GAP ANTENNAS???
PPIC...@pop3.cris.com
my HF work. The G5RV doesn't tune very well on 30 meters but does quite well on all other bands.
I noticed that the Titan DX does tune on 30 meters. My space is limited and I don't want have to
run any ground radials, so I an thinking about the GAP.
Does anyone have any experience with any of the GAP antennas?
73's
Phil
AD4WP
Rick Lehman
not recall the model number of my GAP but it is 31 feet high and covers
80 through 2 meters(except 17 and 30 meters). It is admittedly in a poor
location resting 10 feet from a six feet high chain link fence, 10 feet
from a single story house and 30 feet from my tower and beam. There are
3 radials which were trimmed for 40 meter VSWR. The radial length does
not affect 80 meter VSWR which is very good or the other bands. My
results are as follows:
80 meters---Very poor. I no longer transmit on this band it is too
frustrating. The antenna VSWR is very good, just like a dummy load.
40 meters-- Good. Has served me well on this band.
12 meters-- Fair. Worked OK. Seemed to not work as well when compared
to another local ham working the same station as I. He was using a wire
antenna.
My antenna model absolutely must be guyed( epecially if you get any
thunderstorms) a disappointment for me as I was under the understanding
that it was not an absolute requirement.I believe the Titan antenna was
designed for operation on the lower bands(e.g. 80 meters) and therefore
may work considerably better than mine. Good luck , 73 Rick WB4EJC
Grant H Youngman
pretty well -- especially on guying and 80 meter performance.
The Titan isn't going to be a very good 80 meter antenna either,
presuming GAP uses the same tuning method they use in the GAP.
I have blown several (one just yesterday) "top cap" assemblies on 80
meters. It just won't handle a legal limit load reliably, even at 1:1
SWR. GAP keeps sending me free top cap assemblies, but it is just more
hassle to pull the antenna down to replace them than the antenna is
worth. The antenna is tuned on 80 meters with a coax stub terminated in
a couple of 1000V mica caps. They can't hack it, and will arc through.
Grant/NQ5T
Franklin M. Hays
A very poor constructed antenna, mine broke in half by only 45 mph
wind. Performance was poor to considering the price.
The support was almost nil, the guy in Florida could not answer
my questions and was not very friendly.
NO GAP FOR ME ANYMORE...73 de Frank VE6INA
BUDDY10
GAP's. If you do not like the GAP's what would you recomend to someone
looking for a general coverage vertical antenna ?
BUDDY10
arm...@delphi.com
Mikko Laiho
I have had a GAP Challenger VI for four years.
On 80m GAP is 0 to 3 S-units down on receive compared to a dipole
at 6 meters height. Long distance stations are sometimes equal
on both, dipole wins always for short distances.
On 15m GAP seems to be about 1 S-unit down compared to a plain
ground plane antenna which base is 4 meters above ground.
On other bands GAP seems to work reasonably well, maybe because
I have nothing to compare with.
73 Mikko OH2BCH
Steve Miller
> Butternut!
With a good radial system!
--
Steve Miller
mill...@dmapub.dma.org
WD8IXE - Ridin' the aethereal waves
W8JI Tom
ground mounted Butternut kills it on all bands. It does have a good SWR
though. 73 Tom
Mike Kapitan
: The results of use of my GAP have shown it to be a very poor performer. A
: ground mounted Butternut kills it on all bands. It does have a good SWR
: though. 73 Tom
I agree with Tom ... I own a GAP Eagle ... was a replacement for an r7 I
had up for 2 yrs (problems with that are material for a whole 'nuther post).
Though the swr is very good on all bands its performance is basically
dismal with 40m being particularly bad despite a 1.2:1 swr. Performance on
12 and 15M bands is best with my g5rv beating it handily on all other bands.
73, Mike
BUDDY10
PaulS90212
was mechanically much better.
Paul - N6DN
PaulS90212
neighbors cuz the RFI was bad with my HF6V.
Paul, N6DN
Charles Jack Hawley Jr.
Doesn't the horrible rfi mean that your takeoff angle was low
as desired? .....if desired.
--
Charles Jack Hawley Jr.
Amateur Radio KE9UW (A.K.A. 'Chuck' in Ham Radio)
BMW K100RS, BMWMOA #224 (A.K.A. 'Jack' in Motorcycles)
haw...@aries.scs.uiuc.edu
Sr. Research Engineer Emeritus
Univ of Ill, Urbana-Champaign
Jack GF Hill
> The results of use of my GAP have shown it to be a very poor performer.
Consistent with how a shortened antenna, loaded as the GAP is, and not
surprising.
> It does have a good SWR though.
And that, Hams of the Future, is why one should study some theory
about how this stuff works, and not simply assume that a 1.1:1 SWR
means everything is happy.
SWR is but one measure of one property and has very little to do with
how an antenna actually works in toto... Once one understands the
losses involved in shortened antennas, and the loading methods used to
compensate, the *efficiency* of the antenna system becomes more
important than whether the SWR meter is resting comfortably...
personally, I would prefer to be making contacts all around the world
on 75M SSB from my car with 100 watts with an SWR of 2.0:1 than
running a Kilowatt into a dummy load and working nobidy... but my SWR
is 1.0:1!!!
--
73,
Jack, W4PPT/M (75M SSB 2-letter WAS #1657/#1789 -- both from the mobile! ;^)
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PaulS90212
GAP. The Butternut was a terrible RFI problem even with zillions of
radials. What next?
Paul, N6DN
Franklin M. Hays VE6INA
Mike Bentley
i have a Challenger mk VI its old but goes like the clappers
best wishes Mike M6QCB
Allodoxaphobia
Someone replying to a 26-year old usenet message.
-- a google grooper, of course