U.S. Navy buys counterfeit radio antennas

[AK9R]

"Last spring, the Pentagon spent more than $165,000 on a set of sophisticated radio antennas for a contingent of elite Navy SEALs. Unfortunately, they were cheap knockoffs, courtesy of a California vendor apparently looking to secure some extra profit."

Full story here: How the Navy SEALs wound up buying 450 counterfeit radio antennas

 

[prcguy]

The article mentions Alpha Antenna as a middle man in the procurement the of Chinese made counterfeit antennas. I wonder if its this Alpha Antenna that makes amateur antennas? Alpha Antenna – Vertical Dipole Portable Base Mobile Magnetic Loop antennas

Years ago the Alpha Antenna company in my link offered a "circular polarized" 2m amateur satellite antenna in a base and mobile configuration that resembled a mystery antenna part I purchased off Ebay for around $12. We believe the part was a capacity hat for another antenna and it came it a kit that assembled into a basketball size capacity hat made of black painted sheet metal with a 3/8-24 thread interface.

I placed my Ebay part on a mag mount similar to how Alpha Antenna advertised theirs and sure enough, it resonated ok in the 2m amateur band, however it was far from a circular polarized antenna. It was simply round hoop of metal that was designed for another purpose.

The mystery Ebay capacity hat thing had a specific part number embossed in it and at the next Dayton Hamvention I inquired with the Alpha Antenna rep there about the circular polarized antenna they were selling and how it could possibly be circular polarized based on the design. I was told the engineer was not there and that it was an amateur radio specific design and that it was circular polarized as their ad claimed.

I told them its absolutely not circular polarized and asked if they bought up all the mystery cap hats off Ebay to resell as 2m ham antennas for a huge markup and they got very angry claiming it was their design and they manufactured everything from scratch. I then showed them a picture of my Ebay part that had the exact same part number embossed into the plastic as the Alpha Antenna and showed them the Ebay ad for the surplus parts that are identical to theirs. I promptly got booted out of their Ebay booth since they realized they had been exposed and soon after the circular polarized antenna was pulled from the Alpha Antenna advertising.

So, I would not be surprised if this is the same Alpha Antenna that got caught up in a Govt scam involving antennas. Below is a picture of the scrap $12 Ebay that part Alpha Antenna used in their 2m satellite antenna that they charged well over $200 for. Does anyone end up buying one from Alpha?





Edit: I found some old references to the Alpha Antenna they lied about, its called the "Sky". Look very closely at the striking resemblance to my Ebay scrap part in the above picture. And remember the same part # on my scrap part is on the Alpha antenna. Then look at the instruction manual where they lie about it being circular polarized. And I also like their comment from the manual : "Alpha Antenna uses antenna designs that are known to work! Designed by Amateur Radio Operators at Alpha Antenna, in conjunction with a Certified Commercial Broadcast Engineer, the Alpha Sky Antenna uses the best antenna designs in one antenna system." Yea, right. Designed for maximum profit I would believe.

https://alphaantenna.com/manuals/Z-Archived_Manuals/Alpha_Sky_Antenna_User_Guide.pdf

ALPHA SKY ANTENNA AERIAL HIGH PERFORMANCE PORTABLE 2M: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Shop ALPHA SKY ANTENNA AERIAL HIGH PERFORMANCE PORTABLE 2M / 440MHz @ 1KW + TRIPOD. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[techman210]

This Vizocom company has red flags all over it. Nebulous website with little actual information, a San Diego address known for leasing "virtual offices" and wait for it...... a telephone number with a UAE country code.

I would think even the smallest jurisdiction wouldn't do business with an outfit like that.

 

[brndnstffrd]

Guess I wont be buying any surplus antennas anytime soon.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

The specs on this antenna are misleading. It implies that it is a wideband antenna. Read further and an external tuner is required.

6-40 Meter MOTO-FMJ HF Mobile EMCOMM Antenna - Alpha Antenna

The Alpha MOTO-FMJ is a complete 10-40 meter mobile HF antenna has no moving parts and only requires an external antenna tuner for operation.

alphaantenna.com

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Decades ago there was a wideband centerfed HF dipole antenna being sold to EMCOMM agencies. It had a 50 Ohm resistor inside the "matching network"

In researching wideband mobile antennas meant for military ops, it appears to me that there is a lot of snake oil and impossible promises.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

The article mentions Alpha Antenna as a middle man in the procurement the of Chinese made counterfeit antennas. I wonder if its this Alpha Antenna that makes amateur antennas? Alpha Antenna – Vertical Dipole Portable Base Mobile Magnetic Loop antennas

Years ago the Alpha Antenna company in my link offered a "circular polarized" 2m amateur satellite antenna in a base and mobile configuration that resembled a mystery antenna part I purchased off Ebay for around $12. We believe the part was a capacity hat for another antenna and it came it a kit that assembled into a basketball size capacity hat made of black painted sheet metal with a 3/8-24 thread interface.

I placed my Ebay part on a mag mount similar to how Alpha Antenna advertised theirs and sure enough, it resonated ok in the 2m amateur band, however it was far from a circular polarized antenna. It was simply round hoop of metal that was designed for another purpose.

The mystery Ebay capacity hat thing had a specific part number embossed in it and at the next Dayton Hamvention I inquired with the Alpha Antenna rep there about the circular polarized antenna they were selling and how it could possibly be circular polarized based on the design. I was told the engineer was not there and that it was an amateur radio specific design and that it was circular polarized as their ad claimed.

I told them its absolutely not circular polarized and asked if they bought up all the mystery cap hats off Ebay to resell as 2m ham antennas for a huge markup and they got very angry claiming it was their design and they manufactured everything from scratch. I then showed them a picture of my Ebay part that had the exact same part number embossed into the plastic as the Alpha Antenna and showed them the Ebay ad for the surplus parts that are identical to theirs. I promptly got booted out of their Ebay booth since they realized they had been exposed and soon after the circular polarized antenna was pulled from the Alpha Antenna advertising.

So, I would not be surprised if this is the same Alpha Antenna that got caught up in a Govt scam involving antennas. Below is a picture of the scrap $12 Ebay that part Alpha Antenna used in their 2m satellite antenna that they charged well over $200 for. Does anyone end up buying one from Alpha?


View attachment 79170


Edit: I found some old references to the Alpha Antenna they lied about, its called the "Sky". Look very closely at the striking resemblance to my Ebay scrap part in the above picture. And remember the same part # on my scrap part is on the Alpha antenna. Then look at the instruction manual where they lie about it being circular polarized. And I also like their comment from the manual : "Alpha Antenna uses antenna designs that are known to work! Designed by Amateur Radio Operators at Alpha Antenna, in conjunction with a Certified Commercial Broadcast Engineer, the Alpha Sky Antenna uses the best antenna designs in one antenna system." Yea, right. Designed for maximum profit I would believe.

https://alphaantenna.com/manuals/Z-Archived_Manuals/Alpha_Sky_Antenna_User_Guide.pdf

ALPHA SKY ANTENNA AERIAL HIGH PERFORMANCE PORTABLE 2M: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Shop ALPHA SKY ANTENNA AERIAL HIGH PERFORMANCE PORTABLE 2M / 440MHz @ 1KW + TRIPOD. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

Does this even make any sense?:

"• Height: Approximately 13 Inches in circumference"

Are the Chinese running this company?

 

[IC-R20]

Lmao bit by the FengBao again. I have a knock off PRC 152 antenna. It's actually pretty good across the 150mhz range. Haven't tested HAME on it though.

 

[charlieprimero]

If the company’s mission, misspellings and all, didn’t raise eyebrows among investigators, its headquarters sure did. The company says it is located on the third floor of a 20-story skyscraper in downtown San Diego. In reality, its physical footprint is little more than a mailbox in a shared virtual office space. Vizocom is actually located at the El Cajon, California address the company had on file with the federal government. When investigators paid it a visit, they found a small single-family home occupied by Vizocom’s owner.

lol

 

[bharvey2]

"I was told the engineer was not there and that it was an amateur radio specific design and that it was circular polarized as their ad claimed."

Amateur radio specific design? That is quite the claim indeed! No doubt the design is circular polarized only in the ham bands.

 

[spongella]

Remember when the gov't was buying $600 toilet seats? That was funny...but sad for the taxpayer.

 

[prcguy]

The antenna was not circular polarized in any way. For that shape antenna they would have to break the connections at the feedpoint and delay the signal 90 degrees to one pair of hoop elements. It was simply a round hoop of a size that happened to resonate near the 2m ham band. Nobody at Alpha Antenna that I talked to seemed to even know what circular polarization was, I believe they assumed since the antenna was round it produced a circular pol signal.

"I was told the engineer was not there and that it was an amateur radio specific design and that it was circular polarized as their ad claimed."

Amateur radio specific design? That is quite the claim indeed! No doubt the design is circular polarized only in the ham bands.

 

[bharvey2]

The antenna was not circular polarized in any way. For that shape antenna they would have to break the connections at the feedpoint and delay the signal 90 degrees to one pair of hoop elements. It was simply a round hoop of a size that happened to resonate near the 2m ham band. Nobody at Alpha Antenna that I talked to seemed to even know what circular polarization was, I believe they assumed since the antenna was round it produced a circular pol signal.

I'm surprised you could keep a straight face. For some reason, John Lovitz's Pathological Liar routine popped in to my head. "Circular polarized? Yeah , yeah, that's the ticket!"

 

[GTO_04]

The article mentions Alpha Antenna as a middle man in the procurement the of Chinese made counterfeit antennas. I wonder if its this Alpha Antenna that makes amateur antennas? Alpha Antenna – Vertical Dipole Portable Base Mobile Magnetic Loop antennas

Years ago the Alpha Antenna company in my link offered a "circular polarized" 2m amateur satellite antenna in a base and mobile configuration that resembled a mystery antenna part I purchased off Ebay for around $12. We believe the part was a capacity hat for another antenna and it came it a kit that assembled into a basketball size capacity hat made of black painted sheet metal with a 3/8-24 thread interface.

I placed my Ebay part on a mag mount similar to how Alpha Antenna advertised theirs and sure enough, it resonated ok in the 2m amateur band, however it was far from a circular polarized antenna. It was simply round hoop of metal that was designed for another purpose.

The mystery Ebay capacity hat thing had a specific part number embossed in it and at the next Dayton Hamvention I inquired with the Alpha Antenna rep there about the circular polarized antenna they were selling and how it could possibly be circular polarized based on the design. I was told the engineer was not there and that it was an amateur radio specific design and that it was circular polarized as their ad claimed.

I told them its absolutely not circular polarized and asked if they bought up all the mystery cap hats off Ebay to resell as 2m ham antennas for a huge markup and they got very angry claiming it was their design and they manufactured everything from scratch. I then showed them a picture of my Ebay part that had the exact same part number embossed into the plastic as the Alpha Antenna and showed them the Ebay ad for the surplus parts that are identical to theirs. I promptly got booted out of their Ebay booth since they realized they had been exposed and soon after the circular polarized antenna was pulled from the Alpha Antenna advertising.

So, I would not be surprised if this is the same Alpha Antenna that got caught up in a Govt scam involving antennas. Below is a picture of the scrap $12 Ebay that part Alpha Antenna used in their 2m satellite antenna that they charged well over $200 for. Does anyone end up buying one from Alpha?


View attachment 79170


Edit: I found some old references to the Alpha Antenna they lied about, its called the "Sky". Look very closely at the striking resemblance to my Ebay scrap part in the above picture. And remember the same part # on my scrap part is on the Alpha antenna. Then look at the instruction manual where they lie about it being circular polarized. And I also like their comment from the manual : "Alpha Antenna uses antenna designs that are known to work! Designed by Amateur Radio Operators at Alpha Antenna, in conjunction with a Certified Commercial Broadcast Engineer, the Alpha Sky Antenna uses the best antenna designs in one antenna system." Yea, right. Designed for maximum profit I would believe.

https://alphaantenna.com/manuals/Z-Archived_Manuals/Alpha_Sky_Antenna_User_Guide.pdf

ALPHA SKY ANTENNA AERIAL HIGH PERFORMANCE PORTABLE 2M: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Shop ALPHA SKY ANTENNA AERIAL HIGH PERFORMANCE PORTABLE 2M / 440MHz @ 1KW + TRIPOD. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

It is hard to imagine those as body worn antennas as the article describes. It would be interesting to see the actual fraudulent antennas but no such luck.

GTO_04

 

[prcguy]

The Alpha hoop thing is not the antenna in question, its just an odd experience I had with Alpha Antenna. I've seen the antennas in the article and they look like a small rubber duck dipole with several elements. I have a body worn antenna rated 30-520MHz that was a competitor to the antenna in the article but its way more elaborate and expensive. They don't work all that well either.

It is hard to imagine those as body worn antennas as the article describes. It would be interesting to see the actual fraudulent antennas but no such luck.

GTO_04

 

[kc8kek]

This is the first thing you see when you go to their web site... I would have just assumed it by default, until you tried really hard make sure I believed it for some reason...

 

[N9SWR]

View attachment 79178

lol

This is NOT the Alpha Antenna company that sells amateur equipment. That company is located in MO. not CA