Base SOLARCON Scoop

[357magnum]

Bobby , You Da' Man ! Good thing is at least your the one lowering them down & not in their predicament ! Hey what ever happened to that rattling glass you had for & avatar ? Been thinking about it . Not sure if you don't indulge any longer but I miss that thing !

 

[undertaker]

Oh yes I love my scotch I will see if I can find it just for you!!

 

[357magnum]

No worries Bobby , just when I became a member over 6 years ago , that always struck out to me . Just me I guess !

 

[jessejamesdallas]

Just got threw helping a friend put up a Max 2000...24' tall, 3 sections, tunable rings on bottom...thing was pre-set tho, tuned at 1.0 - -1.1 right out of the box.

 

[Marconi]

Jesse, do you know the frequency that showed the low match?

 

[Robert Buttle]

I don't know whether my antenna was damaged in transit, it doesn't appear to have any marks on the outside, but nowhere on my antenna analyzer can i find a 50 ohm feed point moving the rings anywhere from top to bottom

 

[Marconi]

Now that Robert Buttle received a new MAX 2000 with no internal threads on the bottom section to attach the center section to, that is a very good indication that the manufacturers QA/QC process is broken.

I don't remember you telling us this happened with your New Imax...I remember reading your first post on WWDX. You gave us some information that showed your new antenna was working fine...but is showed to be higher in frequency...in the 10 meter band.

I don't know whether my antenna was damaged in transit, it doesn't appear to have any marks on the outside, but nowhere on my antenna analyzer can i find a 50 ohm feed point moving the rings anywhere from top to bottom
View attachment 32066

I have heard from others and seen better matches on my Imax. Maybe your antenna as mounted low or to close something.

I'm looking for a full bandwidth curve that accounts for all frequencies <2.00:1 SWR on both sides of resonance. I have a notion the Old Imax shows most of its very wide bandwidth close to 5 MHz is below the CB band. I also suspect the Imax is going down a long ways before the SWR starts to rise again.

I would also like to see if this New Imax, set for 10 meters, is still somewhat multi-band, which Ham operators have reported and seemed to like.

Robert can you tell us if your New Imax can still work 12 - 20 too...even if you have to use your tuner a little bit?

IMO 10 meters has always been the peak of the workable bandwidth on the high side for CB version of the Imax. My Imax manual has a Frequency/Antenna Length Table in the back for trimming up to 30.204 MHz and, IMO this supports the limit I suggest. Does your manual still include the table?

To be clear, I see a slight trend like i've noted above in your analyzer image below...with the SWR rising toward the top of 10 meters. There also appears to be the development of a straight line curve at 1.50 SWR going down in frequency. Can you expand the range in order to see much more bandwidth until the curve starts to sharply rise up to <2.00:1 SWR on the low side of resonance?

I posted a very old hand drawn BW curve (PDF file below) for an old Imax that I plotted in 2009 using my old Autek VA1 analyzer. Back then I did the same thing as I see you doing below using your analyzer but I had to do it one data point at a time. I stopped my scan at 25.705 Mhz. I regret that because it was possible much more bandwidth near 1.40 SWR was never noticed. Sorry my image is in landscape mode and is sideways. Maybe you can use the PDF zoom feature for a closer look.

This chart shows best resonance for my Imax at 27.505 MHz...a bit above CB with a 1.1:1 SWR.

 

[Recon]

I don't know whether my antenna was damaged in transit, it doesn't appear to have any marks on the outside, but nowhere on my antenna analyzer can i find a 50 ohm feed point moving the rings anywhere from top to bottom
View attachment 32066 View attachment 32067 View attachment 32068

How did you resolve the missing threads in the bottom section? Did you return it?

 

[Road Squawker]

I don't know whether my antenna was damaged in transit... edit...

Just for an "experiment"............ try adding some 1/4 wl radials to it @ 90 degrees,............you may even want to later adjust the 90 degree angle to point the radials end closer to the earth.

 

[Robert Buttle]

How did you resolve the missing threads in the bottom section? Did you return it?

I Have a retired Motor Mechanic mate and the thread that was missing he was able to tap it for me as it was the same as a Ford F250 wheel stud.

 

[Recon]

I Have a retired Motor Mechanic mate and the thread that was missing he was able to tap it for me as it was the same as a Ford F250 wheel stud.

That's good news, but how will the manufacturer or the seller know about the defect?

 

[Robert Buttle]

I don't remember you telling us this happened with your New Imax...I remember reading your first post on WWDX. You gave us some information that showed your new antenna was working fine...but is showed to be higher in frequency...in the 10 meter band.


I have heard from others and seen better matches on my Imax. Maybe your antenna as mounted low or to close something.

I'm looking for a full bandwidth curve that accounts for all frequencies <2.00:1 SWR on both sides of resonance. I have a notion the Old Imax shows most of its very wide bandwidth close to 5 MHz is below the CB band. I also suspect the Imax is going down a long ways before it starts to rise again and maybe this has something to do with it being somewhat multi-band.

IMO 10 meters has always been the peak of the workable bandwidth on the high side for CB version of the Imax. My Imax manual has a Frequency/Antenna Length Table in the back for trimming up to 30.204 MHz and, IMO this supports the limit I suggest. Does your manual still include the table?

To be clear, I see a slight trend like i've noted above in your analyzer image below...with the SWR rising toward the top of 10 meters. There also appears to be the development of a straight line curve at 1.50 SWR going down in frequency. Can you expand the range in order to see much more bandwidth until the curve starts to sharply rise up to <2.00:1 SWR on the low side of resonance?

I posted a very old hand drawn BW curve (PDF file below) for an old Imax that I plotted in 2009 using my old Autek VA1 analyzer. Back then I did the same thing as I see you doing below using your analyzer but I had to do it one data point at a time. I stopped my scan at 25.705 Mhz. I regret that because it was possible much more bandwidth near 1.40 SWR was never noticed. Sorry my image is in landscape mode and is sideways. Maybe you can use the PDF zoom feature for a closer look.

This chart shows best resonance for my Imax at 27.505 MHz...a bit above CB with a 1.1:1 SWR.

My Analyser only wanted to give me a look at 1200khz I got my son to take a picture of the Analyser in 2 pictures the 2 to 1 edge is at 27 200 and the top end is in the other picture sorry I couldnt do better

 

[jessejamesdallas]

Jesse, do you know the frequency that showed the low match?

27.185 was the lowest, 27.405, and 26.965 were just a hair higher...This was just using a SWR meter, not my analyzer.

 

[Robert Buttle]

My Analyser only wanted to give me a look at 1200khz I got my son to take a picture of the Analyser in 2 pictures the 2 to 1 edge is at 27 200 and the top end is in the other picture sorry I couldnt do better

That's good news, but how will the manufacturer or the seller know about the defect?

I cannot believe that they would not check it before sending it to Australia and it also arrived without the booklet I had to down load it from the internet.

 

[Recon]

I Have a retired Motor Mechanic mate and the thread that was missing he was able to tap it for me as it was the same as a Ford F250 wheel stud.

I hope he drilled and tapped a "blind" hole and not a through hole. If water passes by the lock washer it will eventually fill the hole in the center of the antenna where the single wire is.