Installing a ZS6BKW Multi-band Dipole Antenna

#hamradio #zs6bkw #hf #antenna

In this video I show the process of installing a ZS6BKW multi-band antenna, using a tree to support the feed-point. The tree is large and expansive so I had to use my slingshot to thread the wire through the tree limbs. I was assisted by W4KWM and K5WAN. The antenna installation was for K5WAN, Wendell Neal. Wendell is one of the principal Net Control Operators for the Hurricane Watch Net, on 14.325MHz and 7.268MHz. K5WAN helped too, from his wheelchair. He installed the lightning arrestor and he used a masonry bit to drill through the brick exterior of the house, so we could get the coax through and into the shack. All connections were sealed with Coax Seal.

The video also shows the performance difference between the ZS6BKW and a ground-mounted Hustler 6BTV vertical with a yard full of buried radials.

The antenna was donated by NI4L.com. Chris Fox makes the best version of the ZS6BKW that there is. I’m sure you know by now that not all antennas are created equal. That is definitely the case with the famed G5RV. A G5RV can be an effective antenna, but it depends upon how it is made. There are so many variations and I haven’t seen any that are designed per the original specifications. In fact, British designer Louis Varney, callsign G5RV, only intended to create an antenna that would fit in his garden (backyard) and yield a 2:1 SWR on the 20-meter band.

The same variations happen with the ZS6BKW. Brian Austin, formerly ZS6BKW, took the original design specifications of the G5RV antenna and entered them into antenna modeling software. He tweaked the wire lengths and the length/type of balanced feeder until he found a solution that yielded a less than 2:1 SWR across the 12, 17, 20, and 40 meter bands. It also happens to cover the FM portion of the 10-meter band (29.6 to 29.7 MHz) with less than a 2:1 SWR. NI4L tweaked even more and his version of the ZS6BKW is the most well-constructed version, providing broad coverage across each of the covered bands. With a wide-range antenna matching unit (aka “antenna tuner”) other bands come into play, including the 15, 30, 60, and 80 meter bands. I want to thank Chris Fox for his generous gift toward this project.

We needed 100 feet of coaxial cable that was rated for direct burial. My favorite coax is LMR-400. DX Engineering was kind enough to donate 100 feet of their DXE-400MAX coax, with a PL-259 connector installed on each end. This coax is resistant to damage caused by Ultraviolet radiation. It is doubled-shielded, with a velocity factor of 84 and only 0.8dB of loss per 100 feet at 30Mhz - even less as you go lower in frequency. I want to thank Tim Duffy and Teri Grizer for their generosity.

At the end of this video, you will be able to see a listing of some of the supporters of this channel who made this video possible. These are people who have supported the channel via Patreon membership, as what I call long-haulers. Long-haulers have supported the channel on a long-term basis. There are 4 levels of Patreon membership, including S5 (Associate), S7 (Executive), S9 (VIP), and S9+ (VIP+). S9+ (VIP+) denotes an S9 (VIP) member who voluntarily chooses to give over and above the amount for S9 (VIP) membership. They help me continue to produce videos even though most people do not contribute toward the cost of my mission. Without their support, I cannot bring my viewers uncensored content.

I hope you enjoy this video and find it helpful. If you find my channel informative and entertaining, I hope you will consider joining my support group by clicking on: www.patreon.com/N4HNH There are 3 levels of support, including exclusive content. Visibility of premium content is determined by the level of membership you choose. The higher the membership level, the more content you have access to. VIP members are invited to participate in periodic Zoom meetings.

Most videos are visible to the Patreon team members long before they are released for public viewing. Some videos are never released for public viewing. Annual S7 (Executive) and S9 (VIP) members have access to the menu optimizations PDFs I’ve written for the FT-891, FT-991A, FTdx5000MP, FTdx101D/MP, FTdx10, and FT-710 AESS. Annual S7 (Executive) members can receive one menu optimizations PDF while abbual S9 (VIP) members can receive multiple menu optimizations documents, plus my FT8 configuration guide for either the FTdx10 or the FT-710 AESS. Future radios might be added. The documents are copyrighted. They shall not be divulged to anyone else without written permission from Doug McAlexander, callsign N4HNH.

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73, de N4HNH