How come this antenna which has been chopped for 10 Meters, performs well on 15 meters without tuning? It isn’t harmonically related to 10 m correct??
7 comments on “Antron 99 Question”
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How come this antenna which has been chopped for 10 Meters, performs well on 15 meters without tuning? It isn’t harmonically related to 10 m correct??
Comments are closed.
Steve,
That antenna also works on 12 and 17 meters (with a tuner). I think it may have something to do with the capacitive coupling they use on it (which can be adjusted), and how the resistance changes as you move down in frequency. I’ve never used one but have heard plenty of people talk about them over the years. During peaks in the solar cycle it becomes a pretty cheap and effective antenna for DXing.
73,
Pat, NG1G
Managed to work new zealand on 10 meters last night ( PSK31 )) off the Antron 99, before the band closed up!
Way to go, Steve! Please try to get on for the 10M contest. What time fid the band shut down on you?
73, Ken K3IU
Steve,
I’m curious. How does the Antron compare to the wire antenna that you and Norm put up? I can’t remember what that was but it seems to me it was a multi-band antenna.
73,
Pat, NG1G
Ken,
I worked that station ( ZL4AD ) on 12/4/2011 @ 22:11:38 ZULU. He was kinda of weak, but thats very nice propogation, with an Antron 99 nonetheless!!!
Well, it’s difficult to judge with DX, who knows how the polarization works out. For 10 Meters Locally within RI the Antron is a definate win due to almost all local regulars on 10 meters using Antron 99’s or IMAX 2000. As for DX, The wire recieves well, as well as the Antron. However, i’ve switched back and forth, and heard stations disappear on one, and other stations I can’t hear on the other. All in all, the wire is much higher, but slopes down close the ground as an inverted vee. Wire is about 55 to 65 feet into tree. Antron is atop a mast about 20 to 25 feet of ground. Antron is cut for a match on 10 meters with using Tunning rings for inductance. Wire is 59′ each leg. Problem with wire is that its 59′ each leg, and reallly close the the ground.. So, works well from 40 to 10, can match for 6 meters but I have a horizontal dipole I homebrewed for 6.. For 75 meters I get a match. Not a good one, gotta fight the tuner for it using a lotta inductance, I believe it’s Selector H or I on my MFJ-948 <— Not a great tuner but all I have. I have about a 10 to 20' section of RG-58U going from the tuner, to a 4:1 balun outside, which feeds the Dipole, there is about 87 or so feet of the 450 ohm 18/20 awg copper-clad solid steel feedline..
For whatever reason, I cant make sense of that. I'm looking to get an IMAX 2000, because It'll get a 1/4 wave on 30 meters for Digital modes, and be a 5/8 on 10 =]
Your situation is similar to mine then. I have a 1/2-wave 80M inverted vee at @35′ and both legs are within a couple of feet of the ground. It has definite lobes to it and where the pattern is weak I find that the vertical (Cushcraft R5 at ground level) actually outperforms it. That being said there aren’t too many stations that are louder on the vertical – those that are are mostly in SA. The inv vee is a great antenna. If you find that it isn’t oriented where you want it (say, they’re not NE and SW), try moving the legs a little to align the lobes with the direction you want, although you probably already thought of that.
One thing you want to check if you have the room is to get those inv vee’s legs out so that the angle between them is greater than 90 degrees. Less is okay but you sacrifice performance. I only mention this because if the antenna peak is at 60 feet and the angle is 90, then the ends of the legs shouldn’t be all that close to the ground. If I did my math right the ends shouldn’t be any closer than 18′ to the ground (assuming 60′ height), which means the ends should be at least 42′ away from the feed line when it is dropped straight down from the feed point, to get the 90 degrees.
More experience will allow you to get used to how the inv vee performs depending on where the DX is and the conditions. I’ve had mine up long enough that I am no longer surprised at how it works, even on 160M. It’s the exact antenna I used in Alaska (at 65′) and it worked great then too. Next thing I will try is to load only one half of the ladder line on 160M, using it as an end-fed wire similar to an inverted-L. That may prove a bit tricky but I’m willing to experiment.
73,
Pat, NG1G