Radio Shack Omnidirectional Outdoor FM Antenna Owner's Manual
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1994, 2000 RadioShack Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
RadioShack and RadioShack.com are trademarks used by RadioShack Corporation.
OWNER’S MANUAL — Please read before using this equipment.
Omnidirectional Outdoor FM Antenna
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Before you begin installation, read this manual and the separate Consumer Product Safety Commission information sheet.
For your safety and convenience, plan each step of the installation and purchase the necessary hardware in advance. The
hardware required and the order in which you perform the steps
depend on the mounting and connection method you choose.
Warning: When you install your antenna, use extreme caution.
If the antenna starts to fall, let it go! It could contact overhead
power lines. If the antenna touches the power line, contact with
the antenna, mast, cable, or guy wires can cause electrocution
and death. Call the power company to remove the antenna.
Do
not attempt to remove it yourself.
PREPARING THE ANTENNA
Assemble the entire antenna on the ground, including attaching
it to the mast.
1. Hold the boom’s elements near the pivot points and pull
them away from the boom until they snap into the selflocking plastic support insulators.
Caution: To avoid damage to the elements, do not pull
them near their outer ends. Once the elements are locked
into position, do not attempt to unlock them. Doing so might
break the self-locking tabs.
2. Press the supplied end plugs into the boom.
CONNECTING LEAD-IN CABLE
TO THE ANTENNA
We recommend RG-6 cable and, if you prepare your own cable, a quality F-connector. You can also use 300-ohm flat, twinlead cable. (RadioShack carries a variety of suitable cables and
other components.)
Notes:
• If you use coaxial cable, you will need a 75-ohm to 300ohm matching transformer (not supplied).
• If you prepare your own coaxial cable, be sure to slide the
matching transformer’s weather boot onto the cable before
you attach the F-connector.
Using Coaxial Cable
To connect coaxial cable to your antenna:
1. Slide the 9-inch intercoupler’s ring terminals over the
antenna’s lead-in terminals. One of these terminals is
labeled with a white paper tag that reads, “CONNECT
LEAD-IN & INTERCOUPLER HERE.”
2. Slide a matching transformer’s spade terminals around the
same lead-in terminals described in Step 1.
3. Secure the ring terminals and the spade terminals with two
of the supplied flat washers and wing nuts.
4. Screw the cable’s F-connector onto the matching transformer. Then slip the weather boot over the connection.
Note: If you use a cable without a weather boot, cover the
connection with weather-resistant tape, available at your
local RadioShack store.
Lead-In
Terminals
Weather Boot F-Connector
Matching
Transformer
Flat Washers
Wing Nuts
Spade Terminals
Boom
Ring Terminals
Permanently Attached —
No Hardware Required
9-Inch Intercoupler
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2
Using Twin-Lead Cable
To connect flat, twin-lead cable to your antenna:
1. Split one end of the twin-lead cable for a length of about 3
inches. Then strip about
1
/2 inch of insulation from both
leads.
2. Slide the 9-inch intercoupler’s ring terminals over the
antenna’s lead-in terminals. One of these terminals is
labeled with a white paper tag that reads, “CONNECT
LEAD-IN & INTERCOUPLER HERE.”
3. Wrap each of the twin-lead cable’s leads around the same
lead-in terminals described in Step 2.
4. Secure the ring terminals and the cable leads with two of
the supplied flat washers and wing nuts.
ATTACHING TO THE MAST
For the best FM reception, do not mount the FM ant enna on the
same mast with a TV antenna. We recommend that you enlist
the help of another person before you put up the mast or attach
your antenna to it. How you set up your mast depends on your
specific installation. Refer to the separate Consumer Product
Safety Commission information sheet for recommended methods.
1. Attach the mast clamp and the adapter plate to the mast as
shown. Be sure to position the clamp and the adapter plate
at the point on the mast where you want to mount the
antenna.
2. Secure the clamp and the adapter plate by tightening the
supplied lock nuts. Do not overtighten them.
3. With the screw heads on the same side of the boom as the
permanently attached intercoupler terminals, slide the supplied long screws through the holes in the side of the boom.
4. Hold the screw heads in place while you slide the adapter
plate over the ends of the screws. Be sure the long part of
the adapter plate is on the opposite side of the boom from
the lead-in terminals.
5. Secure the adapter plate to the antenna’s boom with two of
the supplied flat washers and wing nuts.
6. Set up the mast.
ROUTING THE CABLE TO YOUR
FM RECEIVER
If you use coaxial cable:
• Use plastic tape or mast standoff insulators to secure the
coaxial cable to the mast at about 3-foot intervals. Continue
down the roof and the side of the house using roof and wall
standoff insulators.
• Use coaxial cable nail-in clips every few feet to secure the
cable between the mast and where the cable enters the
house.
• Use a 75-ohm grounding block at the point where the coaxial cable enters the house. Read the Consumer Product
Safety Commission sheet for grounding instructions.
• Use a wall-through lead-in tube (not supplied) to neatly
route the coaxial cable through walls.
Lead-In Terminals
Ring Terminals
Twin-Lead Cable
Flat Washers
Wing Nuts
Boom
Permanently Attached —
No Hardware Required
9-Inch Intercoupler
U-Bolt
Mast
Adapter
Plate
Lock Nuts
Mast Clamp
Long
Screws
Flat Washers
Boom
Permanently
Attached
Terminals
9-Inch
Intercoupler
Wing Nuts
Mast
Adapter
Plate
Mast
Elements
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