CB Base Antenna

[tibadoex]

I installing another CB base station and bouncing back & forth between two antennas: IMAX 2000 & Maco V5000.

Currently, for the past 10 years I've been using the IMAXX 2000 (no ground plane kit) in the shop which has worked great. Now ready to install a base at the house and just can't decide which antenna I want to go with. Been hearing great things about the aluminum V5000. My only concerns are we do get ice & freezing rain in winter. I'm concerned with the horizontal radials bending. Also read that winds can bend the vertical part of the antenna. We do get some good thunderstorms which product up to 65+ mph winds.

I do have another IMAXX 2000 in the garage still in the box. Could just add the ground plane kit and give it a shot. Just trying to save some time by not having to reinstall another antenna if the Maco will outperform the IMAXX hands down. I do realize the wattage are different but I don't run power anyway. Thanks for the input.

 

[prcguy]

If you are looking at the Maco V5000 I would recommend the Hy-Gain Penetrator 500 instead. Years ago the Penetrator came out on top of everything else on the market except for some really expensive custom stuff and its currently made and for a little cheaper than the Maco. The thickness of the materials has shrunk a bit on the Penetrator since its first version in the 70s but it still works the same.

Some of the reasons the Penetrator worked better was the top capacity hat which pulls the current up higher on the antenna and improves radiation and the matching network at the base is positioned vertically and apparently there is some current pulled through that and it radiates, where the Maco, Sigma 5/8 and other similar antennas with a horizontal matching network apparently waste some energy in the horizontal pol.

 

[russbrill]

If you are looking at the Maco V5000 I would recommend the Hy-Gain Penetrator 500 instead. Years ago the Penetrator came out on top of everything else on the market except for some really expensive custom stuff and its currently made and for a little cheaper than the Maco. The thickness of the materials has shrunk a bit on the Penetrator since its first version in the 70s but it still works the same.

Some of the reasons the Penetrator worked better was the top capacity hat which pulls the current up higher on the antenna and improves radiation and the matching network at the base is positioned vertically and apparently there is some current pulled through that and it radiates, where the Maco, Sigma 5/8 and other similar antennas with a horizontal matching network apparently waste some energy in the horizontal pol.

I'll second the prcguy's recommendation for the Hy-Gain Penetrator 500... Nice antenna, sells for around $150...

 

[tibadoex]

If you are looking at the Maco V5000 I would recommend the Hy-Gain Penetrator 500 instead. Years ago the Penetrator came out on top of everything else on the market except for some really expensive custom stuff and its currently made and for a little cheaper than the Maco. The thickness of the materials has shrunk a bit on the Penetrator since its first version in the 70s but it still works the same.

Some of the reasons the Penetrator worked better was the top capacity hat which pulls the current up higher on the antenna and improves radiation and the matching network at the base is positioned vertically and apparently there is some current pulled through that and it radiates, where the Maco, Sigma 5/8 and other similar antennas with a horizontal matching network apparently waste some energy in the horizontal pol.

I'll second the prcguy's recommendation for the Hy-Gain Penetrator 500... Nice antenna, sells for around $150...

Ok - thanks for the input. I will check out the Penetrator 500.

 

[digitalanalog]

Good article here.

Copper Talk: The Penetrator P500 EXPOSED!

 

[russbrill]

Good article here.

Copper Talk: The Penetrator P500 EXPOSED!

Does Copper Electronics stock Hy-Gain products???

 

[ac4zu]

If you are looking at the Maco V5000 I would recommend the Hy-Gain Penetrator 500 instead. Years ago the Penetrator came out on top of everything else on the market except for some really expensive custom stuff and its currently made and for a little cheaper than the Maco. The thickness of the materials has shrunk a bit on the Penetrator since its first version in the 70s but it still works the same.

Some of the reasons the Penetrator worked better was the top capacity hat which pulls the current up higher on the antenna and improves radiation and the matching network at the base is positioned vertically and apparently there is some current pulled through that and it radiates, where the Maco, Sigma 5/8 and other similar antennas with a horizontal matching network apparently waste some energy in the horizontal pol.

I just purchased a Hy-Gain SPT-500 from Ham Radio Outlet. It was a toss-up between the Super Penetrator and the Maco V5000. After careful consideration, I opted for the Hy-Gain. The only issue I had was they changed the design of the gamma match, but the instructions failed to note it. Personally, I would have preferred the original design, but I am very happy with its performance.

 

[ac4zu]

Does Copper Electronics stock Hy-Gain products???

I did not see where they offered the Hy-Gain, so I purchased my SPT-500 from Ham Radio Outlet.

 

[prcguy]

The new Penetrator matching section should be identical to the original. The only changes I noticed is slightly thinner tubing everywhere. The original would survive a hurricane better but the new version should work identical. I have both here to compare.

I just purchased a Hy-Gain SPT-500 from Ham Radio Outlet. It was a toss-up between the Super Penetrator and the Maco V5000. After careful consideration, I opted for the Hy-Gain. The only issue I had was they changed the design of the gamma match, but the instructions failed to note it. Personally, I would have preferred the original design, but I am very happy with its performance.

 

[ac4zu]

The new Penetrator matching section should be identical to the original. The only changes I noticed is slightly thinner tubing everywhere. The original would survive a hurricane better but the new version should work identical. I have both here to compare.

How long ago did you purchase yours? Perhaps this is a recent development. This is a photo from DX Engineering, it looks just like the one I purchased from Ham Radio Outlet last week. It seems to work very well. Like I said, I would prefer it been constructed like the original design. That is what is advertised and what I thought I was buying. Too much hassle to send it back.
https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/prod/large/hgn-spt-500_hh.jpg?rep=False

 

[prcguy]

Wow that is different. It may work the same but it sure looks strange. I've had mine up for a couple of years now. I have the original type insulators that held the wires against the main tube if you need any.

How long ago did you purchase yours? Perhaps this is a recent development. This is a photo from DX Engineering, it looks just like the one I purchased from Ham Radio Outlet last week. It seems to work very well. Like I said, I would prefer it been constructed like the original design. That is what is advertised and what I thought I was buying. Too much hassle to send it back.
https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/prod/large/hgn-spt-500_hh.jpg?rep=False

 

[starwtc]

Another antenna you might look at are the ones from Jo Gunn, I used one for years, very strong and high performance.

 

[prcguy]

For over 40yrs Go Gunn has been hyper marketing their junk that is designed by a bunch of hillbillies who have no clue how antennas work. Just look at their advertising for a 3 element beam that has 14.4dB gain. That's impossible 3X over. Or how about their 1/4 wave ground plan they claim has 4.75dB gain (over what???) and 12X multiplication. They have no clue what they are advertising and just make up numbers to sound good. In around 1979 I had one of their V series 2 element things and it was a flimsy piece of junk. May not have been called a V series back then but it was the same concept. Now they claim its circular polarized, which its not in any way shape or form.

So lets compare one of their antennas to a company that has engineers with actual engineering degrees and squeezes the absolute maximum gain humanly achievable out of an antenna. Jo Gunns biggest baddest conventional Yagi has 8 elements, is 36ft long and they claim has 20.5dB gain and 50dB front to back ratio. Wow, really? The M2 companies biggest CB Yagi the 11M7 has 7 elements computer optimized for maximum possible gain and F/B ratio and it has 12.4dBi or 10.0dBd gain and 26dB F/B ratio and its over 46ft long! So how is Jo Gunn getting 10dB more gain and 24db more F/B ratio in a shorter antenna? Hillbilly math maybe? Maybe too busy looking for their teeth and scribbled the wrong data????

Another antenna you might look at are the ones from Jo Gunn, I used one for years, very strong and high performance.

 

[vagrant]

Hey prcguy, have you ever used/tested the Solarcon Imaxx 2000? I have used an Imaxx for about eight years for 10, 12 & 15 meters and while I have worked the globe with it, I do not have another vertical to compare it to. I do not use the ground plane kit with it and I have used it at various heights from about 5 to 12 meters of mast.

As you did not advise tibadoex to use the spare one he had, I'm wondering if your experience with it is unfavorable.

 

[prcguy]

Never had an IMAX2000 here, only the 1/2 wave A99. They both suffer from lighting up the mast and coax with RF due to poor RF decoupling, otherwse the 2000 seems to work well. A friend in the LA Harbor has one and when I go camping in the high desert not far from Ridgecrest, I hear him S7 every time. That's about a 125mi path with two mountain ranges in between. I can run a 5/8 wave base antenna in the camp area with 500w and he barely hears me. The guy is not on top of any big hill but his neighborhood does slope downward towards the north which can pull the main beam down for better low angle ground wave, etc.

It would be fun to range test all these base antennas under controlled conditions. I have all the equipment to test but not that many antennas any more.

Hey prcguy, have you ever used/tested the Solarcon Imaxx 2000? I have used an Imaxx for about eight years for 10, 12 & 15 meters and while I have worked the globe with it, I do not have another vertical to compare it to. I do not use the ground plane kit with it and I have used it at various heights from about 5 to 12 meters of mast.

As you did not advise tibadoex to use the spare one he had, I'm wondering if your experience with it is unfavorable.

 

[vagrant]

Yeah, I have tested decoupling, but I was not able to immediately test with/without, so the results were the results and I didn't notice much difference. I used an RF choke and forget what I did to get the antenna off off the metal mast. It was a poorly executed comparison test, more of an experiment really. It is mounted on 12 meters of metal mast now with no choke and a lightning arrester at the base connected to a ground rod. It's probably coupling up quite a bit with the mast and and coax.

That would be pretty fun to test various antennas all day long and analyze the numbers. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[alcahuete]

Hey prcguy, have you ever used/tested the Solarcon Imaxx 2000? I have used an Imaxx for about eight years for 10, 12 & 15 meters and while I have worked the globe with it, I do not have another vertical to compare it to. I do not use the ground plane kit with it and I have used it at various heights from about 5 to 12 meters of mast.

As you did not advise tibadoex to use the spare one he had, I'm wondering if your experience with it is unfavorable.

I have never owned one, but used my friend's a few times. Worked very well for what it is. Worked great on CB, and like you said, also covers 10-15 (and even 20m with a tuner, though not terribly well).

 

[russbrill]

For over 40yrs Go Gunn has been hyper marketing their junk that is designed by a bunch of hillbillies who have no clue how antennas work. Just look at their advertising for a 3 element beam that has 14.4dB gain. That's impossible 3X over. Or how about their 1/4 wave ground plan they claim has 4.75dB gain (over what???) and 12X multiplication. They have no clue what they are advertising and just make up numbers to sound good. In around 1979 I had one of their V series 2 element things and it was a flimsy piece of junk. May not have been called a V series back then but it was the same concept. Now they claim its circular polarized, which its not in any way shape or form.

So lets compare one of their antennas to a company that has engineers with actual engineering degrees and squeezes the absolute maximum gain humanly achievable out of an antenna. Jo Gunns biggest baddest conventional Yagi has 8 elements, is 36ft long and they claim has 20.5dB gain and 50dB front to back ratio. Wow, really? The M2 companies biggest CB Yagi the 11M7 has 7 elements computer optimized for maximum possible gain and F/B ratio and it has 12.4dBi or 10.0dBd gain and 26dB F/B ratio and its over 46ft long! So how is Jo Gunn getting 10dB more gain and 24db more F/B ratio in a shorter antenna? Hillbilly math maybe? Maybe too busy looking for their teeth and scribbled the wrong data????

Prcguy,

All of Jo Gunns specifications are possible in Outer Space On Earth, not so possible...

73,
Russ

 

[ac4zu]

Wow that is different. It may work the same but it sure looks strange. I've had mine up for a couple of years now. I have the original type insulators that held the wires against the main tube if you need any.

How much would you sell one insulator for? I would not mind fabricating a matching section of out aluminum rod like the original, but am missing the additional insulator to mount it with. The second hole is there and it came with the extra screw and lock washer, but they only sent one insulator. Instead of rod, the new matching system is cut out of aluminum flat roll.

 

[prcguy]

If you pay postage I'll send you a few. They are stock Hy-Gain but blue in color.

How much would you sell one insulator for? I would not mind fabricating a matching section of out aluminum rod like the original, but am missing the additional insulator to mount it with. The second hole is there and it came with the extra screw and lock washer, but they only sent one insulator. Instead of rod, the new matching system is cut out of aluminum flat roll.