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SAL Electronics Antennas

KC9Q

Supporting Member
Jan 14, 2012
270
83
38
Chicago, IL
About SAL Electronics Products

SAL Electronic’ is committed to the design and the production of HF wire antennas and VHF/UHF fixed station antennas for the Amateur Radio market. Our products span the short-wave market as well as the amateur radio market. The main goal of SAL Electronic antennas is to provide a single antenna system that will provide the widest possible bandwidth available with the highest mechanical standards possible. The current HF wire antennas offer wideband end fed or Off-Center-Fed antenna designs that provide a wide frequency agile system in a single stealth, low noise wire design.

Our premier antenna is the 80 Meter OCF antenna that has been designed to provide operation for the 80 thru 6 Meter Ham Bands with minimal tuner inter-action for full legal power with minimal tuner inter-action. No tuner is required for the entire 40, 20, 17, 12, and 10 Meter bands. No tuner is required for the 50 to 51 MHz portion of the 6 Meter band as well. This is accomplished with the optimum 135 feet antenna design, which can be installed as a classic straight-line form, in addition to an inverted V, or a sloping Inverted V.

For installations where a dipole or OCF dipole does not fit, SAL Electronics offers several models of an End Fed design. Two mid-power models are available in either 90 feet or 43 feet lengths providing 160 to 6 Meters, or 80 to 10 Meters operation respect-fully. For portable operations or attic installations there is a 45 Watt low-power model available. All end fed antennas require the use of an wideband antenna tuner.

Features common to all SAL Electronics’ HF wire antennas are hand wound ferrite core transformers, a weatherproof enclosure, all stainless steel hardware, silver plated connectors, and insulated 14 gauge stranded copper wire. Why insulated wire? The insulation provides a hard-to-see jacket to minimize visual impact, prevents the wire from oxidizing to maintain optimum skin effect, and allows installation through vegetation such as trees and bushes without any adverse effects. A final note is the wire element’s attachment to the transformer and insulators. The design places all the mechanical stress on the insulator and the transformer eye-bolts. There is no stress placed in the electrical connection at the matching transformer. This design also provides the ability to remove or replace the element(s) for maintenance, or field adjustment purposes.

SAL Electronics’ offers VHF and UHF ground plane antennas built with aircraft quality aluminum materials. Our ground planes are hand machined of 6061-T6 aluminum plate for the base, and 6061-T832 hard drawn 0.058 wall aluminum tubing. Tubing elements are capped with fiberglass at the attachment ends to provide waterproofing and strong mechanical attachment. The far end of the tubing elements are capped with a vinyl foot to prevent water ingress, and to provide a soft mare free footing if used indoors on furniture for temporary installations. All electrical hardware is stainless steel, and the mounting hardware is 3/8” zinc plated steel.

All products are tested for VSWR performance using an AIM UHF antenna analyzer over and beyond the intended frequency range of operation.

SAL Electronics is designing other wide band VHF and UHF antenna systems for future deploy-ment. Future designs include Moxon beams, and wideband halo antennas for 2, 6, and 10 Meters.

SAL Electronics is located in the far Northwest Chicago suburb of Algonquin, Illinois, and can be reached at msalak@sal-electonics.com, or at 1-815-669-6567. I can also be reached at kc9q@arrl.net.

73,
Michael Salak
SAL Electronics
 
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Do you have plans for any 11M/CB antennas?I would be interested in an 11M halo or moxon.
 
Hi Mike, Mike here....

I currently run a G5RV at 36' and an antenna tuner. With my TenTec 544, barefoot at 100w, I can pretty much talk to anyone that I hear, worldwide. Of course there are always some that are unreachable, due to pile-ups, conditions, etc.
I am currently looking at different wire antennas to buy, or build. How would yours compare to the tried and true G5RV? I ask because it sounds really good.(y)

PS: I work HF.
 
Last edited:
Hello Mike,

The OCF will provide more bands without the use of an antenna tuner. The OCF806 is designed to cover 80 thru 6 Meters. On 80 Meters the bandwidth will require an antenna tuner for full band coverage. No tuner is required for 40, 20, 17, 12, 10 and the 50 – 51 MHz segment of 6 Meters. An Off-Center Fed antenna is resonant on even harmonics of the fundamental (80 Meters in this case), so 30, 60, and 15 Meters is left out. However, I have tested the antenna out, and it has been determined that these bands are usable with an antenna tuner. I would hold the power level to 200 Watts maximum on 15 Meters to protect the balun. (I have made many DX contacts on 15 Meters using just 100 Watts.) I don’t know how that compares to your G5RV.

The Balun is a 4:1 Current design that blocks RF from coming down the line. No need for a second 1:1 line isolator to block RF currents from the shack.

Installation can be straight across, Inverted V (to save space), or straight across with the last 10 feet of the ends drooping down. Just make sure that the ends are at least 10 feet above the ground. My installation here is a sloping Inverted V (sort of) mounted 20 feet above the ground. The angle is less than 120 degrees (more like 80 degrees), the long end is routed through two trees with a 90 degree horizontal bend about half down about 15 feet above the ground, and the short end is angled down at about a 45 degree to another tree at 10 feet above the ground. (Not ideal by any means.)

The Balun is constructed of two large ferrite cores (not powdered iron) that provides the measured flat response from 160 to 6 Meters, at full legal power. The Balun box is a marine quality weatherproof (Nema 6) PVC enclosure provided with a rubber gasket that seals the lid to the box. The hardware is all stainless steel. The antenna elements are secured with screws at the balun and bolts at the end insulators. Thus if servicing is required it can be done. The antenna elements are attached to the eyebolts at the Balun for strength. The eyebolts remove the stress to the electrical connection to the Balun. Other designs solder the wires directly to the Balun, use cable clamps and crimps to hold the elements (fixed) and non-serviceable.

All-in-all, it’s a heavy-duty antenna using one hard to see wire element that covers the majority of the ham bands from 80 through 6 Meters at up to 1.5 KW with ease.

Hope I answered your query OK.

73,
Mike, KC9Q
 
An OCF antenna and a G5RV ought to be comparable on the harmonic bands. Don't throw away that tuner.
- 'Doc
 
They don't have a big ol resistor in them to keep them so broad banded like another company that makes dipoles that need no tuning, are marketed to Government type agency's, cost $1800.00 and the resistor eats half the radiated power do they ????

What's the secret? They just might be a great antenna, just wondering.

73's John KF7VXA
 
'What's the secret'? The secret is that people are willing to put up with less than optimal performance if it does something at least 'close' to what's wanted. It deals with 'expectations' not reality. Believing the B.S. you are told instead of having some knowledge of what can be expected. Dam! That's just like politics, ain't it? One born every minute? So what else is new?...
- 'Doc
 

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