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Antenna choices and opinions.

Low_Boy

Sr. Member
Jan 21, 2010
1,931
1,193
173
Rochester N.Y.
I think my trusty A99 has finally had it and it is time to be replaced after about 7 or 8 Yrs. It has worked good and I am able to use it on 10,11 12, 15 and even 20 Mtr.used with a tuner on all bands but 11Mtr. I am wondering what would be another option. I like the Super Penetrator but it is strictly 10 and 11 Mtr. which is not that much of a problem. I also like the Imax 2000. The pluses of that is is it is more broad banded and easier to install in the winter. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks.
 

Everybody always screams Imax when I pose that question... I’d prefer a tower and a beam but I don’t really need it. Not now anyway.
 
Everybody always screams Imax when I pose that question... I’d prefer a tower and a beam but I don’t really need it. Not now anyway.
You don't even need the radio either, I have seen a video where you choke out a dissenting voice in the room without touching him.
5484-1542241240-706073ec604964e99136271ba27a9bfe.gif
 
That’s true. I don’t know why I even own the antenna, it won’t reach my Death Star because of the power line noise issue I have.

Freaking Ewoks stole all my speeder bikes.

This butthole in a wore out spaceship with a wannabe Sasquatch keeps blowing up all my tie-fighters.

It’s not easy being a Sith Pimp.

Maybe I should try the Imax, retire the Magnum S9 and break out the Yaesu?
 
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I think my trusty A99 has finally had it and it is time to be replaced after about 7 or 8 Yrs. It has worked good and I am able to use it on 10,11 12, 15 and even 20 Mtr.used with a tuner on all bands but 11Mtr. I am wondering what would be another option. I like the Super Penetrator but it is strictly 10 and 11 Mtr. which is not that much of a problem. I also like the Imax 2000. The pluses of that is is it is more broad banded and easier to install in the winter. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks.

If it were for 10, 11 and 12 meters I would go with something like the penetrator. Since You're going all the way to 20 meters I would get another a99 or imax. A tuner will allow you to use the penetrator on on the same bands but since it is narrow banded the swr at the feedpoint will be much higher. The higher the swr is on the coax is the more loss it will have. I would use rg213 or better coax to keep the loss as low as possible. If at all possible consider moving the tuner closer to the antenna. Keeping the coax between the tuner and antenna as short as possible helps.
 
http://www.hy-gain.com/Product.php?productid=AV-14AVQ
This or one of the other models available may give you better performance, as they are actually tuned for those bands.
A few radials can make these work fairly well. See the PDF info for options when mast mounting. I had the 10/15/20m version mounted at like 25 ft. Worked very well with 4 radials per-band. I used old style 4 conductor flat rotor cable, then cut each of the 4 wires to length one for each of the bands using the flat cable....Just something to think about. That may prove to give you better performance.
All the Best
Gary
 
I think my trusty A99 has finally had it and it is time to be replaced after about 7 or 8 Yrs. It has worked good and I am able to use it on 10,11 12, 15 and even 20 Mtr.used with a tuner on all bands but 11Mtr. I am wondering what would be another option. I like the Super Penetrator but it is strictly 10 and 11 Mtr. which is not that much of a problem. I also like the Imax 2000. The pluses of that is is it is more broad banded and easier to install in the winter. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Kinda depends on what you want to do with it. If broadbandedness is of major importance the Imax might be your best bet. Unfortunately I have heard reports of the QC slipping with solarcon lately. The last one I had I bought probably 6 yrs ago. It worked just fine until lightning took it out this past August. Worked 15-10 without a tuner. Surprisingly 15 meters had very low swr throughout the majority of the band and made a few contacts on 15 with it. Of course my dummy load has a great swr throughout all the bands too.... Efficiency of the Imax might leave a lot to be desired...especially the further you get away from 10/11m. If 10-11m is your main focus there are better verticals on the market..
 
Why not just get another A99 if it’s been working for you, until you can figure out exactly what you want/need?

I want a tower and a beam but what I actually need in either one, I have no clue. I actually stay too busy to get much talk time in.

I think the biggest problem is there’s too dang many choices for antennas.
 
Why not just get another A99 if it’s been working for you, until you can figure out exactly what you want/need?

I want a tower and a beam but what I actually need in either one, I have no clue. I actually stay too busy to get much talk time in.

I think the biggest problem is there’s too dang many choices for antennas.
I would love a tower but that may have to wait until I retire.
 

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