Not necessarily. The venom 5/8 antenna you are looking at has very short ground plane radials. Basically they are useless at being on a couple feet long. They need to be 9ft long if there is only 3 of them. Any shorter and it's just useless. If it has more radials like the Sirio 2016 then it would be a different story.
Also, the Sirio tornado is an okay antenna. But it has its downfalls too. It's very lightweight and is not a true DC grounded antenna. It's a transformer grounded antenna. Big difference. You'll need to research this to know the differences. The M400 starduster is a good antenna and I know a few that use them. One happens to be a prominent member here and maybe he will chime in about it. Like I said, you want performance look at the Sirio vector 4000. One of the best vertical antennas made. And not many will disagree with that. Yes it has its shortcomings like not being good in high wind areas, but if you live in an area that this isn't an issue, you will have a great antenna!! Cost is a big factor it seems with the way you are looking, so I will say this, a well built 5/8 wave antenna like the Shockwave made in the USA one cost almost $400. Same with the I10K. These antennas have full length 9ft ground radials and are built for bad weather. Only other options I would look at are the Sirio 2008, 2016, the 827, and so on. They aren't cheap for a reason. The less the price the more lightweight the antenna will most likely be. Like the tornado. I had one myself and it was up 27ft to the feedpoint. It did okay, but after switching to the vector 4000 I would not buy another antenna unless it was something like the Shockwave or I10K or even a Mr. Coily antenna. But like I said the cost of these antennas are not cheap, being at $350-$500 for one. The sirio vector 4000 is a 3/4 wave antenna and has one of the tallest top heights of any antenna made. They are approx 28ft long. And height is might. You get one at 30ft off the ground and tune it correctly, you'll be rewarded with some long distance local talking and some great DX when it's around. Not trying to tell you which antenna to get, but ask around the forum and see what others say. I know the Sirio 827 and 2016 are built well and are strong antennas, but they don't have the length like the vector 4000. Same with the tornado. It's a decent antenna but needs to be modded or have some work done to make it a true DC grounded antenna and also it's not very heavy duty either. So basically the same type wind that would take down a Sirio vector 4000 would do the same to a Sirio tornado. The saying you get what you pay for truly does apply here. Want a heavy duty antenna, again, the Sirio 827, 2008, or 2016 would be my first choices. You want an antenna that will talk pretty far locally and also do a great job DX'ing, look at the Sirio vector 4000. But IMO, I would not buy one of the Sigma venom 5/8 wave antennas due to the lack of proper ground plane radials. Look at how short they are compared to the shockwave antenna and you will see what the difference between a real 5/8 wave antenna and a wanna be is!! The only reason the Sirio 827, 2008, and 2016 work well is due to the amount of ground plane radials they have. They can be shorter as there are many more of them. Don't skimp out on your antenna. I will leave it at that as you will be disappointed you did!! It's the most important part of your entire setup besides the radio. And even so, a $10,000 radio with a POS antenna becomes a nice doorstop!! Do your homework and post another thread asking which antenna will work best for your location. I will venture to say that if you don't have bad or inclement weather and high winds, many will point you to the Sirio vector 4000. But I can only go by what I know about them. With the Sirio tornado I was able to get out to about 30-35 miles. With the Sirio vector 4000 i was able to get out to 60-70 miles consistently. Talked to a group of gents almost every morning and they are 65 miles straight line from me. With the tornado I couldn't event hear them. Take it with a grain of salt. But I spent a lot of time installing both the tornado and the vector 4000. I use good coax (Andrew LMR400), and good connectors as well as having snap on ferrite chokes at the feedpoint of my antenna. Proper grounding and lots of time was taken to make my antenna setup as good as I could. Proper EMP/lightning protection were used as well as making sure everything was grounded. I have over 10 grounding rods sunk in the ground and the entire back half of my house grounded. There is more to having a good antenna setup then just the antenna itself is my point. But starting out with a good antenna is the key.
I am not dissing the IMAX 2000 or even the A99 as I have witnessed others get good performance out of them. But I just am not a fan of fiberglass.
Like I said before you just want to get on air, get a M400 starduster like suggested and have at it. Stay away from the tornado as you will have issues down the road with it. It may last a little while but will eventually start giving you issues as mine did. And one thing I can say confidently about my vector 4000 is that it held its match for the entire time it was up and even during rain and wind storms it never gave me any issues. If I could hear them, I had no issue getting back to them. But don't go by just what I say, let some others step in and give some responses as well. Also you can ask some other members like Marconi, The DB and many, many more about what antenna would be best suited as far as cost versus performance. JMHO's. Hope it might help some. Don't get discouraged, do some good homework and you'll see what antennas rise to the top of the pile as being good antennas!!!
Good day.
. Not to say the IMAX 2000 is a bad antenna. Just not a big fan of fiberglass antennas myself!! Hope you get it all together. Be safe and hope all works out for you man
