I won't buy or recommend a Wilson base load anymore after seeing them leak water into the coil.
They used to be a great antenna, about the best mag mount out there.
There are threads here on the forum about repairing them.
73
Jeff
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Base New Imax wont tune 11m....this sucks
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They used to be a great antenna, about the best mag mount out there.
There are threads here on the forum about repairing them.
73
Jeff
Here is a video showing the optimizer addition and it looks to go at the top of the middle section.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTdpP44XHt0&t=4s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTdpP44XHt0&t=4s
Thanks for that.
I will give them credit for at least adding it to the larger diameter of the antenna.
73
Jeff
The extension goes between the top section and section below it.
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On the new Max 2k's it is called Optimized. There is a small section about a foot long that goes just under the top section. That brings it into a fine tune for CB or 11M. With out the extension, it is tuned for the 10m band. I hope that helps!
To add to that info - without the extender section it’s still usable for 11M but SWR will likely be in the 1.7-2.0 range and more optimized for 10M.
I found my new A99, 13" shorter that my older A99's. Over time I also saw a little change in overall lengths. I did not mess with the new A99 match when I saw a steady SWR of 1.4:1 - 1.5:1 with the 13" cut off, so I think the A99 is also optimized to tune at the factory...just like they claim in the manual. I added 5 - 5" x 4" coax coils in a choke to the feedline, however. That did help somewhat.
With that said, and my disabilities, I set the A99 in a bad location for convenience only. The A99 coil is about 8" inches from the edge of my roof at 8'<> off the ground...and in Texas "That ain't to good."
73's and God Bless
Eddie - Marconi
With that said, and my disabilities, I set the A99 in a bad location for convenience only. The A99 coil is about 8" inches from the edge of my roof at 8'<> off the ground...and in Texas "That ain't to good."
73's and God Bless
Eddie - Marconi
The dimensions of my new (two-month-old) A-99 are; Top section: 71.000", Center section: 68.250", Bottom section: 69.500". Total length: 208.750".
BK, I understood that is the new compromised setup with the new IMax, to work both 10-11MHz without the extension added.
Did you move your Imax tuning rings before your testing these setups?
I understood the Newer Imax is shorter and they added the new small section so folks could then tune better at 11 meters.
What did it do when you added the extender section? Did it tune at or closer to 11M, or did you have to adjust the rings?
73's
Eddie - Marconi - Grampa on my radio.
Recon, good work.
I have 208.5" noted as the overall length on my new A99 Manual. I used that to determine how long the radiator wire actually is for my modeling the New A99 radiator wire at close to 196.625" and my old A99 radiator wire was close to 207" inches.
73's
Eddie - Marconi
OK, now I understand. The extender section is installed between the top of the center section and the bottom of the top section.
I would think two mechanical joints 13" apart would be a "weak-link" during heavy winds and a longer top section would have been a better design.
I don't understand why they shortened the 99 because the longest (top) section is only (not exact) 72.500" including the 3/8" male threaded stud.
Last year the rational / excuse for the IMAX 2000 being shortened was because of size restrictions from UPS to be less than 96".
If the radiator wire on the older 99 is 207" and the radiator wire on my 99 is 196.625", that's a huge difference. Maybe that explains why I had to place the tuning rings to the top of the threads to obtain a good SWR.
Recon, it is my understanding that Solarcon optimized the Imax to cover 10-11 Meters to show a suitable match (1.5:1 or less) for the Imax. IMO, they were catering to Ham market, etc. Now they sell the Imax as an optimized unit with a short element to installed between the top and middle sections for CB. Leave the element off for 10 meters.
If I measured my A99 correctly, then I suspected Solarcon is again catering more to the 10-meter market with their compromised idea and included the idea into their New A99 as well.
I figure few operators want to cut the top of the A99 to match the A99 for 10 meters and the lose the 11 meters. So, if Solarcon cut the top off and compromised the antenna to both bands...that is what I have. Because of your well thought out comment above I will be rechecking my New A99 dimensions again.
I hope to soon move my A99, so I can get it away from the bottom edge of my roof at about 8' feet. That matching section of the A99 is to close and only about 12" above the roof at its lowest point.
I have a match at 27.205 MHZ with 77 ohms of impedance, -1.24 ohms reactance, with SWR =1.54:1, on channel 1 - 40. But the reactance at 1 & 40 are close to -300 ohms, which means the A99 is too short at those frequencies.
With my RigExpert, it shows resonance at 27.650 MHz and reactance at +0.2 ohms and SWR is 1.44:1, the best this antenna will make. My older A99s, they always showed me, in most cases, near a perfect match.
In order for Solarcon to do that...with this A99, and then tell me I don't need to tune the antenna for CB, they did that at the factory...seems impossible. This is why I want to move it away from my house and see if this changes for the better. Then I will re-check my dimensions for the A99. You raised a good point, and it made me very curious.
I still work DX when I work the radio, and I recently I talked to the- man, Audioshockwav in his mobile in California. I was on channel 16 at the time, so maybe I would not have made the contact...if I was on 38 or 1.
What do you think Recon?
Thanks for your comments brother, Recon.
73's and God Bless,
Eddie - Marconi - Grandpa on my radio,
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I retired in August 2018 and purchased a new IMAX 2000 only because of the simplicity of assembly and installation. I talked on skip and sideband and the antenna seemed to perform good enough for me. I did not move the tuning rings from the factory settings, but I did snug them up because there was a 1/64" gap between the two rings. SWR was between 1.3:1 to 1.6:1 and I did not lower the antenna to move the rings. The base of the antenna was twenty-six feet from the ground mounted.
After two or three months I purchased and installed a Colossal 10K base antenna and the performance and SWR exceeded the IMAX quite a bit and I haven't looked back. My friend was also getting back into CB and he bought my IMAX 2000 and it performed better for him than it did for me. He lives about twelve miles from me, and the elevation above sea level is about four-hundred feet above my location.