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Base Antenna Advice

CLP

Member
Mar 11, 2008
2
0
11
Been off the radio for about twenty five years and I'm going to get the equipment back out I had a astroplane with a 3 element beam I don't want a beam antenna to many trees I have been looking at mr. coily cb/ham antennas the enforce .64 wave base antenna they talk a good game but are vary expensive is there anyone who has one or knows someone I would like your opinions. Thanks
 

i dont have either antenna but just thought id let you know that astrobeam is a rare find these days . you wont have any problem selling it if you choose to do so . the astroplane onmi (m400 @ http://www.gijoesradioelectronics.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=152 ) is a very good antenna and even beats the vaulted I10K on some systems/comprasions .
this is from several months ago and gives 1 persons experience (who i respect a lot) with the I10K and several other antennas . its 4 pages and a good read IMO .
http://www.worldwidedx.com/showthread.php?t=27360&highlight=astroplane nice graph on the 3rd page .

p.s. sparkys usually has the astroplane for $50 but it not listed on his site at the moment . i dont know if hes out or not carrying it any longer . id call and ask if youre interested .
http://www.sparkyscbshack.com/home.html
 
I have the Interceptor I-10K
is truly a hard antenna to beat

I have also heard a few people on the wolf .64 wave and it to is a excellent antenna
I lean to the I-10K for how well it transmits and stays up in extremely poor weather
 
CLP,
Take this for what it's worth. I'm not recommending any particular antenna, just some general ideas to remember.

There are two qualities to any antenna, it's mechanical characteristics and it's electrical characteristics. Both are important. The first deals with how the thing is going to stand up in weather, etc. The second is how it radiates, it's radiation pattern. If you have fairly mild weather, almost anything will last as long as anything else, sort of. If the weather gets sort of rough, then a 'stronger' antenna is a good bet.
An antenna's radiation pattern is sort of controlled by it's size or type, 1/4w, 1/2w, 5/8w, 64/73w, whatever. Each has it's own 'pattern', the larger the thing is, the larger the radiation pattern is, to some ridiculous point. Actually, after about 5/8 wave length, things sort of go to pot, not worth doing really. (Lots of arguing about that, but still basically a fact.)
While you've been gone there have been no miracles happen as far as antennas go. Still sort of the same old things, just different names, manufacturors, and higher gain claims and costs. Not much you can do about the cost of stuff. Adding 'salt' to the typical gain-claims is a pretty good idea (not really new, though, is it?).
So! If you have any 'favorites', or some particular antenna really sort of 'grabs' you, why not? Within reason, let your wallet be your guide.
- 'Doc
 
Its simple really.

For the maximum amount of gain, you want a 5/8 wave antenna. Its hard to beat a Maco V58 for the price.

If you want the best of the best, without outrageous gain numbers, that does everything it claims, you want the I-10K.
http://www.a1antennas.com/

What makes the I-10K better than the Maco V58 (or any other 5/8 wave antenna ever made)? A LOWER LOSS FEEDPOINT! The more energy you get into the antenna, the more energy radiates off the antenna. The I-10K is also mechanically superior to any other antenna listed in this thread.

It still surprises me that people search out the Enforcer antenna and based on the price, thinks it is a great antenna. Its tunable at the factory, because its not easy to tune at home. The coil and tap design, besides being lossy, does not allow any simple adjustments. At the very least, the Maco's tap and length can both be adjusted for lowest SWR.
 
Its simple really.

For the maximum amount of gain, you want a 5/8 wave antenna. Its hard to beat a Maco V58 for the price.

If you want the best of the best, without outrageous gain numbers, that does everything it claims, you want the I-10K.
http://www.a1antennas.com/

What makes the I-10K better than the Maco V58 (or any other 5/8 wave antenna ever made)? A LOWER LOSS FEEDPOINT! The more energy you get into the antenna, the more energy radiates off the antenna. The I-10K is also mechanically superior to any other antenna listed in this thread.

It still surprises me that people search out the Enforcer antenna and based on the price, thinks it is a great antenna. Its tunable at the factory, because its not easy to tune at home. The coil and tap design, besides being lossy, does not allow any simple adjustments. At the very least, the Maco's tap and length can both be adjusted for lowest SWR.


ask any cb'er this question.."hows that antenna perform?"
you will get this answer... "ohman it freaking kicks ass, tunes flat!"

I guess SWR and ease of setup are performance values.

dummy loads tune flat too but Id still like to have a beam antenna... go figure.
 
I thought you had an I-10K for sale. Damn!

Why are you selling it and why does Meatball spend mega bucks on an antenna, only to feed it with RG-8X?
 
No...I always had the Mr.Coily...I was the first up here in the Boston area to have it...I bought 3 from Dan....Then 8 other people up here near me bought them also.. I think meatball is running 9913 on his....Before my move I was running RG-8 on it..LOL for a short time before putting it on my tower at the new house. I never had Jays 10K. I am selling it because I have the new style Enforcer, so I dont need this one...Works the Ball tho...And Meatball never spends mega $$ on anything..he dont have the $$...lol. Plus his is the old design also...We all bought the old design like 4-5 years ago...
 

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