Yesterday I assembled and prepared my Gain Master and Imax 2000 for testing. I decided to skip the A99 as part of the test because I knew it wouldn't compete with the other two and I didn't think we'd gain anything new from including it in the test. Also swapping out two antennas on the same mast was enough fun.
Here was the setup - 24' mast to the bottom of both antennas (used the same mast, same coax, same location, etc).
75 foot run of buryflex to Uniden Grant.
I talked to a local station 15 miles away.
Imax put a solid 6 on his meter, Gain Master a solid 6.5.
Receive - I noticed no difference in my readings.
Noise floor with the Gain Master is slightly quieter than the Imax 2000.
Now here's where it got interesting - with the Gain Master installed the station saw the very slight boost in signal strength but he said I was noticeably louder and CLEARER compared to the Imax.
He said my signal came in with less static and his description of the audio said it sounded like I turned something up.
Now on to the second station - 35 miles distance as the crow flies.
This station did not have a mechanical meter so this test would be only based on "percieved audio" (somewhat less than scientific
). His digital meter (2950DX) showed identical readings for both antennas.
He gave a report that both antennas sounded roughly identical and could not determine any difference.
Those were the only two local stations to test with today but on Thursday night we usually have more stations come out of the woodwork so I can get some additional signal reports.
I also found out this weekend that with the Imax 2000 an elderly neighbor can hear me through her 20 year old TV. I have a low pass installed and I put a high pass on her TV but she can still hear me (first complaint I've ever had in my life from a neighbor).
Tonight I plan to test the Gain Master and see if she can still hear me in the TV which will be a interesting test as well.
Overall it's an interesting antenna. I took lots of close up pictures of the assembly and parts to include when I post my review. I think my first reports show from station to station depending on terrian and other factors antenna performance is very difficult to determine BUT I think once I can get 6 or more reports from different stations I should feel pretty confident in my final analysis of the antenna. I've already raised and lowered both antenna 3 times This next time around I hope to get all the stations on at the same time to save myself some work. Antenna doesn't require any tuning and was 1.1 SWR on my install. I did use a 2 x 2879 inline just to give it a try and the antenna didn't seem to have any problems handling the output.
After I get reports from local stations the final testing I do will be to set up the antennas on the mast at a remote location and record the readings back at my home location so I can see for myself on the receive end.
Here was the setup - 24' mast to the bottom of both antennas (used the same mast, same coax, same location, etc).
75 foot run of buryflex to Uniden Grant.
I talked to a local station 15 miles away.
Imax put a solid 6 on his meter, Gain Master a solid 6.5.
Receive - I noticed no difference in my readings.
Noise floor with the Gain Master is slightly quieter than the Imax 2000.
Now here's where it got interesting - with the Gain Master installed the station saw the very slight boost in signal strength but he said I was noticeably louder and CLEARER compared to the Imax.
He said my signal came in with less static and his description of the audio said it sounded like I turned something up.
Now on to the second station - 35 miles distance as the crow flies.
This station did not have a mechanical meter so this test would be only based on "percieved audio" (somewhat less than scientific
). His digital meter (2950DX) showed identical readings for both antennas.He gave a report that both antennas sounded roughly identical and could not determine any difference.
Those were the only two local stations to test with today but on Thursday night we usually have more stations come out of the woodwork so I can get some additional signal reports.
I also found out this weekend that with the Imax 2000 an elderly neighbor can hear me through her 20 year old TV. I have a low pass installed and I put a high pass on her TV but she can still hear me (first complaint I've ever had in my life from a neighbor).
Tonight I plan to test the Gain Master and see if she can still hear me in the TV which will be a interesting test as well.
Overall it's an interesting antenna. I took lots of close up pictures of the assembly and parts to include when I post my review. I think my first reports show from station to station depending on terrian and other factors antenna performance is very difficult to determine BUT I think once I can get 6 or more reports from different stations I should feel pretty confident in my final analysis of the antenna. I've already raised and lowered both antenna 3 times
This next time around I hope to get all the stations on at the same time to save myself some work. Antenna doesn't require any tuning and was 1.1 SWR on my install. I did use a 2 x 2879 inline just to give it a try and the antenna didn't seem to have any problems handling the output.After I get reports from local stations the final testing I do will be to set up the antennas on the mast at a remote location and record the readings back at my home location so I can see for myself on the receive end.
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