bambam what went wrong wit your sirio. i got one also so was curious. if mine
goes south i,ll probaly replkace it with a penatator 500
goes south i,ll probaly replkace it with a penatator 500
Bob everything was and is the same except for antenna and the affected speakers where about 75 foot from base of tower. Marconi I have thought about the Gainmaster but I have a tree branch about 30 foot from my antenna and I'm thinking this will affect the GM? I will probably buy another S-2016.
Bob everything was and is the same except for antenna and the affected speakers where about 75 foot from base of tower. Marconi I have thought about the Gainmaster but I have a tree branch about 30 foot from my antenna and I'm thinking this will affect the GM? I will probably buy another S-2016.
I know my thoughts and ideas have changed quite a bit since I was 13 but it seems even more odd to be cursing and laughing at antenna's at 13?
Hey all,
Now up until a short time ago, I wouldn't give two thoughts about
a Starduster CB Antenna. In the 70's I laughed and cursed when I saw one of them on someone's house. Well, I was only 13 or 14 years old, what did I know.
I knew they were only 1/4 wave & for years I wouldn't give you a dime for one.
Now, and just like the Astroplane, There are re-issues of these old antennas of yesteryear for sale again claiming 1/2 wave for both with the M400 Starduster coming in at around $48.00 and the Astroplane at about $136.00 or so.
What I would like to know is; how many of you out there have a M400 Starduster CB Re-issue antenna? How does it perform for you? Do you use it for 10 meters? Are you satisfied with it? How far have you talked on it? etc.....
I'm curious and might buy one of these for fun.
lolBoth the Original AstroPlane & Merlin 99.9db gain antennas teach us that the top 1/4 wave radiator of a vertical dipole need not be the full 1/4 wave tall in the vertical plane to get reasonably good performance.
If you find you live in one of those CC&R neighborhoods where the most they'll allow is a 12' tall TV only antenna, I have an idea for you.
Simply use a cut-down or small TV antenna to finish the top of a Starduster type center fed vertical dipole made from 12' of gray primer painted PVC in order to look like metal mast supporting the small TV antenna on top.
Use a set of three to four 1/4 wave long "guy wires" soldered to the shield of the coax (running up inside the PVC "mast") about 1/2-2/3 of the way up the painted-to-look-like-metal PVC mast, coming out from inside through small holes drilled in the PVC and coming down at a diagonal angle to form the bottom 1/4 waves (9' on 11m) attached to insulators or tied to Dacron line to the roof guy points.
Now run a wire from the center of the coax up inside the PVC all the way to the top for about 4'-6' of the 9' 1/4 wave you need, connecting to the smallish TV antenna on top to act as a capacitance hat, finishing the top 1/4wl.
-Tune for flat SWR by shortening the top wire length or size of the TV antenna capacitance top hat.
I bet the grid of a "Digital TV" Bow-tie antenna would work great to finish the top of a 5'-6' long wire for the top of an 11m vertical dipole.
Remember, only four 20" long horizontal top hat radials of 1/8" rod replace ~56" of vertical tubing on the top of the original Astroplane.
A full 1/2 of your power is radiating from only the center 1/3 of a Starduster/dipole. 70% of your power from only the first 1/2 of a dipole.
-Should make a decent performing, 'under-the-radar' stealthy 10m, 11m, or 12m antenna, while appearing to be keeping in line with CC&Rs or mobile home park restrictions.
You might also want to run a length of inexpensive 3/8" diameter black plastic tubing down the outside of the fake mast to look like 75ohm TV coax, to fool even those with sharp eyes and suspicious minds. :sneaky2:
You might also want to make some sort of ring at the point where the 1/4 wave radial "Guy wires" exit through the PVC, to look like it's a real guy wire ring around the (PVC) mast. It would be OK to use a metal ring at that point, even joining all 3-4 1/4 wave radial "guy wires" together at that point.
And you can always claim it's just a TV antenna, and that "It can't be MY VOICE you're hearing on your toaster oven, I don't even HAVE a CB antenna!"