BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Look over the DIMENSION SHEET, HARDWARE AND ELEMENT ASSEMBLY
DRAWINGS to get familiar with the various parts of the antenna. Tools handy for assembly process:
screwdriver, 11/32, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16 and 5/8” nut drivers, end wrenches and/or sockets, diagonal cutters,
and measuring tape.
Small containers of zinc paste (Penetrox, Noalox, or equiv.) has been
provided to enhance and maintain the quality of all electrical junctions on this antenna. Apply a
thin coat wherever two pieces of aluminum come in contact or any other electrical connections
are made.
1. ELEMENT CLAMP BLOCK ASSEMBLY.
SEE “ELEMENT HARDWARE” drawing to aid in the assembly of this step. Start by assembling pairs
of ELEMENT CLAMP PLATES, #6 together with 1/4-20 x 2-1/2" bolts in the four outer holes. NOTE
THAT ONE SET OF CLAMP PLATES WILL ALSO GET A 1” X 1” X 6” ANGLE BRACKET FOR
MOUNTING THE BALUN. Add the 1/4-20 locknuts finger tight.
A. DRIVEN ELEMENT
On one of the element clamp plates assembled in the previous step, slip in the 1-1/4 X 24" fiberglass
rod and rotate until the element mounting holes are vertical.
Center the rod and tighten the
hardware EVENLY, so the plates are parallel and the same amount of threads are showing
through all the locknuts.
Slide the POLYETHYLENE DISC INSULATORS onto both ends of the
fiberglass rods and push them up against the clamp plates. The disc insulators can sometimes be a
very tight fit on the rods. If you can’t get them to fit place them in hot water a few minutes.
B. REFLECTOR, DIRECTOR ELEMENT
Slide a 1-1/4” x 24” aluminum
CENTER COUPLING ROD
into a CLAMP PLATE ASSEMBLY. Center
the assembly and align the bolt holes to vertical. Tighten all four outer element clamp plate bolts
EVENLY. Make sure plates remain parallel, top to bottom.
2. VERTICAL SUPPORT POST INSTALLATION. Use the ELEMENT HARDWARE drawing.
The element clamps require a 3/4” square x .125” wall x 11” WELDED VERTICAL SUPPORT POST to
raise and support the linear loading lines. Orient the WELDED PLATE over the element clamp plates.
Insert two 1/4-20 x 3-1/4” bolts through the holes in the SUPPORT POST . Then mount the posts to
the middle two holes of each clamp plate and secure with 1/4-20 locknuts.
Prepare the 1/4-20 x 6” turnbuckles by removing the RIGHT HAND THREAD END OF EACH
TURNBUCKLE and thread on a 1/4-20 “JAM NUT” as shown on the drawings, Thread the 1/4-20 nut
all the way up at this time. The nuts will be used to “LOCK UP” the turnbuckles once all the
adjustments are done. Install a TURNBUCKLE in each hole of the welded TOP PLATE as shown in the
drawing. NOTE: The hook is inserted from UNDER the plate through the hole. Finally, install a CABLE
EYE OR THIMBLE in the EYE of each turnbuckle.
3. HALF ELEMENT ASSEMBLIES
There are 6 half element assemblies. One pair each for the Reflector, Rear Driven, Front Driven, and
Director Elements. See the ELEMENT ASSEMBLY drawing to aid in the assembly of each half
element. Also refer to the DIMENSION SHEET and ELEMENT HARDWARE DETAIL drawings. Only
the 1/2” element tip sections are different lengths. The correct hardware to join the various sizes are as
follows:
For 1-1/2" to 1-1/4" tubing use 8-32 x 1-3/4" screws.
For 1-1/4" to 1" tubing use 8-32 x 1-1/2" screws.
For 1" to 1“ and 1” to 3/4" tubing use 8-32 x 1-1/4" screws.
For 3/4" to 1/2" tips use 5/8” compression clamps.
40M3L ASSEMBLY MANUAL
