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Merlin Base Up Close and Personal
- Thread starter Cajun Invader
- Start date
assuming 20 miles is within it's angle of radiation, remember the 1/4 and .64 wave thingy? the the overall best way to check is side by side but they still have to have the same advantage.
...and yet everyone denounces this antenna based solely on LOOKS and not PERFORMANCE!!!!!:headbang
B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
hey red . i certianly understand where youre comming from . my comments (and maybe some of others) were based on comments on other forums by a click of folks proclaiming the merlin to be the be all end all in omni cb antennas . ive found it very difficult to get any real answers about it other than he said/she said answers . those supposedly in the know guys claiming 2 s-units and more over 5/8 antennas only prove to me the inacuracy of their s meters . each s unit is supposed to be 6 db , so 12 db + over a 5/8 ????? all that tugging makes my legg hurt ! LOL
Like I said before, only if that mobile 20 miles out happens to be in a spot that favors one antennas particular radiation pattern. Terrain plays a big part in that, too. That might be an OK test if all you want to do is local communications. However, if you want to know which antenna will be a better performer in "dx-land", that type of test is meaningless.
And 2 S-units of difference? No way. You'd have to use a high gain directional, like a big yagi to achieve that much difference. There's no real standard for CB S-units (the 6db is a pretty loose guideline), but still....
on the construction of the Merlin, I don't think we will know it is a good design until we get them up in the air for a couple of years.....even the old penetrators had problems with the top hats breaking off...
Well it appears that a child manufactured it so that's what the issue is here, construction is in the hands of the buyer.
I haven't said anything yet, even though I am disappointed in the look of the construction, like several others. But then again, I'm not much on the need for the good looks thing either. Durability is the thing.
I like the style of the antenna with the exception---it is does not have a shield against radiation to the feed line and IMO it will have either or both CM currents or at the very least inductive RF currents flowing on the shield from the down radials. The feed line does not exit the antenna RF field well. This antenna's style is after the SD’r. The SD'r does attempt to help with CMC an induced RF problems by running the coax inside the mast pipe for at least a 1/4 wave length.
The worst potential problem I see, however, is with the radiator to hub insulator. Unless there is a solid and very strong insulator inside the tubing above and below the hub, hidden from view, that runs up inside the radiator and down inside the bottom mast bracket tube, this hollowed out weak insulator will not support that constantly moving in the wind radiator very long.
See the image and think about it. There has to be an air gap between the top radiator and the bottom mast bracket pipe that provides the insulation for the radiator. If there is no additional insulator inside, then there will be a lot of stress exerted in the area of the gap---and on the bolt below the gap. It also looks like the radiator is just glued into the insulator and there is no additional support seen to keep it off the bolt below. What if the seal breaks and the radiator falls down on the bolt?
I could be all wrong of course, but Cajun you might be able to confirm this if you can take the insulator loose from the hub and get us some pictures of that.
I like the style of the antenna with the exception---it is does not have a shield against radiation to the feed line and IMO it will have either or both CM currents or at the very least inductive RF currents flowing on the shield from the down radials. The feed line does not exit the antenna RF field well. This antenna's style is after the SD’r. The SD'r does attempt to help with CMC an induced RF problems by running the coax inside the mast pipe for at least a 1/4 wave length.
The worst potential problem I see, however, is with the radiator to hub insulator. Unless there is a solid and very strong insulator inside the tubing above and below the hub, hidden from view, that runs up inside the radiator and down inside the bottom mast bracket tube, this hollowed out weak insulator will not support that constantly moving in the wind radiator very long.
See the image and think about it. There has to be an air gap between the top radiator and the bottom mast bracket pipe that provides the insulation for the radiator. If there is no additional insulator inside, then there will be a lot of stress exerted in the area of the gap---and on the bolt below the gap. It also looks like the radiator is just glued into the insulator and there is no additional support seen to keep it off the bolt below. What if the seal breaks and the radiator falls down on the bolt?
I could be all wrong of course, but Cajun you might be able to confirm this if you can take the insulator loose from the hub and get us some pictures of that.
The antenna has been put up temporarily for tuning.
It's 20' from the ground to the mounting base of the antenna.
Coax is 9913 and it is attached to the provided SO239. The antenna has been assembled per directions and aligned with the magic marker lines provided by the maker.
SWR Channel 1 20 watts no audio injected.
SWR Channel 19 no audio injected.
SWR Channel 40 no audio injected.
First on air report to local 5 miles away. His response to my radio check was, "What are you on? You sound 10 miles away." Local had no idea I was on a different antenna. I am still optimistic however. The antenna will be raised another 10' to 36' after tuning is complete.
It's 20' from the ground to the mounting base of the antenna.
Coax is 9913 and it is attached to the provided SO239. The antenna has been assembled per directions and aligned with the magic marker lines provided by the maker.
SWR Channel 1 20 watts no audio injected.
SWR Channel 19 no audio injected.
SWR Channel 40 no audio injected.
First on air report to local 5 miles away. His response to my radio check was, "What are you on? You sound 10 miles away." Local had no idea I was on a different antenna. I am still optimistic however. The antenna will be raised another 10' to 36' after tuning is complete.
B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
What looks good does not always work best. All the pretty coils do is add the bling affect to the antenna!:drool:
Just remember if it does not work to your liking you can always sell it! I'm sure one of those guys who believes it will out perform a 5/8 would gladly buy it off you.
Just remember if it does not work to your liking you can always sell it! I'm sure one of those guys who believes it will out perform a 5/8 would gladly buy it off you.
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Imax and A99 without ground plane kit at same place and height.
Remember, this was just a tuning test. The antenna has not been grounded yet. It's just sitting on the pole and the pole is just sitting in the pipe that holds it.
I am not yet ready to say this antenna is better or worse than the previous mentioned antennas.
It was probably not fair for me to mention the on air report I received knowing that antenna was not grounded.
I will say this however. It did tune better than the Imax and A99 did.
Put it up 40 ft from the feedpoint to the ground.
It looks like your roof is 16 ft at the peak - a guess. So you may need to add another 15-20 ft of masting. Plus the 10 ft mast that you are now using - of course. Nothing says 'talking' like height. This antenna should work out great; how many feet of 9913 did you get? Take it to the limit of your coax/length!
It looks like your roof is 16 ft at the peak - a guess. So you may need to add another 15-20 ft of masting. Plus the 10 ft mast that you are now using - of course. Nothing says 'talking' like height. This antenna should work out great; how many feet of 9913 did you get? Take it to the limit of your coax/length!