A99 survived the hard wind last nite

[W4KVW]

My Antron 99 has survived 6 or more Hurricanes,several Tropical Storms,an ICE Storm,a Hail Storm with Golf Ball sized Hail,& many Florida Thunder Storms & it still works like the day I put it in the air at 30ft.Some like to poor mouth them but I will keep mine where it is doing a great job on transmit,receive,& survival of the elements that come our way.

SIX-SHOOTER

 

[Rwb]

You dodged a pretty big bullet RW, I didn’t realize how bad it was until I actually saw it on the news. You were lucky, many weren’t.

Fiberglass resin works pretty well for coating an A99, leaves a really nice finish if you apply it thin enough or it can be sanded. A 102” whip cut down to size makes a nice and sturdy replacement when wind/ice snaps the top section off.

I could care less about the antenna, I’m just glad you and your family are safe.

hey thank you,yes that tornado didnt get me the first time so it regrouped and tried again.the second time killed a good friends mom n dad. But that kinda storm proves whos antenna is best

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

I like my A99. Is it the best antenna available? No but it works and it’s a fairly good antenna for what it is. I want a set of beams, I think they’re more quiet than a vertical. I definitely think they’re a better choice if you have the room and all for them. They’re most definitely more expensive.

 

[oldtymer]

@TheRealPorkchop
Try a Horizontal wire loop- quiet, cheap, multi banded

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

You got a set of plans for that?

 

[oldtymer]

You got a set of plans for that?

1005 divided by the lowest frequency you plan to use it on. Will work on some harmonics without a tuner. EX; 1005/7.200 = 140 ' square loop 35' per side.
Delta loop 46.6' per side. Should work on 20,15, & 10 meters.

 

[Rick330man]

Interesting thread. I've got 2 "Big Sticks." One is the base station version Shakespeare dyed in sky blue so Radio Shack could sell it as the Crossbow. I still have the receipt for it. The antenna is 35 years old. Understand that I have always covered it in plastic automotive wiring loom, so the loom and not the antenna take the UV hit. But, still, the darn thing is 35 years old and still has flat SWRs.

My second Big Stick is the marine version, the Shakespeare 176-1. I bought it in 1995. It is solidly built, but the weight of the antenna has loosened it a bit from the ferrule. Still, it is usable. This week-end alone, I mounted it up on my 19' open fisherman here in the lower Florida Keys these last two days and have been shooting skip with my little Cherokee AH100 walkie-talkie.

I also have a pair of A99s. I can't explain why, but the A99 definitely gets out a little better locally. A Workman Bandit copy of the A99 that I had up for a couple years got out just as well but was structurally inferior. It caved in on itself when the middle section buckled under the weight of the middle and top sections.

The Big Sticks used to have a resistor in line to achieve an impedance match. That meant you couldn't run more than 25 watts through them. That's not a problem for me, but I understand the A99 will handle significantly more juice.

Bottom line: stick to the A99.

 

[357magnum]

Rick , had the Marine BS on my 36' Chris Craft back in my early 20's w/ a Navaho 23 channel base mounted in the Fly Bridge , that old setup really got me started w/ DX on the Salt H2O it got out Sweet !

 

[S&W357]

...DX on the Salt H2O it got out Sweet !

I wonder if my salt water pool gives a little boost to my A99 for DX...hmmmm.

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

I know whose house I’m going to...

 

[S&W357]

You're welcome to come. I'll let you know the best time of year. This is my favorite.

 

[Rick330man]

Rick , had the Marine BS on my 36' Chris Craft back in my early 20's w/ a Navaho 23 channel base mounted in the Fly Bridge , that old setup really got me started w/ DX on the Salt H2O it got out Sweet !

Then you'll get a kick out of this.

When I was a kid in the 70's, my dad had a 41' Chris Craft double cabin. He bought a VHF antenna that had a switch so you could use it on CB. It also had two coax cables coming out - one for the VHF and one for the CB. I seem to remember it was a Hy-Gain antenna. When I explained to him about the need to run an extension leg of coax the CB was being used in the boat...well, that antenna never had a CB signal run through it.

We had two anchors on the boat. I had purchased a little Radio Shack magnetic mount antenna with a 32" whip for use in the family station wagon for whenever we went on roadtrips. It occurred to me to just stick the magnetic mount on the spare anchor and run the cable through the hatch. It didn't work great. I could only get my SWRs down to about 2.2-2.3, but I was getting 15 miles from our favorite anchorage back to the mainland. My radio: a 23 channel Realistic Navaho base. TRC 30 I think it was.

A few years later, he bought a 40' motor sailer. He had had a change of heart. Actually, he needed someone to accompany him along at 6.5 knots, so he let me set up a Radio Shack 102" fiberglass whip with marine mount along with a fix mounted TRC 451 mobile SSB. That rig could talk!

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

You're welcome to come. I'll let you know the best time of year. This is my favorite.

Uh, no. I’m insulated but not that well.

 

[TheRATT]

Interesting thread. I've got 2 "Big Sticks." One is the base station version Shakespeare dyed in sky blue so Radio Shack could sell it as the Crossbow. I still have the receipt for it. The antenna is 35 years old. Understand that I have always covered it in plastic automotive wiring loom, so the loom and not the antenna take the UV hit. But, still, the darn thing is 35 years old and still has flat SWRs.

The Big Sticks used to have a resistor in line to achieve an impedance match. That meant you couldn't run more than 25 watts through them. That's not a problem for me, but I understand the A99 will handle significantly more juice.

Bottom line: stick to the A99.

I can't say who, but I know someone who regularly ran 100W+ through one of those light blue Crossbow jobs - because he'd been told they don't handle power.

Ran it for years!

Now it is someone else's and still runnin'!

 

[Rwb]

You dodged a pretty big bullet RW, I didn’t realize how bad it was until I actually saw it on the news. You were lucky, many weren’t.

Fiberglass resin works pretty well for coating an A99, leaves a really nice finish if you apply it thin enough or it can be sanded. A 102” whip cut down to size makes a nice and sturdy replacement when wind/ice snaps the top section off.

I could care less about the antenna, I’m just glad you and your family are safe.

thank you.a friend i went to school with lost his mom n dad in it.they were 84 and 82.sad they were in great shape for age but its done.that tornado went a LONG WAY