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Firestik Fire-Up 99 Has anyone tried one.?
- Thread starter Moleculo
- Start date
Give me all the dimensions for the firestick and I'll try and model the tip. I'll add it to the A99. I need the approximate wire size and what looks like maybe two different coil spacing schemes and the length of each. If there are more than 2 different coil schemes across the entire length of the radiator, then I need that too.
I'll try and see how much wire is wound up in it. It's physical height is 5'. Wonder if this description on the Firestik package means anything?
Afterthought: looks like the marketing on this product is geared towards those who desire a lower swr and lower radiation pattern with the A99. Kinda makes you think.
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US Patent Office Search
United States Patent: 4379298
One guy says that the tuning screw is for inductive tuning.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN/4214247
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN/4137534
The way the wire is wound to my copy of the Firestik compared to the US Patent Office pic is different oh well!
United States Patent: 4379298
One guy says that the tuning screw is for inductive tuning.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN/4214247
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN/4137534
The way the wire is wound to my copy of the Firestik compared to the US Patent Office pic is different oh well!
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Well Lil'Jeshua I'm going to make some wild guesses here.
The Fireup itself is physically 1' foot shorter than what it replaces. The 5/8 wave idea is about 5' feet longer than a 1/2 wave radiator...assuming the wire diameters are about the same. So just guessing I would say the Fireup will need approximately 11' feet of wire wound on the fiberglass rod to resonate as a 5/8 wave.
Again just guessing I think I see a total wire length that is maybe about 6'-7' feet at best. That may have some effect of increasing the current distribution across a smaller overall length and that could add a little current up higher on the radiator, but IMO it won't be much.
I would really be surprised if the Fireup tip, by itself, would resonate at a frequency much different than the stock tip of the A99 by itself. If you has a power source or an analyzer that is able to reach frequencies above 37-38 mhz you could probably check the resonance for your self...if you had an acceptable ground plane to mount the radiators on.
My MFJ-207(plastic duck) only goes to 30 MHz.
The A99's tip measures 5' 10". The Firestik measures 5' 0".
The Firestik is wound with a 19 gauge wire. The Firestik's frequency is 32.700 MHz
The standard supplied A99 tip is tuned at 32.650 MHz.
The tunable tip on the FS-99 allows it to be center frequency tuned from 31.650 to 33.650 MHz. Coupled with the A99 tuning ring, this extra 2 MHz of range expands the usable frequencies.
I'm heading home and will get some measurements tonight.
The A99's tip measures 5' 10". The Firestik measures 5' 0".
The Firestik is wound with a 19 gauge wire. The Firestik's frequency is 32.700 MHz
The standard supplied A99 tip is tuned at 32.650 MHz.
The tunable tip on the FS-99 allows it to be center frequency tuned from 31.650 to 33.650 MHz. Coupled with the A99 tuning ring, this extra 2 MHz of range expands the usable frequencies.
I'm heading home and will get some measurements tonight.
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See it as a fine tune swr device. It's supposed to give 2 MHz more tune wise.
It's stated in the US Patent Office details that it's for Cb freqs but I think the antenna can be slid more.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...50&s1=4379298.PN.&OS=PN/4379298&RS=PN/4379298
Fancy radial job. That's a little much isn't it? The GPK-1 is supposed to handle that to some extent or so I think. I could be wrong.
The wire starts spiraling at 4 5/16" from the top. Outer diameter of Firestik is 1/2" in diameter.
The wire make forty-five complete turns from the 4 5/16" mark from top of the antenna 1/8" apart. There are three turns that start widening out for another 3/4 ".
The wire make forty-five complete turns from the 4 5/16" mark from top of the antenna 1/8" apart. There are three turns that start widening out for another 3/4 ".
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The tight spiraling continues 10" from the tip and begins to widen the wire spacing.the wire then transcends to one turn per every 15" and makes four complete turns until the wire touches the base. The Firestick is 5' long.
There's a grand total of 51 turns of wire.
There's a grand total of 51 turns of wire.
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I guesstimated the wire to be 5/8 wave long lengthwise on a 5 ' physical length rod at 11 meters.
The stock A99 top section is 5' 10" long. By comparison electrically,the Firestick is around 9 1/2' or so.
Look at the picture below again.
http://youtu.be/5ztwns5PkJY
The stock A99 top section is 5' 10" long. By comparison electrically,the Firestick is around 9 1/2' or so.
Look at the picture below again.
http://youtu.be/5ztwns5PkJY
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The stock A99 uses a 16 gauge wire for a radiator while the Firestik used a 19 gauge wire. I'm guessing that it's not meant for high power applications since Citizens Band is legally limited to 4 watts dead key on CB radios.
So the wire in the Fireup is a little smaller in diameter, but is about 9' 6" long. If that is the case then that is getting close to what those guys advertized.
Like I said earlier Lil'Yeshua, I figured the wire in the Fireup is about 6' - 7' feet at best, but you have a much better look at what you have.
Here is what the model you picked looks like with the added 9.5' and the 6' removed for the original tip...works out to 20.7" overall.
View attachment Lit'Yeshua Fireup A99.pdf
If this model is even close then the original setup looks to be the best. I can't check the match to see what resonance is because the antenna needs some matching. If the trend I see with mismatched models I make continues in this project, then this model's gain is likely a bit inflated by the added gain noted at the feed point...and this model shows and SWR of better than 28.6:1 SWR.
Your comparison test will be interesting to finally see with this idea. Also let us know if you have to retune your A99 at the rings after adding the Fireup to the A99. That will tell us something if you don't forget to check that out.
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Lil'yeshua,
you may or may not see a small change with the fireup stik one way or the other, i have had mixed reports from friends that have tried them,
some liked the fs99,
i may be misreading exactly what you think you are getting with this 5/8 idea,
the firestik website is the BIBLE of cb technobull, you will be hard pushed to find any antenna site with so much nonesense,
the E-H hammy antenna website is a close second,
they claim 5/8 and 3/4wave, they are loaded 1/4waves, and don't work as well as a full size 1/4wave whip,
if there was any truth in the claims you would need a matching circuit between the coax and the firestik, you don't you just screw them on because they are electrically 1/4waves,
the fireup stik is a loaded 1/4wave on 32.7mhz or about the same electrical length as the original a99 top section,
when you add the fireup stik you still have a 1/2wave a99 that's physically a bit shorter than original,
if it changed the electrical length of the a99 you would need a different matching circuit in the base of the antenna,
you cannot compare two antennas on two poles with a switch like some of their customers did no matter how convenient it may seem at the time,
Fire-Up 99 Antenna
you may or may not see a small change with the fireup stik one way or the other, i have had mixed reports from friends that have tried them,
some liked the fs99,
i may be misreading exactly what you think you are getting with this 5/8 idea,
the firestik website is the BIBLE of cb technobull, you will be hard pushed to find any antenna site with so much nonesense,
the E-H hammy antenna website is a close second,
they claim 5/8 and 3/4wave, they are loaded 1/4waves, and don't work as well as a full size 1/4wave whip,
if there was any truth in the claims you would need a matching circuit between the coax and the firestik, you don't you just screw them on because they are electrically 1/4waves,
the fireup stik is a loaded 1/4wave on 32.7mhz or about the same electrical length as the original a99 top section,
when you add the fireup stik you still have a 1/2wave a99 that's physically a bit shorter than original,
if it changed the electrical length of the a99 you would need a different matching circuit in the base of the antenna,
you cannot compare two antennas on two poles with a switch like some of their customers did no matter how convenient it may seem at the time,
Fire-Up 99 Antenna