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What is your favorite brand of antennas

Told my wife I was expecting a package to show up near the end of the week, hopefully. She asked what it was, I said an antenna. She asked, how much was that? I said, you really don't want to know. She asked $ 500? I said yeah, plus about 400 more. Then I hear $900 DOLLARS!! lets just say it's probably a good thing I'm in West Virginia right now. Pretty sure its not going to be HER favorite antenna. At least I had been putting back money for it, so its not like I spent money we didn't have, but I could hear the frustration in her voice. Well, she'll have two weeks to warm up to the idea before I get home. I could probably use a few prayers. Lol.
 
Told my wife I was expecting a package to show up near the end of the week, hopefully. She asked what it was, I said an antenna. She asked, how much was that? I said, you really don't want to know. She asked $ 500? I said yeah, plus about 400 more. Then I hear $900 DOLLARS!! lets just say it's probably a good thing I'm in West Virginia right now. Pretty sure its not going to be HER favorite antenna. At least I had been putting back money for it, so its not like I spent money we didn't have, but I could hear the frustration in her voice. Well, she'll have two weeks to warm up to the idea before I get home. I could probably use a few prayers. Lol.
Dude, You can't leave it at that.....

What antenna?

Give us the scoop, what antenna?
 
Dude, You can't leave it at that.....

What antenna?

Give us the scoop, what antenna?
It's a 4 element delta loop from SmarTech Innovations in Italy. The price wss $724, then I upgraded the Gamma match for another $40 Then i had to pay shipping, another $200. This things about 60 lbs. Figured if I was gonna go, I might as well go big. And while I'm at it, I need some suggestions for a good rotor that will handle this antenna. Screenshot_20240802_090649_Chrome.jpg
 
Told my wife I was expecting a package to show up near the end of the week, hopefully. She asked what it was, I said an antenna. She asked, how much was that? I said, you really don't want to know. She asked $ 500? I said yeah, plus about 400 more. Then I hear $900 DOLLARS!! lets just say it's probably a good thing I'm in West Virginia right now. Pretty sure its not going to be HER favorite antenna. At least I had been putting back money for it, so its not like I spent money we didn't have, but I could hear the frustration in her voice. Well, she'll have two weeks to warm up to the idea before I get home. I could probably use a few prayers. Lol.
Hope it's still there when you make it home Wally. :D

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I need some suggestions for a good rotor that will handle this antenna.
Use the static weight (57.7 lbs) and the wind load in square feet (around 10 sq. ft.) to find the correct one Wally. And you probably won't like the price but it will need to be a larger model. And consider what your highest wind events are. You won't want to put it up/take it down more than necessary.
PHYSYCAL AND MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Weight26.20kg (57.7lb)
Boom length6.0m (19.7ft)
Rotation radius2.88m (9.44ft)
Projected area [F=Flat - C=Cylindrical]F = 0.63 m² (6.8 ft²) - C= 0.268m² (2.885 ft²)




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To be safe the rotor should be sized no SMALLER than 125% of the Sq Ft...that said 13 sq ft.
Now Mast...??? Weight plus length must be added to calculations also....


Now with Hy Gain gone...choices are fewer....

Need a HyGain TX2 (tailtwister)...
 
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It's a 4 element delta loop from SmarTech Innovations in Italy. The price wss $724, then I upgraded the Gamma match for another $40 Then i had to pay shipping, another $200. This things about 60 lbs. Figured if I was gonna go, I might as well go big. And while I'm at it, I need some suggestions for a good rotor that will handle this antenna. View attachment 69831
Pre-MFJ Ham IV or T2X. Yaesu has good rotors, but when they fail, you are screwed. Don't ask how I know this.
 

Me like better! Roughly half the size/weight...nr same gain...Lower wind load etc....lower cost...stateside shipping etc...

I have a 6m/short boom 5 L...nice antenna...Not as good as my 6L/wide space, gain wise...but super quiet! IMHO
 
To be safe the rotor should be sized no SMALLER than 125% of the Sq Ft...that said 13 sq ft.
Now Mast...??? Weight plus length must be added to calculations also....


Now with Hy Gain gone...choices are fewer....

Need a HyGain TX2 (tailtwister)...
There are a few guys still rebuilding the oldest of old, CDE/Hy-Gain rotors. I rebuilt my T2X over 30 years ago. I am going to see how it does. If not good, I am sure it is just grease that hardened, that I will clean out and replace with synthetic bearing grease. Friends, don't let friends buy Yaesu!

F!@# Yaesu! Today, they are getting the last dollar I will ever spend with them, on a parts order they can't seem to get right, after 4 tries. The G-1000DXA in the box, that failed in 6 months is gonna sit in the box till I chuck it in the recycling bin. Yeah, I am paying for parts, I already paid for.
 
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Me like better! Roughly half the size/weight...nr same gain...Lower wind load etc....lower cost...stateside shipping etc...

I have a 6m/short boom 5 L...nice antenna...Not as good as my 6L/wide space, gain wise...but super quiet! IMHO
I may be in the minority, but I really liked the V Quad I had and used, I just thought it was built a little flimsy. The SmarTech antenna seems to be built very well, and It's a bigger version of the V Quad but built like a tank in comparison. Im in Oklahoma, we don't have the snow like the Indianapolis area we do have strong winds and occasionally heavy ice storms, so the construction of the antenna seems it should stand up to Oklahoma weather, hopefully. Like you said limited choices on rotors but Im leaning towards these two-- Yaesu G1000DXA or the Yaesu G 2800DXA but the no service part has me apprehensive. And the prices are steep but Im already neck deep into this venture. Lol
 
I usually run mobile, so I either use some varieties of the Sirio mobile antennas, or the President Texas (depending on where I'm going I have to switch antennas) if there are some heavy, low hanging tree limbs, I'll pick the shortest whip.
 
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What is your favorite brand of antennas mine is sirio I run a sirio sy27-3 3 element beam and a m-400 starduster
Mine is the Maco 5 element, not that it's the best out there, but it's the only one other than the Hygain LongJohn that I've used for working DX.

My Maco has been up on the tower now for 24 yrs and still going strong. The Hygain was up 24 yrs before removing it.
 

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