Anyone remember this Antenna?

[JOHN R SABELLA]

Thanks Jay! It was great to hear that what I went thru just wasn’t me! No internet at that time really narrowed your options and since the antenna was not sold in great numbers, it wasn’t likely you could find anyone else to help you. Everything you said, is what I experienced too! If it wasn’t for the Wind that destroyed the antenna, I was considering keeping for vertical performance. If I remember, the SWR remained as high as 2:5 but what was unusual, you couldn’t get Ch.1 and Ch.40 to equalize. Normally, the bell curve at Ch.20 then would be lower. It had to be a design issue the factory themselves weren’t able to fix! By then agreeing to take it back pretty much confirmed they knew they had an issue! I’m reading other members who are scrambling to find this antenna and they are going to be terribly disappointed once they get it! I believe I spent $240 when I bought it and that was a lot of cash back then! I had very high expectation and was let down once you actually put the antenna through its paces! Thanks for replying and hopefully others will be informed!

 

[JOHN R SABELLA]

Jay, just as a curiosity. It's been 42 years since I played around with that antenna,
so my memory is being tested here! Do you remember the SWR readings on that
Horizontal plane you were getting? I seem to remember, I could only drive the SWR
down on one side. I think it was a 2.5 SWR or something like that. Then the Ch.40 was off the chart. I just couldn't equalize Ch.1 & Ch.40. Once you do that, usually, the SWR
goes lower at Ch.20. I'm just curious if you remember, i would like to share what you remember? I'm wondering what that fellow you mentioned might have done to modify the SWR but since Avanti couldn't fix it, I'm wondering if he really did have the solution!

 

[W4KVW]

I have an Original Gree Covered Owners manual in my hand & I just went thru the manual & I see no mention of a power rating.It has more parts than any vertical antenna I have ever seen.The manual says,1977 on the bottom left hand corner.I have an original Moonraker 6 manual as well & I have never owned either antenna. LOL

SIX-SHOOTER

 

[W4KVW]

back in the late 70s there was a fellow in powell county ky that had one set up him and a another would talk across county all the time horizonaly the other guy had a pdl 2 on a 100 foot tower and he was on top of mountain he could get out,,, but when they were talking horz. most of us mobiles couldnt hear the conversation or just one side of it,,, back in the day,,,,

20db of attenuation between Vertical & Horizontal signals makes a big difference on received & transmitted signals.

SIX-SHOOTER.

 

[JOHN R SABELLA]

20db of attenuation between Vertical & Horizontal signals makes a big difference on received & transmitted signals.

SIX-SHOOTER.

Thanks SIX-SHOOTER!
Yes, it was a pretty complicated assembly and like Jay also said, I double-checked
every assembly, over & over. Jay did too!
I was really happy when Jay(another owner) had kindly responded back. It always
bugged me what the real story was with this antenna. Its been 42 year since then
and it's still amazes me when you do a Bing of Google search, even the most
insignificant query will sometime bring back a Hit! That blew my socks off!

 

[Jay Mojave]

Hello John: If my mind serves me right the VSWR was like 3.5 or 4.5 to 1. Way off. Never seen a production antenna come out of the box with that high a VSWR, unless it was assembled way wrong. And many antennas in those days were assembled wrong.

Being a young buck with a 1964 Comment and a Radio Shack SWR Meter I fixed a lot of the locals antennas. Changed a lot of PL-259 connectors also.

I would be willing to buy a Saturn Antenna new in the box and fix the Horz side.

Jay in the Great Mojave Desert.... "Next Gas 150 Miles"

 

[JOHN R SABELLA]

Wow, Jay! That was really a horrible SWR! I could smell my Final Transistors frying with those SWR's!! Your memory is better than mine because I couldn't remember the exact SWR's I was getting, but they did send off Alarms to me then and I wouldn't have used the Horizontal due to the risks! Thanks for replying! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!!

 

[JOHN R SABELLA]

Hello John: If my mind serves me right the VSWR was like 3.5 or 4.5 to 1. Way off. Never seen a production antenna come out of the box with that high a VSWR, unless it was assembled way wrong. And many antennas in those days were assembled wrong.

Being a young buck with a 1964 Comment and a Radio Shack SWR Meter I fixed a lot of the locals antennas. Changed a lot of PL-259 connectors also.

I would be willing to buy a Saturn Antenna new in the box and fix the Horz side.

Jay in the Great Mojave Desert.... "Next Gas 150 Miles"

One thing more Jay, I was setting up this Avanti Saturn AV-190 with ALL
new cabling. I don't remember the model # of the cable I used, but unlike
the RG-8 with the soft foam insulation, I bought 2 lengths were like the RG-8
but had the more sturdy Teflon center insulation. I also used the proper connectors
and I always double checked the Ohm readings with a proper ohm meter.
I had done what you said you did too, by swapping the Vertical cable to the
Horizontal side too and still got the same bad VSWR readings too.
I know it was a cable or connector issue, but if we are correct, the Avanti
company had a serious design flaw. In order to fix that, especially with a
unproven design like this would be a tall order for anyone to be able to fix.
If you did find one and are successful, I would love to know of your results??
Again, many thanks for replying!

 

[JOHN R SABELLA]

One thing more Jay, I was setting up this Avanti Saturn AV-190 with ALL
new cabling. I don't remember the model # of the cable I used, but unlike
the RG-8 with the soft foam insulation, I bought 2 lengths were like the RG-8
but had the more sturdy Teflon center insulation. I also used the proper connectors
and I always double checked the Ohm readings with a proper ohm meter.
I had done what you said you did too, by swapping the Vertical cable to the
Horizontal side too and still got the same bad VSWR readings too.
I know it was a cable or connector issue, but if we are correct, the Avanti
company had a serious design flaw. In order to fix that, especially with a
unproven design like this would be a tall order for anyone to be able to fix.
If you did find one and are successful, I would love to know of your results??
Again, many thanks for replying!

 

[jthebman]

hello everyone, my dad had one of these for years on top of a mountain in wv and loved it, he got it second had. it always had a swr around 1.4 on ch 1 and 1.8 near ch 40. im not sure what he did though. i still have the base for it but sadly missing the rest. it was a great antenna, i would love to have another one to put up for him as i am trying to get him back on the radio again. for some reason i remember the db gain being close to a moonraker, i could be wrong.