Save The Penetrator #500 antenna!

[troyota]

thank you for the link, i have it already. it should help, but it dont...........i have 3 versions of the manual and the golden penetrator 500 manual too. none of the 4 give any info on the base insulator. they are already assembled and riveted to the mount before they were shipped. they also dont give any dimentions on the matching device. i made one last night and looks pretty good. just gotta get the rest of the parts for it.
thanks

 

[kb6led]

The ring terminal connects to the brass screw coming out of the base cap. Hy-gain still offer a lot of the same parts used in the penetrator on currant ham antennas, so the part numbers are different than original.

 

[troyota]

thanks alot robert (i looked you up on qrz). i also assume this is what you are talking about drilling and tapping? (location for the brass bolt)
so on the pin coming out of the top of the mount in the center, does it not connect to anything?
is the overall length of the match 16" or close?
gonna have to call hygain tomorrow, i had to work late today.
thanks i appreciate your help
troy
KV4D

 

[kb6led]

The overall length of the main matching network is 16” and the smaller beta matcher is approx 11” as you can see in photos on the previous page, I used a vise and a piece of pvc pipe to make the round bends. Hope that helps.

 

[troyota]

yes that does help. i seen it in the picture and i couldnt tell if it had to be 16 exactly or if it could be off either way.
my old mount wasnt bad it was from a cl2 i think, so i used it for now. anyway i have the matching network almost ready. the lower mount is drilled and tapped. the vertical is now 23' instead of 19'. so hopefully the transformation is almost complete. just for giggles do you think a hairpin match would work better on this? gonna try it like this first. i wonder how much power these are capable of holding. i have read 1500, do you think thats the limit? seems to me they would be better after the rebuild and beefing up the connection inside.
thanks again guys

 

[KC9RGQ]

Where did you find the aluminum rod stock? I've looked at all the big box hardware stores and can't seem to find it.

 

[kb6led]

Where did you find the aluminum rod stock? I've looked at all the big box hardware stores and can't seem to find it.

I found it over at a local scrapper / recycle place. They had 12’ pcs for about $5.00 each

 

[KC9RGQ]

O.K. I finaly found a 16 foot section of the aluminum rod at a industrial metal supply for $10.99! A few guys in the area have been following my rebuild with great interest, so a few gamma and betas will be fabbed up. A total of three antennas will com back from the grave. Thanks for the info!

 

[kb6led]

Sounds like your almost there; it took me a few attempts to get the bending down on the gamma matcher. I used a bench vise, a piece of PVC tube and believe it or not a grease gun. Looking around the garage if found the grease guns round tube cartage worked great to make the hoops on the gamma matcher. Its worth the effort as its a great performing antenna, I worked a guy in the Cook Islands using it about a month ago on 10 meters. Oh and using an antenna tuner it actually loads up on 20 meters! I have make a few contacts using it there, its not a great performer on that band but it will work. keep us posted 73's

 

[CDX-007]

Great to read of the best 11m vertical omni ever designed still garnering attention in the forums!

I wonder what one would cost today if it were still available new?

I had an I-10K on the roof, ½ wave from the Penetrator, and they seemed about as equal in performance as two different antennas could be, differing only when not checking with a station directly perpendicular to a line running from one antenna to the other.

Great post!

 

[KC9RGQ]

I finished (3) Gamma and (3) Beta Rods today, not as difficult as one would think! The hardest part was getting started. Hy-Gain seems to be dragging their feet in that I ordered the parts over Three (3) weeks ago, a call to Joyce in the office twice seems to have done no good so now we shall see.

 

[kb6led]

I finished (3) Gamma and (3) Beta Rods today, not as difficult as one would think! The hardest part was getting started. Hy-Gain seems to be dragging their feet in that I ordered the parts over Three (3) weeks ago, a call to Joyce in the office twice seems to have done no good so now we shall see.

Hy-gain is easy to deal with but they move at there own pace when it comes to parts orders. I had the same experience I had placed 3 orders about a month apart from each other and every one of them took 2-3 weeks to ship upon receipt of order, so hang in there you will get it. by the way I was dealing with Tom over there, u might give him a call.

 

[VA3ES]

According to emails received from Hy-gain, (including Tom Stone, AA5MT), Hy-gain is planning to bring the Penetrator 500 back to life. Apparently, they are getting a large number of requests for it. It will be a close replica of the original. They don't know if the name will remain the same, but probably so. This will be the first stand-alone CB/10M antenna produced, since MFJ bought Hy-gain in 1999, and several years before, when Telex closed the CB division. Estimated delivery as of now is about July, possibly before.

 

[Oatmeal]

I know this is a old post....

But are you able to still get parts from HY-Gain or have to get them from MFJ for these older SP antennas ?.....

If so with MFJ, bet the parts numbers are different ?....

Ive made up a parts list for mine and need to get them ordered....
Sure would like to find the good quality hardware parts...

 

[Road Squawker]

I know this is a old post....

But are you able to still get parts from HY-Gain or have to get them from MFJ for these older SP antennas ?.....

If so with MFJ, bet the parts numbers are different ?....

Ive made up a parts list for mine and need to get them ordered....
Sure would like to find the good quality hardware parts...

dunno about the older P-500's, the current SPT 500 part numbers are easy to find.

Hy-Gain