M400 STARDUSTER OWNERS: Poll & Info please.

[HomerBB]

Homer, did you ever notice or try and check to see if your A/P mounted over your beam had some affect on the match, if you could tell? I can't remember.

Is the A/P noted here the one you made?

The AP in the above post and lower photo is the one I made. It has a flat SWR across the CB 40.
2.0:1 ------- 29.485
1.4:1 ------- 26.000 I will have to put the analyzer on it to get the 2.0:1 bandwidth. This is the radio/SWR meter reading.

It is 9.5' above the 4 el Yagi. Yagi also has a flat SWR. Seem s to be no negative issues where it is.

 

[HomerBB]

thanks homer.. im really not worried about what talks dx the best.
talking 40-60 miles groundwave is what i love to do. and i can do it
on my sirio 2016.normally.but if it starts to rain mty recieve gets noisy
and cant hear much over 20 miles. plus i gotta use 250 whiskeys on ssb
reguardless of conditions.the starduster was always said to be a very quiet
antenna.i thought that may help my recieve.
the a/p ive heard good and bad stories some say it was a tvi monster
others say its a great dx antenna but lousy locally. and im sure location
plays a huge rule.for me im in a vally with other valleys about 5-10 miles away
in different directions. which i have a hard time getting over them without a little help.
over flat land i do really well

Other than a beam, the Vector 4k is the best I've experienced on long distance non-DX performance, but the Astroplane has never exhibited any less performance than other antennas when mounted very high. TVI is a problem for the AP, it seems, when the electronics affected are cheap, or the antenna is mounted at less than optimum height. I have never had any TVI issues with either of my AP's.

 

[Eastside]

Lightning seems to like them.

 

[Marconi]

The AP in the above post and lower photo is the one I made. It has a flat SWR across the CB 40.
2.0:1 ------- 29.485
1.4:1 ------- 26.000 I will have to put the analyzer on it to get the 2.0:1 bandwidth. This is the radio/SWR meter reading.

It is 9.5' above the 4 el Yagi. Yagi also has a flat SWR. Seem s to be no negative issues where it is.

I made my statements about stuff up close and below the A/P, and in reference to hotrod's comments about TVI. Did you detect any TVI?

Homer don't go any trouble trying to locate an analyzer just for this. I thought for sure I had done SWR and VA1 analyzer curves for both my Old and New Top Ones in this instance, but I can't find any reports for either. I won't have anything to compare, so what's the point of going to all the trouble. What a bummer, but thanks anyway.

I don't feel good, and I may never be able to try and duplicate what happen on my analyzer. All I remember is I laid my I-10K down on the ground right below the Old Top One on a 20' foot mast, and I that messed up the antenna and it showed up on the analyzer readings. Without the reports, however, I don't know what happened with the SWR results, or if I even took those readings.

I removed the I-10K from the area and the T/O was fine again.

 

[psycho]

The only big plus about the Stardusters is that they can handle any amount of power you can throw into them........the ones made out of aluminum that is. Great antenna for beginners.
The next generation fiberglass Stardusters are just junk.

 

[Marconi]

The only big plus about the Stardusters is that they can handle any amount of power you can throw into them........the ones made out of aluminum that is. Great antenna for beginners.
The next generation fiberglass Stardusters are just junk.

Hey psycho, I didn't know anyone made a fiberglass Starduster knockoff. Do you have a link?

 

[sjguy_856]

m400 starduster

I have just put up my m400 this weekend after sitting in my closet for a couple of months. I have been running a Imax for a couple of years now and just wanted a second antenna. Everything they say about cheap hardware is an understatement. I raided my garage several times for misc screws and such. The plastic guides for the grounding rods are junk. I had to cable tie them to properly secure them. The upper collar has a 1/4 inch gap on the upper side that just begs to funnel water down the main tube. I used rtv in the crack to bridge the collar from rain. I pushed it up on a 36ft pole and secured it to my deck for testing. With all that being said, I was very surprised to find out this thing has ears! The antenna is sitting aprox 15ft lower than the Imax and raises contacts almost 3s units. Local friends say they hear little to no difference in my broadcasts but have to real dx reports back yet. Its a real cheaply made antenna, but it is a talker!

 

[kd-5-bgt]

I had one of the orginal Stardusters back around 1980 with a Royce 641 radio behind it....I loved the atnenna,more often than not if I could hear them I could contact them without to much trouble both local and DX....wish I still had it...good solid little antenna.

It is by no means a 10k or other "larger" ground plane antennas,but it is a good simple antenna that for me performed great

 

[KX4KDH]

Do yourself a favor, and STAY AWAY from the cheap Chinese knockoff of the M400. I have one I intend to use for 10 meter, and I cannot find a mast that will fit it properly ANYWHERE. The ID of the ground plane spanner came tp 1.45" So that makes it so 1.5" OD tubing is too large. 1.25" OD tubing is too small.... And cheap hardware.... Ugh... What a piece of CRAP!!!

The Sirio version seems to be MUCH better built.


73

 

[3-5-7]

sd' m400

up untill november of 2011 all my contacts were done with a cte m-400 not the sirio which is junk easy to put together great match! great antenna for your buck

 

[cordova lucky 13]

Hi ; my use of the m-400 has been from 1970,s till present day . I used a original m-400 till about 12 years ago , pulled down for a claen up overhall . Then made a homebrew copy & sold original . My finds are ,,, 1.2 to1.5 swr from 26mhz to 28mhz ,,, quieter to all others compared,,, very little wind resistance & stands-up to ice storms{canada eah!} The orriginal had plastic clamps on g.p. brace arms not all that grate a idea . Over the years i have always picked-up other antennas & set-up to run at same time too compare to m-400 . Some of the 5/8 had more s-units showing on the meter butt i have stuck with the m-400 as the best for my requirements ! All a-99,s i tested had noise issues here & i,am not in a high noise area ? I can,t say how well the budgett m-4oo copies are butt i liked the orriginals & its easy to homebrew your own ! Bob. cordova lucky 13 .

 

[Marconi]

Good report Bob, I find the same here in SE Texas, on the Gulf Coast.

 

[cordova lucky 13]

Thanks Marconi as you know its hard to argue with what works . Often i find people around here tend too get overwhelmed with manufacturers claims ? They tend to overlook the obvious basics ,,,location, good connections , obstructions , etc; etc; & the other variables ? I hope the new m-400 are as good as originals ? later Bob "cordova lucky 13".

 

[Needle Bender]

dont forget the starduster is not a 1/4 wave its a 1/2 wave center-fed dipole. it has 3db gain over a 1/4 wave gp.
the real reason that 5/8 usually outperform the starduster is because there taller by about 13 feet.
try re-running your comparison with 13 more feet on the mast with the starduster then with the 5/8 and there almost the same in performance. the 5/8 should have about a db more gain but the starduster is like the gainmaster in that its close to a balanced antenna and should have a low toa

 

[Marconi]

dont forget the starduster is not a 1/4 wave its a 1/2 wave center-fed dipole. it has 3db gain over a 1/4 wave gp.
the real reason that 5/8 usually outperform the starduster is because there taller by about 13 feet.
try re-running your comparison with 13 more feet on the mast with the starduster then with the 5/8 and there almost the same in performance. the 5/8 should have about a db more gain but the starduster is like the gainmaster in that its close to a balanced antenna and should have a low toa

I agree with NB on this one. I have a SD'r up with my GainMaster right now, and it is real hard to tell the difference in signals. The GM is about 6' or 8' feet higher too.