Yeah....I live in the same house I live in now back in the 70s/80s and I had a Super Magnum back then and never had any complaints....this imax is a problem....it gets out like crazy....but I definitely want anther antenna like the super magnum.
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Maco base antennas
- Thread starter Se7en
- Start date
so i hear a 5/8 is a better choice in a base antenna sure location is the key to success in being hurd, as mother nature sure is stingy:laugh:
http://www.video-observer.com/imax/imax2000.htm
http://www.video-observer.com/imax/imax2000.htm
B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
lets put it this way i live in a very rural ghetto area a few folks have the base antennas and a few run 2kw + also have a ham OP with over 30 antennas on his property. cool guy too
i only have a 45' antenna tower then the imax2k is in my budget and is what would work better then the cheezy dipole i'm using. 100$ is the most i can spend on a antenna ill be running 100w or less.....and i like how it can be tuned 10m - 17m without clipping anything.
my current alt is 175' above sea level + the 45' tower 220' alt
if i could afford a maco 8 element id mount that in the back yard since i have 12 yards of free space and absolutely no power lines around my property.
here ya go ....
W-58 Omni-Directional Antenna - Palco Electronics
same thing as a maco 5/8 . i think his shipping is around $20 . about $80 delivered total .
where are you located morse123 ? if its someplace prone to hurricanes/tornadoes or very heavy ice/snow it might be cheaper in the long run to get one of the super strong antennas . they're expen$ive though :sad:
HIDEF I read about that coax radiating also on different bands.
Some of the local AMer's use the fishing pole (IMAX) and they do splatter but also the locals tend to run DC amps class C and overdrive the heck out of them.
I wrapped an Rf choke at the feed point, I have not had any complaints from the neighbor, also a amateur op and I know he would tell me in a heart beat if I disturbed the dust on his dipole with any splatter.
I am also only using 100 watts.
Going back to the original thread post, the question seems to be pointed twards Maco products.
I can say a little about that. Their 4 element beam is built out of heavy duty materials. A definite plus. But they are poorly fitted together; the tolerances are not what I would call slip-on fits. They are loose and the instructions are often poorly printed and a little difficult to interpret. It is too easy to put them together incorrectly. Having a background in machine work, I would call it lacking proper finish and fit overall. But they are very sturdy. If one takes the time to do a lot of finish work, a fine antenna can be gleaned from their antenna 'kit'. Finished weight is about 22 lbs and the boom length is about 16 ft. Not for someone who just wants to slap it together; that hasn't been my experience with them . . .
On the other hand, the Sirio beam antennas has finish and fit. You can slap it together and the instruction are pretty clear to understand. They are hard to assemble incorrectly too. But they are built rather flimsy compared to the Maco. The elements are made of very thin wall aluminum tubing; although the boom tubing is pretty sturdy gauge. This is both positive and negative. Positive - because they are really light and only require the smallest TV rotor to operate them without failure. Negative, because a bunch of crows perching on it may bend an element but the boom will be fine. They have been computer optimized dimensions and utilize a shorter boom - only 13 ft for the 4 element SY27-4 horizontal beam and weigh a mere 13 lbs. They might not survive a powerful wind storm or heavy ice storm like a Maco might; but they pack a lot of punch in a small and economical package - IMO.
I can say a little about that. Their 4 element beam is built out of heavy duty materials. A definite plus. But they are poorly fitted together; the tolerances are not what I would call slip-on fits. They are loose and the instructions are often poorly printed and a little difficult to interpret. It is too easy to put them together incorrectly. Having a background in machine work, I would call it lacking proper finish and fit overall. But they are very sturdy. If one takes the time to do a lot of finish work, a fine antenna can be gleaned from their antenna 'kit'. Finished weight is about 22 lbs and the boom length is about 16 ft. Not for someone who just wants to slap it together; that hasn't been my experience with them . . .
On the other hand, the Sirio beam antennas has finish and fit. You can slap it together and the instruction are pretty clear to understand. They are hard to assemble incorrectly too. But they are built rather flimsy compared to the Maco. The elements are made of very thin wall aluminum tubing; although the boom tubing is pretty sturdy gauge. This is both positive and negative. Positive - because they are really light and only require the smallest TV rotor to operate them without failure. Negative, because a bunch of crows perching on it may bend an element but the boom will be fine. They have been computer optimized dimensions and utilize a shorter boom - only 13 ft for the 4 element SY27-4 horizontal beam and weigh a mere 13 lbs. They might not survive a powerful wind storm or heavy ice storm like a Maco might; but they pack a lot of punch in a small and economical package - IMO.
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i live one mile from the great ocean
and that was the antenna i found lastnight someone also recommended a sirio product but i dont think i like there cheap materials.
that antenna looks like the V58 by maco
Tunable Field to over from 26-33 Mhz in 1 of 9 Settings ( complicated )
: http://www.palcoelectronics.com/p1005081.aspx
i live one mile from the great ocean
and that was the antenna i found lastnight someone also recommended a sirio product but i dont think i like there cheap materials.
that antenna looks like the V58 by maco
Tunable Field to over from 26-33 Mhz in 1 of 9 Settings ( complicated )
: W-58 Omni-Directional Antenna - Palco Electronics
yes supposed to be same as a maco. i use a sirio 2016 since spring of 2009
without any trouble. setup as direstions say no measuring at all..there is a
lilttle whip on top to adjust but they mark it at the factoey i set mine
there it will do 10-11 meters with a swr of 1.5. will do 12 meters
with a swr of 2.0
yea, there was A-lot of Sirio base antennas on eBay for a while.. but there all gone. one i did have interest in for a while was the Sirio CB 27 i guess it was a vertical one way and you flip it and it was a horizontal but i dont see them no more. i think ill buy the maco V58 (spend the extra $ and get better quality) , as the saying goes you get what you pay for.
this thread sure has gone many ways... lol
I use the Maco V58 tuned for 10m. You don't necessarily need a tuner, all you have to do is shorten the radiator a few inches.
Do not get an IMAX or A99 unless you really enjoy TVI and hearing yourself through the toaster. They lack a sufficient ground plane, and don't functional well without at LEAST 4 radials. The 4 radials on the Maco V58 are a compromise and don't represent a perfect ground, but they do a good enough job to prevent TVI and lower the radiation angle. Radiation angle is key, the IMAX and the A99 are both skywarmers. If you're looking to talk to Aliens, that's great. Think of the atmosphere like water, and your radio signal like the rock. You don't chuck the rock straight at the water, you go at a narrow angle that is allmosstt even with the water to achieve maximum distance.
With the Maco V58 at about 31 ft off the ground, and the hilly terrain of SW Michigan, I get about 25 miles of solid copy. 35 miles starts to get a little weak and blended in with the noise floor. That's with 130w. For DX, I've worked almost every country in South America, islands in the Gulf / Caribbean, and quite a few around Micronesia as well.
Do not get an IMAX or A99 unless you really enjoy TVI and hearing yourself through the toaster. They lack a sufficient ground plane, and don't functional well without at LEAST 4 radials. The 4 radials on the Maco V58 are a compromise and don't represent a perfect ground, but they do a good enough job to prevent TVI and lower the radiation angle. Radiation angle is key, the IMAX and the A99 are both skywarmers. If you're looking to talk to Aliens, that's great. Think of the atmosphere like water, and your radio signal like the rock. You don't chuck the rock straight at the water, you go at a narrow angle that is allmosstt even with the water to achieve maximum distance.
With the Maco V58 at about 31 ft off the ground, and the hilly terrain of SW Michigan, I get about 25 miles of solid copy. 35 miles starts to get a little weak and blended in with the noise floor. That's with 130w. For DX, I've worked almost every country in South America, islands in the Gulf / Caribbean, and quite a few around Micronesia as well.
where i live im more worried about the antenna being vandalized or stolen then TVI spilling on neighbors:bdh:
Wait and get you a new sirio gainmaster just as soon as they get more shipped over here to the U.S. This one antenna should be all you need for starters.
I have had a A-99 and a I-max200 and now have a Sirio s-2016 and a Proton P-99 (A-99 knockoff) As for TVI I have ran about 300 watts through all of these antennas and the A-99 was the worst for tvi coming through a baby monitor about 2 houses away at 50 watts! The P-99 took about 100 watts before this would happen and the Imax never seemed to have an issue with but also never went over 300 watts. The S-2016 is my antenna of choice followed by the Imax the Imax was just to whippy for me and would just about lay the top horizontal in a wind. I have a Sirio 3 element beam and took it down due to HOA and I used the 2016 more. Just my opinion but you can't go off the ads for the antennas as they are all competing for your $!