Antron 99 questions

[niceguy71]

ok guys... you probably thought and hoped you got rid of me... sorry I'm BACK I'm slow but I'm persistent.
so I'm back with new newbie questions.
ok I have given up on the Shakespeare super big stick and begrudgingly bought an new Antron 99 with ground plane kit ( amazon $169 with free shipping)
I stuck it on my fence post JUST TO SEE IF IT WOULD WORK... and per the RigExpert antenna analyzer it looks like it is!!! big difference from the Shakespeare.....

first question.... this Antron came in a box with the Ground plane as part of the antenna.... it had 5 of the exact same 6 foot radials???? so I just figured the radials and the top of the antenna must be the same ( interchangeable) as there was no way to tell... anyone know if I'm right???
2nd
now I plan on painting it and testing it again.... I should have tested the big stick before painting.... anyway I'm not happy with the SWR of 1.5... but I also know I'm next to a building and on top of a metal fence... so I do have a 21 foot piece of 1" gas pipe in my plumbing shop... so I could stick that up in the air and try to do the adjusting rings... or should I just wait till the guys I hired to help put it up come and adjust it in it's final location???? it is going to be a pain to keep taking it up and down.... so I would kind of like to adjust it before I pay these guys by the hours.... but I don't want to waste my time adjusting it, if it's going to be off when I permanently mount it to the 32 foot mast?
last question
the Antron 99 makes a noise when I wiggle the bottom section??? like there is a wire sliding around in there.... I'm not really worried but I was surprised to hear it when I picked up the bottom section of the antenna... so I wiggled it a little and you can hear it slide around clear as day???? anyone else ever notice this?

has always thanks for any help

 

[AK4PY]

Your 1.5:1 SWR was fine. That means 96% efficiency. See here: SWR POWER LOSS TABLE

Yes, all five of those elements are identical. Any of them can go on the top.

 

[AB5ID]

That SWR looks great. It might be fun to connect the rig expert directly to the bottom of the antenna see if it reads any differently while the bottom is still accessible.

 

[niceguy71]

Your 1.5:1 SWR was fine. That means 96% efficiency. See here: SWR POWER LOSS TABLE

Yes, all five of those elements are identical. Any of them can go on the top.

thanks AK4PY I think the SWR will drop when it gets away from the fence and up another 25 feet in the air. thanks for the info

 

[scanmanmi]

It's been a few years since I put mine up but I think mine made that noise too.

 

[K6GBW]

Just check the rings to make sure they are tightly together. Once it's up in the air that SWR will likely drop. Mine is almost perfectly flat on channel 19 and maybe 1.2 on the ends of the band. The antenna is very versitile. I tune it from 17m to 10m with a little MFJ-901B tuner. My furthest contact is New Zealand from Los Angeles, so they work.

 

[nd5y]

the Antron 99 makes a noise when I wiggle the bottom section??? like there is a wire sliding around in there....

Probably because of the way they are made.

http://www.radiomanual.info/schemi/ACC_antenna/Solarcon_A-99_review.pdf

 

[niceguy71]

Probably because of the way they are made.

http://www.radiomanual.info/schemi/ACC_antenna/Solarcon_A-99_review.pdf

I called Das Company that now make the A 99..... they said the noise is normal and not to worry about it... great article ND5Y thank you

 

[dave3825]

bought an new Antron 99 with ground plane kit

I plan on painting it and testing it again.

Just curious, why are you painting it and with what kind of paint?

 

[niceguy71]

Just curious, why are you painting it and with what kind of paint?

they tell me the fiberglass will become brittle and crack if you don't paint them??? I've read in many forums that people take them down in a few years to check or adjust and get fiberglass splinters because they were never painted???? and seeing I hope to have it up there for the next 20 years I figure a coat of paint can't hurt.... I am using Rustolum... three colors to camouflage it I am using an oil based paint with no metalic flake or lead... they tell me the paint will not affect the signal at all?? seeing New England has gray skys for 6 months of the year... then a beautiful blue the other 6 months.... with nice puffy white clouds... it will be painted gray blue and white.

 

[DeeEx]

I’ve had two Antron 99s and both have lasted 25+ years with minimal fiberglass splintering. The first one was given away when I moved to a new residence, the second is still in service about fifty feet away from me at this moment.

Each was coated with automotive wax before installation. It probably lasted less than a year, but at least it was some protection.

Quick and easy DIY improvement: the upper portion of the 99 is threaded 3/8x24, so I’ve always topped them with 1/4 wave stainless steel whips. Makes it more like an IMAX2000.

 

[niceguy71]

I painted the Antron 99 today.... I did it with a brush and it was going on VERY heavy.... later when I turned the antenna over to do the other side I found a lot of paint drips.... I have always heard paint will not affect the performance of the antenna at all... but what about these big globs of paint drips???? anyone know? ever run into trouble like this??? ... I can do a lot and try to do a nice job... but I HATE PAINTING and it shows.... I was looking at a antenna someone did that camo the antenna and they did an awesome job.. so I know to do camo you can't have any straight lines... so I painted it sky gray with puffs of sky blue.... but it looks TERRIBLE .... terrible or not it's going up soon.

 

[DeeEx]

You’re fine with painting it. Thanks for sharing that.

 

[K5MPH]

Spray paint would of been better,I hope the paint you used already dont have any metal in it could mess up the SWR ......

 

[niceguy71]

Spray paint would of been better,I hope the paint you used already dont have any metal in it could mess up the SWR ......

it's just an oil based Rust oleum ..... shouldn't be any metal in it...... I used a spray can on my last antenna and it was $10 a can and spraying a thin antenna with a big spray was such a waste... so I thought I'd do a brush this time.... keeping my fingers crossed all the thick lumpy hundreds of drips of paint will not affect the performance.

 

[prcguy]

it's just an oil based Rust oleum ..... shouldn't be any metal in it...... I used a spray can on my last antenna and it was $10 a can and spraying a thin antenna with a big spray was such a waste... so I thought I'd do a brush this time.... keeping my fingers crossed all the thick lumpy hundreds of drips of paint will not affect the performance.

It should be fine.