what is the best 5/8 wave base antenna?
Paul Bauer
i am looking for the best omnidirectional base base antenna.
thanks
paul
twist...@webtv.net
other than seagulls and the damn yankee birds that fly south for the
winter. Seems like they perch on my ears like clockwork every year.
D.K.W.
of them you can make them either bi-directional or directional. Good
luck.
curio...@my-deja.com
"Paul Bauer" <pa...@powerweb.net> wrote:
> hi,
> i am looking for the best omnidirectional base base antenna.
>
> thanks
> paul
>
>
stardusters, it , to my knowledge is the best base station antenna
available at this time, cd is out.........
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
John Amero
does DX real good for a vertical. It is working far better
than my expectations. In the past I was a 4 element quad
man.
Cheers,
John
"D.K.W." wrote:
>
> My vote would be for the Shakespeare Big Army Stick. And if you get two
> of them you can make them either bi-directional or directional. Good
> luck.
>
> Paul Bauer wrote:
>
> > hi,
> > i am looking for the best omnidirectional base base antenna.
> >
> > thanks
> > paul
--
JOHN AMERO, Parksville, B. C. Canada E-Mail to:-
johnaNO§P...@island.net
**NOTE: REMOVE the_ NO§PAM _in the email address for
reply.**
Check out my Web Site at- http://www.island.net/~johna/ ICQ
UIN 2166985
... or Business- email to- Director of Business Development,
John...@singaporerental.com
Also see index at above web site or
http//singaporerental.com/
mickey
that Shakespeare quoted regarding the Army Big Stick 1600, and
they had to withdraw their original claim.
See the small print at the bottom of the Shakespeare page
http://www.shakespeare-ef.com/cbintro.htm
Cheers Mickey
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
D.K.W.
their gain in the form of "dBi" instead of "dBd". I think that they have
corrected it though, but the article I read said that the retailers are still
using the old info to sell the antennas. However, the Shakespeare is still a
great antenna regardless of what they say their dB gain is.
John Amero
lunch like most manufactures. Never the less I am use to the
Starduster for 10 years and the 1600 blows that away.
I never take the manufactures gain figures to seriously
until I see or hear at least a couple of good testimonies
from owners.
Cheers,
John
mickey wrote:
>
> Hello John, wasnt there some argument about the *gain* figures
> that Shakespeare quoted regarding the Army Big Stick 1600, and
> they had to withdraw their original claim.
>
> See the small print at the bottom of the Shakespeare page
>
> http://www.shakespeare-ef.com/cbintro.htm
>
> Cheers Mickey
>
> * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
> The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
--
TooManyRadios
else currently on the market.
If you're willing to do some searching of rooftops and knocking on doors, the
Hy-Gain Super Penetrator 500 is the best omni antenna ever made. Look for cut
or broken coaxes, hanging and flapping in the wind. Sure signs that the
antenna hasn't been used in years. The owner would probably sell it cheap...or
maybe even pay you a few bucks to get it off their roof!
Paul Bauer
TooManyRadios <tooman...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000506121739...@nso-cg.aol.com...
TooManyRadios
<pa...@powerweb.net> writes:
>what does the hy-gain look like?
Can't miss it. 22 feet, 10 inches tall with four 9 foot ground radials and
four small "top hat" radials on the top.
mickey
Cheers Mickey
In article <20000506191216...@nso-ch.aol.com>,
Ten ohm smoke
mickey
Museum piece now eh?
Cheers Mickey
In article <20000506195011...@ng-ff1.aol.com>,
tenoh...@aol.com (Ten ohm smoke) wrote:
>Gave one away...Junk!
Jay in the Mojave
Are you sure your talking about the old Hy-Gain Penetrator 500, one of
the best designed, and bullet proof CB antennas ever built! Its has 4
ground radials, and 4 Top-Hat radials, and is 22.3 feet long, and
everybody wants one?
There's a guy here on the ng who is trying to sell a few Avanti Sigma
4's, they would be gone if they were Penetrator 500's
Jay in the Mojave
Ten ohm smoke wrote:
>
> Gave one away...Junk!
mickey
Cheers Mickey
Jay in the Mojave
listed in a numerical order. Which reply are you talking about, can you
give me the author and date&time?
Jay in the Great Mojave Desert, just down the road ah ways from the
fillin station.
mickey
anymore?
Redneck Dave
match" that extends from the bottom curles over the bass of the ground
plain up the main a couple of inch's and back to the grond plain . look
for that it is not a hygain 500 with out that and it is 21feet 6 inch's.
Keep on keeping on.
David Parret
A.K.A : THE LAWN MOWER MAN #558
http://community.webtv.net/DParret/WORLDWIDERADIO
Redneck Dave
do you think there are so many fiberglass ant. on the market.
Hamm4fun
coils at the base to match them to the feed line and those that used some other
method. The ones that used the coils were garbage. Whatever gain that was to be
had from using a 5/8ths the coils took away and they could not handle power. I
belive the Penatrator had kind of a looping piece of aluminum tubing in place
of the coil and was one of the better antennas.
mickey
213.iap.bryant.webtv.net>, DPa...@webtv.net (Redneck Dave)
wrote:
>Electrical shock hazard , afraid of getting a lawsuit against
them. why
>do you think there are so many fiberglass ant. on the market.
>
>
>
when you cant even buy a decent antenna because the
manufacturers are afraid you may receive an electric shock from
it and they wind up facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
The average lawyer in USA must have at least three houses, a
Rolls Royce, private jet, spend three days a week on the golf
course, indulge in four holidays a year and just for good
measure throw in a couple of mistresses or toy boys.
Just going slightly off topic I raised the question in another
NG as to why it cost me here in the UK $150 for root canal and
crown and why It cost $750 plus, in the USA. The reply I was
given was that the insurance cost the dentist has to pay is
astronomical. One slip with the drill and the dentist is in deep
sh*t.
Now that really does make you wonder
TooManyRadios
<mickeyN...@mickeys.co.uk.invalid> writes:
>Just going slightly off topic I raised the question in another
>NG as to why it cost me here in the UK $150 for root canal and
>crown and why It cost $750 plus, in the USA. The reply I was
>given was that the insurance cost the dentist has to pay is
>astronomical. One slip with the drill and the dentist is in deep
>sh*t.
Frivolous litigation (or the constant threat thereof) is responsible for much
of the "hidden cost" in most of the items we purchase. Cars, medical services,
sporting goods, you name it.
How long before people finally wise up and say "enough?!"
Jay in the Mojave
craze in the late 1970's. The skip cycle started to fad in the late
1970's which slowed down a lot of CB sales. Hy-Gain was bought out by
Telex in the very late to early 1980's. Telex cheapened the Penetrator
500 ground plane radials, and ground plane mount. Using one bolt to
attach the ground radials to the ground radial mounting bracket. That's
how you can tell a old original Hy-gain Penetrator 500 (Hy-Gain used two
mounting bolts to hold the ground radial to the ground radial backet) to
a Telex Penetrator 500, (Telex used one bolt) But still the Telex
antennas worked ok.
The Products Safety Commission made CB Antennas pass a insulation high
voltage test of 14,500 volts. This made a lot of the great old ground
plane antennas that caused way less interference to neighbors consumer
electronics, go away. Ralph Nader and his do gooders caused more TVI
than anyone else combined.
Also the cost of the antennas manufactured by Hy-Gain or Telex, could be
kept down quit a bit, due to their manufacturing mussel of incredo mass
production. Hy-Gain and Telex also manufactured vast quanties of
commercial and ham antennas, they effort for them to manufacture the
Penetrator 500 was very small. The Penetrators might have been made from
scrape pieces of aluminum tubing, left over from other antenna
manufacturing jobs. But the market screamed for the Penetrator 500 in
the CB Craze Hay-Days. So the manufacturing demand, changed the antennas
design, to gear for mass production of the Penetrator 500 antennas at a
very low affordable price. Just go out and try to buy the aluminum
tubing from your local industrial metal supplier.
The aluminum cost will average right around $1 dollar a linear foot. The
Vertical element is (ballpark close here) 267 inches long, or 22.25
feet. The four ground radials where 105 inches, or 8.75 feet long. Don't
foget to add in the aluminum tubing over lapping inside each other. So
the total length will be close to 60 feet, or more. So 60 feet plus all
the running around, and you have a easy $100 dollars just in the
aluminum tubing. I have rebuilt a few of the old Penetrator 500
antennas. I won't menation what the new insulators cost to be machined
from Dirlon.
But the old Penetrator 500 really kicks ass, witout setting the
neighbors TV on fire. Hope this helps.
Jay in the Mojave
mickey wrote:
>
> Hi jay, if the antenna is so good why dont they make them
> anymore?
>
TooManyRadios
<mickeyN...@mickeys.co.uk.invalid> writes:
>Hi jay, if the antenna is so good why dont they make them
>anymore?
Combination of governmental regulation (CPSC) and hungry trial lawyers who
would like to make big bucks off of electrocution victims.
rg...@kc.rr.com
one. I had that antenna in the 70's. It was the VERY best ground plane that I
had ever used..plus at that time Wilson not Maco was making beams...I had the
Wislon Y-quad then bought the Wilson shoting Star...Now same antenna different
company!!!
How this clears it up for you...
Ron
629 Kansas City Moblie
In article <08a9e898...@usw-ex0105-037.remarq.com>, mickey
<mickeyN...@mickeys.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
>Hi jay, if the antenna is so good why dont they make them
>anymore?
>
TooManyRadios
writes:
> Telex cheapened the Penetrator
>500 ground plane radials, and ground plane mount.
God, did they ever!
> Using one bolt to
>attach the ground radials to the ground radial mounting bracket. That's
>how you can tell a old original Hy-gain Penetrator 500 (Hy-Gain used two
>mounting bolts to hold the ground radial to the ground radial backet) to
>a Telex Penetrator 500, (Telex used one bolt)
Plus, Telex further cheapened the design by omitting the matching network at
the base of the antenna.
Truly a sign of the times. This was 1980, so America was struggling withn
Jimmy Carter's 13% annual inflation rate and 20% prime interest rate.
Companies tended to cut costs of production by whatever means possible.
Remember how bad record albums sounded around that time? The vinyl was so thin
you could see light through most of them!
mickey
>
>Combination of governmental regulation (CPSC) and hungry trial
lawyers who
>would like to make big bucks off of electrocution victims.
>
>
>
of all is employment litigation, some managers are afraid to
fart at work in case they face a lawsuit. Business in this
country is being shafted by idiotic rules and regulations.
Jay in the Mojave
match wires. I have two old Telex Penetrator 500 antennas in parts, they
both have the beta matching wires.
Hy-Gain in the mid 1960's came out with their CLR-2, it came in 3 and 4
ground radials, and had two small coils or chokes as the impedance
matching system. And of course all the Big-Straps burned them up. So the
Penetrator 500 with its 1500 watt power handling capability took its
place.
Jay in the Mojave
twist...@webtv.net
upon disassembling. Ran 1000 watts through it routinely, no problems
ever.
TooManyRadios
writes:
>Hello Too Many Radios: I didn't know that they did away with the beta
>match wires. I have two old Telex Penetrator 500 antennas in parts, they
>both have the beta matching wires.
Mine didn't. I lost an original (Hy-Gain) Penetrator due to storm damage and
had to replace it with a Telex version. The new one didn't have any beta match
on the bottom. This was in September, 1980.
Jay in the Mojave
Antenna? Did your antenna have the external matching wires?
The Hy-Gain CLR-2 Antennas, did not have a good impedance matching
device. The impedance matching matching device was a circuit board 1.4
inches in diameter, by .07 inches thick, that fit into the (injection
molded) plastic base insulator. The impedance matching device was a very
small copper trace in a coil form, on the circuit board material, that
was .035 inches wide and approx. .010 inches thick. Most all CLR-2
antennas would burn out this "Mickey Mouse" type impedance matching coil
on a circuit board with the least amount of power.
Also someone out there made a 5/8 Penetrator "Look a Like" that had 4
ground radials, was about 22 feet high, even had the same "Clam Shell"
type ground radial mounting bracket. But this look a like Penetrator 500
did not have the 4 Top Hat Radials, or the Beta Matching wires. It used
a pair of cheap or inexpensive chokes or coils to match the impedance's.
These coils were also installed in the base insulator. These fake "look
a like" Penetrator 500, are very easy to identify, the mounting bracket
is 11 inches in length, and the Hy-Gain or Telex Penetrator 500 had a 12
inch mounting bracket.
Another outstanding point was made by Hamm4fun, he said:
>There are basically two types of 5/8ths, those that had wire wound >loading coils at the base to match them to the feed line and those that >used some other method. The ones that used the coils were garbage. >Whatever gain that was to be had from using a 5/8ths the coils took away >and they could not handle power. I belive the Penatrator had kind of a >looping piece of aluminum tubing in place of the coil and was one of the >better antennas.
I have measured a few of the original 5/8 antennas, and have detected as
much as 6dB loss in the matching devices.
Jay in the Mojave
Jay in the Mojave
changed the design somewhere. I have a Telex / Hy-Gain Penetrator 500
assembly instruction sheet that shows the Telex version with the Beta
wires, and it is Copywrited in 1980. Must have quit a few different
production versions.
Jay in the Mojave
twist...@webtv.net
top radials. I remember purchasing it from a cber turned dealer and
would-be technician who used to be a pro football player for the
Steelers in the late 60's or early 70's. He opened a shop and ran it out
of his garage. He even installed the antenna for me at no extra charge.
He did mess around with a bunch of home made stuff, so it is quite
possible I ended up with a hybrid-type CLR-2. I bought it after a fellow
op bought one and his signal went up a good 2 "S" units. Don't remember
what he was running before that, but he told me where he bought it and I
did the same. At least I always THOUGHT it was a CLR2 and others in the
area that bought the antenna from other sources APPEARED to have the
same antenna I did. Now ya' got me wondering. Back then, I never gave it
a second thought.
Jay in the Mojave
a Penetrator 500. This can be done easy enough, by removing the circuit
board matching junk, and installing the Beta Matching wires.
A old ham friend down the road a few miles had a old 5/8 Penetrator 500
"look a like", I removed the cheap mickey mouse coils in the base
insulator, and installed the Beta Matching wires, and after some tuning
around got the SWR down to 1:1, and it would take all the fire in the
wire all day.
The Hy-Gain CLR-2 was a significant improvement of the old original
Hy-Gain "Golden Penetrator" that appeared in 1962 at a cost of 93
dollars. These first 5/8 WL antennas from Hy-Gain suffered from
mechanical stress failure at the base of the antenna, which was
supported by a single insulator at the base of the antenna. The then 200
inch in vertical length was just to much for a single insulator to hold
in high winds, which broke at the base insulator and allowed the antenna
to come crashing down, without regard to CB'er type of guy.
The Hy-Gain CLR-2 had a two point support bracket, with two insulators,
one upper, and one lower. But the "Mickey Mouse" impedance matching
coil, etched copper on a circuit board, just couldn't take any power.
The Boys at Hy-Gain must have been really trying hard to cut costs. But
the flood of complaints had to hit Hy-Gain hard, had to make the
engineers hit the design boards again, to redesign the 5/8 wavelength
ground plane antenna, to have the two point mechanical support bracket,
and take heaps of power.
The Penetrator 500 was born. Hy-Gain used what they call a Beta matching
system, that they still use today on all their beam antennas. The two
element (Inductive L) impedance matching system allows the 5/8
wavelength vertical antenna to be matched in a optimum manner, where the
single element, or single matching coil will not allow a optimum
matching method. The Boys at Hy-Gain did their homework. But a
significant improvement in antenna performance can be had by replacing
the old #12 gauge aluminum wire, with a larger type tuning material,
such as 1/2 inch aluminum tubing, and see a significant increase in
field strength, by lowering the loss of the impedance matching system.
I'll send you some photos of my New Design Mastodon 5000 5/8 wavelength
ground plane antenna if you would like. Its a two point supported mount,
with 4 ground radials, and a bullet proof 3/8 and 1/2 inch aluminum
tubing impedance matching system.
Jay in the Mojave
twist...@webtv.net
down, it broke apart. Don't remember exact details but I do remember the
base area near the ground radials is where it "snapped" like a twig when
I
loosened it and tried to separate it from the mast. It was a great
antenna and never had any problems of any kind through the years of
wind, snow, ice, and summer heat. Also remember the guy messing around
for a few hours with his meter and constant adjustments 'till he got it
"right". This was my first base antenna and I was just being introduced
to the technical aspect of antennas and SWRs. At the time it might as
well have been Arabic 'cause I had no clue as to what was happening.
Yea, I'd like to see the pics of your antenna. And then I'll probably
pepper ya' with questions. 3s.