Download S9L Installation Guide
The S9L is our response to customer requests for a high-quality and effective DX antenna for
160 or 80 Meters. With the S9L, you can experience the thrill of low band DX from a city lot.
The S9L is heavy-duty inverted L suitable for use in extreme environments and conditions. At
130' long, the antenna is a classic full ¼-wave Marconi radiator on 160 Meters providing
excellent results on the top band within a relatively compact space. The antenna can be
shortened and used as an 80 Meter monoband inverted L, if desired. (The S9L may also be
used as a 160 - 6 Meter multi-band antenna with a suitable antenna tuner.)
The S9L comes assembled and is sold as a complete package with high-quality components.
The package includes our popular S9 Radial Plate plus 20 sets of stainless steel nuts, bolts,
washers and lock washers. The S9 Radial Plate is used to connect and organize your ground
radials and to provide the critical ground connection for your coax feed line. 30 ring terminal
connectors are also provided to secure your ground radials to the radial plate.
Also included is a ground stake (to secure the vertical portion of the S9L within the center of
the radial plate) and all required ancillary hardware such as high-tech, insulated polymer
pulleys and 100' of braided Dacron line. When you buy an S9 antenna, you don't need to
make additional trips to the hardware store just to install your antenna!
The S9L is an effective DX antenna. As shipped, the resonant frequency of the antenna is
near 1.8 MHz with direct connection to a 50 Ohm coax cable feed line. The S9L may be
trimmed to resonance, if desired, or it can also be used with most internal rig tuners which will
easily tune the S9L anywhere on 160 Meters (or 80 Meters if you shorten the antenna).
For 160 or 80 Meter monoband use, radials are required and a 1:1 current choke balun at
the feed point is strongly recommended. There are several commercially-available 1:1 choke
baluns available (Balun Designs being one of the best) or you can create a simple choke balun
using your coax feed line.
For 160 - 6 Meter multi-band use, radials and a 4:1 unun are required. You will also need a
quality antenna tuner in your shack or remotely located at the S9L feed point. (Internal rig
tuners do not have adequate range to match the higher impedances presented by the antenna
on bands other than 160 Meters.) We recommend the LDG Electronics series of auto tuners.
LDG tuners easily handle the wide-range of impedances presented by the S9L over the higher
HF frequencies. A 4:1 unun is strongly recommended at the antenna feedpoint. A 4:1 unun
lowers the higher impedances presented by the antenna on frequencies above 160 Meters
and also helps isolate RF currents from your coax feedline. Balun Designs manufactures two
4:1 ununs that may be used with the S9L. You have two choices, depending on the amount of
power you expect to run:
Finally, for multi-band use, in lieu of an antenna tuner in your shack, you can use a
weatherproofed, remote antenna tuner at the S9L feed point for absolute lowest loss and best
over-all multi-band performance. When a remote tuner is used at the antenna feedpoint, a 4:1
unun is not required. However, a 1:1 current choke balun may be needed between the tuner
and your transmitter if you experience RF current in your shack. (Burying your coax cable also
helps minimize RF current from flowing back into your shack.)
For optimum performance, the S9L should be used with radials (16 recommended, 32
preferred), with each radial at least 0.2 wavelength at the lowest operating frequency.
Band Frequency Minimum Radial Length (0.2 wavelength)
160 Meters 1.8 MHz 104 feet long
80 Meters 3.5 MHz 53.5 feet long (53 feet, 6 inches)
Actually, there is no precise formula to calculate ground-mounted radial length because
everyone has different soil and soil tends to change the electrical length of the radials.
However, a general rule of thumb for radials is: “longer” and “more” is better. If you have the
time and resources, 32 (or more) radials 0.2 wavelength (or longer) should be considered to
ensure top performance.
The S9L is our response to customer requests for a high-quality and effective DX antenna for
160 or 80 Meters. With the S9L, you can experience the thrill of low band DX from a city lot.
The S9L is heavy-duty inverted L suitable for use in extreme environments and conditions. At
130' long, the antenna is a classic full ¼-wave Marconi radiator on 160 Meters providing
excellent results on the top band within a relatively compact space. The antenna can be
shortened and used as an 80 Meter monoband inverted L, if desired. (The S9L may also be
used as a 160 - 6 Meter multi-band antenna with a suitable antenna tuner.)
The S9L comes assembled and is sold as a complete package with high-quality components.
The package includes our popular S9 Radial Plate plus 20 sets of stainless steel nuts, bolts,
washers and lock washers. The S9 Radial Plate is used to connect and organize your ground
radials and to provide the critical ground connection for your coax feed line. 30 ring terminal
connectors are also provided to secure your ground radials to the radial plate.
Also included is a ground stake (to secure the vertical portion of the S9L within the center of
the radial plate) and all required ancillary hardware such as high-tech, insulated polymer
pulleys and 100' of braided Dacron line. When you buy an S9 antenna, you don't need to
make additional trips to the hardware store just to install your antenna!
The S9L is an effective DX antenna. As shipped, the resonant frequency of the antenna is
near 1.8 MHz with direct connection to a 50 Ohm coax cable feed line. The S9L may be
trimmed to resonance, if desired, or it can also be used with most internal rig tuners which will
easily tune the S9L anywhere on 160 Meters (or 80 Meters if you shorten the antenna).
For 160 or 80 Meter monoband use, radials are required and a 1:1 current choke balun at
the feed point is strongly recommended. There are several commercially-available 1:1 choke
baluns available (Balun Designs being one of the best) or you can create a simple choke balun
using your coax feed line.
For 160 - 6 Meter multi-band use, radials and a 4:1 unun are required. You will also need a
quality antenna tuner in your shack or remotely located at the S9L feed point. (Internal rig
tuners do not have adequate range to match the higher impedances presented by the antenna
on bands other than 160 Meters.) We recommend the LDG Electronics series of auto tuners.
LDG tuners easily handle the wide-range of impedances presented by the S9L over the higher
HF frequencies. A 4:1 unun is strongly recommended at the antenna feedpoint. A 4:1 unun
lowers the higher impedances presented by the antenna on frequencies above 160 Meters
and also helps isolate RF currents from your coax feedline. Balun Designs manufactures two
4:1 ununs that may be used with the S9L. You have two choices, depending on the amount of
power you expect to run:
Finally, for multi-band use, in lieu of an antenna tuner in your shack, you can use a
weatherproofed, remote antenna tuner at the S9L feed point for absolute lowest loss and best
over-all multi-band performance. When a remote tuner is used at the antenna feedpoint, a 4:1
unun is not required. However, a 1:1 current choke balun may be needed between the tuner
and your transmitter if you experience RF current in your shack. (Burying your coax cable also
helps minimize RF current from flowing back into your shack.)
For optimum performance, the S9L should be used with radials (16 recommended, 32
preferred), with each radial at least 0.2 wavelength at the lowest operating frequency.
Band Frequency Minimum Radial Length (0.2 wavelength)
160 Meters 1.8 MHz 104 feet long
80 Meters 3.5 MHz 53.5 feet long (53 feet, 6 inches)
Actually, there is no precise formula to calculate ground-mounted radial length because
everyone has different soil and soil tends to change the electrical length of the radials.
However, a general rule of thumb for radials is: “longer” and “more” is better. If you have the
time and resources, 32 (or more) radials 0.2 wavelength (or longer) should be considered to
ensure top performance.
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S9L 160/80 Meter Inverted L
with Radial Plate
with Radial Plate
- Premium 160 Meter
Inverted L - Completely Assembled
- 2 KW Power Rating
- Unique, Time-Saving
Design: Insulated Polymer
Pulley Automatically Adjusts
Height of Vertical Element - Only Requires Two
Supports - Use as a Monoband
Antenna on 160 or 80
Meters - Or, use on Multiple Bands
with an Antenna Tuner - Beefy 12 AWG Insulated
Wire Construction with
Traditional Ceramic
Insulators - Includes S9 Radial Plate
and Hardware Pack,
Ground Stake, 30 Ring
Terminal Connectors, 100'
of Dacron Support Line,
High-Tech Polymer Pulleys
and all Necessary Hardware - Excellent DX Performance!
(Click for full-size image)
