The posting I referenced was on 28 JAN 2009. Maybe the aluminum radial hubs on the current 2016 antennas have a coating to prevent the erosion. I do not understand the comment; "the hubs erode and the antennas go open circuit". The top of my I-MAX 2000 is 49 feet from the ground with 50' of RG213 coax and an SWR of 1.3 to 1.4. I'll stay with the I-MAX 2000 until I feel as though I need a better antenna, but I would like to stay clear of antennas with wound coils. When I was seventeen (1966), CB antennas were not as complicated as today. I had priorities and a small budget for hobbies.......lol...lol! Most guys had the standard $15.00 ground plane from Lafayette Radio in my home town.
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CB Base Antenna
- Thread starter Recon
- Start date
I will say this, as far as the build on the 2016 sirio, it's a tough antenna. Had 60+mph winds the last couple of storms and everything checked out ok afterwards. Now of course over time any antenna starts to show it's age, but I'm happy with it. As far as SWR, tuned 1.1-1.2 across Cb band, it goes up to a 1.5 right at the start of 10 meters.
Not an hour ago, I went through a folder of receipts for my radio electronics and found a November 9, 1981 receipt for my Radio Shack .64 wave base station antenna. It cost me a whole $49.95 back then. A Super Penetrator, which is the antenna it is based on, sells today for something like $189.95.
I currently own an A99, a Workman Bandit (A99 copy), an IMAX 2000 and two versions of the Shakespeare Big Stick. My experience is that the IMAX outperforms them all. It does not perform as well as my old .64, but still holds its own.
That's good news about the 2000 because as I stated in a previous post, I will continue to use the 2000 until something convinces me that I should get a different antenna. Back in '74 to '77 when I worked in Maine, I had a Astroplane base antenna and it worked-out quite well.
I remember that antenna, Rick. About 22' in height with four 9' radials. I had the 1/2 wave version. Shorter with only three radials. About $30. Wish I had it back.
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I had an Astroplane back then, too, Recon.
Really good antenna.
Lots of threads and discussions about it on this site.
Also, back in "those" days, the radials were threaded into each other and not "split and clamped" as with the new antennas.
I'd like to have an Astroplane now as a back-up so as to be prepared for winter. If my memory is intact, I remember the vital adjustment was the measurement where the fiberglass rod connected to the two vertical radials and that was it.
In 1972 the cost of the Astroplane was $29.95! An original Astroplane is posted on EBAY for $300.00!
X10 is a good correction factor for dollars then to now. More accurate than not.
$1 minimum wage then. $10 now?
Given that taxes, insurance (plus medical & education) cost far more today than inflation accounts alone, plus overhead increases like Internet access, etc, X10 is low in some instances.
Your wages against productivity have been cut in half since then as well.
$1 minimum wage then. $10 now?
Given that taxes, insurance (plus medical & education) cost far more today than inflation accounts alone, plus overhead increases like Internet access, etc, X10 is low in some instances.
Your wages against productivity have been cut in half since then as well.
I remember that antenna, Rick. About 22' in height with four 9' radials. I had the 1/2 wave version. Shorter with only three radials. About $30. Wish I had it back.
Funny coincidence: I had the Archer 1/2 wave first, too. It was adequate, but that .64 did circles around it. There were a few other CB antennas - including a Starduster, an Astro-Plane and an Archer 1/4 wave - in the neighborhood. None performed anywhere near as well, and the base of mine was only about 12' off of the ground.
When I got the .64, I went out and bought the stainless steel version of every bolt, nut, washer and screw the antenna's build called for and I had to install. All was good until my .64 got hit by lightning.