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New Super Penetrator 500
- Thread starter basstracker1970
- Start date
glad ya finally got it setup,. now how hard was it. to setup? and yup no more splatter
sticks for me either. i thought about this antenna too but settled for sirio 2016
that does better than the imax it replaced
sticks for me either. i thought about this antenna too but settled for sirio 2016
that does better than the imax it replaced
I have been saying this for years... for some wack reason, no one believed me. The Imax myth persists, I guess.
I've never been impressed with my Imax either. It worked fine, but it seemed to me to be no better than my A99...which I personally think is a very good antenna...but that is just me.
I have studied the Imax using my modeling and maybe you might like to check out these models. All we really get in the way of information with this antenna...is the wrath for unhappy campers. Maybe this project will give you some consideration as to maybe why we hear bad reports. I know these results surprise me.
These are all simple models that just scale to the size of the Imax. They have no matching device...so you must consider all that matcher can and will do if it is constructed right at the manufacture. Some are lemons and most are just fine. Millions of owner's couldn't all be wrong. If you hear a 100 contacts on the air at any point in time...75+ are probably and Imax/A99.
I take it for granted that some of this stuff you will understand or at least recognize. It is just images of the Imax in different configurations you might be familiar with, and the patterns they produce according to my ideas using Eznec modeling software.
All models are at 42' feet high, and those that are Isolated (ISO) show a small gap at the feed point or base of the antenna. The red lines represent the radiating currents where the magnitude of the current is represented by the distance away from the adjacent element. Just a heads up...if you see the red line and it is really close to the element...then there is not much RF at that point.
View attachment Imax 2000 variations..pdf
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It's not the fiberglass that makes them perform poorly or become RFI splatter sticks. It's what they put inside the fiberglass that does that.
VA3ES, I forgot to include my Imax model with 4 x 109" horizontal radials that everybody raves about being the best thing since ice cream.
It doesn't look to me to be of any advantage over horizontal 72" radials, and you see what my Eznec indicates about the slanted down GPK that most everybody gets...it is less than good to me. At the very least if I used the slanted down radials I would sure make the effort to check it real close against a no radials or horizontal radials.
In these models with no matcher and no radials...we have to assume the matcher is at least doing some additional work besides just making a good match for the radio. No antenna as bad as noted here with no radials would look to hardly work at all. Even if it did...I think one could easly tell in the lack of performance.
View attachment Imax with .25w radials.pdf
How say you?
It doesn't look to me to be of any advantage over horizontal 72" radials, and you see what my Eznec indicates about the slanted down GPK that most everybody gets...it is less than good to me. At the very least if I used the slanted down radials I would sure make the effort to check it real close against a no radials or horizontal radials.
In these models with no matcher and no radials...we have to assume the matcher is at least doing some additional work besides just making a good match for the radio. No antenna as bad as noted here with no radials would look to hardly work at all. Even if it did...I think one could easly tell in the lack of performance.
View attachment Imax with .25w radials.pdf
How say you?
Since the Imax and Antron were both designed to work without radials the groundplane kit has to simulate the same situation. In other words when you add the GPK it can't alter the impedance very much so they add short radials on a 45 degree angle that don't do very much.
Except get people to spend their money on smoke and mirrors.
Exactly !!!! Aluminum antennas are the way to go not fiberglass for sure. My spt-500 is smoking my old imax 2000 not even close. People I talked to before I had to run power with, I can now talk to them barefooted. The sound is even clearer sounding and crisp with the spt-500. I love it and will never go back to fiberglass again.
I have no idea how the Imax 200 works without radials, unless it is a delayed feed single extended Zepp. According to "The Imax 2000 EXPOSED!" adding ground planes to the Imax improves it's performance significantly.
Nevertheless, Having compared both the Imax (with radials) and the P500, I always found the P500 to be superior.
Nevertheless, Having compared both the Imax (with radials) and the P500, I always found the P500 to be superior.
Until the Gain Master came out, I would completely agree with this statement. The game has changed now and the GM is serious competition for the best aluminum groundplanes. It's only downside is it won't handle a megawatt.
We have a 10M repeater on 29.620. I bought two GainMasters for the repeater (split site). They don't quite tune up up there, so we're using two small home-made 10M tuners. We needed the GM's because it's a commercial site and antennas with ground planes won't fit there.
Ed, here is my bandwidth report on my Gain Master at 38' feet to the mount, and your frequency looks to be at the bands edge.
Antenna is up, guy wires on and mast is about 18 feet . I've been informed that I should look at mounting it higher for extra coverage. There are telescopic masts that could achieve the extra height.
Spoke to a gent on the Gold Coast ( South east Queensland yesterday 1700 km) and got good reports as was he. Nice antenna. Thicker coax was given to me by a friend which also assists.
Bruce
