palco has M-400s (starduster copies) for $50 = S&H

[BOOTY MONSTER]

i initally made this post to folks looking for a cheap/inexpensive antenna to consider . in the post by ratso he mentioned a problem with the so-239 on the antenna that the coax connects to that i hadnt herd of befor .

so this isnt a good option anymore .
thanks for the heads up ratso

" Originally Posted by RatsoW8 View Post
Just an FIY on this antenna...I bought one a few years ago thinking it would be a cheap option for a 10 meter gp. Unless they changed the design this antenna has a funky off size coax connector. It looks like a standard so-239 but is NOT. A standard pl-259 will not fit it. I've been a ham for 23 years and am familiar with just about every rf connector out there and this thing is not one of them...lol These are most likely made overseas and where QC is not a big concern. I still have the antenna by the way, just no way to attach coax to it and the connector is built into the bottom hub which is a chunk of cheap metal."

 

[hotrod]

it is a Workman copy of the starduster . i dont know if it has the ribbed tubing that seem to weaken antennas , but if your interested you can call and ask . i spoke to the guy yesterday about some other stuff , but asked if they were actually in stock and they are . for folks wanting an aluminum antenna with a proper groundplane and need it to be cheap it could be a very good option over the more expensive antron 99 with no ground plane included (but $old $eperately) .

just thought id mention it for those that may be interested .

Workman M-400 Starduster - Palco Electronics

p.s. ignore the 7 Db gain rating ..... LOL

not bad for 50.00. but for a little more ya could get a workman 5/8 or maco 5/8

 

[Mongoose]

Well, just to let all of you know about Palco. They will not return anything ONLY EXCHANGE AND NO REFUNDS, other than that they are great to deal with. They are 45 minutes away from me.

 

[hotrod]

on there 10 meter radios do they comvert them to 11meter upon request

 

[Mongoose]

They don't sell 10 meter radios anymore

 

[hotrod]

They don't sell 10 meter radios anymore

there web pager must be outdated cause there on therere.thanks anyways

 

[Mongoose]

I stand corrected, they are selling them again.

Ham Radios (2 / 10 / 12 Meter) at Discount Prices - Palco Electronics

 

[RatsoW8]

Just an FYI on this antenna...I bought one a few years ago thinking it would be a cheap option for a 10 meter gp. Unless they changed the design this antenna has a funky off size coax connector. It looks like a standard so-239 but is NOT. A standard pl-259 will not fit it. I've been a ham for 23 years and am familiar with just about every rf connector out there and this thing is not one of them...lol These are most likely made overseas and where QC is not a big concern. I still have the antenna by the way, just no way to attach coax to it and the connector is built into the bottom hub which is a chunk of cheap metal.

 

[Marconi]

Just an FYI on this antenna...I bought one a few years ago thinking it would be a cheap option for a 10 meter gp. Unless they changed the design this antenna has a funky off size coax connector. It looks like a standard so-239 but is NOT. A standard pl-259 will not fit it. I've been a ham for 23 years and am familiar with just about every rf connector out there and this thing is not one of them...lol These are most likely made overseas and where QC is not a big concern. I still have the antenna by the way, just no way to attach coax to it and the connector is built into the bottom hub which is a chunk of cheap metal.

If you want to try and use this antenna, then take some Emory cloth and sand down the center pin of the PL259 that you will use at the antenna feed point. My experience is, it doesn't take much. Don't try to sand inside the SO239 in the antenna, because the metal is already very thin.

I've seen the same thing some years ago regarding some Italian imports. I'm not sure, cause this problem may be metric vs. US standard sizing. I don't hear much about it anymore.

Personally, I don't recommend any antenna that has tubing that has been fluted (ribbed). To compression bend or extrude such tubing only makes very thin tubing even thinner.

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

Just an FYI on this antenna...I bought one a few years ago thinking it would be a cheap option for a 10 meter gp. Unless they changed the design this antenna has a funky off size coax connector. It looks like a standard so-239 but is NOT. A standard pl-259 will not fit it. I've been a ham for 23 years and am familiar with just about every rf connector out there and this thing is not one of them...lol These are most likely made overseas and where QC is not a big concern. I still have the antenna by the way, just no way to attach coax to it and the connector is built into the bottom hub which is a chunk of cheap metal.

thanks for the heads up ratso ......
so even IF it doesnt have fluted/ribbed tubing a poor so-239 connector puts everything in front of it at risk of burning up . i hadnt herd of that issue with this antenna befor .

 

[Robb]

One would think that Palco wasn't aware?
Wha?

The last time I'd talked to Tom Charles of Gizmotchy/Maco antennas; he told me that Workman antennas had "borrowed" many patented designs and were making crude copies and selling them. No one has gone after Workman over this. It appears that when it comes to dealing with China; we get little/no respect with copyrights. Workman gear is made in China - of course...

 

[undertaker]

FYI Palco does not convert radios!!!!!!

 

[CDX-007]

Geez, it's only the antenna connection, that's not all that important now, is it?

...so what is my original Starduster worth nowadays?

It's almost perfectly straight and is only missing the lower plastic radial stabilizer, which I believe is available or home-brew-able.

Quite heavy-duty aluminum, I believe it's 6061 T6. It just has that 'smell' hehe.

I also have an original AstroPlane and have no idea where it's headed but it's not going up here.

73