TZ-RD-34
30/40m Rotary Dipole
The TZ-RD-34 is a rotary dipole antenna designed to permit operation on the 30m WARC or 40m amateur bands. As standard the antenna is designed with loading coils about mid-way along the element to permit the antenna to be slightly shortened for operation on 30m. When used on 40m the antenna is fed via loading coils located at the feed point to provide additional inductance for the antenna to become resonant on 40m. Two separate feed connection are available so that a relay can be used to determine if the antenna is operational on 30m or 40m,
The antenna is almost full size on 30m and therefore has effectively 0 dBi gain on that band. Since loading is halfway along each element losses are minimised since the current in that antenna is much less than at the feed. For 40m the antenna is approximately 2/3 of full size and performance is only slightly less than that of a full size antenna, without the mechanical difficulties.
To enable the differences in mounting arrangements to be easily accounted for, short linear loading sections are provided at the feed point of the antenna. This permits slight adjustment of the antennas resonant frequency from the centre of the element (i.e. at the tower or mast) so that insitu VSWR adjustment is easily achieved for each band.
The TZ-RD-34 can be mounted 1 or 2 meters above (parallel to the boom – i.e offset 90 deg) above your existing tribander to permit coverage of the Low bands or as a simple antenna for the new ham to HF operating. Acetal plastic insulating sections are used for mechanical strength and stiffness so that the antenna is subject to minimal sag. The centre sections of the antenna are 32mm O.D, tapering down to 12mm O.D. at the tips.
Stainless steel fasteners are used throughout as well as aluminium rivets for reduced corrosion. Assembly is simple and straightforward, and if by chance something does go wrong most parts can be obtained from your local hardware store, e.g. nuts, crews, rivets, U bolts etc.
The Rippletech TZ-1840 balun is recommended for feeding the antenna with low loss across the bands.
The TZ-RD-34 rotary dipole features include:
Operating bands 30m or 40m (option of a relay switch-over) Max Operating power 1 kW PEP, 250W CW continuous Typical impedance 40 ohm - 75 ohm (depending on installation height and proximity to other antennas) Gain -1.0 to 0 dBd Effective Gain 8 - 9 dBi Typical (when mounted at 1 wavelength height) VSWR 1.5:1 (typical) Total length 13.5m Turning radius 6.75m (when mounted on mast) Weight 7 kgs (approx 16 lb) (To be confirmed) The TZ-RD-34 is supplied with all stainless steel hardware except for the boom/pole mount U bolts (optionally S/S).
Main Index Products Index Price List Ordering Info