SteppIR Antennas
2112 116th Ave NE #1-5, Bellevue, WA 98004
Tel: 425.453.1910
www.steppir.com
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5. TUNING THE CRANKIR
Tuning the CrankIR is easily accomplished with its “Turn the Crank Tuning”
design—just turn the Reel Crank Handle
to easily adjust the length of the
radiating element to the correct length of the desired frequency. Tuning for
lowest SWR can be easily accomplished with a hand-held antenna analyzer
or by using the SWR meter built-into your transceiver.
TUNING VIA A HAND-HELD ANTENNA ANALYZER
The easiest way to tune the CrankIR is with the aid of a hand-held antenna
analyzer. Recent improvements in antenna analyzer design allow these to
now be truly hand-held devices, some not much larger than a deck of
standard playing cards.
To tune the CrankIR with an antenna analyzer begin by extending or
retracting the radiating wire so that the desired color-coded band indicator
is lined up just above the Wire Guide Block
If you are using the optional
Tunable Radial Unit adjust the wire length until the desired color-coded
band indicator is just beyond the Radial Wire Guide Block ( the color-coded
heatshrink markers come from the factory loose on the radial wire
and
the user must determine the position for each band and then heatshrink
them in place) . Now that the antenna is set up for the selected band attach
your antenna analyzer to the Antenna Connector
on the back of the
CrankIR. Set your analyzer to the corresponding band / desired frequency
and adjust the radial until the SWR reaches its lowest point. For maximum
radiated power keep the vertical radiator at long as possible with while still
maintaining a low SWR. Tune the antenna to low SWR by adjusting the
radial length, even when it is adjusted to less than ¼ wavelength it doesn’t
reduce the efficiency. In some cases the vertical radiator can be made
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Summary of Contents for CrankIR
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