Greyline DX Feedline Kit: Ladder-line to Coax PL-259 Adapter

by Greyline Performance يناير 12, 2020

Greyline DX Feed line Kit:
Ladder-line to Coax PL-259 Adapter

The Greyline DX Feedline Kit is designed to make connecting your Coax to the antenna system literally plug n play. Some say, "what's that?" when noticing a short roll of ladder line in the feedline kit.

That is correct, we use ladder line for a few feet within our feed system to secure the lowest losses and highest efficiency possible, where coax performance was surpassed.

Remember, every single dB counts and we reserve the right to serve your radio every little dB possible for your reception and of course on transmit, to your antenna, where it can be propagated properly.

Keep in mind, we reserve the right to create even better options without notice. (You're welcome!)

Some of you might receive one of several Feedline Kit versions, all of which are testing and approved by you and your friends...

Note: White chassis is a 1:1 Adapter (Ladder-line to PL-259)

That's a ladder line to a coaxial connector converter that enables the ladder line to couple easily to a coax connector making connecting your antenna to the remote tuner, plug n play, just like most of us prefer. (soldering iron not needed)

Some automatic or manual HF tuners offer use of Balun posts or random wire terminals for antenna connections on the back chassis, which are used to connect directly from the ladder line to the remote tuner. Most tuners today do not offer these options, instead offer you simply the SO-239 for your Coaxial connector to plug into, which makes more sense, right? So, even the purists amongst you will now enjoy having more direct options, as you wish.

To be fair, our purist friends are right to desire a minimal number of junctions or connectors along the entire feed line system which do add up in total losses. These folks would tell us that fewer junctions are better, less lossy, less failure opportunity, and therefore preserves precious dB's for your intended use, the output and reception of actual signals.

We combine the wisdom of these purist friends and make life easy for you so plug n play is a reality while preserving a very high quality experience for you as well. More signal, less headache.

In 2018, we chose to remove the more lossy coax stub here and replace it with Ladder line, or window line, in the feed line sections of the antenna system to take advantage of newly discovered performance (dB's), offering us all less loss and more DX. Even the high power guys can appreciate this one. Oh, and they do!

In order to make this simple for those less technically inclined, we developed (Thanks, W6NBC!) an adapter that allows the purists to choose ladder line and those of us QCAO (appliance operators club types!) to choose the universally acceptable, Coax connector. The purists appreciate fewer adapters, even though our adapter is very low loss and can take high power, too. Options are good, right?

If you want to get a head start, these parts are easily available online or you can receive one with your Feedline Kit included in your Greyline DX Flagpole Antenna order.

SPACERS: One note here on the Ladder Line Spacers... Inside the flagpole from the ground level to the feed-point, you'll want to install by hand the four included plastic spacers.

These can be added after you install the Flagpole with ease, if you wish. Simply pull the flagpole apart at the ground level insulator and push it up to the feedpoint for proper attachment there leaving the approximately 2 feet of ladder line out the bottom slot.

These are 3D printed and work well to keep the ladder line centered within the Flagpole Antenna, away from the side walls and essentially, straight with clean lines.

Be sure to park the spacer in an open ladder square about a foot apart as they travel within the flagpole tubing.

Pro Tip: Keep in mind when attaching your feedline wires at the feedpoint to be certain you mark the upper part of your vertical dipole and match it with the center conductor of your coax. This is the radiator and works best rather than radiating the lower shorter portion of your radiator.

450 Ohm Window Line to PL-259 Interface Block

Parts needed:

- 3D Block Adapter Kit (block, bolts, nuts)
- PL-259
- UG-175 mini-8

Some users of the Greyline Flagpole Antenna may be uncomfortable using wire from the ends of the window line (ladder-line) to connect directly to the ceramic-insulator terminal and the grounding screw on your HF tuner. That is okay. You may instead prefer to use the SO-259 coax output. Also, some remote auto tuners do not have a ceramic output terminal anyway.

Remember, we do not ground the antenna system at all. (which includes the antenna, remote tuner, and RF Choke. Grounding your station, of course.)

It's true, ever hear of the QCAO club? Come on, you can do this! We've heard if you can't connect a PL-259 properly, you may lose your license upon inspector home visits. (okay, not really!)

This little easily-manufactured 3D-printed adapter block psychologically and conveniently overcomes this reluctance, by providing a sturdy direct interface between the 450 Ohm window line and the tuner’s SO-259 jack. See Figure 1.

Figure 1: PL-259 to 450 Ohm Window line interface.

Amazon Image: PL-259 and UG-175 mini-8

Figure 2 shows the interface shell with one of its two identical halves removed, exposing the wires and the insulation of the window line trimmed and soldered directly to a PL-259 solder-type connector and UG-175 mini-8 adapter. Also seen is a short length of 4 or 5mm Teflon tubing that replaces the polyethylene window line insulation.

The Teflon tubing enables the assembly to tolerate high power. Also for higher power, PL-259 connectors with Teflon insulation are preferable.

Pro tip: Solder the wire into the tip of the PL 259 before sliding the Teflon tubing into place. It can get hot and melt the tubing. You're welcome.

Image credit: YL Ham from W7

Figure 2: Assembly with half of the shell removed because of the shaped recess in the printed shell halves, seen at the left of Figure 3, the PL-259 and UG-175 adapter, when tightened create a very positive clamp to the shell. To the right, a raised portion in the printed block halves also very tightly clamps the window line.

Figure 3: A shell half showing recess for UG-175 adapter (left) plus a window-line compression box (right)

The holes in one shell half are drilled out to 9/64 in. as clearance for 6-32 screws. The holes in the other half are tapped for 6-32 threads. Four ½ inch pan-head stainless screws clamp the shell halves together.

Note: if weatherproofing is desired, the shell may be filled with RTV silicone adhesive during assembly.

Assembly

Figure 4 shows the prepared ends of the window line, with dimensions. Lightly solder-tin to the wire tips.

Figure 4: Window line trimming dimensions. Note 5 mm Teflon tubing replacing the window line insulation.

The insulation on one side is completely removed and replaced with 2¼ inches of 4-5mm Teflon tubing. The tubing reaches up all the way into the PL-259 connector and permits the interface to operate at full power.

To facilitate easy soldering of the other wire to the UG-175 adapter, a 1/16 inch hole must be carefully drilled lengthwise at the edge of the adapter’s end boss. File a small flat spot on the boss edge for an accurate center punch for drilling. If possible, do not drill completely through the adapter boss.

Insert the longer window-line wire with the Teflon tubing installed into the UG-175 adapter. Then carefully solder the shorter window-line wire into the small hole in the adapter boss. File off any excess solder. Insert the Teflon-covered wire and the UG-175 adapter into the PL-259 connector. Screw in the adapter only a turn or two. The center wire should stick out of the PL-259 connector pin just a little. Do not solder it yet.

Next place the assembly in one half of the shell. Further, screw together the PL-259 connector and the UG-175 adapter until they clamp the edge of the shell. Adjust the bend of the wires in the shell for a good fit. Then install the other half of the shell. You may fill the shell with an RTV silicone sealant at this time if you desire. A sealant is, however, not essential and may be omitted if the block ever needs to be disassembled.

Next grasp the back end of the PL-259 connector with pliers and snug it up against the shell. Finally solder the PL-259 tip, trimming the center wire if required.

Depending on where the tuner is mounted, the interface block may be screwed onto the tuner either straight on turned 90 degrees to allow the window line to be led away appropriately.

Whether you are a coax plug n play operator or enjoy a little technical adventure you have a couple of easy and fun options!

Ham Radio is fun again!

73 Greyline Performance
www.greylineperformance.com

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IMPRESSIVE IMPROVEMENT

This is an antenna I wish I would have purchased sooner. We live in an HOA with a small lot and some restrictions on antenna placement and height. We had a small vertical antenna mounted to our fence, but had limited places to install grounds and could only put two in place along the fence line. We could only receive 40M, sometimes 20M, and both had to be tuned and adjusted at the antenna. This year, those bands began generating high SWR. I was able to determine the wiring and connections were all good but the antenna was failing and we would miss out on the new solar cycle. We ordered a 20' Greyline, without the flag mount options, along with an LDG 100W external tuner. Due to a backlog in supplies, it took many months to process my order, and when I paid with a credit card it was cancelled the following month because they could not ship it within 30 days to process my credit card. I called and they no longer had any 20' antenna packages to ship at that time, but they agreed to ship me a 24' for the same price without further delay. That was still not going to be visible from the street above my home which is an HOA requirement, so I agreed. After receiving the equipment and installing it, I was amazed. 40M, 20M, 12M, and 10M bands were all below 1.5 SWR. 30M was an impressive 1.1 SWR. Unfortunately, I could not tune 80M, 17M, or 15M due to high SWR. Quite possibly this is an issue with the LDG tuner. We have reached far away with this antenna, and my wife began using FT8 and collected QSOs with 29 countries on multiple bands within a week. I was able to reach Australia, which showed a distance of 10,000 miles. The antenna is in my back yard, close to my house and neighbors say they don't notice it. While I could have installed it in the front as a flagpole, I would have to re-rout all of my wiring to the front of the house. This is an impressive antenna. If I were to do this again, I would like to have purchased an already assembled ladder-line to PL-259 adaptor as assembling the provided kit proved somewhat challenging without a drill press which I no longer have after downsizing a few years ago, and having to modify the clamshell case so that it would fit over the PL-259 component. The RF-choke required weather proofing so I ended up purchasing 1-1/2" waterproofed shrink tube that seemed expensive for the length needed. In the end, it all worked well when connected. I fully recommend this antenna.

Wow! So great to hear that you and the XYL both are enjoying the bands together. Let's get those other bands working. Likely a ground issue we can resolve. *We've already called him for a few testing exercises to get things dialed in. Ham Radio is fun again! Pass it on... 73 Greyline Performance

Proudly displaying "Old Glory" and working the world!

At the age of 79 was able to install the 20ft flagpole antenna without help, which surprised me. I installed solar lights above and below the flag and it's a beautiful sight at night. I attached the ladder line directly to the ground and long wire terminals on the MFJ tuner and it works perfectly. Very low SWR on all bands. In spite of poor band conditions I have been having a blast. Frankly, it tickles me to have my antenna sticking up in my front yard in plain site. My neighbors love it and the HOA is clueless. 73's, Kelly K4SLE

Latest review

Band conditions have been tough running barefoot, but I have been working DX on 20 meters! DL, SM, YU, RU, ZS, TI all in a single morning with only 70 watts. In fact i have had so much fun being back on the air i have made the decision to replace my aging 30+ year old Kenwood with a new radio. I been pleased with the antenna and my neighbors have been pleased with the look of the flagpole.

A Worthy Investment

I purchased two chokes, the coax to ladder line choke from the tuner output to the antenna ladder line and the coax to coax choke that I have installed at the radio. These work very nicely to tame noise. It's a worthwhile investment. The mini choke works better than the MFJ one that I originally was using.

My new DX 28 flagpole vertical antenna

The weather finally allowed me to complete the installation of my new DX-28. During the many storms, I was able to build and piece the antenna into three separate sections, preparing it for final installation once the ground dried out. After several weeks of poor weather, I was able to finish the installation which only took an hour. The machining quality and materials of this antenna is impressive. I used the LDG RT-100 ATU, ladder line to PL259 500 watt line isolator, with LMR400 coax. Within the first hour of operating, I made 15 contacts with 5-9-9 signal reports. I gave this 4 stars only because there was a few missing parts which greyline resolved quickly with a phone call.
WB8UIN

Greyline DX Feedline Kit: Ladder-line to Coax PL-259 Adapter