KRECO antennas now selling on Ebay

[prcguy]

I guess this is what everything has come to, you click for it on Ebay. At least you can see the current prices here which were not available on their web site.

Kreco D-100A Broadband Discone Base Antenna 100-800MHz | eBay

Kreco Antennas. 500 Watt Maximum Transmit Power. Your choice of UHF Female connector (D-300A model) or N Female connector (D-300AN model).

www.ebay.com

Kreco D-300A Broadband Discone Base Antenna 300-2400MHz | eBay

Kreco Antennas. 500 Watt Maximum Transmit Power. Your choice of UHF Female connector (D-300A model) or N Female connector (D-300AN model).

www.ebay.com

Kreco D-150A Broadband Discone Base Antenna 150-1200MHz | eBay

Kreco Antennas. 500 Watt Maximum Transmit Power. Your choice of UHF Female connector (D-150A model) or N Female connector (D-150AN model).

www.ebay.com

Looks like prices have gone up over the years.

 

[VE2XWA]

Interesting...

 

[prcguy]

I see the price between the 100-800MHz and 150-1200MHZ version are huge for only a little difference in aluminum. I wonder if the 100-800MHz version now has a machined Rexolite insulator instead of the old ceramic one. Kreco made some 100-?? MHz Discones for Harris that had Rexolite insulators and were black powder coated. Anyone bought one of these lately?

 

[Vinnie1224]

The price is very steep the antennas which I believe are not worth the money . Now yes they will last but there is like barely any gain in them as well that’s just my 2 cents .

 

[Firekite]

Now yes they will last but there is like barely any gain in them as well that’s just my 2 cents .

Oh? Which broad banded discones sport high gain? I’m dying to know.

 

[iMONITOR]

I recalled reading on their website one of them had a flat solid disc element...?

 

[zz0468]

The price is very steep the antennas which I believe are not worth the money .

I have several, and they're worth every penny. What you're paying for is something that just won't break under normal use. Consumer grade discones lose their elements, bend, break in the wind. These things just don't.

Now yes they will last but there is like barely any gain in them as well that’s just my 2 cents.

They have no gain. In fact, they're about as close to zero dBi gain as anything you can buy. In many applications, that makes it the proper antenna for the job.

 

[prcguy]

They will have plenty of gain over other gain type antennas when those gain antennas are used out of band. I've measured 10-20dB loss on many antennas cut for VHF public service frequencies when they are used in the VHF air band, etc. So, if the gain type antenna had an actual 6dB gain at some discrete frequency, a Discone can have 10dB or more gain at frequencies out of band of the sharply tuned 6dB gain antenna.

There is an antenna for just about every purpose and if you need to receive a lot of things like VHF air, 2m amateur, VHF public service, 220 amateur, UHF mil air, UHF Govt, 440 amateur, UHF public service and T band with one antenna, no tuned ground plane or gain type colinear will even come close.

Oh? Which broad banded discones sport high gain? I’m dying to know.

 

[Firekite]

no tuned ground plane or gain type colinear will even come close.

Which is basically my point. Complaining that a high quality discone isn’t worth the money based on saying “there is like barely any gain in them” is entirely missing the point of such an antenna. It’s like calling a Comet GP-9 overpriced and worthless because you can’t seem to get out on 40m with it. Completely different tool for a completely different job.

 

[prcguy]

Here is my Harris branded military contract Discone made by Kreco. This one has the Rexolite hub insulator and it was given a gold chromate conversion coat (Alodine) for corrosion protection then black power coated. Its real pretty. I also have a regular 100-800MHz version on the roof and a brand new spare.

Hopefully the pictures will show the quality of a Kreco for the non believers.

 

[Vinnie1224]

Which is basically my point. Complaining that a high quality discone isn’t worth the money based on saying “there is like barely any gain in them” is entirely missing the point of such an antenna. It’s like calling a Comet GP-9 overpriced and worthless because you can’t seem to get out on 40m with it. Completely different tool for a completely different job.

I mostly listen to 800 band simulcast so that antenna would not do very well that high up . There are many more choices at a way lower price an way lower price. I understand tho that discone would prob last 20 years easy .

 

[zz0468]

There is an antenna for just about every purpose and if you need to receive a lot of things like VHF air, 2m amateur, VHF public service, 220 amateur, UHF mil air, UHF Govt, 440 amateur, UHF public service and T band with one antenna, no tuned ground plane or gain type colinear will even come close.

Antenna gain can be highly over rated. Depends on the application. I can hook an RTL-SDR dongle to one of my Kreco discones and see the passband noise on UFO satellite transponders, with no preamp. I use those as a beacon of sorts to compare receivers, antennas, and such. An antenna is working fine when it can see a signal from 24,000 miles away.

 

[vagrant]

Hopefully the pictures will show the quality of a Kreco for the non believers.

I do not believe it...I do not believe you would need a spare of such a solid antenna. I believe it would enjoy the fresh air up here instead.

Hey prcguy, if you have the time, will you sweep that regular version on the roof, or your spare, and let us know the return loss or S11. The average highs and lows would be fine. Thank you.

 

[krokus]

This page shows the differences in between the models.

Kreco Antennas - Broadband Antennas

 

[cbehr91]

Wonder if they'll list more than just discones on eBay?

 

[prcguy]

I swept my 100-800MHz bare aluminum version with porcelain insulator from 100MHz to 1GHz. It was possibly too close to a big metal umbrella and some other metal stuff but the plot is not too bad. The 5th line up from the bottom is 2:1 and one narrow frequency range around 447MHz peaked at 2.3:1, otherwise the majority is well below 2:1. Feedline was 10ft of 1/4" Heliax.

I would have swept my Harris contract version, black powder coated with Rexolite insulator, but after assembling these 24 elements then having to take most of it apart to get it through a door and putting it back together, I didn't feel like assembling another complete antenna.

I do not believe it...I do not believe you would need a spare of such a solid antenna. I believe it would enjoy the fresh air up here instead.

Hey prcguy, if you have the time, will you sweep that regular version on the roof, or your spare, and let us know the return loss or S11. The average highs and lows would be fine. Thank you.

 

[vagrant]

Thank you very much. It provides me with something to compare and contrast with others.

 

[iMONITOR]

This page shows the differences in between the models.

Kreco Antennas - Broadband Antennas

It's really odd they don't show any pictures. I'd really like to see a picture of the D-300 with the solid disc.