Make sure insulator is
centered with mast plate
Loop wire through eyelet
and around itself three
times. Allow excess to
hang downward.
Looping the wire around itself tightly is more than enough to hold the wire in place on the
insulator. Do not try to tension the wires to remove all the sag. Sag in the wires will not
affect the operation of the antenna and it will prevent stress on the antenna parts. Too
much sag is when the different band wires are allowed to contact each other.
Tune the antenna while it is at least 6 ft off the ground for 6-20 meters. For 30 and 40, it
should be at least 12 ft off the ground. The operating frequency will increase as you
raise the antenna higher off the ground. This will be more noticeable on 30 and 40. 6-20
may only shift slightly when raised. Initial tuning should be done below the band. You can
always trim more wire off but it can’t be added without a soldering iron.
Tuning the antenna is done by trimming the wires that are left hanging from the insulator.
You will have more wire than is needed so a lot may be left hanging from the insulator.
Check for an SWR dip on each band to see how close you are to the desired frequency.
You should be well below the band with the amount of wire supplied. If you have trouble
determining which dip is associated with which band, fold one set of wire ends back on
themselves effectively shortening the wire to its shortest possible length. The SWR dip
that is associated with that wire will move up in frequency. When the wires are folded
back, it will be the same as if you have cut the entire hanging amount off. You can use
this to adjust the wire guides so that when the wires are cut completely, the antenna will
be tuned to the top of the band. This will make the amount of wire hanging from the
insulators as short as possible.
Just a few inches of wire is ideal to hang off the insulators.
Adjusting the wire guides outward on the spreaders will increase the size of the loop and
reduce the amount of wire needed to hang from the insulator. This may take a little trial
and error to get it just right. Take your time and you will be happy with the results. If you
tune the antenna and have to much wire hanging off the insulator, simply unwrap the wire
and move it so an acceptable amount is hanging off. Move the wire guides to remove the
additional slack in the wire that was created. Check the SWR again to make sure its still in
place. Remember to keep the insulator centered so that wires on both sides are the same
length. If the wire lengths on each side are different, The SWR dip will not be as sharp and
may be higher than desired. This tuning procedure should start with the 10 or 6 meter wire
and move to 40.
