• You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.
  • Click here to find out how to win free radios from Retevis!

Procomm Quad Rod ?


the original van ordt design lives on. broadbanded ? yes. very high gain? typical performance is .5 dB. below your average full size 1/4 λ steel whip, spring & ball
while being that much better than a standard 1/4 λ top load, foot-for-foot. this
applies specifically to the procomm (QW45) Quad Wound 4.5 foot antenna.
Can someone please interpret for me ?
 
  • Like
Reactions: secret squirrel
My fun with the "quad wounds - and "twin Tiger-Tail" types have been with the upper whip tip extension...

This thing...
upload_2021-12-3_20-4-43.png

Actually - two - the Ferrules...​

Having owned several (yes several!) thru the years, they have not improved by much.

22AWG wire? Well, go to a store and just buy 8 feet of #6 AWG - you get the idea of how much weight in copper it will be on that fiberglass shaft, on top of the upper ferrules' weight and if not enough mass to dissipate your wattage - and you run power - you're going to be throwing your money away - the RF heating on these shorter antennas and their loading will not only deform the shrink wrap cover allowing water entry - but heat up the top Ferrule causing the fiberglass to epoxy resin bond to soften and collapse - making the antenna less rigid as heat is the biggest detriment to any fiberglass antenna.

Think thru the process, if your a truck driver - whipping winds and cross winds can easily force you to have a death grip on your steering wheel during heavy travel times - and with those winds comes ice, snow, rain - more wind and bugs, birds - bats - occasional tree limbs and maybe a stray homeless person trying to get insurance claims by trying to get skewered by your whip while he sits atop an abutment at the stop light waiting to mock you.

Ok, you get 4 wires - sleeved, amidst the shrink wrap and if dew from fog or ice from freezing rain has any say - it will try to re-fold your antenna while you watch it flail haphazardly being helpless as you drive thru the storm trying to get out - it may or may not make it - and even if it does - will your AT-6666 or Side-Mic @Slowmover -Certified Galaxy withstand the SWR mis-match?

The thing is 4.5 feet great! But still a windsail catcher - so if you're into 70+ MPH Hammer lane activity - maybe something like a simpler base loaded whip might catch a little less H*ll on the highway as you drive thru Dallas - Los Angeles - New York or even cursing (Gosh Darn It) - er, cruising (ahemn...) along the I-10 .
 
I bought a ProComm Quad Wound today. Figured I'd give it a try, as the placement of the antenna (above window, passenger side) ideally needs a top loaded. I tried a beer can, it was OK, then a Firestick 2, which was better, but 450 watts going through a single wind made me think maybe a Skip Shooter, or quad. So, since a quad was right here at this CB shop across from where I'm parked, I grabbed one. About as easy to tune as a FS2 or similar, with similar SWRs, which are ok, but not very low,1.3 ch 40/1.4 ch 1/ 1.3 ch 20. Advertised as ultra broadband. The captured signal is ok. Not much different than the FS2, inspite of being advertised as "increased signal capture, due to quad wound," but not as good as my cophased Wilson 2k Truckers. Transmit? Haven't done a distance check yet.
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.