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im looking to buy a new antenna..

SHORT_LEGS

Member
Apr 14, 2009
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i would like some suggestions about a good antenna buy. i kinda like the maco 5/8 or the sirio but im not to familer with either one. but from what i have been reading up on the maco is hard to tune. i just dont want to get something i cant use..i dont have a lot of money to spend so where could i get the best deal on one?
 

I would not say the maco is hard to tune. All though my first one would not tune at all because part of the base was assembled wrong.

The only issue I had with the maco was birds landing on the tuning ring and bending it out of place. This always caused my match to go up across the band.

Other than that it out performed my antron greatly and was quieter.
 
i would like some suggestions about a good antenna buy. i kinda like the maco 5/8 or the sirio but im not to familer with either one. but from what i have been reading up on the maco is hard to tune. i just dont want to get something i cant use..i dont have a lot of money to spend so where could i get the best deal on one?

sirio 827
maco 5/8
may even wanna look at the workman 5/8 at palco,s its only around 70.00
 
thanks guys for the suggestions.. i just dont know what to go with. i just want something that will last longer than a year
 
if youre kinda intimidated at putting all the parts together that the maco 5/8 and its workman copy have then the antron 99 with a ground plane kit is about $100 + S&H . many folks have had them up for 10 years and more . the imax 2000 is definatly a better antenna going by what folks say that have had both it and the 99 and with a ground plane kit is about $140 + S&H . its seems to be very well worth the extra $40 . all you have to do to tune it is turn a ring near the bottom of them . you will need a swr meter to tune it , many folks have said the swr was acceptable out of the box , but id still check it to be sure .

if/when you take it down in the future use gloves so you dont get fiberglass splinters in your hand . ;)

http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=7582 <<<< antron 99 build quality review

http://www.video-observer.com/imax/imax2000.htm <<<< imax 2000 build quality review
 
thanks booty i have had a imax for about a year but it didnt last long dont know why. i have been having a problem with it for about 5 or more months.. i kinda wanted a maco or the sirio. but i cant seem to pick one over the other.. i want one that will last more than a year..
 
thanks guys for the suggestions.. i just dont know what to go with. i just want something that will last longer than a year
There are many aluminum verticle antennas out there some cost more than others but the simple fact is as far a reliability you get what you pay for, the lower priced antennas give you the same performance as there more costly counterparts but you will sacrifice structural integrity(ie) wind/ice survivability.

A couple claim superior performance but they still have yet to reinvent the basics of rf radiation and those claims have no merit.

The Maco ground plane is a good antenna at a fair price and offers good performance for a 5/8's wave antenna but I have seen then bend to the winds at 85 mph but hey that's what they're designed to do for the metals used, the same goes for the Sirio LW-150 and it claims a lower angle of radiation which is good also.

When some one claims that there $350 to $500+ antenna is that much better than the $100 to $150 antenna it's up to you to decide how much wind/ice survivability you're willing to pay for and that's all it comes down to but you'll still not get any noticeably better performance from any of the current 5/8's wave ground planes offered today.
 
Short Legs,
I would probably go with the Maco if deciding on the two. But you might consider looking at the I 10K, especially for the durable part.
I have had the I Max, Maco 5/8 and now the 10K, the Maco and 10k were fairly close in performance, but the 10k does get higher marks for durability, ease of tuning and txing a little farther.
 
What kind of problems have you been having with that Imax?
- 'Doc

i have had this static noise of about a 7 since about december. it doesnt matter what time it is in the morning or late at night it there. i have tried new coax, new radio but the noise is still there so i am thinking it is the antenna that is bad..
 
the 2 antennas im looking to buy is the maco 5/8 or the sirio 2000 series or the tornado 5/8. but one thing on the sirio 2000 is that you have to use metal screws on the jointing sleeve. that dont seem to work for the long haul of the antenna because im thinking that over time they would come loose and damage the antenna some how.
 

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