prolly stuck with it.prolly end up in pieces in the junk/burn pile where it will polute the friendly liberal skys
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are new A99's all a pos?
- Thread starter Rwb
- Start date
Length have nothing to do if you can't go lower than 1.5 anywhere.
Changing antenna length will shift lowest SWR point up or down, but won't decrease it at it's minimum.
Take that antenna, put it on wooden pole, make choke balun from coax below feedpoint and measure. No other objects at least in 11m radius.
Mike
Changing antenna length will shift lowest SWR point up or down, but won't decrease it at it's minimum.
Take that antenna, put it on wooden pole, make choke balun from coax below feedpoint and measure. No other objects at least in 11m radius.
Mike
Good point @sp5it
Including the operator...
It's that near field - of the Far-Field - proximity effect - sort of thing...
Including the operator...
It's that near field - of the Far-Field - proximity effect - sort of thing...
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Replacing the top section with a cut-down 102” whip, that is what I was referring to. Ice will break that tiny fiberglass end section, had it happen before so I replaced it with a cut down 102.
And to go against the grain here, I did achieve a “correct” SWR by trimming that tip. However, my A99 didn’t have a tuning issue to start with, I mentioned it only as a “try it for the lulz”.
it 1 of those pos items that after some wasted effort its toss n get something else. i usually can achive low swr in installs but this turkey is not cooperating.a friend about 35 miles from me had same thing happen.he got another a 99 n same crap as mine. im thinkin qc issues
Ice on an antenna has not been an issue down here in the last 12,000 years - except for those guys who store their A99s in a freezer..
Is the new antenna actually shorter than the old antenna? If it's the same length than that isn't the issue. Do you have an antenna analyzer?
As Sp5it mentioned if you can't get a good SWR reading up or down from the CB band than the issue may be something else.
For example - the issue with the shorter Imax antennas - we all were seeing lower SWR above the CB band and could get a 1.1 or lower at higher frequencies.
I'd suggest picking up a Nano VNA - super cheap and an amazing device. The graphs will tell you right away what is going on in many cases.
Also will point out as I did on the Imax 2000 thread - 1.5 is still fine for most people unless you're running large amounts of power or have equipment that can't handle that SWR.
Since lightning killed the old antenna have you checked the rest of your system? Did you get new coax? Did you replace any switch boxes, connectors, etc.?
As Sp5it mentioned if you can't get a good SWR reading up or down from the CB band than the issue may be something else.
For example - the issue with the shorter Imax antennas - we all were seeing lower SWR above the CB band and could get a 1.1 or lower at higher frequencies.
I'd suggest picking up a Nano VNA - super cheap and an amazing device. The graphs will tell you right away what is going on in many cases.
Also will point out as I did on the Imax 2000 thread - 1.5 is still fine for most people unless you're running large amounts of power or have equipment that can't handle that SWR.
Since lightning killed the old antenna have you checked the rest of your system? Did you get new coax? Did you replace any switch boxes, connectors, etc.?
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all new coax. no switches.friend got hit same time as me got another a 99 as we both were happy with our old a 99's but his matches mine now n we both are thinkin junk junk junk
A friend of mine he runs a A99, and says it works well 10-17m bands without using a tuner on it.....
I have one of the old Imax 2000 fiberglass antennas, and it does about the samething as the A99, but I had cut 6" off the top trying to use it on 20m band, but that didn't happen, so swr on 11m is flat now and is low 10-17m bands...both these antennas do well on 10-17m bands..
I have one of the old Imax 2000 fiberglass antennas, and it does about the samething as the A99, but I had cut 6" off the top trying to use it on 20m band, but that didn't happen, so swr on 11m is flat now and is low 10-17m bands...both these antennas do well on 10-17m bands..
I used the proton pt99 somewhere around 2006 or 07, it tuned and worked but was replaced by an aluminum antenna. I do remember it was only up less than a year and when taken down the fiberglass was extremely dilapidated. But.... it tuned and worked.
No more UV cracked fiberglass antennas:
Decades ago, I took to wrapping fiberglass antennas in plastic automotive wiring loom. In essence, you are sacrificing the loom to the UV rays that otherwise would be killing your antenna. You invest a few extra bucks but your fiberglass antennas will then last forever. My fiberglass Radio Shack Crossbow 1/2 wave base station antenna lasted almost forty years. The 102" Radio Shack fiberglass whip on my current Starduster style antenna is about 30 years old...and my A99 and Solarcon 2000 are old enough to come from eras where tuning issues were not a problem.
Decades ago, I took to wrapping fiberglass antennas in plastic automotive wiring loom. In essence, you are sacrificing the loom to the UV rays that otherwise would be killing your antenna. You invest a few extra bucks but your fiberglass antennas will then last forever. My fiberglass Radio Shack Crossbow 1/2 wave base station antenna lasted almost forty years. The 102" Radio Shack fiberglass whip on my current Starduster style antenna is about 30 years old...and my A99 and Solarcon 2000 are old enough to come from eras where tuning issues were not a problem.