TZ-SL8-16

80 & 160m 1/2 Sloper Antenna

The antenna is a high performance low band DX antennas for the city dweller. For 160m, the land required to erect this antenna is very, very small indeed. A single sloper with a trap for 80m and a capacitive loading network permits the antenna to be used on both the 80m and 160m bands with a high degree of efficiency. The radiating element may be orientated in any direction you choose (or to suit the location of your tower and orientation of your block) to provide a small amount of gain in the wanted direction.

The TZ-SL8-16 80m & 160m is a high performance 1/2 sloper antenna for the 80m and 160m amateur bands and will outperform any inverted vee or dipole suspended from the same height.  However, the signal from this antenna is far from small. Due to the high efficiency of the antenna, the receive noise level will be very high, and for DXing on 80m a low noise receive antenna is recommended and on 160m, is essential.

The TZ-SL8-16 is designed for installation on the typical "Nally" tower and performs best when installed on a tower of approx, 14 – 15m height. The antenna is a combination of the TZ-SL8, 80m sloper and the TZ-SL-16, 160m antenna. A high power trap is provided at the base of the radiating element to isolate the capacitive tee section when operating on 80m. Performance of the TZ-SL8-16 is virtually indistinguishable from the TZ-SL8 on 80m and the TZ-SL16 on 160m.

The most impressive feature of the antenna is the ability to provide excellent DX performance and short skip performance when requiring only 15m of ground space! This antenna needs a tower with tri-bander or other reasonably large yagi antenna installed at the top of the tower. A Nally with TH3Jnr, HB-35c, TH6DXX, TH5, etc will provide excellent results. For a relatively short antenna, the bandwidth available is excellent with some installations achieving more than 100kHz bandwidth between the 2.0:1 VSWR points. Try that with a loaded vertical - you'll be luck to get 30 kHz bandwidth before reaching for the ATU!

"I have used 1/4 wavelength (half sloper) antennas with great success over the years, working over 175 DXCC entities from my suburban QTH, amongst the noise and crud from the neighbors electrical appliances. I also only have a "smaller" amplifier and run only the VK limit (400w PEP). For several years I tested and compared an elevated vertical (approx 45 ft) against my slopers. The slopers generally performed by 1 - 3 dB and were never worse than the vertical. I have used the array to work many countries on Low power (100w) SSB and have been amazed with the performance of this array, considering its small size and low cost."

On 160m I managed to work the XY0z guys on SSB! I have also work edsome of the pacific countries on CW with only 30 PEP, as well as USA, KL7, JA etc on SSB and CW. (vK3Tz)

The TZ-SL8-16 is a 1/2 sloper design, being a 1/4 wavelength on 80m and 1/8th on 160m with capacitive loading to electrically lengthen the antenna to 1/4 wavelength on 160m. The tower and radiating element both have current flowing and both radiate. The antenna has a mixed component of horizontal and vertical radiation. With a properly designed feed system and capacitively loaded end section to prevent unwanted radiation from the feedline the design helps to alleviate :

The antenna has an excellent radiation pattern for DX when 4 or more radials are installed at the base of the tower and also has high angle radiation for local contacts (short skip).

The TZ-SL8-16 160m Sloper Balun features include:

Operating frequency 3.5 – 4.0 MHz tuneable from ground level
1.8 – 2.0 MHz tuneable from ground level
Bandwidth 80m : 200 kHz typical, (VSWR < 2.0:1)
160m : 100 kHz typical, (VSWR < 2.0:1)
Max Operating power 1 kW continuous
Feed Type Linear, ferrite core balun with mount
Typical impedance 50 ohm – 60 ohm
VSWR Better than 1.5:1 at resonance (typical)
Ground room Requires about 45 ft (15m) ground space from tower base

The TZ-SL8-16 is supplied with stainless steel U-bolt mount, balun, radiating element, 160m capacitive section, 80m trap and detailed installation instructions. For optimum performance a ground rod and radials at the base of the tower should be installed (see your local electrical distributor). Ground rods at the base of the radiating element is also required for optimum performance of the 160m capacitive loading system. Several insulated supports (wooden "tomato stakes") may also be required to support the 160m capacitive section.

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