What setup would work better?

[SMILEX2692002]

I was thinking about getting one of the Maco 103HV beams to have both polarities at once or selectable.
But I already have an Imax 2000 and thought if I went with a Maco M104C beam on the flat side I could just mount the Imax right above the Maco.

I could always keep the Imax around for a backup.
What do you think?

 

[Mudfoot]

You'll get many opinions.

I myself, would just go with the beam.

 

[Robb]

You can put an Imax above a flat beam. But be sure that the mast that must support the whole rotator/beam/vertical structure is pretty strong. Otherwise, it may buckle in a strong wind. A +22 ft long, light vertical on top will still create a lot of leverage to bend a mast in a strong wind.

Who was it that said that if they gave him a lever big enough and a place to stand - that he could lift the world?
SO, the leverage created by wind on a long lever becomes a force that must be considered . . .

 

[M0GVZ]

If you are going to mount the Imax above the beam you MUST use a rotator cage with a top thrust bearing otherwise the torsional loads from the Imax 2000 being blown by the wind will knacker the rotator in no time.

 

[SMILEX2692002]

Leaning more towards the Maco 103HV.
I'm under the impression the Maco 103HV has a separate coaxial connector for the vertical/horizontal sides?
I really like the Imax because I can use it(Results vary on 15 and 17 meters.) on 10-17 meters. I have my Imax 2000 tunned for the best swr ratio on 10 meters. (28.300-28.500) On 11 meters it is under 1.5, and on 12 meters it is around 1.8. I have to use my antenna tuner on 15 and 17 meters.
I wonder how much the swr ratio changes on the Maco 103HV going from a 1.1 match on 10 meters (USB voice portion) through 11 and 12 meters?
Maybe I will try to adjust the tunning rings on the Imax 2000 for better usage from 12-17 meters.Then mount it somewhere else.
Any suggestions on a rotor for the Maco 103HV?
I would be mounting it on a 40ft steel tower with approx. 10 feet of mast.

 

[Shockwave]

The only 3 element vertical antenna that was a good performer was the Astro Beam. All other 3 element verticals suffer from severe interaction between the driven element and the mast supporting the boom. They are too close together and that causes difficulties in tuning the SWR and distortion of the radiation pattern due to mast and coax radiation. If you want good performance from the vertical side of a dual polarity beam, you need to avoid the 3 element design and consider going to 4 elements. You should also consider using a antenna with a quad reflector for a dual polarity beam. This will give you improved rejection over the Yagi reflector and I would recommend something like the Shooting Star in this case.

 

[W5LZ]

If you have a choice I think you will be happy if you can have both. There will be times when having a directional antenna can be very aggravating, always in the wrong direction. The vertical above the other would be handy but separate mounts is also do-able, sometimes.
- 'Doc

 

[hotrod]

If you have a choice I think you will be happy if you can have both. There will be times when having a directional antenna can be very aggravating, always in the wrong direction. The vertical above the other would be handy but separate mounts is also do-able, sometimes.
- 'Doc

i agree. being the imax tunes well id use it locally if i doess well enough 4 u.
the beam reguardless of what ya get wont tune that well. it will tune great
on 1 band either 10 meters or 11 meters.if was me id tune the beam for 10
meters then just use a antenna tuner if ya wanna use it on 11 meters

 

[gamegetter]

I was thinking about getting one of the Maco 103HV beams to have both polarities at once or selectable.
But I already have an Imax 2000 and thought if I went with a Maco M104C beam on the flat side I could just mount the Imax right above the Maco.

I could always keep the Imax around for a backup.
What do you think?

have you considered sirio's new gain master? won't know what it will do at your location until you try it, but alot of folks are having good luck with it for both local and dx.

 

[2RT307]

I was thinking about getting one of the Maco 103HV beams to have both polarities at once or selectable.
But I already have an Imax 2000 and thought if I went with a Maco M104C beam on the flat side I could just mount the Imax right above the Maco.

I could always keep the Imax around for a backup.
What do you think?

It would be nice to have vert/horizontal on the beam, but it gets heavy and expensive real fast.

I ran a A99 and 4 element Maco M104C for years with great success. And you can do it without breaking the bank. Personally, because of the winds we get here, I'd rather have my ground plane mounted seperate from the beam. High winds can really give your rotor a workout!

If you go with the 104C and like to play freeband or 10 meters, look into these specs:
The Ultimate Guide to 11 Meter CB Antennas

Centered at 27.555, and works REALLY well.

73,
RT307

73,
RT307

 

[SMILEX2692002]

It would be nice to have vert/horizontal on the beam, but it gets heavy and expensive real fast.

I ran a A99 and 4 element Maco M104C for years with great success. And you can do it without breaking the bank. Personally, because of the winds we get here, I'd rather have my ground plane mounted seperate from the beam. High winds can really give your rotor a workout!

If you go with the 104C and like to play freeband or 10 meters, look into these specs:
The Ultimate Guide to 11 Meter CB Antennas

Centered at 27.555, and works REALLY well.

73,
RT307

73,
RT307

Nice design. How is the Swr based on your computer model in the voice portion of the 10 meter band?

 

[SMILEX2692002]

have you considered sirio's new gain master? won't know what it will do at your location until you try it, but alot of folks are having good luck with it for both local and dx.

I gave it a look. It looks like an interesting antenna. So does the Hygain Super-Penetrator.

 

[gamegetter]

I like the idea of the gainmaster, should be plug and play and the bandwidth of the antenna would allow you to run 10 and 11 meters on one antenna with no modifications.
Also no ground plane radials to contend with when raising and lowering. I've had a super maggie for many many years and raising and lowering it with those ground plane radials can be a challenge(bend em alot and even broke one one time). I am getting close to replacing it and think a GM would be a good candidate for me(especially as I get old), that's why i mention it. Maybe next spring, i try one.

If you are only going to run 11 meters then the new penetrator is also a good antenna.

I don't believe either omni likes being close to another antenna such as a beam hence I mention the GM as a single replacement...

I have read where some folks have used the beam as the ground plane for an omni above it, but I don't know the challenges in tuning them together.

best of luck, decisions are hard to make, and in the end it may have to be trial and error as to what works best at your location.

enjoy the forum

 

[Shockwave]

My GM has been on a chimney strap mount and a 14 foot mast for the last two years. About a year ago I cut the mast just above the chimney to install a HD-73 alliance bell shaped rotor. The next week I installed a 4 element yagi about 9 feet below the GM. The two things I'd like to point out are I carefully tested the performance of the GM before and after the Yagi was installed under it. No change at all could be detected in GM's VSWR or the signals of any local stations I had been working. Bell shaped rotors are usually much stronger than the design Radio Shack sells. A friend a few towns away did the same install with an Antron 99 and Radio Shack rotor. The housing of the rotor broke and took both antennas out with it.

 

[gamegetter]

that is good info shockwave thanks for sharing...and sirio recommends to mount GM at least 3 meters above roof and if you can't tame swr to make sure it is 5-6 meters away from any metal objects

http://www.gain-master.it/Id-406 Gain master.pdf

in the trouble shooting portion of the pdf.