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Old Antenna Identification

Big Bad John489

New Member
Jan 2, 2024
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Hi, I found a old Antenna disassembled into a bundle in the loft of an old garage and am looking to figure out what it was used for. I am a novice when it comes to radio and have been messing around with CB, FRS/GMRS for a year or so now, possibly HAM in the future. The Antenna looks to be made of all aluminum alloy and has 4 dipoles, one straight up and the other three pointed out the sides at either 45 degrees up or down depending on how they are clamped into the bracket. It is a pole mount antenna and the dipole that goes strait up has a spot for the coax cable to connect at the bottom. Each dipole is in two pieces, screwed together in the middle. Each dipole is around 6-7 ft long.

Thanks in advance for any advice or help regarding what bands this Antenna was used for or what kind of antenna it is.
 

It sounds like a good ol' Avanti A400 Starduster to me. Confirm that any of the 4 sections are around 9 feet in length.- That will confirm that it's a CB Base Antenna. The 3 Ground Plane Radials slope DOWNward. Is a 1/4 Wave Ground Plane. Prolly a million of them were sold in the 1970's & '80's. Could buy then for like $35 bucks. Wide-banded with flat 1:1 SWR from 26.0-28.0mhz. I believe the orig. Avanti would take 2,000 watts but it's modern copy-replacement, the Sirio M-400 I believe is only rated for 900 to 1,000 watts.
High Angle of radiation is fine for local talking and some types of DX. But if you want BEST in a vertical then you'll want a 5/8 wave ground plane.
An original Avanti with all the parts in excellent condition - somebody may give you 2 to 3 hundreds bucks for it, especially on eBay. They're collector's items.
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It sounds like a good ol' Avanti A400 Starduster to me. Confirm that any of the 4 sections are around 9 feet in length.- That will confirm that it's a CB Base Antenna. The 3 Ground Plane Radials slope DOWNward. Is a 1/4 Wave Ground Plane. Prolly a million of them were sold in the 1970's & '80's. Could buy then for like $35 bucks. Wide-banded with flat 1:1 SWR from 26.0-28.0mhz. I believe the orig. Avanti would take 2,000 watts but it's modern copy-replacement, the Sirio M-400 I believe is only rated for 900 to 1,000 watts.
High Angle of radiation is fine for local talking and some types of DX. But if you want BEST in a vertical then you'll want a 5/8 wave ground plane.
An original Avanti with all the parts in excellent condition - somebody may give you 2 to 3 hundreds bucks for it, especially on eBay. They're collector's items. View attachment 67004
Thanks for the info, I will get some photos of it all assembled today or tomorrow and then post on here. Don't think I will sell it as I have my grandpa's old CBs he used on he's trips to Alaska and have been making due with a makeshift ground plane on car roof antenna, this sounds like it would be a huge upgrade.
 

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