At the most recent CTRI meeting, there was strong positive sentiment for the club to purchase this antenna for Field Day. This was first introduced in my posting in October. Go to the website for a description what looks like a FB FD antenna…and proven in the recent 3C0L/3C1L DX-pedition. Club president Pat (NG1G) asked me to provide details of the order for posting here.
Kit 5-Band Folding Beam……………………………………………………………………………………394.00 EUR
Options/Accessories: Transportation Bag, ferrite core. guy ring, storm brackets……….50.40
Spare Parts: wire clip, fiberglass rod, copper wire, support rope, spacing cord…………….5.85
Shipping to North America……………………………………………………………………………………48.00
TOTAL ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..498.25 EUR
Conversion 498.25 EUR = $622.82 USD
I am in the process of getting the shipping and payment details.
Initial construction looks non-trivial. But once hammered together it should be easy to transport and erect. Any idea how performance would compare to the tri-bander used the past few years?
Jim KS1J
Jim: As you know, there was always a certain amount of fear and trepidation regarding the FD erection of the TH3. It’s a nice antenna but heavy. Though I brought enough mast for about 50 feet, it was up barely 20 feet…because I stopped the process over the objection of those UNDER the antenna who wanted to go higher. But it worked I think very well. As explained in Part I of this saga, I came across this antenna as it was touted on the website for the 3C0L and 3C1L operations…two Latvian ops who never slept, seemed to work 100 QSOs/hour without letup, and always had terrific signals on ALL the higher bands. We had quite a discussion about this at the last meeting and all were in agreement that this was a go. Another factor could be, that should any club member want to use it during non-FD, it could be a loaner while working on a permanent antenna. Of course, we won’t know ’til we try it. Good question, Jim, and TNX. We need more dialogue on this venue.