My sirio has slipped a time or two but not bad. It's snug enough to stay in place driving down the road but will slip when it hits a low branch which is kind of good really.
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Finally bought a Sirio 5000 to try...
- Thread starter The Jerk
- Start date
I am not sure if it is happening while just driving. It does hit some tree branches sometimes. My point however is that it shouldn't move if tightened, period. It is an adjustment for when the owner decides, not a self governing safety. The whip is very flexible and I certainly have not hit anything which should have moved it. "Teeth" on the pivot would be a good addition for those who desire the ability to adjust their antenna angle. It was not a selling point for me however. I just wanted a solid and well made Wilson 5000 replacement.
I hope the Megawatt 4000 is my ultimate answer. Waiting for a response from DNJ......
You're right it should not move. Just a stupid thought here but if you never plan on using the fold down feature of the antenna once you get your adjustment angle where you want it could you use just a small drop of lock tight.? Not much not enough to prevent contact just a small drop to prevent movement at the swivel point. Just a thought.
The megawatt 4000 is a good antenna, have one, but will say the whip is more flexible than the 5000 whip and is a bit longer. I have found that cutting the top of these whips and not at the bottom helps get rid of some of the thin section of whip and makes the overall whip stiffer. You will have to cut a bit more from the top as it's thinner, I think I cut about 2-3" total and my turbo 5000 has been performing well. The megawatt has a different base section and I do prefer it over the 5000, but the whip is just not stuff enough IMO. Hope this helps. And oh yes, the megawatt whip section does pivot, it's just a small portion that pivots and takes a special key to loosen it. If you haven't cut anything off the performer whip and you need to do it from the top. This will help with stiffness of the whip as you get rid of the thinnest part. I will say that I had good results while using the megawatt 4000, just didn't like the thinness of the whip. Again I how this helps some and god bless
AL567, I actually thought about silver soldering it but locktight might work if it didn't mess up the connection from the mount to the coil.
GnG8d, no, the whip has a rubber slip on cap on the tip. Mine is already gone LOL
That is definitely a feature where the Wilson looks nicer with its ball on the tip.
222DBFL, the Megawatt 4000 "Rigid" is the one I am referring to. It has no adjustment as far as I can tell. The regular MW4000 does however.
Were you saying that you had to cut 3" off of it to tune for SWR?
GnG8d, no, the whip has a rubber slip on cap on the tip. Mine is already gone LOL
That is definitely a feature where the Wilson looks nicer with its ball on the tip.
222DBFL, the Megawatt 4000 "Rigid" is the one I am referring to. It has no adjustment as far as I can tell. The regular MW4000 does however.
Were you saying that you had to cut 3" off of it to tune for SWR?
No it doesn't. I like the looks from the picture a lot. I am also thinking of using one of these as well.
https://breedlovemounts.com/antenna_puck_mount_129.html
I am just not really in love with the Wilson or Sirio roof mount setup.
https://breedlovemounts.com/antenna_puck_mount_129.html
I am just not really in love with the Wilson or Sirio roof mount setup.
You might want to ask them how they plan on shipping your antenna. They shipped my sirio 5000 in a bunch of wrapped up cardboard pieces and about a half of roll of mailing tape. No kidding when it arrived it looked like a banana. I was a little upset at first because I have no idea how it survived the trip from California to Tennessee via The US Mail! I was lucky it wasn't damaged. I'd give them a call and express my concern on the shipping method let them know you want it in tube or some type of box. I'd pay extra if I had to.
I've used both Sirio Hy Power 4000 and Megawatt 4000 extensively since 1999, had several of both and a HP 3000 too, build quality is sufficient but not brilliant (its no av261), performance of both is exceptional for price, only thing cheaper and better is a 108 " whip, power handling quotes on all Sirio's are exaggerated as are Italian linears, add an RM KL203P, ZETAGI B300P, RM KL400 0r KL300 and you will easily work the world.
I haven't been on much in recent years due to various reasons, but I did 45 confirmed countries in 6 months with not a single activation all from mag 145pl mounted megawatt or hp 4000 antennas, including a 20w contact on a president Jackson barefoot 20w into Oz,also North and South America, Russia, Carribean and S.Africa and US Virgin Islands, I'd imagine like UK Virgin Islands, that's a very very small place, lmao.
Mostly i used a Lincoln/Jackson, b300p at level 4 after preheating at level 2, always got fantastic audio reports, got sick of being asked which hf radio i was using when on Jackson with or without teardrop microphone
I recently bought another HP4000, they are class antennas, even mag mounted on mag 145 pl, we were doing 90mph the other day and Megawatt 4000 still stayed on, i rattled up 6 contacts in 26 div on sporadic e the other day with a faulty s9, old megawatt 4000, suffering severe rf feedback on rd104e microphone so had to back gain down to almost 0, but still managed good strong signals down south,
i wouldn't buy anything else for mobile work under 300w, only other antennas i would consider is 108" whip or a Wallen Modulator, both fantastic very cheap antennas, or a good quality Avanti AV261 if I could source one (Easier said than done).
I know all contacts depend on conditions and not antenna, my point is daily when conditions were ok at that time both antennas were rattling contacts left,right and centre. We couldn't tell any difference between HP and Megawatt, but we could see we easily trounced most competition locally, I was working skip when people on hf sets and antrons 200m below me were hearing nothing, many days as we climbed the hill it would be like someone had just turned skip on.
I was also able from that location to work North 26, East coast 68 and East coast 29 div's line of sight nightly, we had to take people up with us to prove it, as in valley/city of Glasgow they were hearing nothing. Skip might mean nothing, but those are substantial line of sight contacts verging on over 100 miles. To do it nightly and still can now proves no propagation modes were involved except l.o.s.
They are fantastic performers but like i say not the best built.
I haven't been on much in recent years due to various reasons, but I did 45 confirmed countries in 6 months with not a single activation all from mag 145pl mounted megawatt or hp 4000 antennas, including a 20w contact on a president Jackson barefoot 20w into Oz,also North and South America, Russia, Carribean and S.Africa and US Virgin Islands, I'd imagine like UK Virgin Islands, that's a very very small place, lmao.
Mostly i used a Lincoln/Jackson, b300p at level 4 after preheating at level 2, always got fantastic audio reports, got sick of being asked which hf radio i was using when on Jackson with or without teardrop microphone
I recently bought another HP4000, they are class antennas, even mag mounted on mag 145 pl, we were doing 90mph the other day and Megawatt 4000 still stayed on, i rattled up 6 contacts in 26 div on sporadic e the other day with a faulty s9, old megawatt 4000, suffering severe rf feedback on rd104e microphone so had to back gain down to almost 0, but still managed good strong signals down south,
i wouldn't buy anything else for mobile work under 300w, only other antennas i would consider is 108" whip or a Wallen Modulator, both fantastic very cheap antennas, or a good quality Avanti AV261 if I could source one (Easier said than done).
I know all contacts depend on conditions and not antenna, my point is daily when conditions were ok at that time both antennas were rattling contacts left,right and centre. We couldn't tell any difference between HP and Megawatt, but we could see we easily trounced most competition locally, I was working skip when people on hf sets and antrons 200m below me were hearing nothing, many days as we climbed the hill it would be like someone had just turned skip on.
I was also able from that location to work North 26, East coast 68 and East coast 29 div's line of sight nightly, we had to take people up with us to prove it, as in valley/city of Glasgow they were hearing nothing. Skip might mean nothing, but those are substantial line of sight contacts verging on over 100 miles. To do it nightly and still can now proves no propagation modes were involved except l.o.s.
They are fantastic performers but like i say not the best built.
Thanks for a great post jazzsinger. While I know there may be better made custom antennas, I agree with you that Sirio is the best bang for the money (better than some costing much more). Wilson used to be a no brainer but now they are just a shell of what they used to be.
Well, I fixed my P5000 permanently today. I spent 10 minutes eyeballing it to make sure it was perfectly straight then tightened it up very tight. Then, I used my drill press to drill a hole through the pivot area just above the pivot bolt (through both the mount side and the coil side) and then pressed a steel pin through it. I then ground it flush and voila! no more pivoting. I cut the handle off as well.
I didn't figure it would matter, but I checked SWR and it was still under 1.2 .....
As a side note, AM was dead today, I didn't even hear the normal local chatter from I95.
Well, I fixed my P5000 permanently today. I spent 10 minutes eyeballing it to make sure it was perfectly straight then tightened it up very tight. Then, I used my drill press to drill a hole through the pivot area just above the pivot bolt (through both the mount side and the coil side) and then pressed a steel pin through it. I then ground it flush and voila! no more pivoting. I cut the handle off as well.
I didn't figure it would matter, but I checked SWR and it was still under 1.2 .....
As a side note, AM was dead today, I didn't even hear the normal local chatter from I95.
M
Mr Fix it
Guest
I would go Breedlove as well if I were to hard mount one. The difference in the new rigid is the part that holds the whip has no adjustment like the old megawatt 4000, looks like the only difference to me. The old megawatt 4000 is a great antenna, it has a notched section for setting the angle of the antenna, it works pretty well. I just had better overall luck with the turbo 5000. I took it apart and sanded all the coating off where metal touched and also made sure all connections were tight inside the base load section. I do like the design of the megawatt, but have had good luck with the turbo 5000. And as for shipping, I believe that DNJ has changed senders and is using ups now and not USPS. The last antenna I got from DNJ was shipped in a 8 ft cardboard hard tube. No more BS shipping of antennas! The first one I got was shipped like al567 stated. Looked like a banana when it arrived lol. Not this time though. Seems the word must have gotten out as I have bought antennas from both DNJ and H&Y and both were shipped in the 8ft tubes. Good luck with the new antenna and god bless