6
13406 SE 32nd St, BELLEVUE WA, 98005 WWW.CONSUMER.STEPPIR.COM TEL: (425)-453-1910
Your Antenna Has Arrived!
What is the first thing to do?
(continued)
7. When you have finished working with the controller be sure the display indicates “Elements Home”
and the controller has been turned OFF. When the controller is connected to the antenna and the
controller is turned back on the next time, it will think the antenna is in whatever position the control-
ler was left in last time you were using it, so you want to be sure that position is HOME.
8. Once the antenna is completely assembled and ready to mount on the antenna tower, use an anten-
na analyzer, if you have one, to test resonance of the antenna. If you don’t have an analyzer, try to
borrow one or purchase one, they are inexpensive and readily available (The NanoVNA is a great
example). It will save you a lot of time and worry. Check the antenna on each band for some sign of
resonance within the frequency range. Leave the antenna on the default frequency and scan the ham
band (you may need to open up the span to be outside of the band) with the analyzer to see where
the dip occurs. It will be somewhere below the lower band edge on each band with the antenna 3 or
4 feet above the ground on sawhorses. Also, don’t expect to see a 1:1 SWR here (on lower frequen-
cies you may see up to a 2.5 or 3:1), just look for a good indication of resonance.
Once it has been determined this part of the antenna is working correctly do the following: Select the
lowest band and establish the dip condition by tuning the analyzer. Do not touch the analyzer again.
Retract the elements and then reselect the same band. The antenna should come back to very near
the same setting. Do this 2 or 3 times on each band. Also, try going from the band being tested to
any other band and back again and observe that the antenna comes back to the same resonant
point. Now you know the antenna is tuning correctly from band to band and is consistent.
9. Once the antenna is installed on the tower, be sure to properly tune the antenna using an antenna
analyzer as the manual outlines before applying any RF power. Every install height and environment
is different and will affect the antenna’s SWR and resonant point. You don’t want to damage the an-
tenna due to high power being applied with a large mismatch.
10. Enjoy the antenna!
73
Jim Streible—K4DLI
Jim passed away in early 2016, but his advice has enduring value.
PREAMBLE
OK - - - NOW WHAT?
(Sage advice from Jim Streible, K4DLI, SK)
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