Big Hair antennas ???????

[Captain Kilowatt]

The guy does have a point about the larger coils being a much better idea but beyond that :roll: . The base antennas look like a POS to be honest. The mobile antennas would look better IMHO if the vertical radiator was centered in the coil instead of having the coil offside.From what I saw on his site the larger coil idea is the only thing I believe and the rest is as Freecell says,a prime candidate for the Dumber Than a Box of Rocks Award. :roll:

Oh and as for the broadbandedness (word? ) and a coil Q of in excess of 1000,bandwidth goes DOWN as the Q goes up.

 

[lords]

which glaring error/falsehood/lie would you like addressed first, the one about estimated coil "Q" in excess of 1000 and broadband performance or the big whopper about the 15db. (2.5 S-Units) gain? the only thing this guy has discovered is that there's a sucker born every minute. how gullible and naive can you be?

you had better plan on adding large amounts of hair spray to the "big hair" just in case those non-uv resistant "wire ties" (LMAO) dry out and leave your big hair "falling out" all over the road.

and wilson antenna owners, you've been schooled. the "gain" of your wilson antennas drops 1.5db. when the stinger is leaning back as you're headed down the road. the website and the product have stupid written all over them with a capital "S".

i do hereby bestow our "Dumber Than A Box Of Rocks Award" upon the gang at bighairantennas. in closing i would just like to add that some of us are not quite as stupid as you seem to think we are.

Lmao now thats funny
dam bbl gota email wilson and let them know they have messed up selling junk

 

[PA629]

I know I'm getting rid of my Wilsons after seeing that. 'Spose if I just use a c*pper coathanger and.......... :?

 

[W5LZ]

Bend that coat hanger into a fractal shape and it just couldn't get any better...
- 'Doc

 

[lords]

copper coat hanger...well sh$t!!!

That gave me an idea. i am going to email that harry dude
and see if he wants to go partnership on making small mobile beams. we can make 2-1000 meters out of the same copper wire..it will be a hit,we will make a killing
anyone want in on making a small rotor setup
P.S Wanted ,2 men with cars to pull 20 foot rolls of copper
till it straight!

 

[Dave_W6DPS]

Here is the full 7' antenna assembly (mast and coil), note the antenna is actually touching the power lines. This
validates the safety and static noise rejection of the fully insulated RF transparent fiberglass mast.

Please do not try this at home! :shock:

Due to being fully insulated, the antenna will pick up less static/AC line noise and the antenna elements will never corrode or become weathered like other "uninsulated" antennas become. The insulated mast is made out of RF transparent fiberglass materials, so your signal will transmit and receive through it with no noticeable loss.

HUH? :roll:

With the coils non-existent center insulation design, being wound with the perfect O.D. to length ratios, and with optimum winding spacing ratios, this makes the coil so efficient that the Big Hair's coils are typically 5 times "or more" efficient than most competitors.

Wow! I can't believe no one else ever figured this out! 8)

Actually, I can't believe much of the crap on that site!

I do drive a Saturn, and occasionally engage the warp drive on SoCal freeways, but I have yet to achieve a high enough value of "C" that the gain of my antennas increased! I wonder if there would be a "Doppler" gain effect--where the rear-ward gain decreases proportional to the increase in forward gain?

Dave_W6DPS

 

[lords]

where can i order some of this,RF transparent fiberglass materials
because i need a new tabletop cos, my old one sucked to many RF waves... :?

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Take another real good look at the antenna that is touching the "power" line. Take a REAL good look. The 220 volt INSULATED drop line from the pole is the TOP wire. You can see the twists in the drop lead. The power is always the top wire. The antenna is touching the telephone and cable drops NOT the power line drop. No big deal anyway,my HF antenna hits the cable,phone,and power drop everytime I go up to my parents house.It is fiberglass however but so is Big Hairy's antennas.

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

lol....when i first saw the box of rocks pic i thought someone was making a comparison with my intelligence...or lack there of . ill be the first to admit sometimes i am sofa king we tared it . but......i knew i could count on yall to help set a duck straight .

thanks

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

perhaps the worst part of it all
are those who have been dopped by those antennas
especially those who believe all that SH_T

many simply want better equipment
and un-knowlegable people get taken big time

lets hope they learn that if is too good to be true
then it aint true

and hope they stay in the hobby laughing off his antennas

 

[niterider]

Big Hair Antennas

I'm actually surprised by some of the responses, and I think those that are making negative comments must either be competitors that are worried about losing business, or they themselves are the ones that don't understand radio theory very well. Let's face it, I just as "some" of you may have a ham radio license, but doesn't make you an expert of the subject. This guy can literraly talk for hours about antenna engineering on the air. I used to talk and listen to him every nite, and I live 150 miles away (with no skip)!

I don't have any of his antennas (and neither has anyone that commented on this forum thus far), however I personally know a local truck driver here locally in Ohio that has one, and he has nothing but good things to say about it. Very ugly, but best antenna he has ever used! The crazy thing, is that Big hair met this guy in Indiana, and built it for free! Didn't charge him 1 penny. I have begging for him to make be an antenna for awhile now, but he just seems too busy.. I don't even know if he talks on CB radio at all, as I haven't heard him in a few years.

I used to hear Big Hair in Northern Ohio nearly every nite, and he lives in the Indianapolis, Indiana area. This is over 150 miles from my house!! He would go in depth about antenna theory, and answered very technical questions that I would try to stump him with.. I had even check out large antenna books at the local library, and had the best of Amateur Radio Antenna books sold by the ARRL, and would read and quote questions out of him, and he would without any delay explain them very well, and even add to what wasn't already wrote in the books.. I personally learned alot from this guy, from the nitely talks we used to have.

He also helped others build antennas, without charging any money whatsoever.. I think it became more of a headache for him, as every local CBer within 100 miles from this guy, would constantly ask him for an antenna. He then tried to shy away from this, or stopped offering to help people out for free, due to others taken advantage of him. Today, it's nearly impossible to get him to build an antenna, as it's more of a hobby for him, and I don't know a single person that he charged a single dollar to build an antenna for. Even if you paid him, he probably wouldn't take your order, simply being too busy (his words). He did them more for the fun of it, not for making any money.

The comment about the gain of his mobile antennas, you need to understand the concept of gain as being a "comparison" figure. In his examples, he is quoting a gain over a Wilson antennas, which has "negative gain". He is comparing them to these antennas at both a fixed and while traveling (you'll have to read his website to clarify it more). He claims something like 1 SU unit higher than a Wilson 5000, however from the trucker here locally that I talk to regularly, he is actually seing much more improvement than what his website is quoting. Big Hair told him about 1 SU unit improvement, but he is seeing more like 4-5! He I can talk to him mobile to base 40 miles now. Before he only got out about 15 miles.

 

[jessejamesdallas]

I have to agree that those are probably some of the ugliest Mobile antennas I have seen...But I think this is the same guy that will "Silver Plate" any antenna if you send it to him...(not sure for "How Much" it will cost tho...)

He made a point that the signal travels along the outside of the antenna, and by Silver Plating over a aluminum antenna, would improve the over-all performance...Ok. That makes since. Just not too sure on how well it would hold up after it's been out in the weather for a few months tho...I would hate to think I would need to soak my antenna in "Tarn-X" once every other week to get the tarnish off of it!

 

[W5LZ]

I really do sort of admire this 'bighair' guy. He can take a valid characteristic of an antenna, or part of an antenna, 'bafflegab'/'technobabble' it till it sounds like a 'new and improved' thingy that slices/dices/pits/prunes and makes the new 'Arbys' 'waffle-fries' in it's spare time. Makes me wonder if he's related to whats-his-name that invented the internet. (Sorry 'whats-your-name', don't mean to be insulting.) You got to admit, he's got a line of B.S. on him!
The best 'advertisement' is 1 part truth and 99 parts of stuff you'd use for fertilizer, and this is an almost perfect example. And for those who have even a little bit of knowledge about antennas... please wipe your feet before continuing, and please try to control your laughing or you'll 'wet' your pants.
- 'Doc

 

[DoctorMaster]

Actually, as ugly as these antennas are, this guy does have some good points. As much as I hate to admit it, my cheaply made IMAX 2000 has outperformed every aluminum antenna to date that I have compared it to! So there must be something to antennas made out of copper versus aluminum. He is correct, Silver is the most efficient metal on earth, but the cost difference is extreme. Has anyone here experimented with making an antenna out of silver plated copper as well?

The hard part, is getting the guy to build you an antenna. It appears from others responses, he isn't even involved in the hobby anymore. So, I'm thinking about just building an antenna for keydowns myself. I am thinking about using some of his ideals though.

I want to build the best performing antenna I can (with price as no object), and want to kill my IMAX 2000 and all aluminum antennas.


1. Should I make the coils larger, similar to Big Hairs, or make them very tiny, like in an IMAX 2000?
2. Is Fiberglass possible to be as strong as Aluminum in high winds (or does the IMAX 2000 already have the best fiberglass material)
3. Will Copper have less losses than aluminum (I think I have already tested this theory, just want to confirm)
4. From the lowest losses (and gain) standpoint, is silver really the best metal for lowest losses?
5. Is it true that Silver is the only metal that when it corrodes, the corrosion itself is still conductive (this is claimed on Big Hair's website).
6. Should I use the smaller guage wire inside an IMAX, or beef it up like Big Hair suggests?
7. Will the larger gauge used for the antenna and coils improve just the power handling or reduce losses, or both?
8. Lastly, I may be answering my own question here, but using fiberglass is safer near power lines, and placing the copper of silver inside fiberglass, would reduce SWR changes cause by the weather better, correct?

I hear the aluminum and fiberglass debate all the time, but I honestly think builders push aluminum because they are easier to fabricate antennas out of.

Any other ideas? What do you recommend I should do to make it perform better, that hasn't already been mentioned?


Looking for someone to reply that knows something about this antennas and design to respond to my questions before I start building this spring.

 

[W5LZ]

DoctorMaster,
Just a few of your questions in no particular order.

Yes, copper is more conductive than aluminum. The difference in that conductivity is so slight that it makes NO practical difference. Don't make the mistake of getting 'hung up' on a characteristic that just doesn't matter.

Is fiberglass, an insulator, safer around things that carry voltage? Yes, it is. That 'safer' thingy has some qualifiers, some "but's". It assumes that the fiberglass is in good shape, isn't worn, isn't dirty, isn't made with any metallic reinforcing materials, and isn't wet. One reason it's used in making tools for people working around high voltage. Also why you very seldom see those high voltage people abusing a 'hot stick' or similar tool, and why those tools are replaced fairly often. The big question here is, what are you doing putting an antenna in a place where it's unsafe to have it? If it's going to have the possibility of touching high voltage lines, it just doesn't belong there. (And, yeah, I know, but I've done it too.)

Does the size of conductor used in making a coil determine it's resistive losses? Yes, it does. It also determines it's mechanical strength. So, in most cases depending on the situation/application, bigger is better to some ridiculous degree. If you need a 6 ton trailer to haul that coil around, it's just too big, you know? That's an exaggeration, but you get the idea, I hope. I have seen an installation or two that required a coil that would make the the coil spring on your car look like the spring from a ballpoint pen. Those installations were NOT common. They were NOT mobile in any sense of the word. And I can guaranty that you/I will never need such things. Forget the amplifier, we couldn't afford the power company's connection fees!

AC is different from DC when speaking of RF resistance. Deals primarily with where in the conductor that current travels. A very common reason for plating conductors with a lower resistive material (Aside from the advertising reasons). The size or surface area of that conductor can play a part in that too. Just don't get to 'hung up' on that idea, it has practical limits.
Rust and other forms of corrosion are also conductive. Typically have a higher resistance than the non-corroded conductor, but is still conductive. Sitting on a rusty bucket does not mean you are insulated from the current flowing through that bucket. I wouldn't try that at home, you will get your butt bit! (Or, if you really wanna, go ahead and try it, it's your butt. But your butt has been warned.)

There really is more to it than just what appears on the 'surface'. I would suggest learning a lot more about the whole thing before attempting that 'miraculous' antenna
project. I'm sure that you could make almost any antenna 'better' by refining it's design and construction. How much better just depends on how 'bad' it was to start with, and don't expect miracles...
- 'Doc

(And NO, I don't have a doctorate in anything, it's just a nickname. Well, maybe in laziness, I'm not sure about that.)