is
in previous there, causing RFI or other problems.
paragraphs,the
antenna feedpoint
impedance and Symptoms
corresponding high RF
voltage is transferred There are some symptoms that may suggest the existence
directly across the of station grounding problems. A list must include such
output terminals of the tuner (transmatch). Several obvious things as ‘mic bite,’ a tingly feeling when touching
thousand volts of RF is only a few feet away and at RF, metal while transmitting. A less obvious symptom is
the station is poorly grounded. transmitted signal distortion due to RF feedback. RFI
I’m not going to bore and TVI problems can often be traced to grounding
you with a lot of math, but problems. Here are a few other observations that were
let’s simplify this situation to
the result of an UN-GROUND.
a simple series circuit. In
figure 3, the antenna, tuner
(transmatch), and ground (1) Two SWR meters, one in your transceiver and the
system are represented by a second in the tuner (transmatch) that are in wide
simple voltage divider. This disagreement. This assumes that both meters are
simple circuit will allow me acurate, your SWR is low and the interconnecting
to illustrate what is coaxial cable is short.
happening to the ground bus (2) A change in indicated SWR when the station
in the ham shack.
First, let’s assume ground system is temporally disconnected from
the voltage at point ‘A’ on the all equipment.
tuner (transmatch) is 500 (3) A change in indicated SWR reading after adding
volts. It is really much a 1/4 wavelength counterpoise in parallel with the
higher. The impedance at station ground system. Information on making a
the output terminals of the counterpoise is covered later in this chapter.
tuner (transmatch) is 4500 ohms, and the reactance of (4) Adding a Line IsolatorTM at the output of your
the ground system is 500 ohms. I did not calculate the
value for the ground system, the 500 ohm value is for transceiver changes the drive to your linear, alters
illustration. meter readings, requires changes in tuner
Reducing the problem to its simplest terms, we (transmatch) settings or results in a different
have a 4500 ohm resistor in series with a 500 ohm resistor. SWR reading on either the transceiver’s or linear’s
The ground system is the tap between the two. In this watt-meter.
example, if there are 500 volts at the tuner (transmatch),
the station ground system will ‘float’ above earth ground. If any of these observations suggest that there is a ground
The potential is about 50 volts. Your ground system and
or ground loop problem, there are several things you can
all your equipment, in effect, has 50 volts of RF applied
to the equipment grounds. This is just like having a do. Eliminating a ground system problem may clear up
50 volt input signal if the input circuits were at ground both existing and potential RFI problems.
potential.
Another way to look at this problem is to visualize Fortunately, under most circumstances we do not have
the antenna and ground system as a big coil that represent severe problems with our ground systems; still there may
the inductive reactance of the ground system and tuner be symptoms that go unnoticed.
(transmatch). The antenna is at one end of the coil, and
the ground is at the other. We are tapped several turns
up the coil. The higher the impedance of the ground
system, the higher up the coil the ‘tap’ is located. The
only way to keep RF off the station equipment and station
ground is to move the point were the rig is tapped into
the coil closer to ground.
9 The RADIO WORKS
 [ ] Reconnect the ground system, grounding each piece of
The Cure equipment independently to a single, central ground
point. This will be your tuner, if one is used. If not,
Tracking down grounding problems is most often a te- ground central is the last piece of equipment in line.
dious process. Adopting a step-by-step approach will pro- It’s the one that connects to the antenna.
Having completed these steps, there should be a
duce the best results.
noticeable improvement in the symptoms previously
observed. If not, the problem is so severe that you will
Here is one procedure you may want to try if you suspect need to follow the suggestions in one of the RFI
you are a victim of an UN-GROUND. handbooks.
Procedure [ ] Remove the “snap-together RFI cores and the MFJ-
Using this procedure for hunting an UN-GROUND or 701 toroids, one-by-one, making sure the problem does
solving an RF feedback problem requires several (four to not return. This procedure will confirm the specific
eight) 1/4" or ½” snap-together RFI cores or MFJ-701 source of the problem.
‘break-apart’ toroids. I suggest using our “snap-together”
RFI cores first in each step. If you notice an improvement, If a change in symptoms is observed when connecting
try one or more MFJ-701 toroids so see if there is further or disconnecting the ground system, follow the suggestions
improvement. for installing an effective RF ground system that follows.
If placing RFI cores or MFJ toroids on one or more of
the coaxial cables that interconnect the transceiver, linear,
After completing each step, reconnect power to the and tuner (transmatch) is effective, install Line Isolatorstm
rig, go on the air and see if the symptoms persist. in place of the cores. The RADIO WORKS’ Line Isolatorstm
Unless the symptom is eliminated, continue with each are much more effective than any practical number of RFI
succeeding step. cores or toroids.
If placing MFJ cores on one or more control
[ ] Temporarily disconnect the ground wires from all interconnect cables or power cables proves to be effective,
equipment. Make sure that a shock hazard does not permanently install the RFI cores or MFJ-701 toroids on
exist when doing this. those cables.
[ ] Disconnect all leads to ancillary equipment.
In most installations, it is a good idea to install the ine
[ ] Ground only the antenna tuner (tuner).
Isolators even if grounding problems are not evident. The
[ ] Snap on two or more RFI cores or wrap the coax T-4 series of Line Isolatorstm are very effective in RFI
that connects the transceiver’s output to the linear prevention.
amplifier or tuner around one or more MFJ-701 cores
following the instructions supplied. The station ground must provide both effective DC and
[ ] Install RFI cores (it may require several) or RF grounding. Creating a good DC ground is not a problem,
wrap the power cords to all equipment around but an effective RF ground must be carefully planned.
MFJ-701 cores. The ground system should generally follow these
suggestions:
Determine the effect of the following. Remember to
evaluate any improvement in the RFI problem after each (1) The ground wire should be as short as possible,
preferably much shorter than a quarter-
step.
wavelength long on the highest frequency band
operated.
[ ] Reconnect all ancillary equipment (2) The ground wire should be very large. I
[ ] Reconnect the microphone sometimes use the braid removed from a piece of
[ ] Reconnect all control cables. RG-213. Better yet, use one or more lengths of
1/2" or 1" tinned braided strap. If you can
If the problem worsens when any cable is reconnected, manage it, use 2" or 3" solid copper strap.
first try the “snap-together” RFI cores and if any improve- (3) Clamp this short, heavy ground wire to your
ment is noted, install an MFJ-701 core or more “snap- ground rod(s) or radial system.
together” ferrite cores, to see if further improvement is (4) Use several different lengths of ground wires in
parallel, each connected to a separate ground
achieved. rod. This provides multiple, parallel ground
paths.

GROUND SYSTEMS
SIMPLE - a single ground rod driven into the earth just
outside the ham shack.

INTERMEDIATE - Several ground rods, connected in parallel

The RADIO WORKS with very heavy wire or braided strap.
Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703
10
ELABORATE, and very effective - 25 short (6-12") Continuing with our original story - Of course this isn’t
ground rods spaced approximately 4' apart and the end of the problem. The antenna was changed to a
interconnected in series by a 100' length of heavy CAROLINA WINDOM, the ground system improved and
braided or solid ground strap. This system is very 99% for the problems were gone. However, a few potential
efficient. The original design used stainless-steel pegs problems remain. You may not know you have any RFI
for ground rods and stainless steel wire to prevent problems until you install accessories, like a computer
efficiency reducing corrosion. Copper will loose its and use its sound card for signal processing.
effectiveness over time, but it’s still worth the trouble.
Regular ground system maintenance is necessary. I IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS
have installed one of these systems at my station and
plan to install two more. I can say that this ground There are circumstances where an effective RF
system, combined with grounded Line Isolators at ground is simply impossible using conventional
ground level and standard Line Isolators in the shack techniques. Driving a ground rod into the ground and
produces exceptional results with significant running a 25 or 30 foot hunk of ground wire, no matter
improvements in RF grounding, reduction of RF how heavy gauge the wire. It is just not going to work.
ground loops and feedback. Plus, I noticed a major The length of wire is much too long. There are alternatives.
reduction in receiver noise. I’ll have more information If you cannot get close enough to earth to run a
on this system on page 18 and page 19. very short ground wire and install a good, quality ground
system, try a counterpoise. An easy example of a
SOLUTION - RF Grounds counterpoise is the ground plane used with vertical
antennas when they are mounted high in the air.
What can we do? A lot, but all the explanations and In its simplest form, a counterpoise can be a
details deserve an entire chapter or a good lecture at single wire, one-quarter wavelength long or just slightly
your ham club. Here are a few quick suggestions: longer. For best results, a separate wire is required for
each band. If you really want to get elaborate, use two or
(1) Lower the ground system impedance. more wires routed in different directions to make up your
a. Use multiple ground paths - two or more counterpoise. The wires for different bands may be close
ground runs from station ground central to together, insulated and routed in a convenient way around
earth ground via large gauge copper wire or a room. This technique is recommended only in extremem
straps. Each run is a slightly different cases and only when running low power.
length. Each run terminates into one or
more ground rod or other ground system. Counterpoise Length
b. Install a radial system
c. Use heavier ground cable, braid, or strap. 160 meters 123 - 136 feet
d. Shorten the ground wire 80 meters 65 - 70 feet
e. Install a counterpoise system 40 meters 34.5 feet
f. Be sure that the ground system is not 30 meters 24.3 feet
g. Use an MFJ-931 artificial ground. 20 meters 17.3 feet
h. Eliminate ground loops with Line Isolatorstm 17 meters 13.5 feet
15 meters 11.6 feet
(2) Lower the level of RF voltage on the 12 meters 9.8 feet
ground system: 10 meters 8.6 feet
a. If you are using balanced line, improve the
installation of the balanced line to keep it As you can see from this table, the length of a
balanced. counterpoise can be quite long on the lower bands. Where
b. Change the length of the feedline by 1/4 do you put 66 feet of wire? Before I answer that, let’s look
wavelength or odd multiple (i.e.1/4, 3/4, etc.) first at a suggestion for making the counterpoise for
(3) Change antenna systems multiple bands.
a. Closed loops - their impedance values stay A multiband counterpoise consists of several separate
much lower than open antennas and loops wires, each cut to the proper length for a single band.
operated on multiple bands. You can probably eliminate counterpoise wires for bands
b. Use trap antennas for multiband use. that are harmonically related in odd multiples. 15 and
c. The CAROLINA WINDOMtm, CAROLINA 40 meters or 80 and 30 meters are examples.
BEAMtm or CAROLINA Shorttm, and the
SuperLooptm are high performance, Do not run the counterpoise wire(s) near your
multiband antennas that keep the equipment or other electronic gear. The counterpoise is
impedance excursions under control and the part of the antenna and will radiate.
feedline SWR low.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

11
So now that you have the counterpoise made, The counterpoise radiates. That must be
what do you do with it? If you are installing your considered in its installation.
counterpoise, you may want to hide or camouflage it.
It can be routed under carpets, along baseboards, out
a window and down the side of the building. I have
There are other ways to tune a counterpoise. If
heard of some industrious types who removed the you are putting in the counterpoise system as a
floor molding, laid the flat cable along the floor and preventive measure, cutting the wires to 1/4
then reinstalled the molding. Before permanent in- wavelength is a good place to start.
stallation, we have to make sure the counterpoise is
working or even needed. The best way to set up the counterpoise is with an
MFJ-931. Buy one or borrow one if you can. The
MFJ-931 is a series tuned circuit that resonates
Testing the Counterpoise nearly any length of counterpoise or ground wire.
This makes the ground appear to be a very low
Tune up your rig, but leave the counterpoise discon- impedance at the rig though the length is not ideal.
nected. You should experience the problem that With the ‘931 you can probably get by with just one
brought you to the point of building a counterpoise in or two lengths of wire for your counterpoise. This
the first place. What ever the problem, RF in shack, saves much work and makes the counterpoise easier
‘mic bite,’ flashing panel lights on the equipment, to hide.
whatever, you will still have the problem. Note the
severity of the problem in some quantitative way so
you can tell if the counterpoise makes a difference.
Counterpoise as a Preventive Measure
Note the SWR readings, tube plate current or output
transistor collector current on the rigs meters. Note Most cliff dwellers (people who live in tall building
the ALC reading. with dense populations) want to avoid even a hint
of any TVI or RFI problems. Some of them will
Connect the counterpoise and look for changes. If install the counterpoise system, use good low pass
luck is with you, there will be an improvement. Note filters, Line Isolators, and every other RFI reduction
that the counterpoise was cut slightly long. If there trick they can think of. I guess, it’s like the old
is an improvement, try shortening the wire cut for saying, “an ounce of prevention . . . “
the band you are using by rolling it up for a short
distance. If there was further improvement in the
This article was first printed in the RADIO WORKS’ Reference
problem, continue lengthening and shortening until
Catalog, page 85, Copyright 1992.
the ideal length is found. Repeat for other bands.

When tuning the counterpoise, it is very important

that the counterpoise is very close to its final, in-
stalled location. If you are going to run it along a
baseboard, that is where it should be located during
the test. If it will be installed under a carpet, do the
testing with the counterpoise on top of the carpet.
Not only will the location of the counterpoise affect
its tuning, you will have the opportunity to see if a
particular location makes the problem worse. In that
case, you will want to run the counterpoise in an-
other direction.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

12
 The Ground Loop Solution
Multiple ground loops around various
pieces of equipment can cause all sorts
of problems. Even if you are not having
Line Isolator™ Line Isolator™
RFI problems right now, let’s just try to Transmitter Linear Amp Transmatch
avoid problems before they start.
Solving the ground loop problem may
Ls
be as simple as adding ‘Line Isolators’
in series with the coaxial cables Comm on Ground Point
interconnecting station equipment. Figure 5 Earth Ground
Line Isolators & Ground Loops
First, eliminate the heavy copper strap
running along the back of the station equipment. Use your tuner (transmatch) as a common ground
point, ‘Ground Central.’ The heavy gauge wire from your outdoor ground system will connect directly to
the ‘common ground point’ on the back of the tuner (transmatch). Each piece of equipment will then be
connected directly to the ‘common ground point’. Actually, each piece of equipment is already connected,
in a round about way, to the tuner (transmatch) through the various pieces of coax that interconnect
station equipment. Of course, it is this “round about way” that causes the ground loops. We can’t eliminate
the ground braid on the coax, but we can break up the ground loops with Line Isolatorstm.

Line IsolatorsTM
The Line Isolatortm setup in figure 5 works well in most stations. Customers report that Line Isolatorstm
inserted in series with the cables interconnecting the transceiver, linear and tuner (transmatch) have
eliminated stubborn RFI problems that resisted being solved by other means.

HOW IT WORKS
Placing a Line IsolatorTM at the output of the transceiver or linear amplifier, prevents RF from traveling
along the outer surface of the coax’s shield. Any RF current flowing on the coax braid that can be radiated
or coupled to other equipment is forced to ground by the very high impedance of the Line Isolator.tm RF
current takes the path of least resistance. Of course, the Line IsolatorTM does not affect the signal traveling
inside the coaxial cable.

The Line IsolatorTM installed in series with the transceiver and linear amplifier helps the transceiver’s
output filters work effectively by breaking a secondary (leakage) path. As in the example above, the
ground loop path to the linear is eliminated.

It’s an idea worth a try.

A Line Isolatortm is not a substitute for good Low-pass filters. Both lowpass filters and Line
Isolatorstm should be used together for maximum effectiveness.

This article was first printed in the RADIO WORKS’ Reference Catalog, Copyright 1992, page 87

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

13
 Installing Line Isolators
Lin e Isolator Lin e Isolator
T ransm i tter Linear Am p T ran sm atc h
T -4 or T -4
T -4-500 Common
Com mon
Ground point
Apply CoaxSealtm to Connectors
when the Line Isolator is Ins talled.

RADIO W ORKS To Antenna Feedline

S O -239
T-4G
To G round Rod
G rou nd S tra p for
To Rig direc t g rou nd ing

Grounded Line Isolators Jumpers

All Line Isolators are made with an SO-
Several Line Isolator models feature ground straps. The ground 239 connector at each end. This permits
strap provides a direct path to earth for any undesired, stray RF you to use jumpers with PL-259s on each
traveling along the outside of your coax’s shield. It’s a direct path to end.
ground so any stray RF heading for your shack sees only the very
high impedance of the Line Isolator and taking the least path of We have a selection of factory made
resistance, heads straight to ground. The grounded Line Isolator jumpers for this purpose. You will need at
should be installed directly at a properly installed ground rod or least one jumper per Line Isolator.
other station ground system.

Which end goes to the antenna?

The end of the Line Isolator with the ground strap goes to the antenna. The opposite end goes to the
transmitter. Ungrounded Line Isolator models are bidirectional.

Where do I put the Line Isolator?

1. The ground strap on grounded Line Isolators is connected directly to a ground rod placed as close to
the operating position as practical. Apply Coax Seal as shown on page 4. The Line Isolator can
lay on the ground.

2. The only Line Isolator that can be used at the output side of a tuner is the T-4G, and then only when
it is grounded properly and the SWR on the feedline is relatively low.

3. Inside the shack, the first place to install a Line Isolator is between your linear amplifier and tuner
(transmatch). If a tuner is not used, then it is installed at the output of your linear. If a linear
amplifier is not used, the Line Isolator is installed at the output of your transmitter.

4. In really stubborn RFI and RF feedback cases, try an additional Line Isolator between the transmitter
and linear amplifier. This insures that all the critical ground loops have been broken up.

5. In addition to Line Isolators, it may be necessary to install ferrite cores on the control and signal
cables connected to your equipment. Our PCLI-2 is made to isolate the power supply leads.

6. If you are using a vertical antenna, a Line Isolator should be installed right at the antenna’s feedpoint.
If you have a ground mounted vertical, use a T-4G and ground the Line Isolator separately from
the vertical antenna’s ground system.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

14
 Second Floor Grounding Solution

Line Isolator Line Isolator

Antenna
Transmitter Linear Amp Transmatch T-4G
T-4 or T-4
T-4-500 Common Gnd. Strap
Common
Ground point Gnd. #1 Gnd #2

Apply CoaxSealtm to Connectors

when the Line Isolator is Installed.
Use a T-4G following a tuner only
RADIO WORKS To Antenna Feedline with low SWR antenna systems such
SO-239
T-4G as dipoles, verticals, and most RADIO
To Ground Rod
Ground Strap for WORKS antenna systems.
direct grounding

Ground systems
It is nearly impossible to establish an effective Follow the procedures suggested at the front of this
ground system for a station located above the manual for establishing a good RF ground.
ground floor of a building. When I moved my Remember that your ground system will be
shack to new locations on the second floor of my compromised due to your second or third floor
home, for the first time I experienced severe RFI location. In the schematic above, ‘Gnd #1’ is the
and RF feedback problems. My new transceiver station’s main ground system. ‘Gnd #2’ may be the
was rendered essentially useless. An RF probe station’s main ground system, or it may be a separate
revealed that there was a tremendous level of RF ground rod. The important matter in this case is
current traveling on my ground system and on that the T-4G must be grounded using its own ground
the coaxial cables entering the shack from the strap. Each coaxial cable entering the shack should
antennas. The solution to the problem eluded me have its own T-4G, but several T-4G’s may be
until I developed the “grounded Line Isolator.” grounded by the same ground rod or ground system.
Installing a properly grounded T-4G on the coax
coming from my antenna solved most of my There may be less elaborate solutions, and you may
problems. Installing Line Isolators between my want to take a step-by-step approach, installing each
linear amplifier and tuner and a second Line Line Isolator as needed. Also, this solution may not
Isolator between my transceiver and linear work at every QTH. There are simply too many
amplifier broke up the ground loops. The final variables. For example, this system does nothing to
step was to use ‘single point grounding.’ Ground prevent RF from exiting or entering the shack via
leads from each piece of equipment were connected the power lines or telephone lines. Those are
to a single grounding point on the back of the separate problems with different solutions. This
transmatch. One-inch braided ground straps were system has proven itself effective for keeping solid
connected to the same terminal on the transmatch. state gear happy in the shack, and I recommend it.
You may have to employ other techniques to solve
This was an elaborate solution, but it worked. An RFI problems with telephones, VCR’s and other
even more elaborate system was installed later. entertainment equipment. Still, the use of Line
See page 18. Isolators has solved RFI problems which eluded a
solution for years.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

15
 Individual Grounds - see below Inside Outside

Earth Ground System

IMPORTANT
See note*
RG-8X Must use if
RG-8X rig is on
Jumpers Jumpers 2nd floor
or higher

Or

Inside Outside T-5

Ground System mounted
Earth to stake
1/2” - 1” Braid or Strap from each
piece of equipment to a single point Ground sytstem - 1 or more (more is preferred) copper ground stakes,
at the highest potential point in the interconnected with 2” copper strap or individually brought back to
station. radio equipment with separate, short ground runs.

* Important Note - Line Isolators have power limits and must be derated when the SWR on the feedline
is high. This is often the case when using a tuner. Obviously, I recommend using only RADIO WORKS’
antenna systems. With our antennas, the SWR is well controlled and there should be no problems
operating up to the full power ratings our antennas. Installing Line Isolators after a tuner is its most
hostile environment. If you are using antennas of other designs, the SWR must be low (<3:1) for full
power operation. Read the power rating information on page 5. Always monitor your reflected power.
Any change in reflected power when transmitting can mean that the Line Isolators are heating up. Steps
must be taken to prevent this.

Don’t be fooled by domestic

imitations, either. “Check the Specs” before you buy.
Yea, right! “A New Concept in Filters” reads the headlines in
QST. Imagine a marvelous NEW device from Japan bragging
about 50-60 dB common-mode attenuation with a choking
impedance of 1.1 - 5.7 K. Our Line Isolators produce a choking
impedance in the 75 K range! Even more amazing is the price tag
of only $99 for a 250 watt model and $129 for a 5 KW model. You’ll

Don’t be fooled by those big ads from Japan. These are copies of our Line Isolators that we
have been marking for nearly 15 years. And... we have far better specs. along with our much

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

16
 First intended for marine and RV installations, but applicable to most stations.

In some cases, it may be RFI “Snap-on” cores are

necessary to remove RF installed on all cables
from the cable interconnect interconnecting critical
in the computer and/or auxiliary equipment

Tuner ground must

be a very effective
RF ground path. It
must have a low

17
resistance path to

The RADIO WORKS

Mount the PCLI-2 as PCLI-4 Power and Control the radio ground.
close to the Line Isolator. Usually If not, the tuner

17
transceiver as these are 4 wire systems. will float above
Mount isolator as close to ground which can
the automatic tuner as cause tuning errors
and promote RF
interference to

The importance of an effective RF Ground system cannot be over emphasized in marine,

Single-point grounding technique RV, and mobile installations. The efficiency of the HF antenna system and thus radio
is recommended. Ground all communication is dependant on the effectiveness of the RF ground. Just as important,

Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

ancillary equipment directly to proper RF ground systems reduce problems with RF interference and ground-loops.
radio transceiver ground lug using A secondary problem is “direct radiation,” the result of HF antennas and equipment
1/2” to 1” strap or tinned braid. A being physically close to one another. These problems are generally solved with shielded
short, heavy ground strap (1/2” - cables and RFI “snap-on” cores.
2” wide) or larger is connected
from the radio to the RF ground Ground systems are different with each installation. Boat installations require special
system. All connections must considerations. Use accepted marine RF grounding techniques. RV installations require
have very low resistance. keeping the antenna as far away from the equipment as possible. Use the RV chassis as a
ground system. Use large ground straps, 1/2” to 3” is appropriate. Bond the ground strap
so that the connection has the minimum possible resistance.
 Station Grounding
The ground system currently used at W4THU is a version of the so-called “Army Ground.” This system is
reported to be far more efficient than a standard 6’ or 8’ ground rod, or even several of them. This is a very
elaborate system and it consists of 100’ of heavy copper strap. In this case it is 1/2” tinned-plated copper.
I have used this same material in saltwater and it has lasted well. You will probably want to use standard
1/2” to 2” copper strap or even 1/2” or 3/4” copper pipe. If I ever put in another ground system like this, I
will probably use copper pipe and the appropriate pipe fittings to interconnect the 25 ground rods used in
the “Army Ground”. In my system, each ground rod is 1 foot long, so you get 10 rods out of a 10’ length of
1/2” ground rod. I’ll comment on further details in the illustrations. This is only a small part of the overall
grounding system used at W4THU. The entire ground system consists of three of these 100’ systems, plus
the use of ferrite cores and several Line Isolators at ground level and in the radio room itself. Also, very
careful attention is paid to single point grouding withhin the shack. I’ll have full details on the complete
system in future publications and on the web.

In this photograph, two separate ground

straps are connected together. This was
Twenty-five ground rods are used. I used copper pipe, though necessary since my ground strap mate-
other more desirable materials are available. This is the inex- rial was only 25’ long. To connect the
pensive way to go. pieces together, two screws are used to
mechanicaly hold the two pieces of cop-
For maximum mechanical strength and conductivity, I used the per strap together. Following that, the
following system. Each ground rod has a cut in the end of the two straps are soldered together over a
pipe that is a bit over 1” long. The cut is the same width as the two or three inch length.
copper strap and was made using a Motor Tool and a cutting
wheel. The copper strap is pushed down into the ground rod as
shown and a copper pipe end-cap is fitted. At this point the strap
is soldered to the pipe and the end cap is soldered into place.
This produces a very low resistance connection that is mechani-
cally strong. This is repeated for each of the 25 ground rods which
are placed every 4 feet along the 100’ length of ground strap.
This is the first of three “Army
Ground” installations. On the right
side of the photograph is a set of
ground rods with their interconnect-
ing ground strap. Also shown, but
hard to see are several ground rods
poking out of the trench ready to be
hammered in. The trench is only
about 8” deep because the ground This is where all the cable comes up out
doesn’t freeze very deeply in this part of the ground. There is a pair of 5’
of the country. Once the ground rods ground rods with copper pipe cross
are hammered to the bottom of the members which permit installing T-4G
trench, 5 cables will be added. There Line Isolators. The feedlines from all
are three Super 400 low loss coaxial antennas will be routed to this location.
cables, one BR-240, a special high If more than four antennas are used, a
power, low loss RG-8X cable and one coax switch will be installed to accom-
rotator cable. This installation took modate the added cable. This location
place during Christmas vacation. By is beside a wooden shed about midway
spring, I couldn’t see any evidence down the back yard. A box, similar to
of the trench. Two other ground sys- the one you will see on the next page
tems will be installed later. Since will be used to terminate the cables and
coax will not be buried, in the addi- house the coax switch.
tional only a small slit in the dirt will be used to bury the additional
grounds.
The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703
18
 Getting the Ground Strap and Coaxial Cables Into the Radio Room
Before the cables are routed inside
the house, the three Super 400
cables go through a lightening surge
suppressor as shown in the photo on
the left. A ground strap connects the
surge suppressors directly to earth
ground. This is easily seen the pic-
ture on the right. Inside the box are
three enhanced T-4G Line Isolators.
The cables leaving the top of the box
(all BR-240 coax) are then routed to-
gether with the RG-8X in the ground
and a BR-240 cable run to a
“InTreeVert,” our 1/2 wave 2 meter vertical that’s supported by a rope at
the 70’ level in a nearby tree. All cables entering the radio room are BR-
240, low loss, higher power, RG-8X-type cable. BR-240 is used because it is
much easier to run than larger types while providing ample power rating and very high shielding. Also, in
the cable loom running to the shack are three separate ground straps, each of a different length before
being attached to their Army Ground installations. The last cable in the loom is the rotator cable.
The assemblage of cables and ground
straps are tied toegther with cable-ties
and are routed directly into the radio
room as shown in the photo at left. From
there, all cables and ground straps are
routed directly to a single-point ground
system which will be described further
in other publications. The three ground
straps are spaced evenly around the
other cables to offer some shielding.
Each ground run is a different length
by a couple of feet to provide at least sev-
eral non-resonant ground runs on each
band. Not shown in these photos are
two additional ground straps running
down the right side of the large window
under the siding. In all, there are five
ground runs. Combined with further
techniques used inside the ham shack,
this has proved to be a very efficient
ground system. All traces of RF prob-
lems have vanished. Once all of the
equipment is installed in the shack, and
all interconnecting wireing is in place,
RF current measurements will be made
on each cable in the shack. Tests will be made with the ground system connected and with parts of it
disconnected so the differences in stray RF can be measured and quantified.
The extra ground strap material in the photo on the right are awaiting the installation of the additional
ground systems. The two coaxial cables running horizontally are from a satellite dish and are not part of
the ham station. It’s unfortunate that the cable loom runs in front of the large porch window, but to route
the cables in a way that would not be visible would add an extra 12 feet to the ground run. This would have
defeated much of the effectiveness of this project. If I had planned far enough ahead, I would have in-
stalled all of the coax, control and rotator cables, plus all five ground straps when I enclosed the upper and
lower porches, installed the hamshack on the upper level porch and then installed siding. But then, there
was a ten year period between projects!
The purpose of these two pages is to illustrate an effective, though elaborate, ground system. It does not
stand alone, but is combined with other techniques employed within the radio room to further enhance
grounding effectiveness and to avoid problems with stray RF. I will put more information, along with color
photographs on the RADIO WORKS’ website. I’m not suggesting that you have to install such an elaborate
ground system, but you can certainly take advantage of part of it. This system, while elaborate, does
illustrate how an effective ground system can be installed that will complement a second floor ham shack
location.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

19
 Installing Wire Antennas in Trees
SUPPORTS
Before selecting an antenna system, you must first find a place to put it.

Visually survey your property and find out exactly where your right to put up antennas and your neighbor’s
right to tear them down ends. This sets your limits. If there is an XYL involved, the available space may
be artificially restricted even further. If you are fortunate, you may have a neighbor who will permit you
to use one of his trees to support an end of your antenna.

NATURAL HIGH
Nature, in its wisdom has favored ham radio with
a vast supply of tall, non-conductive, self-main-
Methods for getting the support rope up a tree
taining antenna supports - trees. Unfortunately,
1. Tie a light string around a rock and toss it
most neighborhoods seem to want an unobstructed
over a convenient tree limb.
view of utility poles, power lines and other people’s
2. If you are a good fly fisherman, you can lob
houses, so they cut down most of the trees.
a line over any limb of choice.
3. A powerful slingshot will put a lightweight
Trees are frustrating. fishing sinker and light weight monofilament
Using trees for antenna supports is a double-edged fishing line about 70 feet up a tree. See our EZ
sword. At their very best, trees are frustrating. Hang on page 22.
On a calm day, with your antenna strung from the 4. The real pros are the archers. Forget picking a
very top limbs of a couple of well placed tall trees particularlimb, select a tiny branch all
are wonderful. However, when our kindly old tree the way up in the top of the tree and an archer
and wind and storms get together to do a little will lay a line right over the spot and do it the
mischief, the combination is a real beast. Treetops first time. That’s how I put support lines into
whip around and two trees never move in the same trees.
direction. When the trees move in opposite
directions, the only thing trying to hold them
together is your antenna.... the antenna doesn’t
have a chance. Maybe it’s nature’s way of seeing
One hint for Archers
just how far your support ropes will stretch before If you add extra weight on the front of the arrow, it
they break. Maybe it’s just nature’s way for trees will drag the monofilament or ‘Game Tracker’ line
to get rid of all that junk we hang from them. out of the tree and down to the ground where you can
reach it.
Whatever the reason, tree hung antennas require
special treatment and installation procedures.
Once trees are conquered though, they are worth
all the effort and trouble.

Now wait a minute, I’m getting ahead of myself.

An antenna can’t fall down until after you get it
up. Let’s look at some ways to get your antenna
support rope in the top of a tree.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

20
ALTERNATIVES A Better Technique
Getting practical, anything that will propel a In my opinion, the best way to get a line into a tree’s
projectile over the selected limb is what is needed. top branches, well above the climbing level, is to
It can be a sling shot, bow and arrow, baseball, it use a bow and arrow and a device called a ‘Game
doesn’t matter. So whatever installation method Tracker.’ With a compound bow and the ‘Game
you select, the following suggestions will apply. Tracker,’ you can probably get a line 125 to 150-feet
First, be absolutely sure that safety is into the air if you have trees that tall.
the major priority.
Often a compound bow is overkill and a ‘long bow’
or ‘recurve’ bow with a 40 or 50 pound pull will do
The small line goes up first the job. A WORD OF CAUTION: You cannot be
too careful when using a bow. It is a lethal
Use light weight monofilament fishing line or weapon. Should an arrow get loose from its
something similar as the first line up the tree. A trailing line, it can travel a great distance.
light weight line produces minimal drag on Always have a lookout to make sure the path is
whatever projectile you’re hurling over the tree. clear for several hundred feet in the direction
Ignoring mathematics, this simply means that you of the arrow’s travel. Use a high trajectory so
can get higher in the tree for the same effort. I use the arrow will come down in your yard.
10 pound test fishing line.
I learned this lesson the hard way when I found that
Paying out the monofilament line can be done in my compound, which will launch a target arrow 80
two relatively efficient ways. The first involves yards with only a few inches of drop, could hurl an
unwinding enough line off the spool to make the arrow over a tree and continue traveling for a city
trip up the tree and back down. The line is block before touching down. Behind my house is a
carefully routed around your meticulously groomed school yard that was unoccupied at the time. I was
lawn where it can be pulled aloft by the projectile using a lookout, and nothing was harmed.
while avoiding a snag that will completely stop the
progress of this project. You will not fully
appreciate how much junk is on your lawn until
The Game Tracker
you try this method.
A ‘Game Tracker’ is a hunting accessory that
... a snag will completely stop the attaches to a bow. It is a small canister of very light
progress of this project. weight, but strong, nylon line. It has practically zero
drag on the arrow. You tie the tracker line to your
Having had poor results with the lawn technique, I arrow. Though designed to leave a string trail
discovered casting or spinning fishing reels. A rod behind recently shot game, this device is perfect for
isn’t necessary. Select a reel that will hold at least shooting arrows over tree limbs. The only draw back
enough line to make it up and down the tallest trees (no pun intended) is the relative high price of the
you ever plan to conquer. The line must come off tracking string. It is not reusable. You will aim
the reel without any drag at all. more carefully once you realize that each shot is
costing you a buck. (There I go again with my puns).
The technique here is simple. One person holds the
reel (which is attached to something he can hold on A ‘Game Tracker’ may be substituted for the
to) and you shoot, throw, or whatever, the line over monofilament line used with other techniques. Its
the selected limb. convenience is unequaled. You can find a ‘Game
Tracker’ at most archery or hunting stores and on
the Web.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

21
 length of the antenna support rope is on the ground, check
NEXT UP, A MIDDLE WEIGHT LINE it out for deterioration. Pay close attention to the points
where the rope crosses any tree limbs. If the rope is frayed,
Once you have your monofilament line or ‘tracker’ line replace it. If all is well, pull the support rope and the
in the tree where you want it, you will have to pull up antenna back up and inspect the line in the second tree.
heavier lines to hold the antenna. I usually use three The entire procedure takes only a short time, much less
steps. The medium-weight line follows the monofilament than the time required to replace a broken support line.
or ‘tracker’ line and should be strong enough to pull up
the final antenna support line. It cannot be so heavy
that it breaks the monofilament line. For my second line,
I use lightweight nylon twine or cord. It is strong enough
that I can’t break it by pulling on it as hard as I can, but
it’s still very light in weight.

Tie the monofilament or ‘tracker’ line and the medium-

weight, second line together, using knots that will not
snag as you pull the lines through the tree limbs. Pull
up the medium-weight line.

THE FINAL SUPPORT LINE

The medium-weight line is then used to pull up the final
line that will directly support the antenna or pulley
system. EZ Hang
There will, of course, be abrasion of the EZ-Hang is a specially selected spinning reel combined
with a hunting slingshot and the proper weights and line
support line’s fabric as the tree sways
to make your next antenna installation a snap.
in the wind.
The slingshot has a tempered steel yoke, welded construc-
Once you have your final support line over your favorite tion with easy release button and fixed arm support. It
limb, the task is nearly done. If everything works out uses the highest quality tubular thrust bands and has a
OK you’ll have one end of your support rope on the side padded wrist support for extra comfort. The extra bright
of the tree in the direction of the antenna. The other end yellow weights make it easy to see in the trees.
of the rope will be somewhere on the other side of the
tree near where you started. You simply repeat the The “Intermediate Line Dispenser” features 500-feet of
procedure in a second tree. #18 Nylon line with 155-pound break strength. The line
color is an easy to see orange color.
If you have chosen the proper support lines, you will enjoy
long and useful service from this installation. There will, If you’ve read my suggestions for installing wire anten-
of course, be abrasion of the support line’s fabric as the nas, you’ve seen my three-line method. The EZ-Hang
tree sways in the wind. There is also the normal supports my recommended system. The first line is the
weathering and deterioration caused by the sun. Both light fishing line off the spinning reel. The “Intermediate
effects limit the life of the support rope. To reduce this, Line Dispenser” is the second line and is pulled into the
read the “pulley” information on page 23. tree with the lightweight line from the slingshot. The
final line is our Mil Spec line or our Double Dacrontm
antenna rope as the final support rope pulled up by the
THE INSPECTION second line. This is the easy way to get your antenna into
the air.
It is a good idea to inspect your antenna support system
every few months or as a minimum, once a year. One It’s the easy way to get lines into your trees. See our Gen-
way to accomplish this is to re-use the medium weight eral Catalog for current EZ Hang prices.
rope you used when installing your wire antenna support
system. Tie one end to the antenna support rope. Secure
the free end of the ‘medium’ line. Pull down ‘antenna
support’ rope from the antenna end. Usually, just untying
the support ropes will drop the antenna. Once the entire

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

22
KNOTS PULLEYS
The knot of choice for nearly every antenna chore is
the BOWLINE. This knot is easy to tie and it will not
slip under any condition. With this knot, the more load
you put on it, the tighter it gets.

Adding pulleys to your wire antenna support

system will greatly increase its reliability. As an
additional benefit, changing or repairing your
antenna will be much easier.

There are several methods for installing pulleys

in trees. Of course, you can climb the tree and
install the pulley directly in the tree. The method
I suggest, which can be accomplished from the
ground, is shown above. A heavy, ‘pulley line’ is
supported by the tree. A pulley, attached to the
heavy support rope, is pre-strung with the antenna
support line. The pulley is hoisted high into the
tree, as near to the top as practical. The loose,
The Bowline Knot opposite end of the heavy rope is then conveniently
tied off to the tree near the ground. The antenna
Use the Bowline to tie the support rope to each pulley, is pulled into the air with the antenna support
insulator, center-insulator, balun, etc. You can even rope. The free end of that rope is tied off near the
tie two ropes together using the bowline. ground.
Here is an easy way to remember how to tie the Bowline: Usually, the ‘antenna support rope’ is smaller than
It’s the way we teach it to new Boy Scouts. the pulley support rope (the one in the tree). Done
this way, as the antenna moves in the wind, the
With the end of the rope in your right hand, make an ‘antenna support rope’ moves through the pulley.
overhand loop. Hold the loop in your left hand. Using The ‘pulley support rope’ is stationary in the tree,
the Boy Scout verbiage, “the rabbit (the end of the rope) so abrasion is practically eliminated. As a
comes out of his hole (the loop), goes around the tree secondary benefit, it is now easy to change
(the long end of the rope) and then the rabbit goes back antennas, and the chance of a support line getting
in his hole.” tangled in the tree is reduced.
If this sounds too complicated, just follow the diagram To further protect against the wind breaking the
above. lines, some installations use counter weights or
springs at the ground end of the ‘antenna support
rope.’ I recommend against this. It can be
dangerous if the weighs fall. It also puts too much
stress on the antenna. I use long lengths of
support rope and leave a little slack in the
antenna. This method has survived two
hurricanes.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

23
 Up to this point, I
have only been
talking about trees as
antenna supports.
You may have other
options.

A building can be an
antenna support,
although this is not
ideal. Keep your
antennas as far away
from buildings as
possible. Use the
building to support
only one end of the
CHOOSING A PULLEY antenna.

The best pulleys for antenna installations are Metal or wooden masts can be fabricated into excellent
found at sailboat outfitters and at the RADIO antenna supports. Wooden masts up to about 40' can
WORKS. The junk you’ll find in most hard- be made with little difficulty.
ware stores is just that, junk. Marine pulleys
are carefully designed and manufactured for a
specific application. USE WHAT YOU HAVE
Purchase pulleys designed for the size line you If you plan to put up a tower that has to be guyed,
plan to use. I also suggest choosing pulleys with why not use the guy wires as low-band antennas. If
swivels as shown above. If your rope twists, you don’t want to use guy wires, add an outrigger arm
the force does not transfer to your antenna. to the tower to accommodate wire antennas. The
outrigger is often a 10-foot pipe, metal or plastic, that
is securely attached near the top of the tower. At the
High Quality, stainless-steel marine-grade end of the outrigger, away from the tower, mount a
pulley.
pulleys are available from the RADIO
WORKS’ General Catalog.

A HINT CAROLINA WINDOM

See page 32 for specific tower mounting
Tie a bunch of knots in each end of the antenna
support ropes about 10 feet from each end. Tie instructions.
the knots to form a large ‘clump.’ The idea is
this: If one end of the rope accidentally gets
loose, it will jam when the knot reaches the
pulley. You can release the ‘pulley support rope’
and pull the pulley to the ground where you
can recover both ends of the antenna support
line.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

24
 Do’s and Don’ts of Antenna Installation
Follow the check lists. Failure to do so will result in your antenna not achieving maximum performance.
Do’s Dont’s
Inspect coaxial cable for flaws in its jacket. Do not change the length of manufactured
Don’t be concerned about minor jacket antennas. Antenna lengths are critical.
irregularities.
Do not roll up the ladder line in G5RVs or
Pay particular attention to station grounding. SuperLoops.
This cannot be over emphasized.
Do not bury Ladder Line or let it get close to
In most cases, it is OK to bury standard coax. the ground or anything metal. Do not run it
You can add some protection by running it near other cables. It must be in the clear.
inside standard garden hose. Bury coax below
the frost line. Do not rely too much on inexpensive antenna
analyzers. You can’t be sure what parameter
Carefully seal any coaxial connector exposed you’re actually measuring.
to weather. Follow the procedure outlined in
this publication. Do not support a CAROLINA WINDOM so that
its Vertical Radiator is closer than 15' from a
Check available space before purchasing an tower or other metal object. If less than 15',
antenna. Make sure the antenna will fit. direct it away from the metal pole or tower at
Reasonable bending of wire antenna elements an angle.
will not hurt. Elements must never be bent
back on themselves. If space is limited, Do not tie down the Vertical Radiator of a
consider alternative antennas. CAROLINA WINDOM. It must move with the
antenna, or the connectors will pull apart.
To avoid kinks in antenna wire, roll it out hand- However, don’t let the Vertical Radiator swing
over-hand. around enough to hit something. The weight
of the coax and Line Isolator is usually enough
Antennas will work in trees. In most cases, it to keep the Vertical Radiator in place.
doesn’t hurt if the wire touches leaves, though
you might set a leaf or two on fire. If you want, Don’t lay the CAROLINA WINDOM’s Vertical
consider using insulated wire. Radiator on your roof .

Definitely use Dacrontm antenna support line. Don’t use heavy weights in combination with
Nylon, Polypropylene, Hemp, Cotton, or other pulleys to hold an antenna taut. Free falling
rope types are not suitable in this application. weights accelerate the antenna like a bow
Use Kevlartm only if you don’t want any stretch string. The wire fails. Don’t pull the antenna
in support lines, however, some stretch is up too tight. Leave some slack.
desirable.

Install your antenna as far away as possible

from your or your neighbor’s house. Antennas
close to houses can cause RFI and TVI
problems.
The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703
25
 Type CAROLINA WINDOMtm Installation Checkoff List
Caution KEEP ANTENNAS AWAY FROM ELECTRIC UTILITIES.
Read and apply all applicable information which precedes this page.

1. Install antenna support ropes. If practical, use the pulley system descried on page 23.

2. The antenna should be in the clear and far away from anything metal.

3. If a metal center support is to be used (i.e., a tower or mast), see pages 24, 32 and 33 for details.

4. The antenna should be as straight as possible. It is acceptable to bend the antenna at its feed point
with angles greater than 120-degrees between legs. An example would be an Inverted-V.

5. Ends of the antenna may be bent as much as 90-degrees, but the bent portion of the antenna
should be less than 10% of the leg length. Antennas with built-in bends should not be modified.

6. Once the support ropes are installed and secured, unwind the antenna on the ground. Use a hand-
over-hand motion to avoid kinks and tangles.

7. Carefully tie the antenna support rope to the antenna end insulators.

8. Pull the antenna into the air so that you can easily reach the matching transformer.

9. Apply coax Seal to the WHITE WIRES as directed on page 3 of this manual.

10. “Kneed” the Coax Seal again to assure a perfect seal. Make sure it “whets” to the case and to the
wire.

11. You received a length of coaxial cable with two PL-259 connectors installed. This is the “Vertical
Radiator.” Screw one of the Vertical Radiator’s PL-259s on the Matching Transformer’s mating
connector. Tighten with hard finger-thumb pressure. Apply Coax Seal. Make sure it “whets” to
both the coax and the Matching Unit’s case. Do not cover the hole in the bottom of some
matching units.

12. Optionally, cover the Coax Seal with electrical tape to keep it clean.

13. Pull the antenna further into the air so that the end of the Vertical Radiator is easily reached.

14. Screw the remaining PL-259 on the lower end of the Vertical Radiator coaxial cable into one of the
SO-239 connectors on the Line Isolator.

15. Attach your coaxial cable to the Line Isolator. Apply Coax Seal to each of the two coaxial
connectors on the Line Isolator. RG-8X coax is recommended. It places less physical stress on
the antenna.

16. Pull the antenna into the air. Don’t pull the antenna up tight. It performs best when the ends are
slightly higher than the feedpoint.

17. Let the Vertical Radiator swing in the “breeze.” DO NOT TIE or RESTRAIN IT SO IT CAN’T MOVE.
Doing so will cause antenna or connector failure during moderate and high winds.

18. Before applying power, measure across the PL-259 at the radio end of your coax. You should have
a reading of about one-ohm. This is normal. If you use an antenna analyzer, you will find a
resonance inside the lowest band covered. On the higher frequency bands, resonance will occur
just above the band limits.

19. Hook up the coax to your tuner and enjoy your new, high performance antenna.
The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703
26
 SuperLooptm Installation Checkoff List
Caution KEEP ANTENNAS AWAY FROM ELECTRIC UTILITIES.
Read and apply all applicable information which precedes this page.

1. Install antenna support ropes. Use the pulley installation

described on page 23.
Cable Tie - Female End
2. The antenna should be in the clear and as far away Attached to Stub
from anything metal as possible. KEEP IT AWAY
FROM ELECTRIC UTILITIES. It should be above
minimum recommended height. Male End

3. If a metal center support is to be used (i.e., a tower or Cable Tie

mast), see page 24, 32 and 33 for details.
4. The antenna should be as straight as possible, but not too
tight. Leave some slack in the wire.
5. The SuperLoop may be reshaped from a triangle to a
rectangle by adding extra insulators. Matching
Unit
6. Once the support ropes are installed and secured, unwind
the antenna on the ground. Lay it out to roughly resemble
the triangular shape of the antenna. Use a hand-over-
hand motion to avoid kinks and tangles.
7. Carefully tie the antenna support ropes to the antenna end insulators.
8. Pull the antenna into the air so that the two loose ends of the wire can easily reach the matching unit.
9. Unwind the ladder line. On the end of the ladder line is a heavy-duty cable tie. There is a matching
cable-tie on the matching transformer’s top eye-bolt. Push two or three inches of the matching units’s
cable tie through the “eye” on the end of the cable time on the end of the ladder line. This is a
mechanical connection only and it keeps the ladder line from rolling up.
10. Wind each of the two loose antenna wires around one of the eye-bolts on the matching unit. After
passing through the eye-bolt, wrap the wire around itself for at least seven tight turns. See figure
above.
11. Strip the insulation off each to the two white wires exiting the matching transformer’s case. Wrap a
couple of turns of each white wire around the nearest antenna wire. These turns should be
immediately adjacent to the previous seven turn winding as shown above.
12. Solder the two white wires to the antenna wire. Use as little heat as possible to make a good solder
joint. Don’t use a torch. Too much heat weakens the wire.
13. Apply Coax Seal to the WHITE WIRES where they exit the matching transformer as directed on
page 3 of this manual.
14. “Kneed” the Coax Seal to assure a perfect seal. Make sure it “whets” to the case and to the wire.
15. Attach your coaxial cable to the matching unit and tighten the PL-259 with your fingers. Carefully seal
the coaxial connecter with Coax Seal, or follow the instruction for the Ultimate weatherproofing on
page 4. DO NOT COVER the drain hole in the bottom of the matching unit. RG-8X coax is
recommended. It places less physical stress on the antenna.
16. Following the instructions beginning on page 23, pull the antenna into the air. Don’t pull the antenna
up tight. It performs best when the ends are slightly higher than the middle of the antenna. The
SuperLoop is not a perfect triangle. The diagonal sides are supposed to “bloom” slightly.
17. Before applying power, measure across the PL-259 at the radio end of your coax. You should have a
reading of about one-ohm. This is normal. If you use an antenna analyzer, you will find a resonance
inside the lowest band covered.

18. Hook up the coax to your tuner and enjoy your new, high performance antenna.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

27
 General Antenna Installation Checkoff List
Caution KEEP ANTENNAS AWAY FROM ELECTRIC UTILITIES.

Read and apply all applicable information which precedes this page.

1. Install antenna support ropes. Use the pulley procedure described on page 23.

2. The antenna should be in the clear and far away from anything metal.

3. If a metal center support is to be used (i.e., a tower or mast), see page 24 and 32 for details.

4. The antenna should be as straight as possible. It is acceptable to bend the antenna as its feed point
with angles greater than 120-degrees between legs. An example would be an Inverted-V.

5. Ends of the antenna may be bent as much as 90-degrees, but the bent portion of the antenna should
be less than 10% of the leg length.

6. Once the support ropes are installed and secured, unwind the antenna on the ground. Use a hand-
over-hand motion to avoid kinks and tangles.

7. Carefully tie the antenna support rope to the antenna end insulators.

8. Pull the antenna into the air so that you can easily reach the balun or matching transformer.

9. Apply coax Seal to the WHITE WIRES where they exit the balun’s case as directed on page 4 of this
manual.

10. “Kneed” the Coax Seal to assure a perfect seal. Make sure it “whets” to the case and to the wire.

11. Attach your coax cable to the balun and apply Coax Seal to the coaxial connector. RG-8X coax is
recommended. It places less physical stress on the antenna.

12. Following the instructions on page 23, pull the antenna into the air. Don’t pull the antenna up
tight. Some sag is desirable and will increase the life of the antenna.

13. Hook up the coax to your tuner, if you are using one, and enjoy your new, high performance
antenna.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

28
 What Makes The CAROLINA WINDOM Work So Well?

At hamfests, I spend a lot of time talking about antennas.

The number one topic is “What makes the CAROLINA
WINDOM WORK?” Here is the story in a nutshell.
Area of diminished
low-angle radiation
The magic of the CAROLINA WINDOM is its ‘Vertical
Radiator.’ When the vertical radiator is removed, the antenna
still operates, but, not surprisingly, the radiation patterns are
just about the same as they are for any multiband antenna of
the same length.

Presented at right are two radiation patterns. Each is a

CAROLINA WINDOM 80 operating on 20 meters. In Figure1,
the vertical radiator has been removed. In Figure 2, the
vertical radiator is operating. What an amazing difference
the Vertical Radiator makes. As you can see in Figure 1, when
the vertical radiator is absent, radiation at low takeoff angles Figure 1
diminishes as the radiation pattern approaches the horizon. CAROLINA WINDOM 80
On the other hand, in the pattern where the Vertical Radiator Operating on 20 meters with its Verti-
is operating, radiation from the antenna continuously cal Radiator removed.
increases up to a point less than 5 degrees above the horizon.
This is where “ground-effects” prevent a zero-degree takeoff
angle. This is a significant radiation pattern improvement at Area of increased
the important very low takeoff angles. low-angle radiation

Current lobes

Vertical Radiator Figure 2

CAROLINA WINDOM 80
Operating on 20 meters with the Ver-
tical Radiator operating.
Current in
Vertical Radiator
Figure 3
Current distribution of the antnna is shown in Figue 3.
It is the high current in the Vertical Radiator which causes The Vertical Radiator is an inverted vertical
the radiation pattern to change as it does from Figure 1 to antenna. Its counterpoise is the flattop por-
Figure 2. tion of the antenna. Both the horizontal and
vertical elements of the CAROLINA WINDOM
combine to form an antenna system which
produces an exceptional radiation pattern.
Location is IMPORTANT Radiated energy is concentrated at low to
moderate takeoff angles. Such a pattern is
Pick a location for your CAROLINA WINDOMTM that is as far from not possible with conventional horizontal wire
buildings, towers and other antennas as possible. antennas.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

29
 CAROLINA WINDOMS
Location is IMPORTANT
Pick a location for your CAROLINA WINDOMTM that is as far from buildings, towers and other antennas as possible.
Running your antenna over the top of your house can increase chances of RFI inside your house. This is true for all antennas.

Flat-top and Inverted-V Bending the ends of the antenna

There are many ways to install your CAROLINA If you do not have quite enough horizontal room to
WINDOM. If two supports for the ends are support your antenna, it may be shortened by bending
available, suspend the antenna as a “Flat Top.” If the ends of the antenna as much as 90 degrees
only a single, non-metallic support is available, horizontally or vertically, up or down. 10 - 15 % off
use it to support the antenna by the eye-bolt on each end is the maximum I would recommend. Add
the matching transformer. The ends of the extra insulators as shown on page 33.
antenna slope downward toward the ground. Keep
the angle between the two halves of the antenna
at least 120-degrees. This configuration is know Minimum Height
as an “Inverted-V” because the shape of the Antenna height is important. Within reason, the
antenna resembles an upside down letter “V.” The higher the antenna the better. Fortunately, the
low ends of the antenna and Vertical Radiator CAROLINA WINDOM will work satisfactorily at low
must be at least 8 feet off the ground, well out of heights above ground. If you have any choice, support
the reach of man or beast. the matching transformer and Vertical Radiator as
high as possible. Most of the antenna’s radiation
Sloper comes from that part of the antenna. The ends of the
antenna radiate less and can be closer to the ground.
The “Sloper” is a second, single support
alternative. Here, a single high support holds one
As a rule, the minimum height for a CAROLINA
end of the antenna. The entire antenna slopes
WINDOM equals the length of the Vertical Radiator
toward the ground. As with the Inverted-V
antenna, keep the lower end of the antenna at least plus eight feet.
10 feet off the ground, again for safety reasons. A
slope angle of 45 - 60 degrees is popular and How Close?
appears to work well. You will need a tree or other Try to keep you antenna at least 15 feet from anything
support about 56' tall for the standard CAROLINA conductive. The greater the distance, the better. If
WINDOM. Double that height for the CAROLINA you must be closer than 15 feet, there will be some
160. Keep the feed line as vertical as practical. detuning of the antenna and a reduction in antenna
performance. Again, you have to mount the antenna
in the space you have available. Just be aware of the
compromises you are accepting.

Coax Length? Use whatever coax length is practical

Certain lengths of feedline will produce a lower SWR reading at your tuner. If you find that it is
difficult to tune your antenna with your automatic tuner, try adding 1/4 wavelength of coax calculated
for the frequency hardest to tune. Take into account the velocity factor of the coax. This trick will not
always work, but it is often useful. If you use a manual tuner or one of the wide range automatic
tuners like the LDG tuner, use whatever length of coax is practical.

SAFETY FIRST - Read the Caution Page in this manual before proceeding with installation.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

30
CAROLINA WINDOM 80 Support Configurations
GENERAL MOUNTING REQUIREMENTS
*Mounting height of vertical section: >30'
*Minimum angle between legs = 126 degrees
*Minimum height at ends = 8'

GROUND SPACE REQUIRED

Configuration vs. Length needed
Flat top: 133'
Inverted-V @ 40' height: 77' + 40' = 117'
Inverted-V @ 60' height: 73' + 34' = 107'
Inverted-U @ >30' height: Length = 114'
Inverted-U Bend: 10' short leg; 15' long leg
Sloper @ 40': 128' (not recommended)
Sloper @ 60': 121'
It’s OK to bend the outermost 10 - 15% of each leg of a
CAROLINA WINDOMTM. Bends must be <90°.

Recommended mounting configuration

Flat-top, suspended between two tall trees located
>140' apart.

The support configuration of a CAROLINA WINDOM is not critical. The ends may be bent down-
ward, upward, or sideways. One end can go up and the other end down. If pattern distortion is to be
avoided, these bends should not use more than 15% of the wire in the element being bent. Ideally, the
CAROLINA WINDOM is installed as a flattop. It does not hurt the performance of the antenna at all if
the antenna droops in the middle. In fact, a 10' droop is completely acceptable and center droops between
zero and 6 feet may actually add to the overall performance of the antenna. In the Inverted-V configura-
tion, any angle less than 120° is not recommended due to adverse pattern changes on the higher bands.
(See page 62)
Keep the Vertical Radiator and Line Isolator as far away as possible from any conductors . A
recommended minimum is 15 feet. See page 32 for tower mounting information.
The CAROLINA WINDOM will perform well at moderate heights, but as is the case with all
antennas, heights up to about 1 wavelength will produce more desirable radiation patterns. Since this is
an antenna which covers 80 through 10 meters, one wavelength on 10 meters is only 32 feet. Obviously,
to insure optimum performance on the lower bands, it is necessary to sacrifice performance on the higher
bands. Therefore, support heights between 60 - 100 feet are perfectly acceptable, but high angle lobes will
be developed on 10 and 15 meters. If this compromise is not acceptable, I recommend installing two
CAROLINA WINDOMS - a CW 80 to cover 80 and 40 meters and a CW 40 to cover 10 and 15 meters.
Either antenna will perform very well on 40 and 20 meters. Having two antennas in the air permits
switching between them and selecting the antenna producing the loudest signal under prevailing band
conditions.

Watch your wattmeter closely. If any of the antenna’s components are being over stressed, you will
see a drift in reflected power. Reduce transmitter power until there is no drift in meter readings.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

31
 CAROLINA WINDOMTM
LINE ISOLATOR Tower Mounting Technique
The Line Isolatortm is a refinement introduced
in the original RADIO WORKS’ CAROLINA
WINDOMtm systems. The Line Isolatortm performs two
major functions. First, it provides a method of deter-
mining precisely the portion of the feed line that acts
as a vertical radiator. Second, the Line Isolatortm pre-
vents RF from traveling along the braided shield of the
coaxial cable beyond the point the Line Isolatortm is in-
serted into the cable. This prevents RF feedback prob-
lems.
Over the years, the Line Isolator has been re-
fined to produce optimum performance from each dif-
ferent antenna system. Consequently, Line Isolators
and Matching Transformers are not interchangeable.
Off-the-shelf Line Isolators (i.e., T-4) perform the same
function as the Line Isolators used in the CAROLINA
WINDOM. However, the Vertical Radiator and Line
Isolator work together in the CAROLINA WINDOM to
provide maximum feedline isolation, maximum low
angle performance and proper antenna matching. Non- IMPORTANT
optimized parts are not effective in this role. All antennas, especially those with ‘Vertical
Radiators’ must be kept well away from
HOW IT WORKS metallic objects such as towers, masts,
The CAROLINA WINDOM is fed off-center. gutters, metal roofing, etc.
Current in each of the two horizontal radiator sections
of the antenna is severely out of balance. Coaxial cable
(which is not a balanced line) will radiate when the
voltage and phase relationships are not proper. Thus,
part of the coaxial feedline is forced to radiate. Use a tower stand-off (4' or more). A 10' length
The RF transformer used to match the of 2" PVC pipe may be used to hold the an-
transmission line (coaxial feedline) to the antenna is a tenna away from the tower.
special design that enhances transmission line radiation. Antennas that use Vertical Radiators
The coaxial cable serves not only as the antenna’s should be mounted so the Vertical Radiator is
transmission line (feedline) but also as a very effective > 15 feet from the tower. To simplify tower
vertical radiator. The horizontal half-wave wire portion mounting, the CAROLINA WINDOMTM has an extra
of the antenna is the counterpoise for the vertical section. insulator in the package that you can install
The result is an inverted-vertical antenna located high on the long leg of the antenna. You will have
in the air and free of ground losses. It is a very efficient to add your own insulator to other antennas.
vertical antenna. Use this insulator to support the antenna as
Radiation from the horizontal radiator is illustrated above. Installation instructions are
conventional. As frequency is increased, multiple on the next page. The Vertical Radiator and
horizontally polarized lobes are developed. This LINE ISOLATORTM should be held at least 15 feet
combination of vertical and horizontal radiation patterns away from the tower.
produce an exceptional signal on each band. This is the Use the same procedure for other an-
secret of the CAROLINA WINDOM’s outstanding tennas, such as the CAROLINA BEAMTM series, The
performance. CAROLINA WINDOM SpecialTM series, and
the VRDTM.
The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703
32
 Installing the Optional Strain Insulators
Some antennas are supplied with one or more extra insulators for use in reconfiguring antennas.
For example, an extra insulator is included with CAROLINA WINDOMS of all types to aid in
tower or mast mounting. The BigSig Loop and Super Loop have two extra insulators for
reconfiguring loops from triangular configurations to rectangular configurations. However, in
the case of loop antennas, it is recommended that you install them as delta-loops, if possible.

The extra insulators must be installed by the user, but they are made to be slipped over the wire
and twisted into place. You do not have to thread the antenna wire through an “eye” on a stan-
dard insulator, so these insulators are simple to install.

Step 1 Step 2
At the proper point along the antenna wire, Tightly twist the wire together for several
press the antenna wire through the clips turns. Soldering is not necessary. The wire
on the side of the insulator. Bend the wire will not untwist if the twists are tight.
around the insulator and press the wire
through the clip on the opposite side of the
insulator.

Step 3 Step 4
Thread several inches of support rope Tie the support rope with a reliable knot. A
through the insulator as shown above. Bowline is shown in the installation section
of this manual. Shown above are two half-
hitches.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

33
 CAROLINA WINDOM 40, 40 Performance Plus,
CAROLINA WINDOM 20 & 620
13' 21'

Follow the installation procedures outlined Matching Unit

starting on page 20.
10' Vertical Radiator
25' 41'
Matching Unit CAROLINA 50 Ohm Line Isolator
WINODOM 20 & 620
CAROLINA 5 0 O h m C oa x to T un e r
WINODOM 40 10' Vertical Radiator
18' on “40 Plus” version GENERAL MOUNTING REQUIREMENTS
& 40 Plus
*Mounting height of vertical section: >25'
50 Ohm Line Isolator *Minimum recommended angle between legs = 126°
5 0 O h m C oax to T un e r *Minimum height at ends = 8'

GROUND SPACE REQUIRED

GENERAL MOUNTING REQUIREMENTS
This antenna is only 34 feet long. You can support your
*Mounting height of vertical section: >25' CAROLINA WINDOM 20 or 620 as a flattop, sloper, or
*”40 Plus” version requires > 33' inverted-V.
*Minimum recommended angle between legs = 126° .
*Minimum angle between legs = 90O
*Minimum height at ends = 8' Recommended configuration:
Flattop, suspended between two tall trees or similar supports
Configuration vs. Length needed located >40' apart.

Flat top: 70' Special considerations for 6 meter operation.

Inverted-V @ 40' height:100' minimum
Inverted-V @ 60' height:120' minimum You will want the best performance possible from your
Inverted-U @ >30' height: length = 41' CAROLINA WINDOM 620 when you are operating on 6
Inverted-U Bend = 5' short leg; 10' long leg meters. Two issues must be considered.
Sloper @ 40' = 58'
1. Antenna location and configuration
Sloper @ 60' = 40' 2. Feed line
It’s OK to bend the ends of the antenna.
For maximum 6 meter performance, supporting this antenna
Recommended mounting configuration: as a flattop is best. Bending the antenna into an inverted-V
will reduce 6 meter performance. With the short length of
this antenna, this should not be a problem.
Flat-top, suspended between two tall trees
located >70' apart. Feed lines - Since 6 meters is in the VHF spectrum, more
care must be taken when choosing coaxial cable for the
IMPORTANT antenna’s feed line. Unless the length of feed line is short,
less than 75 feet, you should use RG-213 or better coax. For
The vertical section MUST be kept well away
shorter lengths than 75 feet, quality RG-8X will be fine.
from metallic objects, such as towers, masts, You will be using a tuner with this antenna on 6
gutters, metal roofing, etc. meters, so you want feed line with the minimum loss possible.
However, unless you need to run a very long coax run, there
See Tower mounting technique - page 32. is no real need to use expensive, low-loss coax types.

SAFETY FIRST - Read the Caution Page in this manual before proceeding with installation.
The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703
34
 CAROLINA WINDOM 160TM
Follow the installation procedures outlined Support Configurations
starting on page 20. GENERAL MOUNTING REQUIREMENTS

83' 182'
*Mounting height of vertical section: >40'
Matching Unit *Minimu mangle between legs = 126 degrees
*Minimum height at ends = 8'

CAROLINA 22' Vertical Radiator

WINDOM 50 Ohm Line Isolator

160 50 O h m C oa x (R G -8 X ) to
GROUND SPACE
NEEDED
you r Tu ner
Mount your 160 meter
CAROLINA WINDOM tm
SPECIFICATIONS using good HF antenna
installation technique. Due
Freq. coverage: 160 - 10 meters to the very large size of this
Gain: As much as 10 dBd* reported antenna, you may want to
Radiator length: Horizontal 265' Vertical 22' bend the ends of the antenna
Polarization: Both vertical and horizontal vertically or horizontally if
Matching method: Tuner the full 270' of mounting
Tuner needed: Yes space is not available. This
Power Rating: 1500 Watts CW/SSB See page 5. will not usually reduce the
Recommended Hgt.: >40'- Usable at 35' performance of the
Radials? Not required CAROLINA WINDOMtm on
* Based on user reports, field evaluations, and product the lower bands. There may
reviews. be some effect on the
radiation pattern on the
higher bands.

IMPORTANT Of course, it is best, if you have the room, to put

Vertical section MUST be kept well away from the antenna in the air as a flattop or inverted-V. SWR
metallic objects, such as towers, masts, gutters, metal is only one indicator of an antenna’s performance. Reactance,
roofing, etc. band to band, is well controlled and the SWR, though not below
2:1, is low enough to avoid high losses in the coaxial feed line.
See Tower mounting technique detailed earlier in Your tuner easily matches the antenna feed system to your
this manual. rig.
You have all the convenience of an open-wire fed
antenna, with the convenience of coaxial cable.
As the CAROLINA WINDOM 160tm comes to you, it
Watch your wattmeter closely. If any of
is adjusted for maximum radiation performance on all bands.
the antenna’s components are being
over stressed, you will see an upward Operating on other frequencies
drift in reflected power. Reduce trans-
mitter power until there is no drift in Operating a CAROLINA WINDOMtm outside the amateur
meter readings. radio bands is possible. Transmitter power will usually
have to be reduced to a few hundred watts. Do not use
your linear. You will need a wide range, manual tuner.

Read the information on the

CAROLINA WINDOM 80. SAFETY FIRST - Read the Caution Page in this
manual before proceeding with installation.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

35
 IMPORTANT CAROLINA WINDOM Low Profile “LP” Versions
CAROLINA WINDOM 80 LP CAROLINA WINDOM 40 LP
CAROLINA WINDOM 40 Performance PLUS LP
Follow the installation CAROLINA WINDOM Short 80 LP CAROLINA WINDOM Short 80 LP
procedures outlined CAROLINA WINDOM 20LP CAROLINA WINDOM 620 LP
starting on page 20.

Installation Power Limits

Follow all of the installation instructions The power limit for all “LP” versions of the
for the standard CAROLINA WINDOM ver- CAROLINA WINDOM is 600 watts CW/SSB
sions. output under normal duty-cycles. That duty-cycle
is 25%. In other words, no more than 25%
The “LP” versions of the CAROLINA transmitting time followed by 75% listening time.
WINDOM antennas are identical to the Maximum key down time is 30 seconds.
standard size versions with the exception Watch your reflected power meter when using
of the matching transformer, Line Isolator, the antenna. If the reflected power drifts upward
and power limits. The “LP” is a full perfor- or downward, as you transmit, the components
mance CAROLINA WINDOM. inside the matching transformer or Line Isolator
are overheating. There are many things which
can cause this. Most often it is excessive power,
Antenna Support Height spurious output or parasitic oscillation from your
Since these are easier to hide, stealthy an- linear amplifier, or a combination of all three.
tennas, they have been optimized for lower Sometimes, the reflected power will change as an
support heights. Standard CAROLINA antenna “swings” in the breeze. This is normal.
WINDOMS are optimized for a support The 600 watt power rating of the “LP” series
height of 50 feet, whereas the LP versions of CAROLINA WINDOMS means that it should
are optimized for a height between 30 and be able to handle the output power of many solid
40 feet. state linears and 811-class amplifiers like the
Ameritron AL-811 or Collins 30L-1. The
Though optimized for a height of between Ameritron AL-811H and some single tube 3-500
30 and 40 feet, performance will be im- amps may be used with the “LP” series of
proved if the antenna is supported higher antennas but you will have to keep the power
off the ground. There is nothing wrong with down and don’t overdo your speech processing. If
supporting a CAROLINA WINDOM LP at you need to run more power, you need that
60, 80 or even 100 feet off the ground. Only standard version of the CAROLINA WINDOM.
the SWR at the transmitter end of your
feedline will increase while the radiation
pattern and thus antenna performance will Operating Modes
be improved. Never substitute height for a CW and SSB are the design modes. PSK-31
lower SWR. should be OK if you run your rig at 100 watts or
less. AM, FM, RTTY and other high duty-cycle
modes are not recommended, and will probably
result in antenna component failure.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

36
CAROLINA WINDOM Short 80TM
GENERAL MOUNTING REQUIREMENTS The CAROLINA WINDOM Short 80tm
was previously know as the CAROLINA
*Mounting height of vertical section: >35' BEAM 80tm. Likewise the CAROLINA
(30' if two 16' verticals are used)
*Recommended configuration: Flat-top
WINDOM Short 40tm was previously
*Inverted-V configuration is usable if the angle is large. know as the CAROLINA BEAM 40tm.
Note: Inverted-V configuration upsets element spacing and alters
the pattern.
*Minimum height at vertical ends: >8'

Recommended mounting configuration

Flat-top, suspended between two tall trees located >100' apart.
HOW IT WORKS
LINE ISOLATOR
The CAROLINA WINDOM Short
The ‘Line Isolator’ is a refinement introduced in the 80tm or CAROLINA WINDOM Short 40tm
original RADIO WORK’S CAROLINA WINDOM systems. antenna system combines the best
The line isolator performs two major functions. First, it characteristics of the CAROLINA
determines precisely the portion of the feed line that acts WINDOM and the ‘Bobtail Curtain.’ The
as a vertical radiator. Secondly, the Line Isolator prevents main reason for the CAROLINA
RF from traveling along the outside of the braided coax’s WINDOM’s exceptional performance is its
shield beyond the point where the Line Isolator is inserted. ‘Vertical Radiator Section.’ The CAROLINA
This is important in preventing RF feedback problems. WINDOM Short is similar to the CAROLINA
WINDOM in that it is fed off-center. This
forces the current in each half of the
Can I Turn My CAROLINA WINDOM horizontal radiator sections of the antenna
to be severely out of balance. Coaxial cable
into a CAROLINA Short? (which is not a balanced line) will radiate
when the voltage and phase relationships
Each DMU (Dedicated Matching Unit) in the are not properly balanced.
CAROLINA WINDOM and CAROLINA Short is The RF transformer used to match
optimized for a specific antenna system. A DMU must the transmission line (coaxial feedline) to
provide the correct current imbalance and output the antenna is a special design that
impedance to produce maximum efficiency from a enhances transmission line radiation.
particular antenna. Thus, the coaxial cable serves not only as
Similarly, the new CAROLINA Short’s the antenna’s transmission line (feedline)
‘DEDICATED MATCHING UNIT’ provides the load but it functions, simultaneously, as an
reactance and proper phase response necessary for effective vertical radiator. The horizontal
proper operation of the CAROLINA Short’s ‘Vertical wire portion of the antenna interconnects
Radiator Element.’ the three vertical sections. The result is a
Unfortunately, the DMUs cannot be multi-element inverted-vertical antenna
interchanged. Just bending up a CAROLINA WINDOM high in the air and free of major ground
means you would give up much of the performance losses. Radiation from the horizontal
capability of the CAROLINA Short. section of the antenna is conventional.

SAFETY FIRST - Read the Caution Page in this manual before proceeding with installation.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

37
 CAROLINA WINDOM Short 40TM and Short 80TM
50' 100'
42' 84'
8' 16'
17' Matching Transformer 25' 34' Matching Transformer 50'

8' 10' 16' 8' 16' 22' 32' 16'

#1Vertical #1 Vertical
Radiator Radiator
#3Vertical #3 Vertical
#2Vertical Radiator Radiator #2 Vertical Radiator Radiator
LineIsolator LineIsolator
Useeither Use either
50-ohmcoax, user supplied Vertical 50-ohmcoax, user supplied Vertical
CAROLINAWINDOMShort 40 Radiator Radiator

Freq. coverage: 40 - 10 meters Freq. coverage: 80 - 10 meters

Radiator length: Horizontal 42' or 50' Radiator length: Horizontal 84' or 100'
Verticals 8',10',8' or 8',10',16' Verticals 16'/22'/32' or 16'/22'/16'
Polarization: Vertical and horizontal Polarization: Vertical and horizontal
Feed line: 50 ohm Coaxial cable Feed line: 50 ohm Coaxial cable
Matching method: Tuner Matching method: Tuner
Tuner needed: Yes, on all bands. Tuner needed: Yes, on all bands.
Power Rating: 1500 Watts CW/SSB See page 5 Power Rating: 1500 Watts CW/SSB See page 5
Recommended Hgt. >35'- Usable at 30' Recommended Hgt. >35'- Usable at 30'

All CAROLINA WINDOM Short 40tm elements are The CAROLINA WINDOM Short 80tm is a unique
interactive and must be in alignment for proper op- combination of the CAROLINA WINDOMtm and the very
eration of the antenna. SWR is only one factor that high performance wire beam, the ‘Bobtail Curtain.’
affects an antenna’s performance. Reactance, band The CAROLINA WINDOM Short 80’s radiation
to band, is well controlled and the SWR, though not pattern is different from simple dipoles and similar
below 2:1, is low enough to avoid high losses in the antennas. The CAROLINA WINDOM Short 80tm combines
coaxial feed line. Your manual tuner easily matches three vertical elements with a single horizontal radiator.
the antenna feed system to your rig. This gives you It is this unique combination of horizontal and vertical
all the convenience of an open-wire fed antenna, with radiating elements that account for the outstanding
the convenience of coaxial cable. performance of this antenna system. An added benefit of
this system is the short length of the CAROLINA
As the CAROLINA WINDOM Short 40tm comes to WINDOM Short 80tm. At only 84' or 100' in length, it is
you, it is adjusted for maximum radiation performance much smaller than an 80 meter dipole.
on all bands, 40 through 10 meters. As the CAROLINA WINDOM Short 80tm comes
to you, it is adjusted for maximum radiation performance
on 80 - 10 meters.

All CAROLINA WINDOM Short 80tm elements

are interactive. Reactance, band to band, is well controlled
and the SWR, though not below 2:1, is low enough to avoid
high losses in the coaxial feed line. Your manual tuner
Follow the installation procedures easily matches the antenna feed system to your rig. This
outlined starting on page 20. gives you all the convenience of an open-wire fed antenna,
with the convenience of coaxial cable.

SAFETY FIRST - Read the Caution Page in this manual before proceeding with installation.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

38
 Field Reconfigurable
The pattern of the CAROLINA Shorttm is adjustable. The insulators are installed at the proper points to
allow any of three configurations. Typically, the pattern of a CAROLINA Shorttm has multiple, large
major lobes, with deep nulls between. The angle of radiation is very low and favors long-haul DX. You
may want to experiment with the three different CAROLINA Shorttm configurations and the resulting
pattern changes. It is easy to change configurations - simply insert your support rope into the appropri-
ate insulator, and the job is done.
#2 #3 #4
Standard Configuration Special Matching Unit

This configuration will give the best overall

#1 Vertical Radiator
patterns on the higher bands. The shorter Vertical #5
#1
radiators are optimized for the two highest
#2 Vertical Radiator #3 Vertical Radiator
frequency bands. The spacing between the Line Isolator
elements will produce a multi-lobe pattern on all
but the lowest band. There will be significant
50 Ohm Coax, user supplied
radiation off the ends of the antenna.
Use insulators #2 and #4 to support the
antenna. You may want to hang weights or use
light weight support lines at insulators #1 and #5 CAROLINA Short
to keep the Vertical Radiators in place.

Alternate Configurations #2 #3

Special Matching Unit

Short Flat-Top
The #3 Vertical Radiator is doubled in length. This
#1 Vertical Radiator
generally improves the radiation pattern on the #1 #4
next to the lowest frequency band. The antenna is #2 Vertical Radiator
#3 Vertical Radiator
now shorter which can be an added benefit to some Line Isolator
users. The radiation pattern of this configuration
will have multiple lobes and very deep nulls. The #5
takeoff angle is very low and favors long-haul DX. Use inner Insulator to Increase Lengthof Vertical Radiator
To set up your CAROLINA Short in this 50 Ohm Coax, user supplied
configuration, simply use insulators #2 and #3 to
support the antenna. Again, you may want to
hang weights or use light weight support lines at Short Flat-top Configuration
insulators #1 and #5 to keep the Vertical Radiators
in place.

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5
CAROLINA WINDOM
You have the option to turn your CAROLINA Spe cial Matching Un it
Shorttm into an antenna similar to a CAROLINA
#1 V ertical Radiat or
WINDOM. This would be the choice if you find
the pattern of the CAROLINA Shorttm to be too Use Outermost End Insulator Use Outermost End I nsulator
aggressive for your needs. You may want to use Lin e Isolator
one configuration for contests and another for
everyday use. Try the various configurations and
see which work best for you. 50 O hm Coax, user supplied
The pattern will contain multiple lobes on the
higher bands, but the nulls between lobes will not
be as severe. Radiation off the ends of the antenna
will be low-angle and vertically polarized. To put
the CAROLINA Short tm into the CAROLINA CAROLINA WINDOM Configuration
WINDOM mode, use insulators #1 and #5 to
support the antenna.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

39
 CAROLINA WINDOM Special Versions
CAROLINA WINDOM 160 Specialtm CAROLINA Short 160 Specialtm
CAROLINA WINDOM 80 Specialtm CAROLINA Short 80 Specialtm

It is possible to make a CAROLINA WINDOM installation where further reduction in power may be
work on 160 meters. The feed point impedance required. Remember, adding the extra band at the low
is very low, so the Matching Transformer and frequency end of the antenna’s normal operating range
Line Isolator are very heavily stressed. Spe- is done only to permit casual operation on that band
cial Matching Transformers and Line Isolators while retaining full performance on all the higher
are required to handle the high RF current ap- bands.
plied when operating the half-frequency band.
The SWR will be high, but fortunately, on 160 Where does the signal go?
and 80 meters, quality coaxial cable has prac-
tically no loss, so an elevated SWR does not
Component losses, combined with the very short
produce excessive loss in the feed line.
radiator length on 160 meters results in a loss of overall
system efficiency on that band. Compared with full-
There are unavoidable losses
sized 160 meter antennas, you can expect your signal
There are unavoidable losses in the Line to be down between one
Isolatortm and Matching Unit due to the very and two S-units.
Operation on 160 meters However, in situations
high RF Current being fed to the antenna. We
could optimize the Matching Unit and Line Iso- results in a loss in overall where a 160 meter
lator for the low feed point impedance, but if system efficiency, but not on antenna is not practical,
we did, we introduce unacceptably high losses the higher bands. you will be able to
on all the higher frequency bands. Conse- operate with a capable
quently, the compromises are made on 160 signal. It’s an excellent
meters (or 80 meters in the case of the CW 80 compromise and permits experiencing one of the lower
Special and CW Beam 80 Special). frequency bands when space doesn’t permit larger
antennas.
You Must Reduce Power on the Because there is a significant amount of power
Lowest Frequency Band. dissipated in the matching transformer and Line
Isolator, you must lower power to a maximum of 500
Special heavy-duty matching transformers watts on the lowest frequency band. Failing to do so
and Line Isolators are used in all the “Special” will cause overheating of the matching transformer and
antennas, but it is Line Isolator and their ultimate failure.
not practical to
Transmitter power must be build these parts to On the higher bands, 80 - 10 meters, where the antenna
limited to 500 watts or handle full legal is now operating in its normal design mode, losses are
less on SSB and CW with power. They minimal and the antenna takes on its usual exceptional
normal duty-cycles. would be too large characteristics. Performance is not compromised on
and too heavy. these bands, and full power may be used.
T h e r e f o r e ,
transmitter power must be limited to 500
watts or less on SSB and CW with normal
duty-cycles. When using higher duty-cycle
modes, power must be reduced further.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

40
CAROLINA WINDOM 80 & 160 SPECIALTM
Follow the installation procedures CAROLINA WINDOM 80 Special
outlined starting on page 20.
25' 41'

CAROLINA WINDOM 160 Special Matching Unit

50' 83'
10' Vertical Radiator
Matching Unit

50 Ohm Line Isolator

22' Vertical Radiator

50 Ohm Coax to Tuner

50 Ohm Line Isolator

50 Ohm Coax to
Tuner Specifications
Freq. coverage: 80 - 10 meters
Feed line: 50 ohm coaxial cable
Most automatic tuners do not have tuning range Tuner needed: Yes, all bands
to match this antenna on 160. In that case, a Power Rating: 1500 Watts (40 - 10 m)*
wide range manual tuner is required. Unsatis- 500 w MAX (80 m)*
factory tuning with manual tuners can usually Recommended Hgt.: >30'- Usable at 25'
be traced to improper station grounding or
ground loops. *CW/SSB duty-cycles only.

In both antennas, all elements are interac-

Specifications tive and must be in alignment for proper operation
Freq. coverage: 160 - 10 meters of the CAROLINA WINDOM Special. Reactance,
Feed line: 50 ohm coaxial cable band to band, is well controlled and the SWR,
Tuner needed: Yes, all bands though not below 2:1, is low enough to avoid high
Power Rating: 1500 Watts (40 - 10 m)* losses in the coaxial feed line. Your wide range
500 w MAX (160 m)* manual tuner easily matches the antenna feed sys-
Recommended Hgt.: >35'- Usable at 30' tem to your rig.
If you use an automatic antenna tuner on
*CW/SSB duty-cycles only. 40 - 10 meters, and the CAROLINA WINDOM’s
SWR is beyond the tuning range of your automatic
tuner, trimming the length of coax feedline will
usually produce acceptable results.
Watch your wattmeter closely. If any of the Try adding a short jumper in series with
antenna’s components are being over stressed, the feed line at the transmitter. 6' to 12' is a good
you will see an upward drift in reflected power. starting length. Since all installations are differ-
Reduce transmitter power until there is no drift
in meter readings.
ent, you may want to experiment to achieve the best
results. You have all the utility of an open-wire fed
antenna, with the convenience coaxial cable. Auto-
matic tuners generally do not have sufficient tun-
ing range for the lowest frequency band covered.

SAFETY FIRST - Read the Caution Page in this manual before proceeding with installation.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

41
 CAROLINA WINDOM Short 160 Special & Short 80 Special
84' 42'
100' 50'
34' Special Matching Transformer 50' 16' 17' Spe cial Matching Transform er 25' 8'
16' 8'
#1 Vertical Radiator 16' #1 Vertical Radiator 8'
22' 32' 10' 16'

#2 Vertical Radiator #3 Vertical Radiator #2 Vertical Radiator #3 Vertical Radiator

Line Isolator Optional #3 Vertical Line Isolator Op tional #3 Vertical

50 Ohm Coax, user supplied 50 Ohm Coax, use r supplied

CAROLINA WINDOM Short 160 Special CAROLINA WINDOM Short 80 Special

Follow the installation procedures

outlined starting on page 20. The CAROLINA WINDOM Short
All CAROLINA WINDOM Short Special tm The ‘CAROLINA WINDOM Short 160 SPECIALTM’ and
antenna elements are interactive and must be the ‘CAROLINA WINDOM Short 80 SPECIALTM’ are a
in alignment for proper operation of the unique combination of the CAROLINA WINDOMTM and
antenna. Reactance, band to band, is well con- the very high performance wire beam, the ‘Bobtail
trolled and the SWR, though not below 2:1, is Curtain.’
low enough to avoid high losses in the coaxial The CAROLINA WINDOM Short SPECIAL’sTM
feed line. Your tuner easily matches the radiation pattern is different from simple dipoles and
antenna feed system to your rig. This gives you similar antennas. The CAROLINA Short SPECIALTM
all the convenience of an open-wire fed antenna combines three vertical elements with a single
with the convenience coaxial cable. horizontal radiator. It is this unique combination of
horizontal and vertical radiating elements that account
for the outstanding performance of this antenna system.
Can I Turn My CAROLINA WINDOM An added benefit of this system is the reduced
length of the CAROLINA WINDOM Short SPECIAL.TM
into a CAROLINA WINDOM Short?
CAROLINA WINDOM Short 160 Special
Each DMU (Dedicated Matching
When operating the CAROLINA WINDOM
Unit) in the CAROLINA WINDOM and
CAROLINA Short is optimized for a specific Short version on its lowest design frequency, the
antenna system. A DMU must provide the feedpoint impedance is very low. This results in a high
correct current balance and output SWR. Feed line losses are low on 80 and160 m, so loss
impedance to produce maximum efficiency due to the SWR are low. However, very high RF current
from a particular antenna. passes through the DMU and the Line Isolator. The
Similarly, the new CAROLINA high current requires that you keep the transmitter
Short’s ‘DEDICATED MATCHING UNIT’ output below 500 watts (CW and SSB duty cycles).
provides the load reactance and proper
phase response necessary for proper
operation of the CAROLINA BEAM’s
‘Vertical Radiator Element.’
Unfortunately, the DMUs cannot be
interchanged. Just bending up a
CAROLINA WINDOM means you would
give up much of the performance
capability of the CAROLINA Short.

SAFETY FIRST - Read the Caution Page in this manual before proceeding with installation.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

42
 CAROLINA WINDOM Shortwave
Follow the installation procedures
outlined starting on page 20. SPECIFICATIONS

25' 41' Freq. coverage: HF Spectrum

Radiator length: Horizontal 66'
Matching Unit Vertical 12'
Polarization: Both vertical and
horizontal components
12' Vertical Radiator Feed line: 50 ohm coaxial cable,
RG-8X recommended.
Matching method: Dedicated Matching Unit
50 Ohm Line Isolator Recommended Height: >30'- Usable at 20'
Radials? Not required
50 O h m C oa x to * Based on user reports, field evaluations, and product reviews.
R e ceive r

General Mounting Requirements The CAROLINA WINDOM Shortwave is a new ap-

plication of the CAROLINA WINDOM. Our new
*Mounting height of the antenna: >20' “Low Profile” matching transformer and Line Iso-
*Minimum recommended angle between legs = 126° . lator are featured. The antenna is designed to cover
*Minimum angle between legs = 90 degrees the HF spectrum, but it is usable in the BC band
*Minimum height at ends = 8' and up to 50 MHz. It is optimized for frequencies
between 5 and 30 MHz.
Recommended mounting configurations:
Flattop, suspended between two tall trees located >70' A manual antenna tuner can improve performance
apart. in critical applications, but is generally not neces-
This antenna is very forgiving and can be bent to sary and does not produce a worthwhile improve-
fit the available space. Bends in the wire should ment in reception. The reception pattern is essen-
not be less than 90-degrees (the angle between legs). tially omnidirectional which is ideal for shortwave
Larger angles are recommended. As with all listening. This antenna is intended for quality re-
antennas, the higher the antenna is in the air, the ceivers as the excellent signal capture effect of this
better the performance. antenna may overload some receivers. This is the
simple consequence of an efficient antenna that
produces gain at most medium and higher short-
IMPORTANT wave frequencies. You may find it useful to use
Vertical section MUST be kept well away from your receiver’s attenuator under some circum-
metallic objects, such as towers, masts, gutters, stances.
metal roofing, etc.
The CAROLINA WINDOM Shortwave provides in-
See Tower mounting technique - See page 32. creasing performance when signals are arriving at
very low angles. This effect can enhance distant
stations significantly.

SAFETY FIRST - Read the Caution Page in this manual before proceeding with installation.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

43
 Troubleshooting Antennas
The CAROLINA WINDOMS
50' 83'
Occasionally, you will put up an antenna, and it
22' Vertical Radiator Matching Unit will not work as anticipated. Most often the
fault is improperly installed connectors, bad
coax, an installation error or something else
Line Isolator
easily remedied. If your antenna does not seem
to be performing properly, below are a few
RG-8X to tuner, simple tests to help locate the problem.
user supplied
CAROLINA WINDOM 80
CHECK THE SWR

Use low power and measure the SWR at several different 2. Disconnect the ‘Line Isolator’ from the ‘Dedicated
frequencies between 3.5 MHz and 3.8 MHz. A normal Matching Unit’ and repeat the measurement. This
CAROLINA WINDOM 80 will have an SWR minimum time the measurement should indicate an open
of about 1.5:1 at 3.65 MHz. This frequency may vary
circuit at the transmitter end of the cable. If not,
100 KHz up or down depending on the antenna’s
environment. Also, the SWR may be higher or lower. check for a shorted connector or bad coax.
On the CAROLINA WINDOM 40, the lowest SWR will
be in the middle of the 40 meter band. Similarly, other The only DC short in the system is in the ‘Dedicated
models will exhibit the lowest SWR on the band covered. Matching Unit’ or ‘DMU.’ All inputs and outputs
The exceptions are the “Special” versions where the
of the ‘DMU’ should be a very low resistance from
lowest SWR will be on the band next to the lowest band
any terminal to another. If there is an open circuit,
covered.
the ‘DMU’ is bad.
If you do not measure this drop in SWR somewhere in
the lower part of the lowest band covered, either the The Coax and Line Isolator should present an open
antenna is severely detuned by its environment or there circuit when measuring across a connector. You
is a problem with the system. Vertical Radiator must will measure a low resistance when measuring from
be at least 15-feet from any metal object. the input center-pin of the Line Isolator to the
center-pin of the connector at the end of the vertical
It is normal for the SWR to run between 2:1 radiator. Measure from center pin to center pin
and 4:1 when your tuner is out of the circuit. and from nut to nut. (The nut is the part of the
coaxial connector that is free to spin.) A short
In the CAROLINA WINDOM’s history, there have been circuit can usually be traced to a bad connector.
very few failures. First, check for open or shorted
connectors and damaged coaxial cable. The ‘Dedicated
Intermittents: If there is an intermittent problem
Matching Unit’ and the ‘Line Isolators’ are generally
bulletproof. with your antenna, it can usually be traced to the
feedline and its connectors. Check each connector
Checking out the CAROLINA WINDOM in the system. Repeat the procedure in the
Antenna with an Ohm Meter paragraph above, and gently pull or twist each
connector. Any change in a meter reading indicates
1. Measure across the coaxial connector at the a bad connector. Also, make sure there are no signs
transmitter end of the coaxial cable, the ohmmeter of moisture entering the connector or coax.
should indicate a very low resistance
(approximately 1 ohm).

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

44
 SuperLoop 80tm & SuperLoop 40tm
112' 56 '
#14 St r anded Ant enna Wir e #14 St r anded Ant enna Wir e
SuperLoop 80 SuperLoop 40
HD Ladder Line HD Ladder Line
Swit ching St ub Swit ching St ub
16 '
31'

Mecha nical conn ectio n on ly

Mechanical connection only
SuperLoops Dedicat ed Mat ching unit
SuperLoops Dedicat ed Mat ching unit DXpedition Proven
DXpedition Proven Endorsed by Contest O ps 50 Ohm Coax t o t ransmat ch
Endorsed by Contest Ops 50 Ohm Coax t o t ransmat ch
See page 27 for installation instructions. Installation of the 80 or 40 meter SuperLoops are identical.
The SuperLoop 80tm is a remarkable antenna.
It is an automatic bandswitching 80 through 10 meter
HOW IT WORKS
loop antenna. The SuperLoop 80 reconfigures itself from On 80 meters your RADIO WORKS’ SuperLooptm
a full-size, full-wave loop on 80 meters into a mutli-wave- is a high performance, full size, full wave loop antenna.
length “Bi-square” on higher frequency bands. The On 40 meters the SuperLooptm is a 2-wavelength antenna
SuperLoop’stm impedances and reactances are so well that is similar to a Bi-square. On this band its gain ap-
managed that the SuperLoop 80 may be fed on all bands proaches 4 dB. Gain will be higher due to the low take-
with coaxial cable. You will have to use your tuner off angle of the radiation pattern. A Bi-square loop is
(transmatch). not a closed loop. It is open-circuited exactly one wave-
length around the loop. This is one purpose of the stub
The Dedicated Matching Unit, along at the center of the top section of the loop. It creates
with all the other components in the antenna, works open circuit at the center of the antenna when operating
on even harmonically related bands starting with 40
together to provide a relatively low SWR on all
meters.
bands. The SWR is not below 2:1. However, it is
low enough to allow the use of coaxial cable. Losses Opening the SuperLoop into a rectangle or
are low. square may slightly improve gain and bandwidth on 80
One further purpose of the dedicated tuning and 75 meters, but could shift resonance with 40 meter
unit is to provide the interface between the band.
unbalanced coaxial cable and balanced loop
antenna. In other words, the dedicated tuning unit SuperLoopTM Height
functions as both a multiband antenna matching
If the supports available are shorter than the
device and a high performance balun.
minimum required height, you may tilt or slope a
SuperLoop antenna. Just pull the bottom of the antenna
INSTALLATION to one side, so that it does not hang vertically. Like all
Your SuperLoop 80 or 40 comes to you sloping antennas, the SuperLoop will tend to favor
assembled except two connections which must be stations in the direction of the downward slope. You may
use this effect to some advantage in DX operations.
soldered. It is complete with a custom designed
“Dedicated Matching Unit.” You provide a couple
of convenient trees or other suitable structures that The SuperLoop is an excellent antenna for
are at least 120' apart and a minimum of 35 feet shortwave listening.
high.
Erect your SuperLoop as a ‘Delta loop’ with
the apex down. If this is not possible, you may add
insulators to the loop and form it into a rectangle SAFETY FIRST - Read the Caution
or square. See page 33 for insulator installation Page in this manual before proceeding
instructions. As a last choice, you may turn the with installation.
antenna upside down and feed it from the top with The RADIO WORKS
the apex up. The SuperLoop is designed to be
supported apex down.
Box 6159, Portsmouth, VA 23703
45
 ULTIMA DIPOLEtm
Heavy Duty, Single Band Dipoles
‘L’
½ ‘L’ ½ ‘L’ Tuning your Ultima Dipole
Your antenna comes to you cut for the CW end of the
B1-5K Plus Balun band. On 160, 80, or 40 meters, you may want to trim the
antenna for your favorite part of the band. Sometimes, the
antenna may need trimming due to interaction with other
antennas or particular conditions at your antenna site.
If the lowest SWR occurs at a frequency lower than
needed, shorten the antenna a few inches. Similarly, if the
50-ohm coax
User supplied SWR is lowest at a higher frequency, lengthen the antenna.
Refer to the “Tuning Chart” on page 60. This chart will give
Follow the installation procedures you a general idea of the length of wire involved in moving
the resonant frequency of the antenna a given number of KHz.
outlined starting on page 20. Lengthening or shortening the antenna is done at
the end insulators. To shorten the antenna, unwind the wire
as it wraps around itself at the end insulator. Move the
insulator the required length toward the center of the
antenna. Re-wrap the antenna wire to secure the end
User Supplied Parts insulator.
The antenna comes to you tuned to the CW portion
• RG-8X, RG-8, RG-213 or similar coaxial cable
• 2 each PL-259 connectors for your coax of the band. It is unusual to have to lengthen the antenna.
• Support rope
Using a tuner
You may use a tuner (transmatch) with your UL-
Installing your Ultima Dipole TIMA DIPOLE. This is most often done on 160 or 80 meters
You have made an excellent antenna choice. to allow full band operation. Typically a dipole covers only
Now it’s time to put your Ultima Dipole into the air. about 200 KHz (or less) of the band between 2:1 SWR points
Any of the configurations outlined earlier are on 80 meters. In some parts of the band, the SWR will rise
appropriate. to a fairly high figure (>4:1). A transmatch will provide a
Antennas for the higher bands may be good match to the transmitter.
supported vertically from one end. Supported Do not use a dipole at twice its design frequency,
vertically, the antenna will radiate in all directions even with a transmatch. (i.e. an 80 meter antenna will not
with a low radiation angle. Always direct the work well on 40 M when fed with coax) You may use an
transmission line away from the antenna at a right antenna at three times its design frequency. For example, a
angle for as long a distance as possible (>1/4 7 MHz antenna can be used on 21 MHz. You will probably
wavelength is desirable) to reduce interaction need to use your transmatch to get an acceptable SWR.
between the coax and the antenna.
ANTENNA LENGTH L(in feet) = 468/MHz

Frequency Length “L” Frequency Length “L” Frequency Length “L”

3.5 MHz 134’ 7.2 MHz 65’ 21.2 MHz 22’
3.6 130’ 10.12 46.2’ 24.93 18.75’
3.7 126.5’ 14.0 33.5’ 28.0 16.7’
3.8 123’ 14.2 33’ 28.5' 16.4'
3.9 120’ 18.12 25.8’ 29.0 16.1’
7.0 66.5’ 21.0 22.3’ 29.5 15.9’

SAFETY FIRST - Read the Caution Page in this manual before proceeding with installation.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

46
 BigSig LoopTM
The BigSig LoopTM is an unusual 3/2 wave-
SPECIFICATIONS length loop that delivers outstanding performance.
The advantage of the BigSig LoopTM is its large
Freq. coverage: Available for all bands
capture area, its low radiation angle and ease of installa-
Radiator length: 3/2 wave
tion. The enhanced, low angle, radiation pattern of
Feed Impedance: 50 ohms
the BigSig LoopTM antenna gives you the competi-
Matching method: Balanced Matching Unit
tive edge over other stations using dipoles, inverted-
Feed line: 50 ohm coaxial cable (RG-8X)
V’s, or trap antennas, operating under similar
SWR: Low: Full coverage on
conditions.
bands except 75/80 M.
A balanced dedicated matching unit was custom
Power Rating: 1500 watts HF CW/SSB
designed to match the BigSig loop antenna’s high
300 watts on 6 meters. see pg. 5
Radials: No impedance to your 50 ohm coaxial cable. BigSig Loops
are easy to get up and get going.

The Larger the Internal Area of a Loop, the Better the Performance.

After deciding the shape of the loop based on the space Sloping Loops
and supports you have available, you will need to choose You may tilt a loop antenna. This can be helpful if you
the feed point location. I generally feed all my loops at do not have enough support height. Just pull the bottom
the bottom. I find this convenient. For enhanced DX away so that the antenna is no longer vertical. Like all
performance, it may be desirable to have the feed point sloper antennas, the loop will tend to favor stations in
at one corner of the loop. (Corner feeding a rectangular the direction of the downward slope. You may use this
loop yields a vertically polarized pattern and a lower ra- effect to some advantage in DX operations. You can
diation angle). A DELTA configuration results in a com- easily reverse the direction from the ground.
bination of vertical and horizontal polarization.

If possible, mount your BigSig Looptm as a square or

Assembly
apex down Delta. This puts most of the antenna as high Assembly of the BigSig Looptm is similar to the
in the air as possible. Turning the apex of a delta up- SuperLooptm. Refer to the SuperLoop’s assembly
ward will work, but a large portion of the antenna wire instructions.
will be parallel to the earth. This reduces the effective
average height of the antenna.

INSTALLATION
You may build your BigSig Looptm as a square, triangle, rectangle, or other geometric figure. Some shapes are
marginally better than the others. The best is a circle, followed closely by a square, a rectangle, and a triangle.
The larger the internal area of the loop, the higher the theoretical performance in terms of gain and bandwidth.
The difference in actual performance is probably not worth the debate. Your antenna site will usually dictate the
loop’s final shape. Use the instructions for the SuperLoop on page 27 omitting the installation of the ladder line
stub.

SAFETY FIRST - Read the Caution Page in this manual before proceeding with installation.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

47
 BigSig Configurations and Dimensions

B B

A A C C
H

B
DMU DMU

Band Rectangular Loop Apex Down Loop

Radiator Height = A Side B Height = H Side B Side C
Length Top Length
80 420’ 50’ 160’ 65’ 190’ 115’
40 210’ 40’ 65’ 40’ 90’ 60’
30 150’ 37.5’ 37.5’ 38.7’ 55’ 47.5’
20 105’ 26’ 27’ 30’ 35’ 35’
17 84’ 21’ 21’ 24.25’ 28’ 28’
15 72’ 18’ 18’ 20.75’ 24’ 24’
12 60’ 15’ 15’ 17.3’ 20’ 20’

10 54’ 13.5 ’ 13.5’ 15.6’ 18’ 18’

Antennas are precut to the appropriate dimensions for the band of operation.
6 meters
Due to small size on 6 meters its installation is flexible. It is only 13' 6" across the top as it comes from the factory.
It may be reconfigured as a rectangle or square. For best performance keep the area inside the loop as large as
possible.
- TUNING -
You may need to lengthen or shorten the wire elements depending on your antenna’s location and its
interaction with other antennas. Changing the shape of the antenna may also require slight trimming.
Do not cut the wire when trimming the antenna, simply use more or less wire at the insulators. This
way, you can always change your mind if you find you have made the antenna too short when it really
should have been lengthened.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

48
 TM
G5RV PLUS
only by The RADIO WORKS
#14 Antenna Wire
51' 51' Glass-filled Insulators
Specifications
Frequency Coverage: 80 - 10 m
Radiator Length: 102’ 30' 8" 450 Ladder Line
Matching Method: Stub
Line Isolator: Y1-5K Balun
Transmatch: Required
Power Rating: > 1500 watts, see page 5 Y1-5K Plus Balun
Radials: No
Recommended height: > 40’ 50 ohm coax to tuner

System SWR System Ground

The SWR of the G5RV is lowest in the middle of It is necessary to provide a good ground sys-
the 20 meter band. Here the SWR is typically 1.8:1. tem for your station’s equipment. This is done
On other bands, the SWR can be considerably for a variety of reasons. As a minimum, ground
higher. An SWR of 4:1 is not unusual. This is your equipment by driving a long “ground rod”
normal and is due to the reactive nature of the feed into earth. See the section on grounding. Con-
system. Transmission line losses are low, so system nect the ground rod to your rig with a short,
efficiency is high. heavy gauge copper wire, braid, or strap.

Effects of Nearby Objects Installing Your New G5RV PLUS

As with all antennas, mount your G5RV PLUS as There are many ways to install your G5RV
high and in the clear as possible. The ladder line PLUS antenna. Read information beginning
stub is critical to the proper operation of the on page 20 for installation tips. It is important
antenna. The ladder line stub MUST be kept away to keep the ladder line matching section
from anything that could affect its characteristics. of the G5RV away from anything metal.
This includes any non-insulating material and the It must not come in contact with the
ground. The stub should be routed perpendicularly ground. The ladder line stub may be directed
away from the radiator. The coaxial cable may be away from the antenna at an angle if support
handled in any convenient manner. height is less than 32 feet.

Automatic Tuners The G5RV PLUS was designed to be supported

Manual or external automatic tuners are best, but in the flattop configuration. Bending or slop-
the G5RV PLUS is compatible with many built-in ing the antenna will affect the G5RV’s match-
“automatic” tuners. Tuning range may be limited ing system. This doesn’t mean that your G5RV
on part of 80/75 meters. PLUS won’t work. It will just tune up differ-
ently.
CAVEAT To hang the G5RV PLUS from its center, sim-
One short caveat. On some frequencies, the G5RV ply wrap your support line between a pair of
PLUS may be too reactive for the limited tuning the ribs in the center insulator.
range of automatic tuners built into some rigs. An
external automatic tuner or a manual tuner can
match a variety of loads and are perfectly suitable
for use with the G5RV PLUS.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

49
 The RADIO WORKS Is .... B A L U N S
Check the Specstm

The RADIO WORKS introduced a full Misconceptions

line of precision, Current-type TM baluns in
1986. We were actually producing Current- 1. Baluns will not improve SWR (the exception is
typeTM baluns in 1984, but it was not until 1986 where a balun is used as part of a matching
that they became generally available to the network, i.e., 4:1 baluns used in loops)
public. They were instantly popular because 2. They are not lightning arresters. The winding
Current-type TM baluns avoid the problems inductance in most baluns is far too low.
conventional ‘Voltage-type’ baluns exhibit. 3. Built-in spark-gaps do not work. The radio
Since low impedance antennas are equipment is destroyed long before the ‘spark gap’
current-fed, a balun that produces equal and arcs over.
opposite current at its output over a wide range 4. Baluns do not allow multiband operation of single
of load impedances is desirable. ‘Voltage-type’ band, coax fed, antennas. They do not make
baluns produce equal and opposite voltages at antennas more broadbanded.
the balun’s balanced port. There is little to be
gained by forcing the voltages of the two These are all generalizations and, of course, there may
antenna halves, whether the antenna is be specific exceptions to any of them.
balanced or not, to be equal and opposite in
phase. The antenna field is proportional to the A balun really has only two jobs
currents in the elements, not the voltages at
the feed point. 1. Isolate transmission line from the antenna.
Current-typeTM baluns are not a new 2. Provide balanced output, either voltage or current.
idea. They have been used in TV receivers for
many, many years. TV tuners require a very
wide bandwidth balun that will work with a
Proper Balun Design
A properly engineered balun will include these design
severely mismatched antenna, like a TV’s so-
points:
called ‘rabbit ears’ antenna. The Current-
type TM balun was the best choice for that
1. High winding inductance (high reactance)
application.
2. Low stray capacitance
Unfortunately, when baluns were first
3. Very short internal transmission lines -
popularized for use with antennas, a voltage-
<< 1/4 wave, the shorter the better
type design was chosen. Other balun makers
4. High power components - High voltage wire
just followed along. It was years before the
insulation to withstand high power or a
first true, Current-type baluns appeared on the
mismatch.
market.
5. Large gauge wire to reduce I2R losses.
Of course, times change and today you
6. Large cores - prevents saturation and provides the
can find entire books devoted to Current-typeTM
necessary high inductive reactance values on the
baluns. The Radio Works was the first to offer
low bands.
you a full line of Current-type baluns for every
7. Mechanical considerations: Weather-proofing,
application.
rustproof hardware and a strong case to withstand
high mechanical loads.
(This text was taken from the RADIO WORKS’ Reference
Catalog, copyright 1992, page 11.)

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

50
 The RADIO WORKS’
Baluns
Balun cases are high quality PVC. Eye-bolts, All 1:1 and some 4:1 models are Current-typeTM de-
if they are used, are made of stainless-steel. signs. Current-typeTM baluns are extraordinarily
Wires from the internal windings are brought saturation resistant and provide superior reactance
directly outside the case for connection to the characteristics. Signal distortion and RFI due to
antenna. This eliminates any chance of an core overload are practically eliminated. Current-
unreliable connection. typeTM baluns are very forgiving when feeding an-
tennas that do not provide an ideal load.
In most models, the all-important wire used to
make the internal transmission line(s) is
insulated with Teflon® or similar materials.
Top of the line models use silver-plated wire
and Teflon® insulation for maximum power
handling and minimum power loss.

Retrofit models
Installing a properly designed current balun or RFI, TVI and RF feedback problems. Beam anten-
Line Isolator can substantially improve antenna nas benefit from improved balanced drive and su-
performance by giving the antenna balanced perior feedline isolation which results in improved
current at the feed point plus excellent feed line front-to-back and front-to-side ratios. Further, re-
isolation. Beyond improving an antenna’s ceiver noise may be reduced by eliminating signal
radiation pattern, the retrofitting of a current
pickup by the feedline. The Y1-5K ‘YagiBalun’ plus
balun or Line Isolator will significantly reduce
feedline radiation and dramaticallydecrease the T-4 and T-4G are considered retrofit devices.

Remote Balun
You can have the convenience of coaxial cable Unlike other baluns, the RemoteBalunstm are de-
combined with the flexibility of open wire. signed specifically for antennas fed with open-wire,
ladder line or twin-lead. The balun is located out-
The RemoteBaluntm is a special, saturation re- side. A short length of very low loss coaxial cable
sistant, Current-Type© balun capable of han- connects your transmatch to the RemoteBalun.tm
dling the legal power limit with loads of mod- This eliminates the complication of routing balanced
erately high impedance. Power must be reduced feeders into the radio room.
with high impedance loads.

RFI Applications
Current-type baluns and Line Isolators are For example, in RFI reduction, the most important
especially effective in reducing RF current on factor is very high load isolation over a wide band-
the outer surface of a coaxial cable’s shield. This width.
type balun has several exceptional features not
present in other balun designs.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

51
 FEEDLINE ISOLATION
In this discussion we will look at the RF energy
distribution on a coaxial cable feeding an
antenna. There are three different RF currents
flowing on or within a coaxial cable. There is I3 I1
an I1 current flowing on the center conductor of
the cable. Due to the skin-effect, there are two Coaxial Cable
currents flowing on the cable’s shield. On the
inner surface of the shield, there is the I2 I2
current. At the antenna end of the coax, I2
divides into I3 and I4. Without a device to isolate I1 Center conductor current
the antenna from its feed line, the outer surface
of the coax’s shield is part of the antenna, thus I2 Current on inside surface
the division of current. I3 is radiated by the of the shield
antenna and I4 flows along the coax. On its I3 RF current at antenna feedpoint
way back down the coax, some I4 current is
radiated and some is conducted back to the I4 I1
I4 RF current flowing down the
transmitter and onto the station’s ground outside surface of the shield
system, house wiring, etc.

A balun or Line Isolator substantially Inadaquate isolation between an

reduces I4. antenna and its feedline will cause
I2 to divide into I 3 and I4
A balun has little or no effect on I 1 and I2
currents. With I4 reduced near to zero, I2 H” I3.
This means that nearly all of the I2 current is
radiated by the antenna and none by the feed RF current from transmitter
line. The antenna pattern improves, and most
of the RF current flowing down the outer surface
of the coax’s shield is eliminated.

The problem is isolating the antenna from its the coax being within the radiation field of the
transmission line. A current balun is the perfect antenna. Since the coax conducts the RF energy to
device for the task, since we are working with the antenna, it is not possible to physically isolate
RF currents at the feed point. Any of the the coax from the effects of the antenna’s radiation
RADIO WORKS’ current-type baluns are well field. Consequently, it is advisable to install a
suited to this application. Current-type baluns Line Isolatortm at the transmitter end of the
all have excellent output balance and coax. This eliminates the ground path for I4
unmatched isolation factors. and I4i.

Although a well-designed current balun will The length of the coaxial feedline will have some
eliminate I4 current, there will be an induced influence on the RF induced onto the coax. Lines
current, call it I4i (subscript “i” for “induced”) close to multiples of ½ wavelength are more sus-
flowing along the outer surface of the coax’s ceptible to I4i current.
shield. This current is the result of

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

52
 You may notice that when you add a RADIO
WORKS Current-typeTM balun to an existing antenna
system, a dipole for example, the resonant frequency
A Flat SWR Curve
will move upwards a bit. When this happens, you
know that the coax was acting as part of the antenna
making it appear longer. The current balun isolated
the coax from the antenna, and the antenna is now
operating closer to its formula frequency.
Experiencing this effect leaves little doubt
that the balun was needed and is useful even with
dipoles and similar, simple antennas.

Current or Voltage Baluns?

Most commercial baluns are voltage-types.

As such, their performance is poor unless operating
conditions are nearly ideal. Even under the best of
conditions, a perfect match, low power, etc.,
insufficient winding inductance and poorly designed
transmission lines sacrifice efficiency and reduce
bandwidth.
The B4-2KX balun is an excellent example of
a current-balun which overcomes problems typical of Achieving this kind of result is difficult.
voltage-type baluns. It is a high quality, high power, It is hard to produce the necessary inductance
reactance on the low bands without introducing
twin transformer 4:1 balun. Two special ferrite unacceptable capacitive reactance and leakage
toroids help manage reactance and provide the on the upper bands. Broadband performance is
inductance values nec-essary in a 4:1 balun. The possible only through the correct application of
output impedance of the B4-2KX balun is 200 ohms. selected ferrites, properly designed transmis-
The inductive reactance of the internal windings sion lines and occasionally, L/C compensation
should be at least five times the load impedance to networks. The mechanical construction of the
effectively isolate your antenna from its transmis- balun also influences the final characteristics of
sion line. 1000 ohms is the required value for a 4:1 any balun.
balun. I have measured some popular commercial
baluns where this value is only 240 ohms. This is a
uselessly low valu-e. The winding’s inductive
Wire Lead Length and Detuning Effects
reactance of the B4-2KX is over 1000 ohms. Here is
another example: The transmission lines in many
1:1 and 4:1 baluns are made with #14 enamel-covered
wire. The impedance of such a transmission line (two The length of a balun’s output lead can
wires in parallel) is generally between 20 and 25 have a significant effect on the tuning of your an-
tenna. Output leads are part of the antenna
ohms. This value is totally inappropriate. It should and depending on the application the effect is to
be 50 ohms if the balun is to be used with 50 ohm lengthen the antenna or to add an inductive reac-
coax. Otherwise, bandwidth will suffer and unwanted tance between the balun and the antenna’s
reactance can be introduced into your antenna feedpoint. The effect is greatest on 10 meters
system. where the length of the balun output leads are
We design our transmission lines very the longest in terms of antenna length. On 80
carefully. The spacing between the wires in a meters there should be no noticeable effect.
transmission line determines the line’s impedance. The Yagi Baluns have precisely measured
In every RADIO WORKS balun, every aspect of leads. Occasionally, you may have to take lead
construction is carefully engineered to provide length into account. However, most of the time,
an inch or two, will make little difference if
maximum bandwidth and power handling, with a Gamma, Beta, and similar matching schemes are
minimum effect on antenna tuning. Look at the used.
diagram above. Here, our B4-2KX is compared with
a famous 4:1 balun. Notice the competitor’s balun.
Its SWR is low over a very narrow band of frequencies.
Compare it with the nearly perfect curve of the B4-
2KX.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

53
 Effect of Balun Lead Length on Balun Measurements
Because the balun’s leads are an inductive reactance in series with the balun’s windings, you cannot measure
the SWR by placing a non-inductive resistor at the end of the balun’s output leads. If this is done, serious
errors will occur on the higher frequencies. Ideally, the load should be placed directly at the output of the
balun (i.e. at the core). This is not practical without taking the balun apart, so the best compromise is to
place the load across the output leads of the balun as close to the balun’s case as possible. You can use
needles to poke through the wire’s insulation and attach the non-inductive resistor to the needles. When
dealing with any RF device, the length and impedance of input and output leads must be considered.

POWER RATING RemoteBaluntm

All products made by the RADIO WORKS will RemoteBalunsTM are a special case. They operate under the
handle the legal power limit, unless otherwise most difficult conditions. The check out procedure for the
specified. Some models are designed for low RemoteBalunsTM is the same as in the previous paragraph.
power or receiving applications. Since The If you notice the SWR drift on one or two bands, this usually
RADIO WORKS advocates adherence to the means that the load impedance is too high or too low for
legal power limit, we do not endorse transmitter efficient balun operation. Changing the length of the balanced
power above the legal limit. However, since 2:1 feeders (ladder line) by a few feet, or ideally, 1/4 wavelength
and 3:1 safety factors are often desirable, the will often remedy the situation and permit full power
RADIO WORKS does build heavy duty operation.
components.

Rated power assumes an SWR of less than INSTALLATION

2:1 unless otherwise noted. The rated While there are no special mounting requirements, I do
frequency is 3.5 MHz. Duty-cycle is CW or suggest strain relief for long unsupported transmission lines.
SSB with normal processing. High duty
cycle modes, like RTTY, AM, FM, Slow
Scan, etc. may over stress a balun and
BEAM ANTENNAS
require lowering the maximum power Use standoffs for your coaxial cable. This can improve the
front-to back and front-to-side ratios of your beam antenna.
rating. See page 5.
It doesn’t make sense to put up a good beam and then let the
feed line radiate (because of a poor balun). It also doesn’t do
SATURATION your antenna system any good to couple your coaxial cable to
When a ferrite core balun saturates, there will a large vertical antenna (like your tower). Taping your coaxial
be a noticeable upward drift in SWR long before cable to a tower leg creates a large capacitor which effec-
tively couples your beam to the tower. The tower acts as a
the balun fails. Core saturation can be caused
large vertical antenna. Use stand-offs to hold the coaxial cable
by too great a mismatch at the load (antenna)
away from the tower leg. This procedure in combination with
or by running too much power or a combination a RADIO WORKS balun can dramatically improve the front-
of both. If you see an upward movement in to-side ratio of some beams.
SWR, determine the problem immediately. If
you must stay on the air, lower power until SWR A balun may be supported by its eye-bolt. Baluns and Line
drift ceases. Isolatorstm may be strapped to the antenna’s boom, secured
with waterproof tape or quality hose-clamps.
In new installations, tune the antenna system
for minimum SWR. Apply a few hundred watts LIGHTNING PROTECTION
of power on each band the system covers. Some balun manufacturers will tell you that their baluns
Monitor the SWR with power applied. Increase have built in lightning protection. Those that do use spark
power gradually until maximum power output gaps that are absolutely useless. The high winding
is achieved. Watch the SWR or reflected power inductance of our baluns offers some protection, but for
meter closely. If the SWR drifts, determine the proper protection use devices intended specifically for
problem before continuing operation. lightning “surge” protection.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

54
 Balun Cases

9.5" 9.5"
7"
RADIO WOR KS
Produ ct
M ode l 4.8"
Se ria l No.

3.5"

3.5" 2.5" 3.5" 1.5"

3.5"
B1-2K all models Y1-5K Plus B4-2K, B4-2KX, B1-1KV, B1-200
B1-4K, all models RemoteBaluntm B4-1KXV B4-200
B1-5K and B4-1.5K All LP models

Important 7 turns

In all RADIO WORKS’ baluns the output

wires are brought directly from the windings
through holes in the balun’s case. This elimi-
nates any possibility of poor connections. This Seal
is just one more way we give you the utmost wire
in high performance. However, since there exit
are holes in the balun’s case, water can enter holes
the balun through these holes. Coax Sealtm
is supplied with each balun to seal these holes
and for weatherproofing the coaxial connec-
tor on your coax. We could apply the Coax Seal
Sealtm when we make the balun, but during Connector
storage and shipping the tenacious whetting
properties of Coax Sealtm can be a bit messy.
It will stick to anything, including the pack-
Installation
Use the eye-bolts for antenna wire strain-relief.
age, literature, etc. It is best applied when
Bring antenna wire through eye-bolt and wind the
the balun is put into use. So, we have left the
wire back on itself for at least 7 tight turns. Solder
application of the Coax Sealtm to you. Just the balun output wires directly to the antenna wire.
follow the instructions on page 3 of this
manual. Even though each balun is filled Connect the PL-259 on your feedline to the SO-239
with a waterproof foam plastic, it is very im- connector on the bottom of the baluns. Seal with
portant to apply the Coax Sealtm. Coax following the instructions on page 3.
Don’t cover the drain hole on the bottom of the
Do not skip this step. balun.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

55
 RemoteBaluntm Applications

The RemoteBalunTM is an interface between

balanced feeders and coaxial cable. The
RADIO WOR KS RemoteBalunTM is located outside the house
Produ ct
M ode l or building where the balanced feed line is
Se ria l No.
available without obstruction. A short length
of very low loss coaxial cable connects your
tuner at the operating position to the
3.5" RemoteBalun.TM The inconvenience of routing
balanced feeders into the radio room is
3.5" eliminated.
A different kind of balun -
These are Current-typetm baluns. Unlike volt-
RemoteBaluntm age baluns, Current-typetm baluns maintain out-
put balance over a wide range of loads. This
Most modern tuner circuits are T-networks makes them ideal for use at the transition be-
or similar circuits which do not accommodate tween balanced feeders and unbalanced coax.
balanced transmission lines (feed lines). To
provide a balanced output, a tuner of this type
Maximum Power As with all electrical
will have a built-in balun. Unfortunately, a components, there are limits. The maximum
voltage balun is almost always used. Voltage power which may be applied to the Remote
baluns are inappropriate in this application, BalunTM depends on the magnitude of mismatch.
because they do not work well when their loads
are mismatched. This is almost always the case
in this application. Even worse is excessive power, Checking the power limit
especially in combination with reactive loads can It is a good practice to insure that your operating
cause most voltage baluns to saturate, and this conditions are not causing overheating of the
can lead to TVI and other RF interference. RemoteBalun. Check the balun’s operating
To further enhance output balance, a special temperature on each of the bands you operate. The
circuit, we call it the ‘X’ configuration, uses a twin procedure is simple. Monitor your SWR or reflected
core, balanced design that produces a balanced power after you have properly adjusted your tuner.
output under a wide range of conditions. A drift in SWR indicates heating of the RemoteBalun’s
core.
Power Rating
The RemoteBalun’s power rating is 1500 If overheating occurs, there are two solutions. One is
watts under normal SSB and CW duty-cycles. It to reduce the level of mismatch, and the second is to
is not possible to put a specific value on this reduce power. Another often effective, simple solution
specification because the power rating depends is to change the length of the balanced transmission
on so many factors. The load impedance and line. A small change in the length of the balanced
reactance presented to the RemoteBalun, transmission line can have a dramatic effect on the
combined with the operating frequency and duty load impedance presented to the RemoteBalun. In
cycle are interrelated factors which must be taken difficult cases, the addition or deletion of 1/4
into account. The 1500 watt power rating wavelength of transmission (on the band causing the
assumes normal duty cycle modes (CW and SSB) greatest overheating) will usually do the job.
with the balun operating into a moderate electrical
environment. The same thing holds true for very As a last resort it may be necessary to reduce power,
high or very low impedances. but in most cases, adjusting the length of the balanced
Under any of these adverse conditions, you should feeders will eliminate the problem.
derate the maximum power delivered to your
tuner (transmatch).

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

56
 Installation
The RemoteBalunTM is located outside. A short
length of low loss coaxial cable connects the
RemoteBalun to your transmatch.

1. With as much slack in the ladder line as

possible, solder each of the wires from your
balanced feedline (ladder-line, twin-lean, open-
wire) to one of the balun’s output wires. Leave as
much extra ladder line as possible. You may
want to shorten the ladder line after initial tune
up.

2. Add strain-relief by attaching the balanced line

to the balun with a large wire tie, rope, etc. This
takes the strain off the soldered connections.

3. Mount the RemoteBalunTM using a J-bolt, hook,

or whatever method you prefer.

4. Prepare the low loss coaxial cable, or order one

premade from The RADIO WORKS. Use quality
connectors. Screw one end of the coax to SO-239
connector on the RemoteBalunTM .

5. Apply CoaxSeal® to the connector, following the

Wire -tie or othe r st rain relief
instructions on the package and on pages 3 and 4
in this manual. Also, apply CoaxSeal® where the
wires come out of the balun’s case. Make
sure the CoaxSeal® sticks to the case and to the
wires.

6. Bring the free end of the coax into the building.

Leave a little slack to form a ‘drip loop.’

7. Connect the coax to your tuner.

8. Tune tuner for lowest SWR. Test for over heating

by following the procedures outlined previously.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

57
TUNING YOUR ANTENNA

CAROLINA WINDOM

Since the CAROLINA WINDOM and all of its derivatives are off-center fed, changing the length
of the antenna is done in a 1:2 proportion. If you want to shorten the antenna one foot, take 4
inches off the short leg and 8 inches off the long leg. However, it is best to use the factory
antenna lengths. They have proved to be the best compromise for all band operation.

I suggest using the antenna just as it comes out of the package and use a transmatch
on all bands.

Using a tuner (transmatch)

Most of our antennas are designed to be used with a wide-range, manual transmatch
(tuner). Some modern transceivers have built-in tuners which will satisfactorily tune our antennas
on most bands. This is not the case with older transceivers. Further, your particular installation
may result in conditions out of the range of your transceiver’s built-in tuner. It is best not to rely
on an automatic antenna tuner but to plan to use a good, manual transmatch at your station.
There is an exception: External automatic tuners, especially those made by LDG and SGC, have
enough tuning range to tune any of our antennas.

Dipoles and Tuners

You may use a tuner with the Ultima Dipole. This is most often done on 160 or 80 meters
to permit full band operation. Typically, a dipole covers only about 200 KHz (or less) of the band
between 2:1 SWR points on 80 meters. In some parts of the band, the SWR will rise to a fairly
high figure (>4:1). Under conditions where the SWR is elevated, a transmatch will provide a low
SWR interface between your transmitter and feedline.
Do not use a dipole on even harmonics, even with a transmatch. (i.e. an 80 meter antenna
will not work well on 40 M when fed with coax) You may use an antenna at three times its design
frequency. For example, a 7 MHz antenna can be used on 21 MHz but you will probably need to
use your transmatch to get an acceptable SWR.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

58
 Trimming a SuperLooptm or BigSig Looptm

Wire double-backed on inself

Antenna Wire

Twists to hold the

wire in place
One leg of a Loop Antenna

Antenna Wire

Procedure SuperLoop
1. Do not cut any wire from the antenna. You can move the 80 meter
resonance higher in frequency. Do
2. To raise the resonant frequency, shorten the loop this by making the loop smaller.
using the technique shown in the illustration. You do not change the actual
overall length of the wire. Instead,
3. Hold the antenna wires together at each insulator simply twist the loop’s wire
and wrap with a few turns of wire (any copper wire together at the insulators. You will
will do) or twist the antenna wires together. Twist need to twist the wire for a foot at
or wrap with enough turns to insure that the both insulators to notice a
adjustment does not pull loose. significant effect. Don’t overdo it,
or you will affect things on 40
4. Do not try to move the loop too far off its design meters.
frequency. Loop size and multiband operation are
interactive. With multiband loops, changing the We suggest this method of tuning
resonant point on one band will alter the SWR the SuperLoop because it does not
curves on all other bands. change the shape of the loop, and
the antenna may easily returned to
5. You may restore the antenna to its original its original dimensions.
dimensions by removing the wrapped wire or twists
installed in step 3.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

59
 Antenna Trimming Chart
Use this chart as an aid in trimming the length of your antenna. It gives you an idea of the
change in wire length needed to move antenna resonance a specific number of KHz.

* Dimensions are for each leg of a half-wave dipole

* For quarter-wave antennas (i.e. verticals ) use the dimensions directly from this chart
* Full-wavelength antennas (loops) - multiply the chart dimensions by four (4) and change the
overall length of the antenna by that amount.

Lengths are estimates. Many factors will affect their exact value.

+ value = add to length of antenna - value = shorten antenna

To Move 80/75 m 40 m 20 m 15 m 10 m

-400 KHz +6' 8" 1 ' 9" +6 1/2" +2 1/2" +1 1/4"

-300 KHz +5' +1' 4" +5" +1 3/4" +1"
-200 KHz +3' 4" +10" +3 1/4" + 1 1/4" +5/8"
-100 KHz +1' 7" +5" + 1 1/2" +1/2" +3/8"
00 KHz 0 0 0 0 0
+100 KHz -1' 7" -5" -1 1/2" -1/2" -3/8"
+200 KHz -3' 4" -10" -3 1/4" -1 1/4" -5/8"
+300 KHz -5' -1' 4" -5" 1 3/4" -1"
+400 KHz -6' 8" -1' 9" -6 1/2" -2 1/2" -1 1/4"
+500 KHz -8' 4" -2' -8" - 3" -1.5"

Example
You have measured the SWR of your 40 meter Lengthening or shortening the antenna is done at
dipole at various frequencies across the band. the end insulators. To shorten the antenna, un-
You have determined that the SWR is lowest wind the antenna wire as it wraps around itself at
at 7.00 MHZ. You actually want the lowest the end insulator. Move the insulator the suggested
SWR to occur up in the sideband portion of the distance toward the center of the antenna. Re-wrap
band, so you need to move resonance up in the antenna wire to secure the end insulator. Do
frequency about 200 KHz. not cut the wire. Wrap it back around the antenna
wire. You may need to lengthen the antenna later.
According to the chart, to move +200 KHz on
40 meters, you will have to shorten each leg of
the dipole 10-inches. The overall length of the
antenna is shortened a total of 20 inches.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

60
 ALL Inverted-V antennas
CAROLINA WINDOMS & “Short” (all models) and the G5RV PLUS
This effect is for all multiband antennas, not just CAROLINA WINDOMS
Important new information has come to light.
Please read this page if you plan to install your antenna as an inverted-V
While working on a new book, I
have discovered a most distressing
result of using single element wire
antennas on several bands. It has
been conventional wisdom that
there was little to lose by support-
ing an antenna in the inverted-V
configuration. I have done a lot of
Flattop on 15 m azimuth plot Flattop on 15 m 3D plot antenna modeling to determine
what the effects were. I found that
there was some signal loss in in-
verted-V antennas when the in-
cluded angle between legs was
smaller than 120-degrees. But,
those studies were conducted at the
fundamental operating frequency
of the antenna. A continuing study
of the same antennas operating on
higher frequencies shows that the
inverted-V configuration can pro-
duce undesirable results.
140° Inv-V on 15 m azimuth plot 100° Inv-V on 15 m 3D plot
Shown at left are the radiation pat-
terns of a G5RV with two different
element angles. The frequency is
21 MHz. As you can see, even
when the included angle between
legs is large, 140-degrees, there is
signal loss. Decreasing that angle
to 100-degrees reduces low-angle
performance of the antenna by a
substantial amount. This effect
was confirmed on several bands
100° Inv-V on 15 m azimuth plot 140° Inv-V on 15m 3D plot and with different antenna types.

Until further information is developed to the contrary, I no longer recommend install-

ing our CAROLINA WINDOM series nor the G5RV Plus as Inverted-V antennas with
an angle between legs of less than 140°.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

61
 Installing ground straps
This the procedure for wrapping the Line Isolator ground
straps around a ground rod. It is not shown in these il-
lustrations, but the end of the ground strap is screwed to
Figure 1 the Line Isolator. Don’t loosen the screw on the Line
Isolator.

Figure 1 - Begin by starting to form the strap into a

circle as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Unscrew the ad-
justment screw so that only a few threads are showing.

Figure 3 - Shows how the clamp is locked into place.

Simply push the retaining pin through the appropriate
Figure 2 hole needed to permit placing the strap around your
ground rod or pipe. The groove in the retaining pin will
hold the ground strap in the selected hole once the ad-
justment screw is tightened.

Figure 4 - This is really part of figure 3. The ground

strap has been placed around a socket wrench to show
how the strap wraps around a rod or pipe. Make sure the
Figure 3 copper plate is under the end of the screw.

Figure 5 - Simply tighten up the adjustment screw until

taut. The copper plate between the end of the screw and
the surface of the simulated ground rod are easily seen
in this illustration. This copper plate improves contact
with the ground rod and doesn’t remove copper from a
copper-plated ground rod when the adjustment screw is
Figure 4 tightened. There is a copper-to-copper connection. This
little copper plate also protects copper pipe when it is
used for a ground rod. The copper plate permits signifi-
cant tightening without smashing the hollow copper pipe.

Note: I am not suggesting using copper water pipe in

your house as a ground. This is for those, like me, who
use copper pipe as ground rods driven into the earth.

As a last step, screw the “jam-nut” until it is tight against

the ground strap.

Figure 5

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

62
 Index
Caution - Read This! 2 Antennas
BigSig Loop 47
Weatherproofing 3 CAROLINA Short 40 37
Coax Seal 3 CAROLINA Short 80 37
Ultimate Sealing Technique 4 CAROLINA Short 80 Special 40
CAROLINA Short 160 Special 40
Grounding CAROLINA WINDOM Shortwave 43
Ground System, 2nd floor 15 CAROLINA WINDOM in general 29
Ground Systems 7-19 CAROLINA WINDOM 80 31
Power Rating 5 CAROLINA WINDOM 160 35
Line Isolators 14-17, 32 CAROLINA WINDOM 20 & 620 34
CAROLINA WINDOM 40 & 40 Plus 34
CAROLINA WINDOM 80 & 160 Special 40-42
Baluns 50-57 CAROLINA WINDOM “LP” series 36
G5RV Plus 49
SuperLoop 40 45
SuperLoop 80 45
ULTIMA DIPOLE 46

Antenna Installation
Do’s and Don’t of antenna installation 25

Antenna Installation lists 26

Installing Wire Antennas 20-28
Antenna Trimming Chart 60
Pulleys 23
Tower Mounting 32, 33
Tree Installation of antennas 20-24
Tuning your antenna 58, 59

Antennas not specifically listed in this index should follow the general
installations instructions beginning on page 20.

The RADIO WORKS Box 6159 Portsmouth, VA 23703

63
All proudly made in the U.S.A.