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Before the DX Engineering radial plate

The vertical antenna I have is the Hustler 4BTV, which gives me 10–40m, and I am very happy with its performance. One shortfall for me is the method this antenna uses to fasten the ground radials. At the base of the antenna, there are two stainless steel nuts and bolts. All the radials are bunched together and fastened to one of the two nuts and bolts. The antenna works just fine this way, but for me, I wanted something better.

In my search, I found the DX Engineering radial plate. The plate is stainless steel, and it comes with 20 nuts, bolts, lock washers, and washers. If you are securing the plate to a metal post, as I was, you need to order a clamp as well. When the plate arrived, I was very impressed with the detail and its weight. It is a very high-quality product. 

Radials removed

The first order of business was to take the Hustler 4BTV down and then remove the antenna mounting bracket. This would allow me to place the new radial plate over the mounting post and secure it. Once that was done, I then reattached the Hustler 4BTV mounting bracket to the mounting post as well. The antenna mounting bracket and the new radial plate connect via the metal mounting post.

As this mounting post is a fence post and can become corroded from exposure to the weather, I installed two jumpers from the antenna mounting bracket to the new radial plate. I then connected the ground rod cable to the plate. From there, it was simply a matter of securing all the radials to the new plate. 

New plate and bracket installed

While I was doing this, I decided to take the cover off the Balun Designs 1:1 balun to see how it looked. As you can see from the picture in my post, it looks brand new.

1:1 Balun

Radials installed

New jumpers installed