Alpha Antenna Alpha 6-160 User manual

"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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AlphaAntenna
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Model‐Alpha6‐160
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The6‐160MeterHFJ‐Pole
USER GUIDE
V2.1
October 12, 2011

"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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Introduction
ThankyouforpurchasingtheAlpha6‐160fromAlphaAntenna.At75
feetinlengththeuniquedesigncharacteristicsofyour6‐160MeterHF
J‐PoleantennaenablesittoachieveresonanceonthemajorHFbands
(6/10/15/20/40Meters)andpresentsaSWRonalloftheHFbands,
including80&160Meters,thatislowenoughfor10:1tunersto
achieveaperfectmatch.
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AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!De‐
signedbyAmateurRadioOperatorsatAlphaAntenna,inconjunction
withaCertifiedCommercialBroadcastEngineer,theAlphaAntenna6‐
160mergesthebestantennadesignsintooneantennasystem.
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Technical Specifications
 Weight:2.5pounds
 Configuration:Vertical,InvertedL,Horizontal
 FrequencyCoverage:1.8to54MHz
 PowerRating:200watts
 Length:75Feet

"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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Functional Description
Acombinationofantennadesigns,namelytheJ‐PoleandZeppalong
withmatchingnetworktechnologies,areutilizedtoachievearesonant
antennadesignon6,10,15,20,&40Metersandafairlyresonantpat‐
ternontherestoftheHFbands,including80&160Meters.Fromthe
J‐Poleformulaswederivethelengthsofeachwirepair,spacingofthe
wiringbetweentheirrespectivesheaths,andsize&numberofthe
strandsofthewireused.FromtheZeppisthematchingfeederele‐
mentformula,andalthoughsignificant,isbynomeanstheonlyfactor
inmatchingtheantenna.A4:1UNUNutilizescomplimentsthatMatch‐
ingNetworkoftheantenna.The4:1UNUNallowsfortheantennato
befedwith50ohmcoaxattheantenna.Thismakesforanimportant
designcharacteristicwhenfeedingatuner,asitkeepstheRFvoltages
lowatthefeedpoint.Then,dependinguponwhatbandyouareyou,a
tunercanbeusedtoperformthefinalmatchingforresonance.
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Installation Safety
WARNING: INSTALLATION OF THIS PRODUCT NEAR POWER
LINES IS DANGEROUS! FOR YOUR SAFETY, FOLLOW THE EN-
CLOSED INSTALLATION DIRECTIONS. THOUGH THIS ANTENNA
IS CONSTRUCTED OF INSULATED WIRE, PROPER CARE MUST
BE TAKEN DURING INSTALLATION. INSTALLER ASSUMES ALL
LIABILITY FOR PROPERTY AND LIFE SAFETY.
YOU, YOUR ANTENNA, AND SAFETY

"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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Eachyear,hundredsofpeoplearekilled,mutilated,orreceivesevere
andpermanentinjurieswhenattemptingtoinstallanantenna.In
manyofthesecases,thevictimwasawareofthedangerofelectrocu‐
tion,butdidnottakeadequatestepstoavoidthehazard.Foryour
safety,andtohelpyouachieveagoodinstallation,pleaseREAD and
FOLLOW thesafetyprecautionsbelow.THEY MAY SAVE YOUR
LIFE!
1.Ifyouareinstallinganantennaforthefirsttime,please,foryour
ownsafetyaswellasothers,seekPROFESSIONALASSISTANCE.
2.Selectyourinstallationsitewithsafety,aswellasperformance,in
mind.(DetailedinformationinSiteSelectionappearsinaseparatesec‐
tionofthisbooklet.)REMEMBER: ELECTRICPOWERLINESAND
PHONELINESLOOKALIKE.FORYOURSAFETY,ASSUMETHATANY
OVERHEADLINESCANKILLYOU.
3.Callyourelectricpowercompany.Tellthemyourplansandask
themtocometakealookatyourproposedinstallation.Thisisasmall
inconvenience,consideringYOUR LIFE IS AT STAKE.
4.Planyourinstallationprocedurecarefullyandcompletelybefore you
begin.Successfulraisingofamastortowerislargelyamatterofcoor‐
dination.Eachpersonshouldbeassignedaspecifictask,andshould
knowwhattodoandwhentodoit.Onepersonshouldbedesignated
astheleader/coordinatoroftheoperationtocalloutinstructionsand
watchforsignsoftrouble.

"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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5.Wheninstallingyourantenna,REMEMBER: DO NOT USE A
METAL LADDER. DO NOT WORK ON A WET OR WINDY
DAY. DO DRESS PROPERLY: shoeswithrubbersolesandheels,
rubbergloves,longsleevedshirtorjacket.
6.Iftheassemblystartstodrop,getawayfromitandletitfall.Re‐
member,theantenna,mast,cableandmetalguywiresareallexcel‐
lentconductorsofelectricalcurrent.Eventheslightesttouchofanyof
thesepartstoapowerlinecompletesanelectricalpaththroughthe
antennaandtheinstaller–THAT’S YOU!
7.IfANYPARToftheantennasystemshouldcomeincontactwitha
powerline,DON’T TOUCH IT OR TRY TO REMOVE IT YOUR-
SELF. CALL YOUR LOCAL POWER COMPANY. Theywillre‐
moveitsafely.Ifanaccidentshouldoccurwiththepowerlines,callfor
qualifiedemergencyhelpIMMEDIATELY.
Antenna Installation
Thereareseveralbasicmethodstoinstallingtheantenna.Themost
commonmethodsareHorizontalandInvertedL,wherethefeedpoint
orcenteroftheantennaistiedtoapoleorhighobjectinordertoget
theradiatorashighintheairaspossible.Thebestruleofthumbisto
getitashighoffthegroundaspossibleforyoursituation.Otherthan
that,evenifyouinstallitinadifferentshapetofityourapartment,
condoorotherinstallation,theantennaisprettyforgiving.

"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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Sincetheantennacanbeusedineitherpermanentortemporaryin‐
stallations,findingagoodplacefortheantennaisjustamatterofex‐
aminingyourlocation.Trytokeeptheentireantennaawayfrommetal
objects,includingmetalsidingofhousesormetalpoles,waterpipes,
raingutters,etc.
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70%ofthepowerradiatedfromtheantennaisinthefirst1/3ofthe
antennawherethecoaxattaches.Itisimportanttoaffixthestartpoint
ofthenantennatoobjectsliketrees,roofs,chimneysorstringitup
withanonconductivecable(nylonrope)togetthestartpointashigh
offthegroundaspossible.Theantennawillperformbestwhenboth
endsarehighofftheground.
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Connection to HF Radio
TheAlpha6‐160antennaisdesignedtodirectlyconnecttoyourtuner
orradio’stunerwithstandard50ohmcoax.Toconnecttheantennato
yourtuner,simplyscrewthePL‐259endofyourcoaxintotheAlpha6‐
160antennaandtheotherendintotoyourtunerorradio.Thisan‐
tennaisdesignedtobefedwithunbalancedorbalancedfeedline.

"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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Optimum SWR Performance
TheSWRfortheAlpha6‐160HF‐J‐Polehasbeentestedatheightsfrom
just6feetthrough30feetandcomespre‐tuned.Duringtests,opti‐
mumresultsachievedarerepresentedinthefollowingSWRAnalysis.
Theseresultswillvaryforyourparticularinstallationbaseduponob‐
jectsinyoursurroundingenvironment.Ifyoudonothaveatunerorif
necessary,youcanincrementallytunetheAlpha6‐160usingthetun‐
ingstub.*Thisinvolvesselectingthecenterfrequencythatyouwill
operateonandtrimmingashortamount(1‐3inchesatatime)ofthe
shorterwire.Thisshouldbedoneusinganantennaanalyzerforopti‐
mumresults.AlthoughtheSWRwillnotchangemuchas1‐3inchesof
wirearetrimmed,eventuallyyouwillseetheSWRstarttoincrease,at
whichtimeyouneedtostoptrimming.Itisnecessarytotakeprecise
readingsoneachbandandmonitorforwhenthefirstbandstartsto
increase,whichisanindicationthatit’sabouttimetostoptrimming.
*Tuningthroughtrimmingthetuningstubinvalidates
anyimpliedorstatedwarrantees.NotetheTrouble‐
shootingsectionbeforeyouattempttotrimthetuning
stub.

"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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Troubleshooting
Ifyourantennaisn’ttuningupproperly,simplytrymovingit.Chances
are,youhaveitinapositionthatiscausinganoddSWRandthetuner
doesn’tlikeit.
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IfyourantennaisgivingunwantedTVIorRFItootherequipmentin
thehouse,youmayalsoneedtorepositiontheantenna.Thisismostly
thecaseforinstallationswheretheantennaisrunningparallelto
ground.Thiscreatesalargereflectiontoground,whichtendstocreate
interferenceintheshackandthehouse.Toeliminatethisissue,try
installingasmuchoftheantennainaverticalconfigurationasyoupos‐
siblycan,stillfollowingtheotherrulesforstandardsantennainstalla‐
tionpresentedhereinthismanualandintheARRLHandbook.
Ifyouarerunninganinverted“L”andyouaren’tgettingtoomuchDX,
tryrepositioningtoasloperorvertical(slopedorstraightup).Thein‐
verted“L”positioningtendstogiveaNVIS,straightup,directiveand
youwillonlytendtogetlocalstationswiththispositioning.
Have Other Questions?
Ifyouhavequestionsaboutyourantenna,pleasefeelfreetocontact
us.

"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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Support
Email:[email protected]
Phone:1‐888‐482‐3249
WEB:www.alphaantenna.com

"AlphaAntennausesantennadesignsthatareknowntowork!"
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