Wow. As a Brit it's fabulous to see the great American engineering that I used to love back in the 80's and 90's is alive and well (I used to work for a US multinational back then) . People with passion for what they do is what it is all about, not mindless drone workers. Long may it continue.
Hey John, 1000000% agree as I was a bench & field tech for a US multinational industrial electronics vendor in the 1990s until 2001. The stuff the US made back then were literal works of art which IMNSHO Antoni Gaudi would've been proud to place in Sagrada Familia, Barcelona Spain. It's so awesome to see this quality is still around & not all company strategists sold out to the cheap Chinese & Asian manufacturing garbage which promulgates a lot of modern products. This is American engineering at it's finest!
Its rather refreshing to see a mass produced item made in a shop that is well organized, not to mention cared for, and clean. That alone sells the product, and boosts confidence in reliability.
Hello Josh, thanks for the factory tour . Those 2 guys certainly have their hands full. I have a MPAS 2.0 on back order. I'm hoping that perhaps in a month or so it will be ready. I think the biggest holdup for that model is the backpack. As all the mechanical work looks like it is done here in USA. Great job guys. And yes, those CNC machines don't come cheap. Besides the basic machine, you have to purchase the tooling to go with it. However, this era of automated machining makes for exacting and repeatable parts every time which reduces waste, and makes for perfect assembly. You get what you pay for. So to all at Chameleon Antenna, keep up the good work. 73's to all. Just passed my General upgrade 2 weeks ago. Dave up in 2 land.
Thank You for this. To those who like to call others Appliance Operators, I say this. Yes you could fabricate everything they're making and it would function to standard but to reach this level of quality, fit and finish, you'd need a lot of experience us a lot of machine tools, presses and fittings, costing several hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's not cost effective for me, unless I used those tools for either other projects or started my own business. OBTW, I'm patiently and happily waiting waiting for my F-Loop Total. I can hardly wait. Take care and stay safe. Ciao
@@HamRadioCrashCourse I know I don't but I will put something together from a video or notes. I'm looking at finishing my VHF/UHF groundplane antenna soon and now I'm thinking about expanding that idea to 20 meters, where the vertical wire would be the radiator and the four antenna wires leading off the sides would be counterpoises but that's an idea for the future. Thanks again for all you do and 73'
It was a like some "Twilight Zone ESP" experience when I ran across Chameleon Antenna upon trying to figure out how to run HF Ham Radio from an apartment with only an apartment balcony to work with and the closest I could get was another brand of antenna that still would've been too long (Hv$1Lr antenna) and exceeded to the space I was allowed by the building management, (at which is in govt. subsidized housing). It was as though my thoughts went out into the universe and POOF, I found "Chameleon Antenna" and grabbed the magic plastic and placed an order and I've been satisfied ever since. Maybe it could be thought of as a blessing and a prayer being answered as well, without the classical religious suggestions.
Great to see how the antennas are made. When I saw how many parts are machined, I better understand their pricing. No “Value Engineering” done on these antennas.
I appreciate that tour, Josh… I have the MPAS 2.0, the P Loop 2.0 and the F Loop - I can now see why the build quality of all three is so good. The only thing missing was Carl smiling face! 73 de Robert K3RRR
Wow, wow & wow!. What an amazing & beautiful setup fuelled by talented, passionate & humble true geniuses who take a trillion percent complete pride & passion in their work with a "fire" or as Rocky said "eye of the tiger" in their eyes which either you have it in spades or you don't, plain & simple & one simply cannot fake this!. See, no industrial robot or cheap Chinese automation process can dare match this & there is also no need for them to harp on & explain the quality, it's literally 100% all on show for all to see oozing out like a cold, refreshing beer poured out by Josh on his live streams. After seeing this, it's not hard why Chameleon is top of the range & only further fuelling my desire to save up and invest more in Chameleon!. This is what I really love about the USA & what will truly make it not just great again but a true, shining light in this entire world & it's definitely not the constant whining, back stabbing & bickering in capitol hill over who is a better leader or impeached or tearing down ancient statues but everyday beautiful, honest Americans coming from all walks of life and lands far away creating beautiful, technological marvels like these with passion doing extraordinary things like these guys & the designers, engineers at Chameleon & a lot like what Chuck Yeager did when he broke the sound barrier. Man, I enjoyed every second of this video. God bless you to the staff of this operation, all at Chameleon, of course to Señor Nash definitely & may you all keep on being awesome each & everyday & thanks so much for sharing this great news with the ham community, even when our hobby & passion is currently under constant attack from the FCC, ACMA, OFCOM & others who seem to see us hams as glorified dollar bills they can exploit the EM spectrum to gain further, greedy fat profits for brain dead politicians!
Not to cry "poor mouth", but because of disability I live on about $800.00 a month and in metropolitan housing where fortunately my rent is about 30% of my gross monthly income. However I can still find room in the budget for antennas and parts when I need them, and it helps to be creative and imaginative working from an apartment where the most valuable thing about it is having a balcony railing I can mount antennas to and run the coaxial cables right through the window. No big tower to maintain and I do just as well as any "BIG" station with DX and such. kd8efq/73!
@@bruehlt "Quality"; sturdy and reliable. That's what I've found with Chameleon Antenna and their CHA MIL Hybrid matcher that has been the heart of my antenna system! I'm begging them to make one that will take a thousand watts!
The problem with Chameleon antennas is that they make so many! It's really hard to decide on the "right" antenna. :) I can't install anything permanent due to HOA/Townhouse living, so I have to take the radios out and set up in a field, which helps me limit my choices I guess! ;)
Thanks for showing how all the parts come together in this interesting visit to the production factory, I'm waiting for my MPAS to arrive and can't wait to play with the 705 when the weather warms up a bit. Thanks to all at Chameleon Antenna. Alex M0KVA
Being in the UK I bought the F loop 2.0 and sadly it's impossible to to get the all in one metal loop that I would love to have, I have all the other loops though and love it. 73s
Sadly, this country has not learned bc of Covid how dependant we are on overseas manufacturing. I do not mind paying a higher dollar for product made locally by eager Americans that all they want to do is work and get paid. Keep the good work!! I love Chameleon products and it is a true testament to the amount of fine detail and quality is done by Rolltech.
I have the Chameleon CHA MIL Hybrid matcher with the 500 watt capacity, love it, its great with a trucker mirror mount style antenna mounted to it to work from my apartment balcony railing. However I think it would be great if the made a "1,000 watt" capacity matcher, I'd buy it!
I need the MPAS 2.0 Antenna!!!!!!! Please ask them to get going on building more Nice video... it was interesting to see what goes into their antenna's
I'll second all the kudos re American Built. Labor intensive, but obvious quality (unlike some of the competition). Wondering where the final QA inspection is done?
Do you know the IC2730a Icom? I want to turn something into a mobile repeater. I'm looking for something to use in my Jeep for when I go hiking with my baofeng and my Jeep buddies. I'm looking at an IC2730a but I'm looking for someone to guide me. I'm a newbie.
I must be doing something wrong. Or maybe Pennington is in a black hole. I have the Icom IC-705 plus a tuner. Nothing. Going to try putting on a pole when the snow goes away.
I had a Mini and let someone borrow it. It came back with shattered pieces inside...:(. I think what happened is it either got dropped on a hard surface or he ran too much power through it, not realizing it was only 100 watt capacity. I have a Micro arriving this week....:). It was a great antenna and I suspect the Micro will be too. de KD2LMR
@@carllavoie3804 I'd like to do that. It's a shame to have it just laying around broke in a box. Do I just send it to the company with a note inside asking for it to be repaired? Thank you Carl.
To start out I just wanted to talk back back n forth with my son n law , so I thought I would get a GMRS license, as you know you have to 1st get a FRN number which I did then trying to work my way through the CORES application some of the questions I wasn’t quite sure of but I worked my way threw it . I put my location as Mobile the next questions were antenna and frequency,(which in small letters it was noted no answer needed for mobile ) but every time I tried to finish it would tell me I couldn’t proceed became it needed to know the antenna and frequency I went back n forth a dozen times, I even went back and changed answers to other questions thing I did something wrong . Finally I just quit trying ? What do u think I did wrong ?
Wow. As a Brit it's fabulous to see the great American engineering that I used to love back in the 80's and 90's is alive and well (I used to work for a US multinational back then) . People with passion for what they do is what it is all about, not mindless drone workers. Long may it continue.
Hey John, 1000000% agree as I was a bench & field tech for a US multinational industrial electronics vendor in the 1990s until 2001.
The stuff the US made back then were literal works of art which IMNSHO Antoni Gaudi would've been proud to place in Sagrada Familia, Barcelona Spain.
It's so awesome to see this quality is still around & not all company strategists sold out to the cheap Chinese & Asian manufacturing garbage which promulgates a lot of modern products.
This is American engineering at it's finest!
Great to see how the product is made in the USA!
Its rather refreshing to see a mass produced item made in a shop that is well organized, not to mention cared for, and clean. That alone sells the product, and boosts confidence in reliability.
I have wanted an mpas but now that I know it’s being assembled here that makes it even better.
Hello Josh, thanks for the factory tour . Those 2 guys certainly have their hands full. I have a MPAS 2.0 on back order. I'm hoping that perhaps in a month or so it will be ready. I think the biggest holdup for that model is the backpack. As all the mechanical work looks like it is done here in USA. Great job guys. And yes, those CNC machines don't come cheap. Besides the basic machine, you have to purchase the tooling to go with it. However, this era of automated machining makes for exacting and repeatable parts every time which reduces waste, and makes for perfect assembly. You get what you pay for. So to all at Chameleon Antenna, keep up the good work. 73's to all. Just passed my General upgrade 2 weeks ago.
Dave up in 2 land.
Great video!! Nice to see a quality product made in the good old USA!!
Thank You for this. To those who like to call others Appliance Operators, I say this. Yes you could fabricate everything they're making and it would function to standard but to reach this level of quality, fit and finish, you'd need a lot of experience us a lot of machine tools, presses and fittings, costing several hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's not cost effective for me, unless I used those tools for either other projects or started my own business. OBTW, I'm patiently and happily waiting waiting for my F-Loop Total. I can hardly wait. Take care and stay safe. Ciao
They do make great high quality antennas!
@@HamRadioCrashCourse I know I don't but I will put something together from a video or notes. I'm looking at finishing my VHF/UHF groundplane antenna soon and now I'm thinking about expanding that idea to 20 meters, where the vertical wire would be the radiator and the four antenna wires leading off the sides would be counterpoises but that's an idea for the future. Thanks again for all you do and 73'
It was a like some "Twilight Zone ESP" experience when I ran across Chameleon Antenna upon trying to figure out how to run HF Ham Radio from an apartment with only an apartment balcony to work with and the closest I could get was another brand of antenna that still would've been too long (Hv$1Lr antenna) and exceeded to the space I was allowed by the building management, (at which is in govt. subsidized housing). It was as though my thoughts went out into the universe and POOF, I found "Chameleon Antenna" and grabbed the magic plastic and placed an order and I've been satisfied ever since. Maybe it could be thought of as a blessing and a prayer being answered as well, without the classical religious suggestions.
Great Video, Josh. Thanks for taking us along for the tour.
That was a great video! Love the tour and I am a big supporter of US-made products.
Great to see how the antennas are made. When I saw how many parts are machined, I better understand their pricing. No “Value Engineering” done on these antennas.
Pretty cool! Love to see the effort that's gone into the design and assembly. Not a home-garage business.
That was super interesting!
Now I need to do some shoppin'! :-)
Excellent tour. Enjoy content like this. Keep up the great videos. 73.
I appreciate that tour, Josh… I have the MPAS 2.0, the P Loop 2.0 and the F Loop - I can now see why the build quality of all three is so good. The only thing missing was Carl smiling face! 73 de Robert K3RRR
Impressive all the way around! Thanks for walking us through Chameleon's digs!
Wow, wow & wow!.
What an amazing & beautiful setup fuelled by talented, passionate & humble true geniuses who take a trillion percent complete pride & passion in their work with a "fire" or as Rocky said "eye of the tiger" in their eyes which either you have it in spades or you don't, plain & simple & one simply cannot fake this!.
See, no industrial robot or cheap Chinese automation process can dare match this & there is also no need for them to harp on & explain the quality, it's literally 100% all on show for all to see oozing out like a cold, refreshing beer poured out by Josh on his live streams.
After seeing this, it's not hard why Chameleon is top of the range & only further fuelling my desire to save up and invest more in Chameleon!.
This is what I really love about the USA & what will truly make it not just great again but a true, shining light in this entire world & it's definitely not the constant whining, back stabbing & bickering in capitol hill over who is a better leader or impeached or tearing down ancient statues but everyday beautiful, honest Americans coming from all walks of life and lands far away creating beautiful, technological marvels like these with passion doing extraordinary things like these guys & the designers, engineers at Chameleon & a lot like what Chuck Yeager did when he broke the sound barrier.
Man, I enjoyed every second of this video.
God bless you to the staff of this operation, all at Chameleon, of course to Señor Nash definitely & may you all keep on being awesome each & everyday & thanks so much for sharing this great news with the ham community, even when our hobby & passion is currently under constant attack from the FCC, ACMA, OFCOM & others who seem to see us hams as glorified dollar bills they can exploit the EM spectrum to gain further, greedy fat profits for brain dead politicians!
Thanks for the kind words!
Man, I'm a sucker for a good Factory Tour, and a ham related factory tour, even better, LOL. Thanks for taking us along Josh !
The excitement in his voice when he realized they made the winders.
Good lord no wonder their antennas are so damn expensive! CNC machining? Wow...
That’s the only way to be able to supply the demand!
Make sure ya buy a lottery ticket..... lol
Not to cry "poor mouth", but because of disability I live on about $800.00 a month and in metropolitan housing where fortunately my rent is about 30% of my gross monthly income. However I can still find room in the budget for antennas and parts when I need them, and it helps to be creative and imaginative working from an apartment where the most valuable thing about it is having a balcony railing I can mount antennas to and run the coaxial cables right through the window. No big tower to maintain and I do just as well as any "BIG" station with DX and such.
kd8efq/73!
@@charleswoods2996 I own an emcom iii antenna from then. Damn good quality for what it is!
@@bruehlt "Quality"; sturdy and reliable. That's what I've found with Chameleon Antenna and their CHA MIL Hybrid matcher that has been the heart of my antenna system! I'm begging them to make one that will take a thousand watts!
Thanks for the tour! Love my MPAS 2.0. 73 N1CKO
Nice stay strong stay safe folks!
Thanks for another great vid 73s
The problem with Chameleon antennas is that they make so many! It's really hard to decide on the "right" antenna. :) I can't install anything permanent due to HOA/Townhouse living, so I have to take the radios out and set up in a field, which helps me limit my choices I guess! ;)
Excellent
Nice to see how they are made.
Thanks for showing how all the parts come together in this interesting visit to the production factory, I'm waiting for my MPAS to arrive and can't wait to play with the 705 when the weather warms up a bit. Thanks to all at Chameleon Antenna. Alex M0KVA
Great stuff Josh ... Thanks!
Being in the UK I bought the F loop 2.0 and sadly it's impossible to to get the all in one metal loop that I would love to have, I have all the other loops though and love it. 73s
This is really cool! Thanks for doing this.
Very interesting
Sadly, this country has not learned bc of Covid how dependant we are on overseas manufacturing. I do not mind paying a higher dollar for product made locally by eager Americans that all they want to do is work and get paid. Keep the good work!! I love Chameleon products and it is a true testament to the amount of fine detail and quality is done by Rolltech.
Nice to see how my MPAS was made! Billet machine work even! That Haas machine is not cheap.
Great to see all the bits and pieces before they are made into a solid performing product! Bravo Zulu Rob/WA9RAD
I watched some of your videos from 5yrs ago. I think you should do a 6 year anniversary special a look back your first 5 yrs
Great to see Made In America....for Amateur Radio...
Paul. K1YOU
I have the Chameleon CHA MIL Hybrid matcher with the 500 watt capacity, love it, its great with a trucker mirror mount style antenna mounted to it to work from my apartment balcony railing. However I think it would be great if the made a "1,000 watt" capacity matcher, I'd buy it!
Very interesting..
I might order one day, because the antennas that I receive and build are still not good enough for SWL use.
I need the MPAS 2.0 Antenna!!!!!!!
Please ask them to get going on building more
Nice video... it was interesting to see what goes into their antenna's
We're already building about 600 units units which are almost already sold!!!
@@carllavoie3804 In other words, I am a day late and a dollar short again.........
RATS :D
MADE in the U S A BABY
Great Video, bud!
Anyone know what brand those whitish/gray enclosures are they use?
I have the MPAS 2.0, Loop Total and the VHF/UHF…everyone quality construction.
Are they affiliated with the HAAS F1 team?
I'll second all the kudos re American Built. Labor intensive, but obvious quality (unlike some of the competition). Wondering where the final QA inspection is done?
Mostly at the HQ in Reno / Nevada.
Do you know the IC2730a Icom? I want to turn something into a mobile repeater.
I'm looking for something to use in my Jeep for when I go hiking with my baofeng and my Jeep buddies.
I'm looking at an IC2730a but I'm looking for someone to guide me. I'm a newbie.
That was a great little tour of a fine product manufacturer Thanks for sharing Vic KE8JWE
I must be doing something wrong. Or maybe Pennington is in a black hole. I have the Icom IC-705 plus a tuner. Nothing. Going to try putting on a pole when the snow goes away.
Into what antenna? And where is the antenna?
20210209-Tu.2125, Excellent "shop tour" - Thanks!
So now that we have the tour done, can we not do that again and let these guys work. Waiting on a shipment from them lol.
Lol, ok ok!
I had a Mini and let someone borrow it. It came back with shattered pieces inside...:(. I think what happened is it either got dropped on a hard surface or he ran too much power through it, not realizing it was only 100 watt capacity. I have a Micro arriving this week....:). It was a great antenna and I suspect the Micro will be too. de KD2LMR
You can send your broken unit and we’ll fix it.
@@carllavoie3804 I'd like to do that. It's a shame to have it just laying around broke in a box. Do I just send it to the company with a note inside asking for it to be repaired? Thank you Carl.
@@somarmd Yes - Chameleon Antenna
1283 Commerce St
Sparks NV 89431-0976
I just place an order for CHA F-LOOP 2.0
To start out I just wanted to talk back back n forth with my son n law , so I thought I would get a GMRS license, as you know you have to 1st get a FRN number which I did then trying to work my way through the CORES application some of the questions I wasn’t quite sure of but I worked my way threw it . I put my location as Mobile the next questions were antenna and frequency,(which in small letters it was noted no answer needed for mobile ) but every time I tried to finish it would tell me I couldn’t proceed became it needed to know the antenna and frequency I went back n forth a dozen times, I even went back and changed answers to other questions thing I did something wrong . Finally I just quit trying ? What do u think I did wrong ?
Huell Howser Vibes.
Absolute nerd-pr0n.
I'm flirting with whether or not to correct your spelling -lol.
It's a well-known, common alternative spelling. For - you know - reasons.
Take off your masks!
Wow that shop is a disaster