IMAX 2000 best practice?

[JC_enfield]

Hi All,

I have recently installed an IMAX 2000. It's about 40ft in the air mounted on two 10ft poles.

I am interested to find out what I can do to get the maximum, best performance out of this antenna and any ideas and suggestions are welcome.

At present it's 40ft in the air, I had an RF choke made up at the bottom of the antenna.

What else can I do? I am thinking of using the GPK kit for it. is it worth it? does it improve much? should I isolate the antenna from the mast with or without the GPK?

Many thanks

JC

26MR001

 

[W5LZ]

Your best bet would be to follow the instructions that came with it. Sure, you can improve almost anything, but don't expect anything more than a -little- improvement. Moving the choke down about 9 fet would probably make some difference, but still nothing to brag about. The GPKs are not going to help much either, if any.
- 'Doc

Paint it pink! It speeds up the electrons leaving the antenna...

 

[JC_enfield]

Thanks for your reply.
I think I'll wait and see what other people have to suggest.

Thanks

 

[Klondike Mike]

Do your homework and search. This topic had been beat to death on this forum and every other.

 

[2RT307]

I would definitely paint it pink. But you have to do it while it's in the air, or it won't move the electrons faster.

73,
RT307

 

[Needle Bender]

Install it on a 6' long, 1" fiberglass rod to insulate/isolate it from the mast, wrap a 5T x 4" diameter coil choke in the coax about 12" down the top of the fiberglass rod, then ground the coax right before it goes into the house by carefully cutting away 1" of the casing and running a short wire from the shield (wrapped and soldered, but don't melt the dialectric!) and resealing it with liquid electrical tape and coax seal, to a ground rod.

Also, add 3-4 horizontal 1/4 wave radials from the mounting bracket.

Or for top performance, sell it and buy a Sirio GainMaster or a Penetrator500

 

[IMD262]

Hi All,

I have recently installed an IMAX 2000. It's about 40ft in the air mounted on two 10ft poles.

I am interested to find out what I can do to get the maximum, best performance out of this antenna and any ideas and suggestions are welcome.

At present it's 40ft in the air, I had an RF choke made up at the bottom of the antenna.

What else can I do? I am thinking of using the GPK kit for it. is it worth it? does it improve much? should I isolate the antenna from the mast with or without the GPK?

Many thanks

JC

26MR001

This method of mounting works good for the A99 and I assume it would work just as well with an Imax.

Thanks again Jazz:closedeyes:

 

[The DB]

Or for top performance, sell it and buy a Sirio GainMaster or a Penetrator500

Starting with this would have saved you some typing.

This method of mounting works good for the A99 and I assume it would work just as well with an Imax.

No, before you get to this mounting method you must first set it up, then wonder why your friends (insert pretty much any other antenna name here) is both transmitting and receiving better then yours from a lower height. Then when you save up the money for a real antenna and convince the wife (this part may be optional) and actually get the antenna you will be happy with how it gets out.

Many people are not fans of these antennas with good reason. Yes they will work, but unless everything, including some things you have little to no control over are just so, it will simply not work as well as many of the other antennas out there. A Penetrator is what $20 to $30 more than an Imax, and if you don't want radials a Gain Master is something like $30 more than the Penetrator? Listed price points taken from current random ebay sales.

I would save up and get one of these others, then get it tuned by someone who has an Antenna Analyzer and (this is important) knows how to use it. This will make more difference than anything you can do to that imax.

Once all that is done mounting it as per IMD262's picture is the next step.


The DB

 

[mr_fx]

Sell it and get a $60 Workman w-58... for the money you just can't get a better antenna. It will run circles around the IMAX 2k and blow the A99 away, but more importantly it will almost keep up with antennas 2.5 to 3 times it's cost...

 

[jazzsinger]

This method of mounting works good for the A99 and I assume it would work just as well with an Imax.

Thanks again Jazz:closedeyes:

your welcome mate, not often i share trade secrets but that one was ripe for sharing.

 

[jazzsinger]

Sell it and get a $60 Workman w-58... for the money you just can't get a better antenna. It will run circles around the IMAX 2k and blow the A99 away, but more importantly it will almost keep up with antennas 2.5 to 3 times it's cost...

fine advice, infact any half decent aluminium 5/8 would be better. here the sirio tornado fits a similar bill to the workman 5/8, ok it might not be as strong as other twigs, but it works pretty damn well.

 

[montecarlossfan]

I have setup many IMAX 2000s I open the box put em together and put em up with no adjustments and never have I had an issue and they all talk skip and hear as we'll as transmit well. Remember it also is location location location

 

[vagrant]

I purchased one the other day. It's 20' up, and works fine 10, 12, 15, and 17 meters with 100 watts. I didn't adjust a thing on the antenna, but I did check it with a RigExpert first.

 

[jazzsinger]

I purchased one the other day. It's 20' up, and works fine 10, 12, 15, and 17 meters with 100 watts. I didn't adjust a thing on the antenna, but I did check it with a RigExpert first.

When you say it works fine on 15 and 17m what is fine in comparison too? A dummy load?

If you mean by" it works fine" that you see a 1.0:1 swr when using an atu or the radio's built in auto atu,then that's not a very sound way of measuring efficiency.


If by "it works fine" you mean you can hear and work skip on all those bands,it would be a good idea to bare in mind this is the peak of the solar cycle and these bands have had dx worked from indoor mobile antennas and handhelds with rubber ducks at this point. You might not have the same "it works fine" opinion at solar minimum.


These are just a couple of reasons why you have formed your opinion and why I disagree, there are others too. If I was looking for a short range skip cloudwarmer that produces olympic scale tvi/rfi and goes threadbare at the joints then it would be my first choice too.

 

[jazzsinger]

I have setup many IMAX 2000s I open the box put em together and put em up with no adjustments and never have I had an issue and they all talk skip and hear as we'll as transmit well. Remember it also is location location location

Its not just down to location as pointed out in my previous post,although it can help.

Maybe my expectations of working skip are different to yours.