Remote Switched Coil for 80m and 160m with a 43′ vertical.

As many of you know, I have a Zero-Five 43′ vertical that I–in concert with the Alpha 9500–managed to set on fire. My 43 foot antenna works OK on 80m (good worldwide DX) and even decent range on 160m, but I have a terrible VSWR on 80 and 160. My Palstar and Ten Tec 238 manual tuner can handle it even at 1500, but rather than have such terrible losses in my 150 feet of coax, I decided it would be a fun project to build a remote-switched coil setup that will work with my UNUN for the rest of the bands. You can read more about the project from the website of Phil Salas, AD5X. Phil has a great website with articles describing his work and analysis of the 43 foot vertical.

Normally I stay away from MFJ gear, but Phil listed them as a source for the coil for 80 and 160. As this is just a single coil with no moving parts, I figured I was safe in using the MFJ part. 🙂 I ordered the coil and insulators from MFJ last week. I need to get the relay from Array Solutions and some parts from Mouser.

I will still need a tuner with this for 60 – 10 and for that, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Alpha 4040 4KW auto antenna tuner. It is shaping up to be quite the box.

I will update my site as I progress through the project along with some pictures. Fall is a great time for antenna projects in Florida and what better than getting ready for winter DX on 80m and 160m?