Maco 8 element flat side vs. Joegunn audio 8

[Master Chief]

Maco antennas...had a nice piece of "rf" rope. You know to hold the antenna together inside of it. also, when you get the antenna out of the box you can look at the ends of the tubing where they paid some drunk with a whizz wheel to angle grind down the ends... it looks nasty. Not saying this will affect the antenna but man talk about poor... and thin thin thin elements and boom. Reminds me of a TV antenna. oh and the fasteners were not stainless either.

Yep, Maco does not do any prep work on their antennas and say so in their manual. The "rope" is not to hold the elements together. Its used to minimize the vibration in the elements when the wind blows. This vibration may fracture the aluminum tubing and destroy the antenna. Mosley includes rope in their kits also. The ARRL Antenna Book also talks about using rope in the elements. Its just rope.

The Jo-Gunn elements are much better to be sure. As I've stated earlier, their elements are double and triple layered which is where the strength and weight comes from. They also use large wood screws to hold them together. Yes, I said WOOD screws! The Jo-Gunn antennas are also absent of a coax connector which is usually the weak link in an antenna system. Just strip back the coax and bolt it right to the gamma tube and antenna boom.

If you need the strength and high power requirements, buy the Jo-Gunn. For the the other 95% of the operators out there, the Maco is plenty even though you will want to upgrade some of the hardware.

 

[Master Chief]

They are all lying. After careful observation with a dual polarity antenna you will see that probably less then 1/3 of the folks on the bowl use flatside (horizontal). When someone is explaining how they have 1" coax, 10k watts and a 8 element flatside, but when you go flat they disappear and come back when you go vertical, you know they're lying.

If you are receiving a signal that has skipped off the ionosphere, its a crap shoot if the signal is vertical or horizontal once it reaches you.

Most educated operators shooting DX will use a horizontal beam in order to take advantage of the take-off angle characteristics you won't see with a vertical antenna. Once that signal skips, it tumbles in the ionosphere. What comes out the other end is anyone's guess.

The only way you really know what the other guy is running is if you are actually there. Other than that, you are making nothing more than an assumption.

 

[351_bear]

beams

I agree with master chief it could be anybodys game the only superbowl stations around here use mobiles any way and there all verticle. Mostly I hear about horizontal used for ssb on the higher frequencies

 

[davegrantsr]

Real Black Man in CT. runs a 2x4 with a Antron ...yea, OK, for his driver maybe. on a 20 volt/150 amp PS. either that or another case of not believing everything you hear. he may be 'the big station'-at times-but, when the big boys are in there, he ain't squat. listen more then just at select times of day. another big part of operating on the super bowl is being a member of 'the good ole boys' network. if you can hear both ends of the conversation, you'll realize that many 'a' time, one doesn't respond to the prior statement properly, because he COULDN'T hear him. the reply is nothing more then an acknowledgement to an old friend. and before you get upset, no, that is NOT always the case. there ARE 4 x 3cx3000, 2 x 4cx15000, 64 x 2sc2879, etc etc that DO rule the freq-til conditions change, irregardless of the antenna used.

when the noise is 40 over 9 or better, & a 10kw station with that very same 40 over 9 signal switches polarity, OF COURSE you can no longer hear him. unless his signal gets stronger.

and, yes, there are a fair amount of channel 6 bases that use horizontally polarized antennas. sad to say, that there are not as many mobiles running flatside while parked as there used to be, just a sign of the times-bigger amps don't require bigger antennas.

 

[1200RI]

Super bowl is not ruled by Jogunn's antenna's most are Maco flatsides or homemade flatside.Jogunn's are good antenna's but the booms are too short.Gain comes from boom length.Cophase some Maco 4's and you will have some real fun with those expensive aluminum ladder's in the sky!

 

[KC2OST]

If you are able to talk to some of the big operator on the Super Bowl most of them say they run the Jo gunn super audio flat sides.

They are all lying. After careful observation with a dual polarity antenna you will see that probably less then 1/3 of the folks on the bowl use flatside (horizontal). When someone is explaining how they have 1" coax, 10k watts and a 8 element flatside, but when you go flat they disappear and come back when you go vertical, you know theyre lying. They probably run Maco 5/8's, I-10k's, and antrons. Real Black Man in CT. runs a 2x4 with a Antron and he gets called on the bowl before hes even out there. You'd be amazed at what works.


Sometimes I think I'm trying to hard. Me and my LDF4-50...

That is a pretty dumb post, to say they are all lying makes you sound dumb. A signal can leave horizontal and arrive at your location verticaly polarized. No one is amazed at what works, you can talk acroos the country on a walkie talkie if conditons are right and no one else is out there trying to step on you. Thats not the case on the bowl sure you can talk with a ANtron and a 2x4 that is until someone else with a bigger antenna and more watts keys on you then you are just slobbering in the mike because no one hears you. In the end to say they are all lying is incorrect.

 

[KC2OST]

should have said most

You are forgiven!!

 

[hotrod]

yes jogunn is very well built.possibly the best/strongest
design.will it out due a maco i highly dough it.i believe
they will be farily close.even if the jogunn gives off a
extra s-unit over the maco that wouldnt make me spend
that kinda money for one.however if i lived in a high winds
harsh enveriment area i believe the jogunn would outlast
the maco in terms of years of use

 

[Master Chief]

Yes, Jo-Gunn is very well built; possibly the best/strongest design.

I disagree with this. The Jo-Gunn is overbuilt and therefore heavier than necessary to survive high winds.

Even if the Jo-Gunn gives off a extra s-unit over the Maco that wouldn't make me spend that kinda money for one.

The extra thick elements do NOTHING for the electrical performance. A 3/4" diameter element is a 3/4" element. Antenna design, element placement, feedpoint losses, and boom length, could make one antenna better than another.

However if I lived in a high winds harsh environment area I believe the Jo-Gunn would outlast the Maco in terms of years of use.

Yes it would.

 

[bob85]

mc if you think a jogunn is well made/overconstructed you should see a polaris comet. very much like a gunn star series but it has a cast saddle and machined solid aluminum pegs for the elements that come together inside the boom bolted with a stainless 13mm bolt,
supposedly made in canada to stand any kind of weather makes a jogunn seem slightly puny,
you can swing/stand on the end of the boom no problem,
i have seen one come down from 40ft with 20ft of scaffold pole and the the owner attached,
one element speared through his caravan roof into his wardrobe, he broke his shoulder and arm the trailer sprang a leak but all it did was snap a peg, the antenna boom and elements were not damaged at all,
when i first helped assemble a jogunn 4+4star i thought huh thats a cheap copy of a polaris,
i put the polaris up at home and my crappy but brand new rotator only managed a north/south swing then back then nothing it stripped the gears in a moderate wind, boy was i pissed at the time, a tx2 sorted that problem

 

[Master Chief]

mc if you think a jogunn is well made/overconstructed you should see a polaris comet.i have seen one come down from 40ft with 20ft of scaffold pole and the the owner attached, one element speared through his caravan roof into his wardrobe, he broke his shoulder and arm the trailer sprang a leak but all it did was snap a peg, the antenna boom and elements were not damaged at all. i put the polaris up at home and my crappy but brand new rotator only managed a north/south swing then back then nothing it stripped the gears in a moderate wind, boy was i pissed at the time, a tx2 sorted that problem

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[scottdarling1221]

Real Black Man in CT. runs a 2x4 with a Antron ...yea, OK, for his driver maybe. on a 20 volt/150 amp PS. either that or another case of not believing everything you hear. he may be 'the big station'-at times-but, when the big boys are in there, he ain't squat. listen more then just at select times of day. another big part of operating on the super bowl is being a member of 'the good ole boys' network. if you can hear both ends of the conversation, you'll realize that many 'a' time, one doesn't respond to the prior statement properly, because he COULDN'T hear him. the reply is nothing more then an acknowledgement to an old friend. and before you get upset, no, that is NOT always the case. there ARE 4 x 3cx3000, 2 x 4cx15000, 64 x 2sc2879, etc etc that DO rule the freq-til conditions change, irregardless of the antenna used.

when the noise is 40 over 9 or better, & a 10kw station with that very same 40 over 9 signal switches polarity, OF COURSE you can no longer hear him. unless his signal gets stronger.

and, yes, there are a fair amount of channel 6 bases that use horizontally polarized antennas. sad to say, that there are not as many mobiles running flatside while parked as there used to be, just a sign of the times-bigger amps don't require bigger antennas.

I agree theres alot of politicking going on out there with real black man.I was on the bowl yesterday i also live in ct and just with a few k and my interceptor 25k i was able to stop real black man from talking.I didnt even need to hook the beam up.He lives in a cruddy spot in the housatonic valley.Hes not hard to key on i hear the big guys keying on him all the time.He picks his contacts.

 

[Mr Clean]

Alot fo guys that I know that run the big Macos prefer the 7s to the 8s. I dont know why unless its because they feel the boom on the 8s is to short for 8 elements. Ive heard the oldtimers say they prefer a odd number of elements on a yagi uda and even a number on a quad.

 

[RickC.]

Ive heard the oldtimers say they prefer a odd number of elements on a yagi uda and even a number on a quad.

Interesting, never have heard of that. Some writings on quads indicate diminishing returns after 4 elements- I've not built one over four so can't speak to that first hand.


Rick

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Alot fo guys that I know that run the big Macos prefer the 7s to the 8s. I dont know why unless its because they feel the boom on the 8s is to short for 8 elements. Ive heard the oldtimers say they prefer a odd number of elements on a yagi uda and even a number on a quad.

That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Sounds like another one of those CB myths that were discussed in another thread. I ran four elements for years in a yagi-quad configuration. I currently run six elements on a homebrew 6m yagi and I challenge any five element to match it. I would like to see a two element quad beat a three element quad.