My first post here...look at all the smiley face crap on the right...
Anyway, back to antennas....
You have options for a base antenna; it all depends on how CHEAP you are! Yes, I said CHEAP!
People spend BIG bucks on radio equipment and buy cheap antennas and feedline.
People spend BIG bucks on a fast car, then fill it with ARCO gas (regular grade).
People spend big money on stereo system and then buy cheap speakers!
From the bottom of my heart, I swear to you, the BEST money you will EVER spend on a radio system is on the ANTENNA and FEEDLINE!
I've said this MANY times before and I apologize to those who have already heard it... but ... as Bell Helmet used to say, "If you have a $10.00 head, buy a $10.00 helmet!" How much is your radio system worth to you?!
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Let's talk antennas specifically.
There should be NO DOUBT that Jay's I10K is the best antenna available. If you can't afford it (really? you can't? honestly?! Or are you just too cheap?!), then you have several other options. I list them in this order...
1 - I10K
www.a1antennas.com
2 - Maco V58 (or V5000; there IS a difference!)
3 - Shakespear NBS 1500 (before ANY other fiberglass antenna)
4 - iMax 2000 (if you have to)
The Spectrum 1600 does a good job of separating you from your money. It is cheap and a pile! Materials are substandard. The coil WILL arc over if you run high power (>1K). The A-99 is also a pile. Cheap, YES! You get what you pay for!
I was around during the prototyping (1st year) of the I10K. I provided insight and suggestions to Jay as well as a Sigma 5/8 wave antenna for him to test against. Some suggestions he used, and others he didn't. I know more about the Avanti line of antennas than anyone I know (it helps when you know the original engineer). I have rebuilt many antennas and continue to experiment with them today. I have performed upgrades to my I10K that the locals here in Southern CA want to copy and have others in the works. (For the record, I'm not convinced that my upgrades actually work any better than the antenna does out of the box, but I have eliminated all clamps and possibilty of ANY future corrosion issues. If you want one of my upgraded antennas, it's $500.00! $250.00 for Jay and $250.00 for my upgrades)
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I am AMAZED that people talk about 3/4 wave antennas! If you understood antenna therory, you would know that the longest monopole for maximized gain is .64 wave (a 5/8 is .625 wave). As others have correctly said out here, the radiation pattern becomes distorted past .64 wave! We didn't make this up! If a 3/4 wave antenna was better than a 5/8, then the manufactures would have been making them! I know, you will say, "But they did!" Yes, I know the Avanti Sigma IV was "marketed" as a 3/4 wave antenna. It is actually an ELECTRICALLY 1/2 wave antenna with a 1/4 wave matching section (the loop) which DOES NOT RADIATE. It is basically a J-Pole for 11 meters. It is PHYSICALLY 3/4 wave long though! Marketing and engineering are two different departments! Remember the one about the A-99 having 9.5 DB gain?!
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Lastly, any time you have a gamma match on an antenna, you have LOSS! Or should I say, more loss than an antenna that uses some sort of direct connection (beta match, L-network, t-match, etc). Physics don't lie!
I invite you all to visit Jo-Gunn's website. Check out the 10 meter vertical called the Son of a Gun. Look at the gain figure and ask yourself, "DB what?" DBI? DBD? DBDL (dummy load)?, DBWN (wet noodle)? "Marketing"...I love those guys!
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If you felt talked down to, I APOLOGIZE!!! Those who know me know I go out of my way for people! Justin, Jay, and others. I just wanted to lay this out for you and not @#%$-fot around the subject. I promise to always tell it like it is and do my best to help you understand the parts of OUR hobby that I can! I certainly don't know it all, but I know antennas (pretty much). OK, now for one of those smily face things.... <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/wink.gif ALT="
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