Nice buildt. A few tips and tricks. First, the element lengths can be 46 feet, not 46feet 8 inches. . On the tuned element, 39 feet is an estimate Trim the ladder feedline to SWRmin. Second, that balun you have is sub optimal and probably you're getting some loss there. Alternatively, make a 1:1 choke balun using a mix 31 ferrite donut (FT240-31) by wrapping 12 turns of coax through it and then solder the end of the coax to the ladder line. center to one wire, shield to other. Seal it up good. It MUST be up 40 feet or if less, make sure the ladder line is not coiled up and it must not touch the ground in any way. You should be able to get 1:1 on 40, 1.5:1 or less on 20 1.5:1 or less on 17, 1.5:1 or less on 12 and 2:1 or less on 10 and 6 meters. These are not designed or intended to be used on 160/80/60/30/15 meter bands. It will work ok on the cw sub band on 80 but elsewhere it is just a random wire radiating. About the best antenna for multi-band simplicity. You can make home made ladder line too. I haven't found a wire antenna that beats it on the bands that it was designed to work on especially (40/20/17)..
Thank you ! I did a video on balun testing after this video and you are right it was extremely lossy and I deleted it completely and have had zero problems with RF in the shack which is likely due to it terminating in a polyphaser before entry in the shack. Deletion of the balun was a boon to performance. It is a really good antenna . I am going to experiment with a big doorknob capacitor to raise the resonant point on 80m .The only wire antenna I have used which was better was a combination 80m and 40m doublet fed by window line and using a 4:1 xfmr that I built where I duplicated the design of the legacy palstar 4:1 Current balun. So many chase their tail with lossy transformers on end fed designs and fail to appreciate the simplicity, performance, elegance, and inexpense of classic antenna designs that have stood the test of time. Thanks for watching !
@@survivalcomms yes. Exactly. I use a high quality home made current balun and it handles legal limit no sweat all day ! Nothing to burn out. Can work everything I can hear ! Super!
Bret! Whats up brother! Good build and (as always) super informative and well explained. I've had a a lot of experience with WD1 during my Army days, as well as WF-16. Be safe.
Thank you ! I feel the same way. There are times that a really interesting item that make be limited or esoteric is worthy of introduction, review, or accolades but certainly not the content bread and butter . Thanks for watching !
I have built many wire antennas from military comm wire, it’s great stuff, very strong! Our telephone company uses it for temporary hookups, and discard after. Hams are always looking for wire! Nice antenna build, well done.
I bought one of these from UK wire antennas. I have the worst backyard layout so i'm lucky to get it up about 25 feet high. Even with those issues, I never have problems busting through pile-ups. I use an ICOM 7300. Really effective antenna.
I had made one of these when I first upgraded to general a couple years ago. I wasn't terribly pleased with how it tuned. But it seemed to just work. My 991A would tune it up on 40,20,10 and I want to say 15? I ended up ditching it for a Alpha Delta DX-CC multiband dipole. But your video has given me new inspiration to perhaps revisit this antenna.. I plan to participate in the Armed Forces Cross band Test day event in May. And I plan to setup a portable station. I have been pondering on what antenna would work best for this event.(I believe mostly 40/20) My origonal plan was to build a fan dipole. But the ZS6BKW is already made so I think I will test it out again. Thanks for the inspiration. N7ORG
Thank you ! One thing I did with mine that really helped was to delete the balun and just use a SO239 to window line transition ( I used a wireman one or you can roll your own with PVC) I have a whopping 10 feet of 9913 from the window line to my Polyphaser and have had no trouble with common mode personally. However a sleeve choke may be something that you want to consider too, Thanks for watching !
Thank you ! You can try starting the 450ohm line at 41 feet and prune it down to tune it. Interestingly enough I have seen commercial variants of this antenna state "requires a minimum of 70 feet of 50-52 ohm coax to complete the matching network. Without this 70 foot of coax, the antenna will NOT function correctly" . That might help as well. Thanks for watching !
I think the ZS6BKW design uses 388 Ohm window line for best match across the bands....He made his own line using the standard formulae, and measured the velocity factor. Try to find the original article by ZS6BKW.
Hello. Very nice build job. Would it be to much trouble to ask if you could check the SWR on 4724, 8992, 11175 and 15016. I want to find an antenna that is good on these milcom air frequencies as well as wire antenna for the ham bands. Thank you, Scott W3CV
Thank you. The zs6bkw does not work well outside of the ham bands. The lack of harmonic relationship in the frequencies you specified above pretty much inhibits any sort of EFFICIENT simple wire antenna as such antennas require at least some form of harmonic relationship in the frequencies covered. The best choice in my opinion for having a working match across those frequencies you listed would be a T2FD. Fortunately I have a video in my content catalog on the T2FD and more are in the works. Thanks for watching !
I really liked your video. I really like this antenna. But because of the war, I had to leave all this happiness in a shelled area. I hope I can come back and something survives. Best wishes. UR3QX Oh, I just noticed that it’s already been 11 months. Sorry.
This is the perfect video for what I am doing. I'm thinking of doing nearly this exact thing but my run of ladder line will need to be closer to 100 feet. I'd like to understand the implications of different lengths and what I need to do with them. Can you give the general idea? Thanks..
In that case you should build a doublet and use a 4:1 balun IMHO. This isn't you say you should not experiment however with what you have on hand. In this example antenna (ZS6BKW) the window line is a matching section rather than a feedline and functions as a part of the antenna rather than strictly as a feeder. Stay tuned I have an antenna that I will be building that will work well with your window line. Window line is an excellent feeder when using a tuner in a non resonant antenna as your loss is considerably less than using coax feed in a non resonant design however it needs to be an odd multiple of a wavelength. 100 feet is good in most examples. Thanks for watching !
@@survivalcomms Cool. I look forward to that video. I have a lot of tall trees nearby so I can even lift my antenna high up if needed. I'm hooking to a Yaesu 991a and plan to also take it to a summits on the air trip sometime. I just need to decide on what peak and what battery to get.Thanks for the vid. I'll be watching for more.
Where in Gauteng can one purchase the ladder-line cable? Or perhaps online? I'm starting out in the game and don't yet have the funds for a professional setup.
Thewireman.com has what you need. The solid conductor is the 551 as shown here and 552 is the stranded conductor and the cat's pajamas. Give them a visit they are good folks to work with. Thanks for watching !
Save your money and delete the balun. I did that and the antenna really works better without it. I wont buy a radiowavz balun again. Even after repairing it ( see my balun repair video) it was lossy and offered no real benefit IMHO. Thanks for watching !
The EFHW is a convenient antenna but has loss across the transformer and is ONLY efficient at the frequency it is designed for. End fed is always < a center fed antenna with an elevated feed point. The feedpoint close to the ground increases losses . Keep your eyes peeled my next video demonstrates much of this. Thanks for watching.
@@survivalcomms building the zs6 at the moment. The one thing I’ve ran into is I have 600ohm true ladder line. Will it need to be shorter than called for? VF 0.96
@@JayN4GO Im not sure. Typically when using open wire feeder in a G5RV it is a bit LONGER than with window line. I will be interested to know how yours works out. I eliminated the balun and went to a simple so239 to balanced line and the performance is better than it was in this video.
Dont get hung up on the balun. I have been running without a balun for some time in my latest build and there have been zero ill effects. Thanks for watching !
I am going to make this antenna and the 1.1 balun cost me 100 dollars Australian and as for the 450 ohm twin feed ,it cost me 150 dollars Australian from America and a couple of place sell it in Australia for just as much so it's a bit of a shame we have to pay soo much for twin feed cables would probably be better for us Aussies to just make it.anyway just thought I would let you know cheers and 73s VK4MAN
Make sure to get a GOOD balun. The inexpensive one I used here (45 dollars) stopped working after the hurricane and I tested it in my most recent video and found it was really poor to begin with. Twin lead IS expensive and there are limited outlets for it. You can make your own balanced line and I may do a video on that for fun sometime. Thank you for watching !
I meant if it is an "inverted V" with the feedline ladderline going down the side of the carbon fiber mast, I keep hearing from various sources that you need to keep the antenna away from carbon fiber? Not sure what affect the ladder line rubbing in the wind against the mast, one you tuber insists that it be in "free space" meaning it hangs in the air not touching anything, if that is the case I need to find room for a flat top or horizontal deployment right? PS Nice video!@@survivalcomms
@@alflores4220 Thank you. I have never used carbon fiber for a mast in the past but anything non conductive does not present a problem whatsoever in y experience. You will find balanced feedline is much more forgiving than you may have been led to believe. I would try it out and see if there is any negative effect . I have deleted the balun in my most recent builds as well and the results have been positive.
Bring the window line in at an angle . Be creative however don't bungle it up ,try to keep it off of the ground, dont lay it across metal objects and avoid sharp bends. Thanks for watching !
There are two types of Hams. Those that have forgotten heatshrink, and those that are about to! Great video.
LOL You are right ! Thank you for watching !
Please use black wireties, because those are UV resistante. White wireties will be brittle after 1 year (summer).
Thanks for watching !
Simple & elegant design… Built to last and field operable. Nice!
Thank you very much and thanks for watching !
Nice buildt. A few tips and tricks. First, the element lengths can be 46 feet, not 46feet 8 inches. . On the tuned element, 39 feet is an estimate Trim the ladder feedline to SWRmin. Second, that balun you have is sub optimal and probably you're getting some loss there. Alternatively, make a 1:1 choke balun using a mix 31 ferrite donut (FT240-31) by wrapping 12 turns of coax through it and then solder the end of the coax to the ladder line. center to one wire, shield to other. Seal it up good. It MUST be up 40 feet or if less, make sure the ladder line is not coiled up and it must not touch the ground in any way.
You should be able to get 1:1 on 40, 1.5:1 or less on 20 1.5:1 or less on 17, 1.5:1 or less on 12 and 2:1 or less on 10 and 6 meters. These are not designed or intended to be used on 160/80/60/30/15 meter bands. It will work ok on the cw sub band on 80 but elsewhere it is just a random wire radiating. About the best antenna for multi-band simplicity. You can make home made ladder line too. I haven't found a wire antenna that beats it on the bands that it was designed to work on especially (40/20/17)..
Thank you ! I did a video on balun testing after this video and you are right it was extremely lossy and I deleted it completely and have had zero problems with RF in the shack which is likely due to it terminating in a polyphaser before entry in the shack. Deletion of the balun was a boon to performance. It is a really good antenna . I am going to experiment with a big doorknob capacitor to raise the resonant point on 80m .The only wire antenna I have used which was better was a combination 80m and 40m doublet fed by window line and using a 4:1 xfmr that I built where I duplicated the design of the legacy palstar 4:1 Current balun. So many chase their tail with lossy transformers on end fed designs and fail to appreciate the simplicity, performance, elegance, and inexpense of classic antenna designs that have stood the test of time. Thanks for watching !
@@survivalcomms yes. Exactly. I use a high quality home made current balun and it handles legal limit no sweat all day ! Nothing to burn out. Can work everything I can hear ! Super!
Thats some great info. I have one ordered. 73
Looks really good...love the ZS6BKW. 💯👍🙋♂
Thank you ! Thanks for watching !
Bret! Whats up brother! Good build and (as always) super informative and well explained. I've had a a lot of experience with WD1 during my Army days, as well as WF-16. Be safe.
Good to see you Ron and thank you. Things are good here . You stay safe as well and thanks for watching !
very good build i wish more videoswere build rather than ads as always a great video
Thank you ! I feel the same way. There are times that a really interesting item that make be limited or esoteric is worthy of introduction, review, or accolades but certainly not the content bread and butter . Thanks for watching !
Cool antenna. I have to try it. Thanks for video !
Awesome ! Thank you and thanks for watching !
Nice build, and you built if yourself which is even better.
Thank you ! Build it yourself is how I roll. Thanks for watching !
Works great
Thank you thanks for watching !
I use this same antenna and find it very forgiving. Nice SAC patch tweak BTW.
Thank you ! Thanks for watching !
I have built many wire antennas from military comm wire, it’s great stuff, very strong! Our telephone company uses it for temporary hookups, and discard after. Hams are always looking for wire! Nice antenna build, well done.
Thank you ! It is incredibly strong stuff. Thanks for watching !
Any suggestions on best place to buy that wire?
I bought one of these from UK wire antennas. I have the worst backyard layout so i'm lucky to get it up about 25 feet high. Even with those issues, I never have problems busting through pile-ups. I use an ICOM 7300. Really effective antenna.
They really are a good antenna. The same one from the video is still in the air here. Thanks for watching !
Pw8gts congratulações exelente antena belíssimo trabalho 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Muito obrigado e obrigado por assistir!
This time of year hams and model plane builders need to clean up poling places plastic signs
The business advertisers here illegally put them in the right of way and that provides a good supply too. Thanks for watching !
I had made one of these when I first upgraded to general a couple years ago. I wasn't terribly pleased with how it tuned. But it seemed to just work. My 991A would tune it up on 40,20,10 and I want to say 15? I ended up ditching it for a Alpha Delta DX-CC multiband dipole. But your video has given me new inspiration to perhaps revisit this antenna.. I plan to participate in the Armed Forces Cross band Test day event in May. And I plan to setup a portable station. I have been pondering on what antenna would work best for this event.(I believe mostly 40/20) My origonal plan was to build a fan dipole. But the ZS6BKW is already made so I think I will test it out again. Thanks for the inspiration. N7ORG
Thank you ! One thing I did with mine that really helped was to delete the balun and just use a SO239 to window line transition ( I used a wireman one or you can roll your own with PVC) I have a whopping 10 feet of 9913 from the window line to my Polyphaser and have had no trouble with common mode personally. However a sleeve choke may be something that you want to consider too, Thanks for watching !
Nice antenna build! Would it be possible to get better results on 20 with a little variation of the feed line and antenna length?
Thank you ! You can try starting the 450ohm line at 41 feet and prune it down to tune it. Interestingly enough I have seen commercial variants of this antenna state "requires a minimum of 70 feet of 50-52 ohm coax to complete the matching network. Without this 70 foot of coax, the antenna will NOT function correctly" . That might help as well. Thanks for watching !
I think the ZS6BKW design uses 388 Ohm window line for best match across the bands....He made his own line using the standard formulae, and measured the velocity factor. Try to find the original article by ZS6BKW.
Hello. Very nice build job. Would it be to much trouble to ask if you could check the SWR
on 4724, 8992, 11175 and 15016. I want to find an antenna that is good on these milcom
air frequencies as well as wire antenna for the ham bands. Thank you, Scott W3CV
Thank you. The zs6bkw does not work well outside of the ham bands. The lack of harmonic relationship in the frequencies you specified above pretty much inhibits any sort of EFFICIENT simple wire antenna as such antennas require at least some form of harmonic relationship in the frequencies covered. The best choice in my opinion for having a working match across those frequencies you listed would be a T2FD. Fortunately I have a video in my content catalog on the T2FD and more are in the works. Thanks for watching !
I really liked your video. I really like this antenna. But because of the war, I had to leave all this happiness in a shelled area. I hope I can come back and something survives. Best wishes. UR3QX
Oh, I just noticed that it’s already been 11 months. Sorry.
Best wishes to you as well. Thanks for watching !
This is the perfect video for what I am doing. I'm thinking of doing nearly this exact thing but my run of ladder line will need to be closer to 100 feet. I'd like to understand the implications of different lengths and what I need to do with them. Can you give the general idea? Thanks..
In that case you should build a doublet and use a 4:1 balun IMHO. This isn't you say you should not experiment however with what you have on hand. In this example antenna (ZS6BKW) the window line is a matching section rather than a feedline and functions as a part of the antenna rather than strictly as a feeder. Stay tuned I have an antenna that I will be building that will work well with your window line. Window line is an excellent feeder when using a tuner in a non resonant antenna as your loss is considerably less than using coax feed in a non resonant design however it needs to be an odd multiple of a wavelength. 100 feet is good in most examples. Thanks for watching !
@@survivalcomms Cool. I look forward to that video. I have a lot of tall trees nearby so I can even lift my antenna high up if needed. I'm hooking to a Yaesu 991a and plan to also take it to a summits on the air trip sometime. I just need to decide on what peak and what battery to get.Thanks for the vid. I'll be watching for more.
Where in Gauteng can one purchase the ladder-line cable? Or perhaps online?
I'm starting out in the game and don't yet have the funds for a professional setup.
Thewireman.com has what you need. The solid conductor is the 551 as shown here and 552 is the stranded conductor and the cat's pajamas. Give them a visit they are good folks to work with. Thanks for watching !
I built one much like that. It's called a Doublet.
I have a doublet also. Difference is length and the doublet uses a 4:1 transformer. Thanks for watching !
1:1 from radiowavz comes in many variations, which specific one are you using? B11 - A,B,I, F ?
Save your money and delete the balun. I did that and the antenna really works better without it. I wont buy a radiowavz balun again. Even after repairing it ( see my balun repair video) it was lossy and offered no real benefit IMHO. Thanks for watching !
Have you compared this antenna to an efhw at the same height? Wondered which you liked better. Tnx
The EFHW is a convenient antenna but has loss across the transformer and is ONLY efficient at the frequency it is designed for. End fed is always < a center fed antenna with an elevated feed point. The feedpoint close to the ground increases losses . Keep your eyes peeled my next video demonstrates much of this. Thanks for watching.
@@survivalcomms building the zs6 at the moment. The one thing I’ve ran into is I have 600ohm true ladder line. Will it need to be shorter than called for? VF 0.96
@@JayN4GO Im not sure. Typically when using open wire feeder in a G5RV it is a bit LONGER than with window line. I will be interested to know how yours works out. I eliminated the balun and went to a simple so239 to balanced line and the performance is better than it was in this video.
I got a 1:1 current choke or common mode choke the other day. Is this the same as the balun you are referring to?
Dont get hung up on the balun. I have been running without a balun for some time in my latest build and there have been zero ill effects. Thanks for watching !
I am going to make this antenna and the 1.1 balun cost me 100 dollars Australian and as for the 450 ohm twin feed ,it cost me 150 dollars Australian from America and a couple of place sell it in Australia for just as much so it's a bit of a shame we have to pay soo much for twin feed cables would probably be better for us Aussies to just make it.anyway just thought I would let you know cheers and 73s VK4MAN
Make sure to get a GOOD balun. The inexpensive one I used here (45 dollars) stopped working after the hurricane and I tested it in my most recent video and found it was really poor to begin with. Twin lead IS expensive and there are limited outlets for it. You can make your own balanced line and I may do a video on that for fun sometime. Thank you for watching !
I own a carbon fiber telescoping antenna, if the ladder line rubs against it on the way down does it have a negative effect?
Probably not. The weight of your antenna will most likely keep it away from the pole even if it was aluminum tubing. Thanks for watching !
I meant if it is an "inverted V" with the feedline ladderline going down the side of the carbon fiber mast, I keep hearing from various sources that you need to keep the antenna away from carbon fiber? Not sure what affect the ladder line rubbing in the wind against the mast, one you tuber insists that it be in "free space" meaning it hangs in the air not touching anything, if that is the case I need to find room for a flat top or horizontal deployment right? PS Nice video!@@survivalcomms
@@alflores4220 Thank you. I have never used carbon fiber for a mast in the past but anything non conductive does not present a problem whatsoever in y experience. You will find balanced feedline is much more forgiving than you may have been led to believe. I would try it out and see if there is any negative effect . I have deleted the balun in my most recent builds as well and the results have been positive.
And what do I do if I do not have that amount of room to build and use this antenna? Other options.
Build another antenna design. Thanks for watching !
How would you mount it high up above a flat roof?
With supports at either end. Thanks for watching !
I can only get my antenna center up about 30' Any suggestions?
Bring the window line in at an angle . Be creative however don't bungle it up ,try to keep it off of the ground, dont lay it across metal objects and avoid sharp bends. Thanks for watching !
free plastic signs are allover right now
No doubt about that and you can make all kinds of stuff with them .
I wonder if I can just buy this already done.
Maybe so. Thanks for watching !
Hows the Mal doing?
She is doing great ! Thanks for checking in and thanks for watching !
Should that balun not be 4:1??
If it was a doublet it would use a 4:1. I deleted the balun altogether from current builds. Thanks for watching !
An efhw would give a better match on all bands
No it doesn't Thanks for watching !
I've run a ton of military phone wire to TA-312 field phones, that wire will stick you bad!
Yes it will. Thanks for watching !