I’ve recently changed my antenna from the A99 to the 827 , use the Antron for going portable now . Still a fantastic antenna but never 9.9 db gain like they still claim . Be great to see your next video 73’s
Hi Francis, first of all, thank you for a sensible response. You would not believe some of the comments I have had. Anyway, I never thought I would get so much interest regarding this wire antenna. But, I think I need to do a separate video on it, as there seems to be a lot of interest in it. Including the build and setup. Stay tuned for the video, Hope you subscribed. Jeff
It's a 1/4 wave... think 102" whip. Also understand toa and how it affects propagation. This test is fine, but disregards the obvious difference in pattern/toa between a 1/4 wave and an efhw. No antenna is perfect for every situation. Just like horizontal and vertical polarization. I like to have both for the bands where it's feasible I.e. 2m to 20m. Sometimes the yagi and vertical are equal, a lot of times 1 is clearly superior to the other.
To do an accurate test both antennas need to be on the same plane. Your wire is probably at a height that gets the best angle of radiation which changes all of the time. You need to put ithe wire at the same height as the Antron to have a reliable test. If you do the same test over several days you will probably get a different result. The best set up is a 5/8 wave vertical as high as you can get it and a 1/2 wave dipole about 5 metres above the ground out of the way of obstructions. You will find times when the dipole will out perform the vertical. It all has to do with the way that radio waves are propigated. The reason I recommend a 5/8 wave is because it has the lowest angle of radiation and the signals are much closer to the horizon than other common antennas... Have fun!
I use a 9ft stainless mounted on the ridge cap of tin roofed house 80 meters for ocean. i get out like a champion, surprising most. often thought about upgrading, glad i didn't
I too have a Shakespeare 3-piece jobby, works well but its lost all its gelcoat and shedding massive amounts of fiberglass toes and is nasty to handle. The whip section is destined for better things after I strip it, and heat shrink it.
I ran a imax in the big tree with 150' of 8x to it. too cheap to buy LMR600 so on the off experiment i built a folded dipole, ran 200'ish of 450ohm ladderline, and have a 9:1 balun at the back window to coax it inside. ended up being my main vertical since EVERYONE came up in signal. guess i was getting killed with line loss
On HF a vertical antenna does not need to be installed high up for dx, a ground mounted vertical with a good ground plane system will give you good results. Did you use any ground plane wires with the vertical wire? Be interesting to see a comparison on TX as well. I’ve had an Antron up for years and it’s decent enough for local FM CB and to be fair I’ve also worked all 6 continents with it on the higher HF Ham bands using low power (25w). But I think you’ll find the 827 a big improvement, a 5/8 wave with ground planes should give you a better radiation pattern for dx. Hope it works out for you 👍🏼
At least 15dB loss dues to polarisation issues. this is not a proper comparison test. Get up onto the roof and flip your Antron over to horizontal then do the test again.
Talked to Costa Rico Brazil Italy Panama and various states in us and canada on a dipole ie 2 8.5 foot hunks of wire and 33 foot of mini8 coax when dx is in it's in. Radio QT-40 stock and barefoot
We’d all like to see a transmit test and how the wire antenna is set up 👍
Working on that at the moment.
I’ve recently changed my antenna from the A99 to the 827 , use the Antron for going portable now . Still a fantastic antenna but never 9.9 db gain like they still claim . Be great to see your next video 73’s
We really would like to see the SWR of the wire antenna and how it performs on transmit coz we find this one very intersting. Thank you.
Hi Francis,
first of all, thank you for a sensible response. You would not believe some of the comments I have had.
Anyway, I never thought I would get so much interest regarding this wire antenna. But, I think I need to do a separate video on it, as there seems to be a lot of interest in it. Including the build and setup. Stay tuned for the video, Hope you subscribed. Jeff
I have full-wave wire antenna hang on ceiling Squared off, it had 9 feet 75 ohm coax feed then use 50 ohm coax.
what about TX performance & swr reading?
It's a 1/4 wave... think 102" whip. Also understand toa and how it affects propagation. This test is fine, but disregards the obvious difference in pattern/toa between a 1/4 wave and an efhw. No antenna is perfect for every situation. Just like horizontal and vertical polarization. I like to have both for the bands where it's feasible I.e. 2m to 20m. Sometimes the yagi and vertical are equal, a lot of times 1 is clearly superior to the other.
I take it you put alot of radials down for the wire antenna??
4 radials. Each 3 meters long.
To do an accurate test both antennas need to be on the same plane. Your wire is probably at a height that gets the best angle of radiation which changes all of the time. You need to put ithe wire at the same height as the Antron to have a reliable test. If you do the same test over several days you will probably get a different result. The best set up is a 5/8 wave vertical as high as you can get it and a 1/2 wave dipole about 5 metres above the ground out of the way of obstructions. You will find times when the dipole will out perform the vertical. It all has to do with the way that radio waves are propigated. The reason I recommend a 5/8 wave is because it has the lowest angle of radiation and the signals are much closer to the horizon than other common antennas... Have fun!
With the aerial raised and raised radials it will do even better.
Interesting result. Can I suggest a local (non-DX) test as well? Do you have ground radials for the 1/4 wave wire?
I use a 9ft stainless mounted on the ridge cap of tin roofed house 80 meters for ocean. i get out like a champion, surprising most. often thought about upgrading, glad i didn't
What's the topography like where you are ?
nice intro , good vid,bit of bailing twine ya can make owt ,lol,
is it an original antron a99 or the junk solarcon version?
I am planning a simular test against a shakespeare 3 piece big stick which is about same as a99 the original version!
I had one of the original 2 peice Big sticks back in the 80s. I moved house and left it there! Was a great antenna.
I too have a Shakespeare 3-piece jobby, works well but its lost all its gelcoat and shedding massive amounts of fiberglass toes and is nasty to handle.
The whip section is destined for better things after I strip it, and heat shrink it.
i have a homemade vertical dipole centered 14 foot in the air and i talked skip from Louisiana to new York and Washington State
I ran a imax in the big tree with 150' of 8x to it. too cheap to buy LMR600 so on the off experiment i built a folded dipole, ran 200'ish of 450ohm ladderline, and have a 9:1 balun at the back window to coax it inside. ended up being my main vertical since EVERYONE came up in signal. guess i was getting killed with line loss
I have a Sirio Boomerang mounted 3 meters up on my garage (single storey). Just goes to prove that when the skip is up any old rubbish will do lol.
I have the sirio signal keeper i did not expect much from it but when the conditions are there it has surprised me
On HF a vertical antenna does not need to be installed high up for dx, a ground mounted vertical with a good ground plane system will give you good results. Did you use any ground plane wires with the vertical wire?
Be interesting to see a comparison on TX as well.
I’ve had an Antron up for years and it’s decent enough for local FM CB and to be fair I’ve also worked all 6 continents with it on the higher HF Ham bands using low power (25w). But I think you’ll find the 827 a big improvement, a 5/8 wave with ground planes should give you a better radiation pattern for dx. Hope it works out for you 👍🏼
If your in Australia; the Station Master ver 3 or Grazy Master antennas are the go.
$300 odd AUD
antenna 1 sounds best.
I’m using a t2lt wire which is way better then the A99 which the t2lt is also known as the naked Siro 827.
You mean sirio gain master
At least 15dB loss dues to polarisation issues. this is not a proper comparison test. Get up onto the roof and flip your Antron over to horizontal then do the test again.
at the 55 sec mark he says he has a piece of wire going from the ground up, therefore vertical same as antron
My endfed 9 to 1 with 12.5 meters wire works way better compared with my A99...
Talked to Costa Rico Brazil Italy Panama and various states in us and canada on a dipole ie 2 8.5 foot hunks of wire and 33 foot of mini8 coax when dx is in it's in. Radio QT-40 stock and barefoot
For the don't waste your time with an A99. Get an aluminum 5/8 for less money!