Which to get? D-130NJ vs Tram 1410 performance wise

[AI6VX]

Looking to get a discone (should have gotten an ST-2 back when they were cheap) and have it narrowed down to a Tram 1410 or a Diamond D-J130NJ which is 2x the price of the Tram delivered.

Receiving performance reasons alone, which is a better choice? My local listening frequencies are 150-440Mhz.

Thanks for your input.

 

[mmckenna]

Diamonds seem to be better built.
Trams are often copies with cheaper components. I was recently at a trade show where Tram/Browning had a substantial display. I talked to one of their guys and he didn't seem to really know much about the antennas, where they were made or what made them different from the name brands. I know people have purchased them and seem happy, but I'd be concerned about long term reliability and how well they'd stand behind their products. I wasn't impressed with the people I talked to.

Honestly, though, if 150-440 is what you want to listen to, you'd do better with a dual band amateur antenna. A discone has zero gain, but it's pretty easy to get some additional gain out of a vertical. So, unless you have plans to sniff around anywhere else, you might be better off with the dual band.
Also, you can always press it in to service for amateur radio use.

 

[cmdrwill]

Tram seem to be cheep junk, along with other 'brands'.

 

[mmckenna]

Tram/Browning seemed to have all their models on display at IWCE. I made a point to look them all over as best as I could. Some of the models appeared to be exact replicas of the name brand stuff. Right down to the shape of the coil bases (matched Larsen almost exactly). Materials seemed lower quality.

I'm thinking of buying one and cutting it open to see how they are made, compared to name brand stuff. If I ever do, I'll post photos.

For hobby/consumer use, the Tram/Browning stuff might be fine to save a few bucks. For what I do at work, I'm not going to put my reputation on the line to save money.

 

[mmckenna]

For the record, I'd probably not use Diamond for work stuff, either, although I do have one of their discones at home. It's been up there for a few years and seems to be doing OK.