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CB Mag Man has his review of the sirio gain master up

certainly not new jersey or pennsylvania where i from.
the sirio v 4000 will most likely bend into pieces in our weather ..lol
and i like sirio antennas.imho the best antenna for our area is either
a maco5/8 or sirio 827. or better yet wait till the new penatraor500
comes out
 
i would consider fair weather places that dont get tornadoes , hurricanes , any ice or more than a few inches of snow or winds over 50 mph .

IF ...... if the gain master is all its reported to be even the mighty penetrator will be a step behind it . i do wonder what the "double-matching tuning with linear phasing techniques" is all about . if the original penetrator didnt have those features (what ever they are) then its only a penetrator by name , not electrically .

Hy-Gain Super Penetrator 10/11 meter Vertical Antenna

"Electrical performance has been increased to a new standard by use of a longer radiator and double-matching tuning with linear phasing techniques that provide low SWR and more radiated energy. The double-matching also provides a DC path to ground to drain off precipitation static, giving an extremely low noise antenna capable of high power.
"
 
hot rod, the new penetrator is already being produced and sold by hygain...

booty, i don't see anything in the literature of the new penetrator that would lead me to believe that it would be any different than the old one, but we'll just have to see until folks started getting the new one and post some pics. It is advertised today as it was yesterday.
 
i thought the new "longer radiator and double-matching tuning with linear phasing techniques" was different from the original penetrator .

i guess i need to brush up on my reading comprehension skills :LOL:
 
attached jpeg of portion original advertising...
even though mfj bought hygain and moved them from lincoln ne to starkville, mississippi...it appears to me that mfj/hygain intends to produce the original penetrator but I myself will have to wait for some pics.
 

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thank you GG , i stand corrected ;)
i had a P500 as a kid to and it was a wonderful antenna . i guess MFJ/hy-gain saying the features i mentioned and you highlighted are new is just marketing . no biggie , but it's not necessary if it is the equal of it's namesake .
 
i would consider fair weather places that dont get tornadoes , hurricanes , any ice or more than a few inches of snow or winds over 50 mph .

IF ...... if the gain master is all its reported to be even the mighty penetrator will be a step behind it . i do wonder what the "double-matching tuning with linear phasing techniques" is all about . if the original penetrator didnt have those features (what ever they are) then its only a penetrator by name , not electrically .

Hy-Gain Super Penetrator 10/11 meter Vertical Antenna

"Electrical performance has been increased to a new standard by use of a longer radiator and double-matching tuning with linear phasing techniques that provide low SWR and more radiated energy. The double-matching also provides a DC path to ground to drain off precipitation static, giving an extremely low noise antenna capable of high power.
"

The Penetrator is a good antenna but Hy-Gain is being far from honest with the 5.3 db gain rating. It's inflated by something like 424%. It would be humorous to hear their response when questioned about the test conditions in which they arrived at this figure. They have recycled the old advertising claims about the matching network as thought is were new. Then they hold onto the 30 year old claim of " the absolute top omnidirectional antenna around!" as though nothing has changed in the last 3 decades.

These are prime examples of why the specification of db gain has become nearly useless in this market and the reason we see new specs like "1 to 2 db over a 5/8 wave ground plane." Otherwise you end up with the highest gain manufacturers having to play the "Inflate-O-Gain" game of multiplying actual gain by 500% or pick the honest option of advertising real figures much lower then the inferior competition.
 
The Penetrator is a good antenna but Hy-Gain is being far from honest with the 5.3 db gain rating. It's inflated by something like 424%. It would be humorous to hear their response when questioned about the test conditions in which they arrived at this figure. They have recycled the old advertising claims about the matching network as thought is were new. Then they hold onto the 30 year old claim of " the absolute top omnidirectional antenna around!" as though nothing has changed in the last 3 decades.

These are prime examples of why the specification of db gain has become nearly useless in this market and the reason we see new specs like "1 to 2 db over a 5/8 wave ground plane." Otherwise you end up with the highest gain manufacturers having to play the "Inflate-O-Gain" game of multiplying actual gain by 500% or pick the honest option of advertising real figures much lower then the inferior competition.
Well, I don't know. What's the reference?
If you take the 3db gain of a 5/8 over a 1/2 wave dipole that Maxwell claimed in Marconi's post and add the 2.14db the dipole has over an isotropic, plus the .85 the isotropic has over a 1/4 wave, that's around 6db over a 1/4 ground plane which makes the Penetrator claim a little conservative if they are using a 1/4 wave as their reference. :unsure:
 
Dude that is a mobile antenna you are speaking of. The strkyer antenna you posted there ajohn3533, we are speaking about real 5/8 wave base station antennas here. Not 60" antennas but 22ft antennas or more in some cases, (Sirio vector 4000). There is just no comparison between what you posted and the antennas we are speaking of. Especially if you are using it as a base antenna. Just saying.
Also I see lots of talk that the Sirio vector 4000 being a "Fair Weather" antenna. I will say this in the new Sirio vector 4000's defense. All I added to my NV4K was some heavy duty heat shrink with weather proofing glue inside. The good stuff. Thick and is made for weather proofing of coax connectors when done properly. At any rate, keeping on, again, all I have done is added 6-8" pieces of heat shrink to every joint from top to bottom of antenna and also braced the antenna with about 10 guyed ropes made of Dacron rope and para cord as well. The mast is 2 2" pipes that run one runs to about 15ft or so, and then the main mast continues for about another 12-13ft, Which places my base of antenna at approx 27-28ft off the ground. Also mast pipe is buried, and attached to house and back aluminum FL room or a screen enclosure type porch made of aluminum. Both masts run up against the side of my chimney and are also bolted at the bottom and top of the chimney. Also 2 ratcheting straps were used at the top of the chimney for extra securtiy. One is a 1" the other a 2". All this along with the guyed ropes, which are all at the 20ft mark around the entire antenna.
With all this said, I live in Central FL, lightning Capitol of the world, or the US for sure at least, and we do get out share of bad weather during this time of the year.
Just about a week or so ago we had a bad storm roll through and it took out several large tree branches as well as a few trees down my street and the one next to me. I believe we had a couple of good microburst's. These are known for producing high winds and heavy rain, as well as the obvious chance for a small tornado to appear. At any rate we had winds of 40mph or more sustained for more than a few minutes. Also the regular winds for this day were 20-30mph sustained winds all day for a couple of days. The heavy winds i speak of were almost an hour long sustained winds. And remember this was at ground level, not 30-50ft where the radi thing element of this ant N is prone to bending. I surely thought my Sirio vector 4K was coming down or would be bent due to the wind. I was totally amazed to see when I came out after the storms that day, and saw that the Sirio vector 4K was standing proud and no damage at all. Not sure mine would take being up very much higher than it is, but at about 30ft, this antenna is very effective for both local and DX. And it's not that bad looking and yes has to be put together, but I know for a fact that the antenna is a top notch performing antenna. It has weathered a few good storms now and I am confident it will hold up to most whatever ol' Mother Nature can dish at it for the most part. I am not talking hurricanes or tornados, but a good storm it should handle.
Like I said at the beginning of this post, I have not reinforced the antenna in any true way other than to add the some guyed ropes down from the base of antenna and also adding heat shrink to all joints from top to bottom of antenna. Here are a couple of pics. And please don't flame me about the guyed ropes, they are there as a safety net. Not to be fashionable. Just wanted to throw this info out there as it seems that a lot of people think these antennas are just fragile as glass LOL!
And I'll even say this, I would like to get another one day and reinforce it, and also add a couple more 4 way plastic pieces to hold the ring and center radiating element together better. One up about half way from the first and the 3rd one at the ring itself. This will help tremendously IMO, as I have just sat and watched what the antenna does in high winds and I believe the extra weight of the cone and not having a proper brace further up say near the ring itself, just allows for more swaying which in turn places more stress on the cone legs and also the antenna pipe itself and the joints. I could be way off base here, but this is just what I see and believe if Sirio were to add just a few more pieces to this antenna it would be much more sturdy and not increase te weight too much. I would also love to see some double walled joints as well! I can dream can't I LOL. Or if this one ever takes a crap I'll do this to the next one and will definitely right up how and what I did like Booty Monster and others have done previously. Again these are JMO's, and my own short term experience, (less than a year), of use of this antenna. Sorry for the speech, and to all have a wonderful day!!!
 
Well any one have SR-A10 #cbantenna here?
Probably not too many.
It's a great LOOKING antenna for sure, but I avoid antennas with metal, (ferrous or non) directly over/under the coil.
- Tends to degrade the efficiency.

I now use a semi-home-brew whiskey still TYPE which I rebuilt to my exakting & purfekshunistic standards ;)

I just threw the MFJ-259B on it today to see if it's still happy, 1.5:1 at 26.5MHz & 28.6MHz, 2.1MHz wide @ 1.5:1!

It's 50Ω, 1:1 SWR @ X=0/1 on 27.275MHz, dead center between my two "hang-outs" of Channels 17 & 38.

...and I get to use almost all of the Wilson extra-long 66" whip (y)

It's literally 4MHz wide at 2.0:1 SWR.
I'll have to set-up a video link for it on here.

73
 
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I paid for one of these overpriced Sirio Gainmaster things. It lasted exactly 3 days til the wind snapped it in half and was low wind for my area 30 mph gusts. The plastic "tubing" isn't much thicker than paper.It is cheaply made,way over rated and over priced. My Imax has taken up to 90 mph gusts plus our usual almost daily 30 plus gusts,it is much more broad banded as well. As for the receive claims myself I saw no gain over the Imax,I actually saw a loss. I have watched my Imax bend like a fishing pole with a 100 lb salmon on it and snap right back up into place like it wasn't nothing.
 

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