Now you need to go to the middle of 20 meters and check your SWR. Record that and
then go to 40 meters and do the same. Your standing wave should be below 1.5 on
both bands. If it is below 1.5 on both bands no adjusting is needed on the matching coil.
However, if the SWR is above 1.5 on 20 meters and low on 40 meters this means
there is too much inductance from the matching coil. This can easily be corrected
by simply spreading the matching coil (Example 7) a very small amount until a low
SWR is attained on 20 and 40 meters. If you have spread the coil approximately 1 1/2
inches wide and the SWR has not dropped on 20 meters then there is most likely a
ground issue.
However, keep in mind if you had to go to this extreme
to tune, your ground path is most likely too far away or
you have other antennas too close to this antenna.
If properly installed this antenna will have a standing
wave below 1.5 from 7.0 to 30 MHz (coverage
depends on whip length. We know that every antenna
installation is unique and it is impossible to describe
all the scenarios in this manual. However, if you are
having problems with this initial tuning please call.
With everything working and your ready to button this system up, then you need to
put a small dab of dielectric compound or petroleum jelly (Vaseline) in the molex
connector at the antenna and also in the PL259 at the antenna. Wipe off any
excess and then seal the molex plug and coax connector with Coax Seal or tape.
We've seen this technique used for years on installs in the northern states where a
lot of salt is used on the roads in the wintertime and when disassembled they
look as clean and shiny as the day they were installed.
Operation
Remember that when the coil is all the way in it's resonant on the high bands and
all the way out on the low bands. It will take a little time to get use to this style of
antenna, some mark the antenna with tape to mark the approximate location of
the bands, some just listen to the noise level increase on the radio's receive when
it's close to resonant. When you fine tune you need to transmit a low carrier (AM,
FM, CW) at 5 to 10 watts and watch the SWR meter until the dip. There are also
several types of controllers on the market; most are good in their on unique way.
NOTE: Don’t use the Dielectric Compound or Coax Seal until
all testing has been done.
IMPORTANT: Don't make any adjustment to the matching
coil until you read and understand the next paragraph.
Example 7
