Portable Ham Radio: Chameleon CHA Stinger Kit Review
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- The Chameleon CHA Stinger Kit is a versatile solution for a vertical antenna counterpoise or ground plane. The Stinger kit consists of six 48 inch stainless steel elements with all weather banana plugs on one end and a teardrop on the other. The Stingers are a quick deployment option for times in which you may not have the space to put out a conventional radial network, like if you are operating on a patio or deck, or other high traffic areas.
Chameleon CHA Stinger Kit:
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I half remember this QSO exchange. I believe that day I was testing 2 different vertical antennas. One ground mounted and one elevated 4’ above the ground. US-1635 as it’s called now, is my favorite and most activated park.
W2ITG 1:27
W2ITG , My buddy Mark. I’ve done a few activation’s with him here in NJ ! Another great video Micheal. Thank you , Jim K2WPA
Interesting, thanks for sharing. I like how chameleon is always trying to improve. They have so many options that something is going to work for your activation.
Excellent '1970's porn music'. I never realized how much of an improvement to ham radio videos that genre of music would make. *chuckle*, but seriously, although the radials are great for specific use-case, the reports we're seeing on other RUclips reviews of this antenna suggest that this solution degrades the performance vs the standard long-wire radials. Interesting option though, as usual from Chameleon. I love their products!
Its antenna porn for nerds.
a dedicated unit like that is coming out for the ATAS-120A this summer also.
That looks very much like the 1/4 wave ground plane. Nice that they have something like this, but might be expensive.
I am curious how they compare to standard longer radials
Very interesting... Hrmmm... 73!
What's the performance difference between the wire radials option and these stingers?
The compact footprint and quick setup and takedown are bonuses for me with the stingers.
Another great video but agree with that the music was a bit distracting compared to your other videos.
On an anecdotal level, the performance with stingers versus radials seemed quite similar when paired with the Chameleon 58 inch whip. I'm curious on how these will work with a longer whip and as things warm up around here, I'll do some more substantive testing using WSPR to give a more definitive answer.
Hi Michael, I have been using the sign world cross base like you with a Chameleon 17' whip and faraday cloth. It has been working great on 20m. 1:1 -1:2 on the swr with a 25' piece of coax. When I saw this video I thought the stinger kit would be a great idea since every time it is getting ready to rain out here in the Nashville area I have to pull everything down so the faraday cloth doesn't get wet. I bought the permanent stinger kit and am using it with the same whip, same stand and same coax sitting in the exact same spot in the yard, but I can not get the swr below 5:1. I started with 1 stinger which was giving me 6:1 swr and kept adding 1 stinger at a time until I was up to all 6 and the best swr I can get is 5:1. Would you have any idea why I can't get a better swr? Thanks, Jim
I may have to do a setup to see if I can recreate your problem, but in the absence of doing that, a 6:1 SWR generally tells me that you have a short between the radiating and ground side of the antenna. That's why you can't get the SWR any lower. What coil are you using the stinger kit with? Is it the Chameleon MCC or the Wolf River Coil?
@@KB9VBRAntennas Hi Michael, I was not using it with a coil. I was using it with a sign world cross base like you use and a Chameleon 17' whip. I was just trying to do 20 meters.
I believe you misspoke when saying the banana plugs were 2mm. The banana plugs are 4mm.
You are correct, the plugs are 4mm and not 2mm
Stinger Kit - $110. Stingers only - $60. Six 48" wires terminated onto one or two battery clips - About $5 or $10. You decide.
It is mind boggling how some people choose to spend their money.
A roll of window screen, $7.99. A lot of options for a ground network are out there, I guess it depends on your budget.
Have your tried to deploy six X 48” wires on a balcony rail on the 5th floor?
@@Chameleon_Antenna radials appear to be attached using banana plugs. I'm not sure it is an excellent idea to use something on a balcony if it doesn't lock into place and could become a projectile for people below. Is that the use case for this item?
Would I be right in assuming this kit could theoretically be applied to **any** vertical in lieu of radials or magic carpet?
yes, this technique should work on other vertical antenna systems. As things warm up around here, I'll do some more testing.
Seems like it would work with Wolf River Coil setup.
There's no reason why you couldn't.
Probably work well for the super antenna too?@@KB9VBRAntennas
Infomercial
Meh. Gotta pay the bills sometimes
True that.
Anything wrong with that? How many ads have you seen from RUclips while watching that video?
It appears that you do NOT have a common mode choke on the feedline, near the antenna's base. If so, then your coax shield acts like a ground-level radial. This will increase ground loss -- compared to a fully elevated radial system. Also, this adds uncertainty regarding the true effectiveness of the shortened elevated radial system v/s the single ground-level radial formed by the coax shield.
Removed from their website :(
It appears they replaced it with their permanent stinger kit, which uses set screws instead of banana plugs: chameleonantenna.com/shop-here/ols/products/cha-stinger-kit-perm
@@KB9VBRAntennas Could be but they were both listed on their site last week. But the portable version was sold out. I was hoping it would be back in stock soon but I ended up buying the permanent version.
hi, have you already done comparsion with the magic carpet mosquitos net ?! 73 de iz3qvb
Sheesh. $110 for a metal puck and some steel rods. Great idea, but probably too expensive for us cheap hams.
The music made it really hard to understand what you were saying.
I don't like background music in videos. It's distracting and annoying.
Yes! It's unbelievably annoying. So many RUclipsrs inject this in their videos. I generally just dump the video after a few seconds of this unbelievably distracting noise. Please just stop.