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Author Topic: K1WA Sloper Array - Nice Antenna System!  (Read 8185 times)

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K1WA Sloper Array - Nice Antenna System!
« on: July 28, 2004, 12:39:54 PM »

I'm interested if anyone else out there has tried this antenna system. I have had one up this summer (20M), and have found it to be an excellent antenna system - TO angle 20 degrees and . I really like the cardioid pattern (even better than using a rotator and beam) and the ability to quickly change directions, and its takeoff angle does seem to be very good for DX.

Mine is a little bit different than the one in the latest edition of the ARRL Antenna Book. I have 4 half wave 20M dipoles and 22' coax stubs with coax baluns at the switch, and for the "5th element / reflector" I have one vertical from my 40M half square where the 5th reflector would be. I did have to work a little to ensure that my 40M half square and K1WA array didn't cause "coupling".
I use an Ameritron RCS-4 to switch it.

One support is a 40' steel mast (with a homebrewed tilt over steel pipe base 4' in the ground with 4 bags of poured redicrete). The other is a branch at 40' - off a tall Monterrey Pine tree. The slopers act as a guy for the mast, and the pine tree is the support for the corner fed half square. I fed the half square with ladder line to an SGC 230 remote autotuner, so I can load it on 80 - 10M - although it works best on 40 and 30M, which is exactly what I wanted. The feedline comes away from the half square in a such a way (straight away from the feedpoint) that it probably isn't degrading the half squares pattern much.

And best of all - I can work on my antennas on the ground - no more climbing!

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