Anybody use a Hygain TH11DX?

[Captain Kilowatt]

I have been thinking about making a change to my antenna system. I have been trying to get several antennas up on the tower the last couple years and due to several reasons have been unsuccessful. First it was too late in the year and then two years in a row I had a debilitating injury that kept me from climbing. I have a new Hygain Explorer-14 with 40m add on kit for 10/15/20/40m and a Cushcraft A3WS for 12/17 which have all never been installed but assembled and taken apart a couple times along with a home made six element 6m yagi and a pair of 13B2's for 2m and a 2m/70cm vertical. One problem is locating all this on the mast and the wind load it will present. The tower itself will handle it but the problem is relocating the rotator mounting position further down the tower to reduce the bending moments on the top of the tower. On Friday I make my last truckj payment and will have some extra disposable $$ to play with and have been considering just selling the EX-14 and the A3WS and buying the TH11DX that will cover 12/12/15/17/20m on it's own with similar gain figures. This will allow one less antenna in the stack and is very doable without moving the rotator mount. I may even be able to install BOTH 13B2's. Just wondering if anyone has run a TH11DX and how you liked it both performance wise and durability. If I do this I will forego any further effort to get them up this year and instead replan the entire thing for next summer with the TH11DX. I can always put something up for 40m and may possibly use a D40 rotatable dipole.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

The silence is deafening.

 

[sp5it]

I would avoid trapped antennas.
Gain is also not impressive for a such big antenna.
I do not like the way elements are mounted to boom and on tapering.
In EU, we have a few good manufacturers of very good quality antennas, but shipping overseas might kill the deal.
Mike

 

[Road Squawker]

I could post a linky to the E-Hm reviews, but, go here.
http://lists.contesting.com/_towertalk/1997-01/msg00342.html


The majority of the complaints are about actually putting the parts together.

most of the comments are, Well......................................, read them yourself.

but, 82 of the 84 posts are favorable.

 

[Blackcat630]

First let me say I have no direct experience with either the TH 11 or Explorer 14 but if it were me... from tower up.. TH11dx, 6m beam, stack (horizontally polarized) 13b2's then the vertical. If you have enough mast to pull it off and do any 2mssb...just my .02

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I would avoid trapped antennas.
Gain is also not impressive for a such big antenna.
I do not like the way elements are mounted to boom and on tapering.
In EU, we have a few good manufacturers of very good quality antennas, but shipping overseas might kill the deal.
Mike

The TH11DX has a minimal number of traps and truth be told traps are not nearly as lossy as most think or would have you believe. Going with trapless antennas for five different HF bands is NOT an option for me.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I could post a linky to the E-Hm reviews, but, go here.
http://lists.contesting.com/_towertalk/1997-01/msg00342.html


The majority of the complaints are about actually putting the parts together.

most of the comments are, Well......................................, read them yourself.

but, 82 of the 84 posts are favorable.

Been there and read them with a grain of salt as usual. I am not afraid of a bazillon parts in fact I see it as a challenge. As long as the manual is written in good english and not Chinglish I will be fine. LOL

 

[wavrider]

I use a MosleyPRO67B, trapped yagi and have no issues with performance.
Does what it is designed to do and covers the bands it is designed for.

Heavy is an understatement weighing in over 100 lbs .
It just plain works, the TH11DX should perform as advertised.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

First let me say I have no direct experience with either the TH 11 or Explorer 14 but if it were me... from tower up.. TH11dx, 6m beam, stack (horizontally polarized) 13b2's then the vertical. If you have enough mast to pull it off and do any 2mssb...just my .02

And that is exactly what I plan to do if I go with the TH11DX. I am trying to minimize the mast height above the top of the tower and eliminating one antenna will shorten that mast by five or six feet. I plan the main HF antenna whether the TH11DX or whatever to be about a foot above the tower followed by the 6m yagi about five or six feet above it and then the 13B2 or possible BOTH of them with the dual band vertical at the very top. Wires will serve for 80m and possibly 160m. Not 100% sure about 40m but possibly a rotary dipole.

 

[N0NB]

I have an EXP-14 that I traded for almost 30 years ago. I had it up for a few years then had to take it down and have been slowly refurbishing it. When it was up it worked very well. Granted, no WARC band coverage but I'm not sure how much gain I need on those bands as I'm not a serious DXer. I just want to get back to having an antenna up in the clear again. Mine didn't have the 40m kit, but it is possibly something I would add before putting it back up.

I'm just looking for someone experienced/competent to install some new guy anchors and raise the tower and antennas. Seems like everyone is half a continent away.

 

[nomadradio]

If you think radio techs seem scarce, try tracking down a tower expert.

I quit doing that kind of work for hire 30 years ago.

They're scarce around these parts, too.

73