Put up a Hustler 5BTV today

[Captain Kilowatt]

Good job with the antenna! All this time you had no antennas?

If you get propagation towards the SW, maybe I'll be able to pick you up...I'll even give you a RPC signal report!

I had a ladder line fed doublet with a remote auto-tuner but last fall that broke and the pulley was jammed so I could not even lower it to repair it. That was about the time I completely blew out the meniscus and torn the ACL in my knee and could not climb the tower to free it up. Still having problems with my knee and said F it and just threw some $$$ at the problem until it went away.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

That's where a box or 2 of beer for the neighbour's kids comes in
Seriously, it gets you on the air so maybe we can meet up while I'm doing a SOTA this winter.

That would be cool. Maybe I can give you an IOTA contact next summer around the end of July /first of August when we return to Grand Manan Island NA-014. In case anyone is interested keep an ear out around the 20m and 80m DX windows for VE1IDX.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Added the DX Engineering 17m add-on kit to the Hustler 5BTV today. It looks a little weird but it works. I was thinking about adding the 12m kit as well but I may opt for the 60m kit instead. Never worked 60m before but may give it a shot. Also added a set of guy lines today. The lines are just snug as they do not have to be tight like guying a tower or mast but are there just to add some support to the antenna in high winds.

Tuning is accomplished by adjusting the two stainless rods. It appears to have no effect on the other bands.

I used dark green Dacron rope for the guy lines. Two 50 foot lengths cut in half made all four lines. I used four since that way I only need to release one of them when tilting the antenna over. three would have required two lines to be released. It is now sturdy as a rock. If we get enough wind and ice to take this down I will be worried about a new house to live in before I am worried about the antenna.

 

[Robb]

Are you going to put down dirt/grass on top of the radial field; or is it going to be a perpetual gnome trip wire?

 

[camaro1]

so hows it work?? you been making any contacts with it??

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Are you going to put down dirt/grass on top of the radial field; or is it going to be a perpetual gnome trip wire?

I need to install some U shaped pieces of wire to pin them down then in the spring I plan to over-seed the area. As the grass grows up the radials will eventually disappear. I will be able to mow right over them next spring.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

so hows it work?? you been making any contacts with it??

A few all with decent reports. It smokes into the USA on 40m most of the time. A couple European contacts on 80m. haven't had much time to play the last few days actually and we are just coming off a geomagnetic storm so propagation is not that great but it is getting better.

 

[Mudduckmobile]

Added the DX Engineering 17m add-on kit to the Hustler 5BTV today. It looks a little weird but it works. I was thinking about adding the 12m kit as well but I may opt for the 60m kit instead. Never worked 60m before but may give it a shot. Also added a set of guy lines today. The lines are just snug as they do not have to be tight like guying a tower or mast but are there just to add some support to the antenna in high winds.

Tuning is accomplished by adjusting the two stainless rods. It appears to have no effect on the other bands.

View attachment 21832


I used dark green Dacron rope for the guy lines. Two 50 foot lengths cut in half made all four lines. I used four since that way I only need to release one of them when tilting the antenna over. three would have required two lines to be released. It is now sturdy as a rock. If we get enough wind and ice to take this down I will be worried about a new house to live in before I am worried about the antenna.

View attachment 21833

Very nice. Please keep us up to date on the performance of this antenna.
It looks like a very good set up.

 

[M0GVZ]

Must be something in the water, over the last few days I've installed a 5BTV too. Unfortunately I can't get down anywhere near as many radials as you can so I've had to settle for 24 varying between 6ft and 20ft with three that are 60-ish feet long and all over a 180 degree arc.

Found similar issues with 40m, mine is around 7.180 for the lowest SWR and I know it is as a result of the RF ground or lack of it. I've got two RF chokes on the feedline built with ferrite rings.

I guyed mine from the start as we were forecast to get 65-75MPH winds today and they've been on the go for the last several hours. So far it seems to be surviving OK.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Must be something in the water, over the last few days I've installed a 5BTV too. Unfortunately I can't get down anywhere near as many radials as you can so I've had to settle for 24 varying between 6ft and 20ft with three that are 60-ish feet long and all over a 180 degree arc.

Found similar issues with 40m, mine is around 7.180 for the lowest SWR and I know it is as a result of the RF ground or lack of it. I've got two RF chokes on the feedline built with ferrite rings.

I guyed mine from the start as we were forecast to get 65-75MPH winds today and they've been on the go for the last several hours. So far it seems to be surviving OK.

On 40m i find the SWR never dips to 1:1 but bottoms out around 1.5:1 but it does cover the entire band. How did you set yours up? According to New-Tronics (Hustler manufacturer) or the much better installation manual from DX Engineering? DX Engineering BTV series Installation Manual for improved performance

 

[fourstringburn]

Sounds like your antenna is working just fine.

So now I ask why a 25ft trapped vertical with lots of radials would be better, worse, or the same as a 43ft non-trapped vertical with lots of radials and a remote tuner at the antenna feedpoint?

1 antenna is almost twice as short and has losses with the traps. Also traps are known to radiate harmonics.

The other antenna is too short for the low bands and too tall for the higher bands and has losses in the tuner.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Sounds like your antenna is working just fine.

So now I ask why a 25ft trapped vertical with lots of radials would be better, worse, or the same as a 43ft non-trapped vertical with lots of radials and a remote tuner at the antenna feedpoint?

1 antenna is almost twice as short and has losses with the traps. Also traps are known to radiate harmonics.

The other antenna is too short for the low bands and too tall for the higher bands and has losses in the tuner.

Now my turn to ask.....again. What is magical about a 43 foot antenna? Why not 54 feet? Or 47 feet? The big difference between a 43 foot antenna and the 5BTV is that the 5BTV functions as a 1/4 wave whereas the 43 footer functions as a whatever wavelength with the attendant various and often useless for DX vertical angle elevations. Also the impedance of a 43 foot antenna will be all over the map and some bands may be hard to get a good match using a remote tuner. I HAVE been down that road before ordering the 5BTV. I used a vertical wire instead of a mast/pipe but that is the only difference. In either case, a trapped vertical or a 43 foot vertical you still NEED radials for best performance. ALL vertical monopole antennas need radials for best performance. Even half wave monopoles work better with them. As I have said, this is just a temporary antenna to get me thru to next year when the yagis go up and then not even a 43 foot antenna will perform as well as that. As for traps radiating harmonics I never heard of that. the traps themselves do not radiate harmonics. A trapped vertical is no different than any other multiband antenna including a fan dipole and of course will radiate any harmonics from the transmitter but so will a 43 foot antenna since there is nothing to stop them from reaching the antenna. Also by not having a remote tuner at the base I don't have to worry too much about losing it due to a lightning strike.

 

[Tallman]

Newly installed Hustler 5BTV minus the 17m add-on kit. I forgot it initially and then ran short of time. It will be installed in the next day or three.

I just noticed the antenna name, does that mean "Five channels of British Television?"

 

[543_Dallas]

I suppose a person could match whatever length vertical they want with an L network...which could easily be used as a low pass filter with a couple more parts.

With modern transmitters I don't see the need for anymore filtering at the antenna. Not much left to improve on and the antenna will be deaf on other bands. Not good for the guys that like to cruise the bands looking for action.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I suppose a person could match whatever length vertical they want with an L network...which could easily be used as a low pass filter with a couple more parts.

With modern transmitters I don't see the need for anymore filtering at the antenna. Not much left to improve on and the antenna will be deaf on other bands. Not good for the guys that like to cruise the bands looking for action.

With a 43 foot antenna you would pretty much need an auto tuner for all band coverage if you want any form of convience. That will limit your choice of EXPENSIVE tuners or restrict your power output. Granted an auto tuner can have hundreds of memories so it can be tuned in several segments of each band for all band use without affecting RX too much but most anyone serious about listening anywhere on HF will most likely use a long wire antenna.

Not sure what you meant about filtering at the antenna. There is no filtering but a multiband antenna will radiate harmonics better, that is certain, but as you said with modern transmitters the harmonic output is low anyway.