Slip On Ferrite Beads

Bullet End Fed OCF Antenna System, 100-5000 Watt Options, 55 Feet, 40-30-20-17-15-12-10-6 meters

SKU BULLET-4006-100
$139.95
On Sale
$189.95 Save 26%
PEP Power Level
1
Save this product for later
Share this product with your friends
Bullet End Fed OCF Antenna System, 100-5000 Watt Options, 55 Feet, 40-30-20-17-15-12-10-6 meters
Product Details
Brand: Palomar Enineers
MPN: BULLET-4006-100, -500, -1500, -5000
Frequency Band(s): 40-6 meters
Power (PEP watts):: 500/1500
Length (ft):: 55 feet

End Fed Off Center Fed Antenna

Need a high performance, multi-band, stealthy antenna system that is easy to setup and use? Get the Bullet antenna matcher with the antenna wire, insulator and feed line choke all in one convenient package (great for HOA restricted areas, camping and portable operations, etc.)

Why is this end fed OCF antenna a better choice than and End Fed Half Wave (EFHW)? More bands, shorter length and no dangerous high voltage at antenna feed point from VOLTAGE FED 49:1 TRANSFORMERS!!!

Off Center Fed (OCF) antennas are very convenient as they will allow multiple bands of operation with a simple wire antenna which is fed off center. The Palomar Engineers 4010 OCF is a very popular antenna and consists of an off center fed dipole with sides of 55 feet and 11 feet and it will work all bands from 40-6 meters.The BULLET-4006 uses the same dimensions but the wire section is 55 feet as in the OCF and the coax outer braid is used for the “other” part of the OCF dipole. We place a choke on the coax at the 12 foot distance from the matching unit and we essentially have an OCF antenna with its great frequency range, but with only a 55 foot wire length instead of the 66 feet required by the regular OCF or EFHW. You feed the antenna from one end which may be more convenient for some installations. This antenna will work on 40-30-20-17-15-12-11-10 and 6 meters. Most bands are under 3:1 SWR and easily tuned by your transceiver’s internal antenna tuner or external tuner used with an amplifier.

This antenna is a great stealthy primary or backup antenna and works exceptionally well for apartments, condominiums, homeowner, mobile home parks, RV applications and ARES, RACES, MARS, EMCOMM, NVIS, First Responders and Emergency Preparedness. Compact, Stealthy and Light weight for back packing and portable use.

The antenna is simple to deploy, folds up easily for transport, and with the 55 foot included wire, can work the 40-6 meter bands easily with the built in antenna tuner of most current day transceivers. Some bands may not even require a tuner if the antenna length and counterpoise choke position is adjusted correctly. (see SWR graph in gallery).

These antennas are MUCH BETTER PERFORMERS than End Fed Half Wave antennas because they work the WARC bands, DO NOT HAVE A DANGEROUS HIGH VOLTAGE at the antenna connection and are shorter to fit in smaller spaces yet provide more band coverage up to 6 meters!

Make the right choice - use and end fed OCF and enjoy the expanded band coverage, additional safety and smaller footprint!

Part #'s:

BULLET-4006-100 for 100 watts PEP/100 watts digital

BULLET-4006-500 for 500 watts PEP/350 watts digital

BULLET-4006-1500 for 1500 watts PEP/1000 watts digital

BULLET-4006-5000 for 5000 watts PEP/2000 watts digital (note: CU-4-5000 supplied - weight is 3 pounds for 5KW and box dimensions 4 x 4 x 2 inches

The antenna can be used as a up or down sloper, “L” with a vertical section (at either end) and a horizontal section, or as a horizontal antenna between two trees or supports. Zig-zag and 90 degree bends horizontal are also ok.

BULLET Matching Unit

Our antenna matching network is called the “Bullet” because of it shape and its effectiveness at taking down or contacting distant (DX) stations all over the world under the right conditions.

For best results we recommend that the coax feed line be at least 25 feet. We also recommend a coax noise filter near radio end of the coax feed line to reduce RFI common mode current from interfering with the radio operation.


Installation

For best results raise the Bullet matching unit as high as possible (use a tree or vertical support) and then extend the antenna wire horizontally or as an “L” (horizontal with vertical end drop). The antenna may also be deployed as a sloper with the Bullet matching unit at the top (best) with the wire sloping toward the ground (with the end high enough to avoid contact by humans or animals), or at the bottom of the sloper with the antenna wire rising to a higher point.

Any length of 50 ohm feed line ok (over 25 feet minimum recommended) but longer feed lines over 50 feet may show reduced SWR on some bands due to soil conductivity, nearby objects, etc. Due to local ground conditions, antenna height and feed line length, SWR may vary and an antenna tuner may be required or some bands to bring SWR at end of feed line to acceptable levels. Position a feed line choke (part# SOFLC) 12 feet from the matching unit.

Use a good quality 50 ohm cable adequate for the power level of your station.The Bullet matching unit is rated for 500 or 1500 watts PEP (depending on model) for SSB and 50% for CW or digital modes. If the matching unit becomes warm to the touch after transmitting at high power, reduce the power output or the internal matching unit may become damaged.

NOTE: The matching unit output is DC grounded to bleed off static electricity, however it is not RF grounded.

Need a shorter antenna for portable or stealth installation? Check out the BULLET-2006 at 25 feet length and still works 20-6 meters!

NOTE: due to the nature of antenna systems and the modifications many users perform and the transmitter power levels that may be applied higher then the specifications, the antenna systems are NOT RETURNABLE unless they are unused, in the original packing with the original invoice and a return request is made withing 30 days of original purchase.

SWR TECH NOTE:The SWR graphs shown are specific to the conditions listed including antenna height, configuration (flat top, inverted V, inverted L, etc.) and direction, feed line length and type, geographic location and soil condition, calibration and accuracy of SWR instruments used. Your SWR measurements will probably be different and manufacturer takes no responsibility or liability for these differences beyond the purchase price of the antenna.

LMR-400/RG213/RG8 (1/2" coax users): Use 3 turns thru included choke which should be enough choking for 40-6 meters. If you find you need more choking, use a second SOFLC with an additional 3 turns in series with the first choke as shown in the pictures.

USER FEEDBACK:

Dear Sir,
I am writing to say that so far the Bullet-4006-500 is a fabulous antenna. After shortening it a bit to get to SWR sweet spot (via NanoVNA) and getting the FT-710 dialed in for receiving, the antenna is out performing a DX40 from another company handily. What is fabulous is the reduction in RF noise while still improving signal strength. Using a switch to easily go between antennas it is very clear the B4006 is a good improvement.
I'm looking forward to getting my General soon so I can start Txing, and giving the B4006 a workout! Plan to buy another PE OCEF antenna for the go bag if the txing goes as good as expected.
Thank you for the quick shipping and a quality antenna.
Regards,
Loren Bordeaux - KK7DWD

 
Ferrite beads are used for RF decoupling and parasitic suppression. When placed over a wire, cable or coaxial cable they suppresses common mode current flowing on the wire or wire bundle or the outside of the coax shield but does not affect the signal inside the coax cable or wire (differential current).

For RFI common mode suppression use, mix 31 is effective from 1-300 Mhz, mix 43 works from 25-300 Mhz, Mix 61 is for 200-2000 Mhz, and mix 77 favors .1-50 MHz.  These frequencies are those of the interfering signal to be eliminated, not the operating frequencies of the equipment to be protected.  See Mix Selection for other applications.

 NOW WITH QUANTITY PRICING FOR CLUB , VOLUME PURCHASERS!

Bead dimensions are shown in the picture below and in the table as A, B, C

Core Sizes - Slip On Ferrite Beads

Ferrite Bead Dimensions

 

Application Note:  Use impedances for each bead at your desired frequency to select number of beads needed for desired Z.   For example if you have a 50 ohm RG-8 coax cable and want a choking impedance of 500 ohms at 10 Mhz, you can check the FB102 column (since FB102 will pass RG-8 through its center ID) at 10Mhz and find that Mix 31 has a Z of  108 ohms/bead and Mix 43 has a Z of 91 ohms/bead.  For 500 ohms we would need 5 mix 31 beads or 6 mix 43 beads to have greater than 500 ohms.  Mix 31 has better response below 10 Mhz but above 10 Mhz mix 31 and mix 43 are very close.  If you need more Z, just use more beads in series on the cable or use more windings thru a larger ID bead (e.g. USE FB102-31 for 4 turns of RG-8X for 16X increase in Z per bead – see pictures below for examples).  Use Mix 61 for VHF and above for RFI/EMI suppression and below 30 Mhz for multi-ratio impedance transformers (baluns/ununs).  See Mix Selection for other applications.

For extra large cables use the FB400-31 which has an inside diameter of 3 inches (76mm).

Frequency Range Comparison Chart

(FB56-xx size)

FB56 xx bead mix comparison - Slip On Ferrite Beads

Multi-turn Common Mode Choking Impedance Increase Example (FB56-43)

FB56 43 Turns Impedance Graph - Slip On Ferrite Beads

Ferrite Bead relative size comparison

FB56 FB102 FB103 Relative Sizes - Slip On Ferrite Beads

Left to right sizes: FB56 (ID = .25″), FB102 (ID=.505″), FB103 (ID=.77″)

Application note for using Slip On or Snap On ferrite beads for RFI/EMI suppression: How many chokes do I need?

SLIP ON Sizes for Heliax and Coax Cable

Shown below in the table are the SLIP ON and SNAP ON products for various popular Heliax and Coax cables.  These are the correct size for making sleeve baluns.
SNAP per Coax - Slip On Ferrite Beads

Cascaded Common Mode Chokes/Line Isolators/1:1 Baluns

Here is a simple idea that is cost effective and simple to make using FB102-31 ferrite beads with RG-58 (1/4″) size cable.  Take a FB102-31 bead and insert 4 turns of RG58 spreading them out 360 degrees to minimize the capacity effects.  4 turns give 16X the choking impedance of a single bead.  So let say you are having a problem with 7 Mhz interference.  Typcial choking impedance at 7Mhz for the FB102-31 per the chart above is around 70 ohms for a single turn through the center of the bead.  With 4 turns we have 16 x 70 = 1120 ohms and with two chokes on the cable in series we would have 2240 ohms which is pretty good for $11 in beads.  See picture below for example of how these beads are used.  This winding technique is also applicable to FSB-1/2 Snap On Ferrite Split beads which will accommodate 3 turns of RG-58 coax which already has a connector attached.
Need even more choking impedance?  Use a larger diameter toroid like a FT240-43 (best above 10 Mhz) or 31 mix(best below 10 Mhz) and put 12-14 turns of RG58 on the toroid as shown below.  Our Super Choker is very similar to the toroid choke example shown below but uses multiple FT240 toroids and is useful for larger 1/2″ size cable like the RG-213, RG-8, etc.  You can order the FB102 beads and the FT-240-31 from info on this page and the FT-240-43 on the Ferrite Toroid Cores page.
RG-58 Multi-Turn Chokes/Line Isolators Examples

20131222 124620 300x180 - Slip On Ferrite Beads

RG58 4 turns on 2 FB102-31 for 2000 ohms choking impedance

20131222 125533 300x180 - Slip On Ferrite Beads

RG58 12 turns on FT240-43 for 4000-6000 ohms choking impedance

Got a question about using ferrites?  Drop us an email at Sales@Palomar-Engineers.com  and we will be glad to answer your question.

Handy Wire Size reference for ferrite bead sizes needed

 wire guage chart2 - Slip On Ferrite Beads

 ————————————————–/———————————————————

Connector already on cable?  See Snap On Ferrite Beads for convenient installation on cables with connector already installed.