S9v 43’ Installation Guide
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4
Ground Mount Pipe
A 54-inch long (minimum) section of standard 1-1/2 inch galvanized plumbing
pipe (1.9” OD) is required for the S9v 43’ ground mount. Elevated mounting
configurations are not recommended due to the size of this antenna. A rubber o-
ring and stainless steel saddle clamp is included with the antenna to keep the
base of the antenna off of the ground.
Hardware stores such as Home Depot
TM
and Lowes
TM
stock 1-1/2” galvanized
plumbing pipe in their plumbing departments. Most hardware stores also have a
pipe cutting machine and they will cut your pipe to 54 inches or longer upon
request.
Radials
For optimum performance, the S9v must be used with a good RF ground,
normally achieved using radial wires. A general rule of thumb for radial wires is:
“longer” and “more” is better and “some” are better than “none”. A ground rod is
not a suitable RF ground.
We recommend at least 16 radials, with each radial at least 0.2 wavelength at the
lowest operating frequency: If you have the time and resources, 32 or more
radials at least 0.2 wavelength long (or longer) should be considered. There is
no precise formula to calculate the length of ground-mounted radials because
everyone has different soil and soil tends to change the electrical length of the
radials. That said, the following table contains suggested lengths for 0.2
wavelength radial wires for 80 and 40 meters:
Band
Frequency
Minimum Radial
Length
80 Meters
3.5 MHz
53.5 feet long
(53 feet, 6 inches)
40 Meters
7 MHz
26.75 feet long
(26 feet, 9 inches)
It is highly recommend that you use a radial plate to connect and organize your
radials and to provide the vital ground connection for your coax shield. The
optional S9 Radial Plate (or, our PRO Radial Plate) has 36 radial mounting holes
- enough to easily connect 80 radials to the plate. Additional, detailed
information on radials can be found on page 17.
