Interesting Surplus `Mil' Antenna.

[Halfpint]

Whilst out `cruising' around a few suplus sites I happened upon this antenna;

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=170520

I thought that they had all disappeared some time ago and I've been kind keeping off to the side in storage the one I picked up many years ago set aside as a `just in case' antenna. By the proper assembly of the disc and cone elements you can have an antenna that is good for freqs below or above 38MHz, according to the paperwork that usually comes with them, that you can set up fairly quickly as a `temp' antenna. (Now that I've found these I've got a couple more on the way and intend to actually set up one a bit more permanent as I found that they are actually pretty good `omni ' antennas! [If my original antenna was any example you might have to do a bit of `repair' work to the very top piece where the disc and cone elements mount as that seems to sometime get a bit `dinged' in shipping. Fortunately it can be disassembled and fairly easily straightened up if you don't rush into the job.]) I did use my original one this last summer when I took a trip up to Wyoming to do a bit of `signal surveying' and between myself, SWMBO, and the two, ages 8 and 12, children it went up and down quite easily at each site we set up at. (The looks we got at one `campsite' we set up at were priceless! {VB GRIN!} However... Once the people who actually bothered to actually ask what it was heard the reception I was getting they all wanted to know where they could get one. It kinda `broke my heart' at the time to tell them that I hadn't seen anymore around and didn't know if there were any left.) A full antenna assembly comes with all the necessary mast, the disc and cone elements, guy `materials', and some fairly decent co-ax with BNC connectors on both ends and a `captive' BNC to PL259 adapter at one end. (I'd recommend that you replace the `guy wire/string' with something a bit heftier if you might think that you'll have any decent winds to deal with though I dealt with some gusts of around 35MPH with the ones my original one came with. If I put one up on a more `permanent' basis I'm going to actually probably use either wire or `parachute cord' and maybe also tie it into the side of the house with some brackets.)

 

[BryanTheRed]

I think I will have to scoff one of these up.....thanks for the link!

 

[kb2vxa]

Hi guys,

When I read the "are you" and noticed "ham" and "Amateur Radio operator" in the same sentence I immediately became suspicious. Then the writer goes beyond ignorance by not giving any specifications whatsoever. Never wanting to buy a pig in a poke I'd write this one off as a rip. Swedish? REALLY! That my friends is called a "come-on".

 

[Halfpint]

Hi guys,

When I read the "are you" and noticed "ham" and "Amateur Radio operator" in the same sentence I immediately became suspicious. Then the writer goes beyond ignorance by not giving any specifications whatsoever. Never wanting to buy a pig in a poke I'd write this one off as a rip. Swedish? REALLY! That my friends is called a "come-on".

Hmmmmmmm... At first, given the source, I was going to just `brush off' the above quoted comments. After further thought though...

There actually *are* many people for whom `HAM' and `Amateur Radio Operator' are *not* synonymous. (In fact there may actually be a `subgroup' of `Amateur Radio Operators' that the accronym `HAM' [High And Mighty] is applicable to and who's `poster child' might well be the author of the above quote.) In the case of the aforementioned antenna I suspect that it may be that the copywriter for the `blurb' for the antenna is one. After all not everyone is all that techinically oriented or interested in the hows and whys of communications and is generally just happy that things work for them.

As for `specs'... Given that it *is* `milsurp' and that it also is probably WWII or possibly even a bit newer `vintage' one could reasonably infer from the pictures that it most likely would be the middle to high end of HF to maybe someplace in VHF-Lo and maybe even VHF-Hi. (Actually the `specs' that come with them say that configured one way it is for below 38MHz and configured another way it is for above 38MHz.) From actual use of one *before* I stumbled across this latest offering I know that they do work as said by the paperwork. (Since they *are* `surplus' they *do* occasionally need a bit of cleaning and tweaking here and there because both having been used and being stored has left it's `mark' here and there on them. However, even with having to do so, at the price they are asking for them I couldn't hardly call them a `rip-off'. If one does even a *minimal' amount of research into just what a *new* discone antenna for the aforementioned ranges costs these are definitely a `steal' even *if* one has to put a bit of labour into cleaning and tweaking.)

Now about that `crack' about `Swedish'... Yep! They *sure are*! All of the labeling and other paperwork definitely is in Swedish. (Could be Norwegian except that there are some words that just aren't spelled the Norwegian way. Heck! They could also be Danish or Finnish except that they, too, have their own particular spellings of various words. I'll admit that it has been a fair while since I had to read, and speak, Swedish but even as `rusty' as I am I still remember just enough to recognize the differences.)

Anyway... For the price, +S&H, they want it is a pretty danged good deal even if one only puts it up and uses it only a few times despite what *you* may supposedly `think?'. It was in the `spirit' of being `helpful' and saying, "Hey, take a look at this! Some of you *might* find it interesting, useful, or both and may want to get one."

 

[wa2zdy]

Not sure what all the fuss is about. It appears to be a plain old discone on a plain old mast. Worth $60? If you have use for it, it looks like it should be.

As an amateur radio operator for the past 31 years, I don't mind being called a ham. I've never seen it referred to as being an acronym for "high and mighty," though I'm sure that term applies to plenty.

As for the vintage of the antenna, I'd say 60s. During and immediately after the WW2 era, 38 MHz was still a pretty high frequency for "every day" use. But that doesn't matter anyway really, history is fun to read but not terribly important here.

For $60, if I had use for it, I'd probably buy one. The discone makes a nice, albeit no-gain, scanner antenna due to it's very broad bandwidth. Having the mast with it - that is not part of the active antenna elements - is just a bonus.

 

[kb2vxa]

Hi Chris and readers,

No big fuss this end, I don't mind pedants. I wasn't talking about the antenna, I was talking about the ad which is all I had to go on at the time. No problem if I'm misunderstood, and frankly I shy away from such ads as I had stated.

Right, probably Vietnam era since they were commonly used there as was the frequency band, lots of surplus FM rigs for it are available. Maybe you remember a thread on the other web site about the ham who found a whole room full of such stuff? Then there's always Fair Radio and Surplus Sales of Nebraska.

That reminds me, I wonder what will become of that fabulously well equipped MARS station at Fort Monmouth. Mmmmmmmm, COLLINS!

 

[Lremigio]

I'm blaming you!!

Whilst out `cruising' around a few suplus sites I happened upon this antenna;

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=170520

I thought that they had all disappeared some time ago and I've been kind keeping off to the side in storage the one I picked up many years ago set aside as a `just in case' antenna. By the proper assembly of the disc and cone elements you can have an antenna that is good for freqs below or above 38MHz, according to the paperwork that usually comes with them, that you can set up fairly quickly as a `temp' antenna. (Now that I've found these I've got a couple more on the way and intend to actually set up one a bit more permanent as I found that they are actually pretty good `omni ' antennas! [If my original antenna was any example you might have to do a bit of `repair' work to the very top piece where the disc and cone elements mount as that seems to sometime get a bit `dinged' in shipping. Fortunately it can be disassembled and fairly easily straightened up if you don't rush into the job.]) I did use my original one this last summer when I took a trip up to Wyoming to do a bit of `signal surveying' and between myself, SWMBO, and the two, ages 8 and 12, children it went up and down quite easily at each site we set up at. (The looks we got at one `campsite' we set up at were priceless! {VB GRIN!} However... Once the people who actually bothered to actually ask what it was heard the reception I was getting they all wanted to know where they could get one. It kinda `broke my heart' at the time to tell them that I hadn't seen anymore around and didn't know if there were any left.) A full antenna assembly comes with all the necessary mast, the disc and cone elements, guy `materials', and some fairly decent co-ax with BNC connectors on both ends and a `captive' BNC to PL259 adapter at one end. (I'd recommend that you replace the `guy wire/string' with something a bit heftier if you might think that you'll have any decent winds to deal with though I dealt with some gusts of around 35MPH with the ones my original one came with. If I put one up on a more `permanent' basis I'm going to actually probably use either wire or `parachute cord' and maybe also tie it into the side of the house with some brackets.)

Halfpint:

What I can say....well...you are guilty that I have 150 less in my pockets because after reading this post I order 3 sets...

I'm a ham radio operator and always these mast are good for some experimentation, vertical installations or to support some wire antennas .

Thanks for passing this info.

Lionel, KC4CLD

 

[Halfpint]

Halfpint:

What I can say....well...you are guilty that I have 150 less in my pockets because after reading this post I order 3 sets...

I'm a ham radio operator and always these mast are good for some experimentation, vertical installations or to support some wire antennas .

Thanks for passing this info.

Lionel, KC4CLD

Heh! Heh! It's good to see that I am not the only one who figures that if one is good then maybe three or four might even be better. {VB GRIN!} Besides my original I, too, have three more sitting here just waiting to be used for assorted `experiments'. {CHUCKLE!} (I guess that I've been `burned' enough times after discovering something that I could actually use and then either finding yet another use for it or having it finally `go south on me' for one reason or another not being able to find another one to replace it that I now tend to pick up at least one, and quite often several more than that, as a `spare' or `spares'. It also might be because I also have a hard time finding clothes in my size, small, and have always had to buy multiples just to make certain I didn't end up almost not having anything to wear at times. EG: Try finding *good* boots that are size 7 without either getting custom made or buying cheap children's boots. Or... Just try finding good pocket`T'-shirts in small! It seems that everyone thinks that no one wears size small stuff anymore these days! And while *that* is bad it is even worse trying to find something like a suit or even a jacket or coat. I recently went into a `men's wear' store to try and find a suit to wear to a friend's wedding and even with racks and racks of them they didn't have a *single* one that came anywhere close to fitting! Their `suggestion' was that I have a `fitting' and they could get their tailor to make me a `custom' one... for $600! All I wanted was a reasonably nice one that I could maybe get a half dozen or so uses out of if necessary and would look good at the wedding and reception afterwards. I should have been able to get away with spending under $200 and maybe even less *if* they had my size by what I saw in what they had in stock in the other sizes! Fortunately I *was* able to put together a nice pair of slacks and a nice blazer I managed to find in the children's department at a local `chain store' and no one made any comments about it at the wedding. It is the same when trying to find `outerwear', too! After a while having to always `latch onto' something good when one finds it extends over to just about everything else. {WAN GRIN!} Yep! I *am* truely a `halfpint' and while at times it is a PITA I don't mind admitting the obvious. {VBEW GRIN!})

Anyway... Here's hoping that you'll have lots of fun with your new `toys' like I am with mine! {CHORTLE!}

 

[merlin3rd]

Swedish!

They make good knives, but if this is from their army surplus I'd be skepitical. The Swedish army is an oximoron.