Hmmmm....."Best Vertical" ? Depends. There's Best, as in "Man, I really liked that antenna" or, "That antenna had the best specs of any other", or, a combination of both, and Nostalgia plays a big part too (ah! Those warm fuzzy memories). So, here's my rundown -
CATEGORY: Best, Cheapest Antenna
1. A99 - cheap, easy to paint and stick up in a tree if you have deed restrictions, and mine lasted 10 years. Not bad for $40.
2. Homemade dipole. Cheaper, requires more of your time for parts roundup, assembly, and tuning, but worked as well as the A99
CATEGORY: Nostalgia
1. Avanti Astroplane. Don't remember exactly...think it cost me around $30 back when, but I could talk from the north most region in Conn. down to Long Island, without any extra "help".
2. Antenna Specialists "Super Magnum". My first ground plane antenna. I can still remember those radials drooping under the weight of a New England Ice Storm.
CATEGORY: Aluminum
1. Interceptor 10K. The best made vertical antenna I've ever used. Quality components, and built to last longer than I will. Cut my noise level down too!
2. Maco V5/8 - Relatively cheap, and it shows as soon as you slide it out of the box (watch out for "burr" cuts). Lightweight, a tad noisy, but works.
supergonzo said:
I have had
Just about every Omni including Wolf Point .64 & Interceptor 10K & Sirio Antennas. And every common one, including all Avanti's, Antron's, Solarcon's, Lafayette, Hygain's
The best Omni directional antenna I ever tested on my farm is a Hygain Super Penetrator 5/8 wave. WHY?
QUIET, Best Omni gain.
Second Best Jay's Interceptor 10K ( a Penetrator Knockoff )
Very good, equal in gain to Penetrator in most directions. There is some minor radiation from the overly large Trombone tuning section. BUT A very sturdy and well built antenna. Built stronger than the Penetrator. And a true 5/8 wave in height.
Most others that CLAIM to be 5/8 wavelenghts are not.
Wolf Point Omni was not bad but middle of the pack in overall performance. (should have left out the coils, it would have worked better).
Imax 2000 is a reasonably good antenna, and very stealthy as you can paint it with a non metallic paint as well. However like most fiberglass antennas they are noisy and are splatter sticks.
Sirio's like a large Avanti Sigma 4. However its already blown down twice. Metal is garbage, connections are junk. And really isn't a 7/8 wave. Good thing too, because if it was it would really be crappy. 5/8 wave over 1/4 wave design. When its in the air it works well, it has a large capture area for recieve, transmits okay. But blink twice and it will be laying on your front lawn. Stay away, its like having a 31 foot whip antenna on your roof.
Maco's 5/8 wave, not a bad antenna.