Will my A99 affect my neighbors?

[Turp]

I bought an Antron 99 off of craigslist for $25. A guy I talk shop with said my neighbors are going to hate me because the A99 is bloody as hell. I will be running 1 of 2 radios at a time. A cobra 25 peaked and tuned with a TS 350 or a Ranger 2950 with the TS 350. Don't know which power supply yet.

We live on 80x120 lots in a subdivision. I plan on using the Rat Shack '10 ft antenna poles up against my fence. Two sections, with the first one cemented into the ground 2 feet. Thats '18 feet of mast, and '18 ft of antenna. I plan on using a stand off bracket on the eave of my shed which is approximately '8/10 feet up. Not sure which coax yet either. The run will be 100-150 feet. I plan on spray painting the antenna so I can "blend" in like a ninja

Any suggestions on how to properly set up this antenna would be greatly appreciated.

 

[n0zna]

splatter poles!!!

Good antennas but the a99 and imax2000 shaksphare big stick are splatter poles,great antennas,but you will get to know your neibors...hehe dont put a ground plane kit on,it will make it worse...73 de JW

 

[Turp]

Thats what I was afraid of. A buddy of mine runs an Imax and he has no problems. Of course his neighbors are an acre away.

 

[wavrider]

At that height you will definitely get to know your neighbors.

Install a ground plane kit or home brew one.

Use an ugly balun or RF choke at the feed point.

Some say to isolate the antenna from the mast, either way do all you can do to prevent RFI TVI from bothering the neighbors.

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

I would be Very Surprized if you didnt have splash issues..
Those antennas get out ok ( usually ) but are huge splash boxes.
You got it for a good price though

 

[mr_fx]

Here are a few things you can do to combat this:

One of the big problems with the A99 is that it uses your coax and/or your mast as a counterpoise

these are kinda an all or nothing thing.

Doing these things not only cut down on TVI, but also helped out on SWR issues as well

1.) 5 turns of RG8X (mini) @ 4.25" ID (this basically will stop the antenna from using the feedline as a counterpoise)

2.) isolate the antenna from the mast by using a wooden or fiberglass pole on top of your metal mast, or better yet use a fiberglass mast to begin with (this will stop the antenna from using the mast as a counterpoise)

3.) build a simple ground plane kit. Copy the OEM one with Cheap parts (list at the bottom) (if you did steps 1 and 2 now you have NO counterpoise available to the A-99, so now you need to build one)

4.) put it in the air a little bit (This is just common sense if you ask me)



Simple A-99 ground plane kit.

parts needed:

1.) a 4 pack of metal (stainless steel would be best) L brackets ( I think I used 3 or 4" ones)
2.) 2 or more hose clamps to connect the L brackets to the base tube of the A99
3.) 70" radials. these can be made out of anything really... you could even use thin walled EMT, just make sure you paint it. Copper tubing, again paint it. Wire inside of thin PVC. I made mine out of old aluminum tube (1/2" ??)
4.) optional 8 hose clamps to attach the radials to the L brackets.

Step 1) bend the L brackets to around 45°
step 2) build your radials
step 3) attach the radials to the bent L brackets, this can be done several ways, but the connection must be electrical, so if you planning to use the wire in the PVC method then make sure you attach the wire to the bracket
step 4) attach the radials (and brackets) to the base tube of the A99 (under the tuning rings) with the hose clamps, use at least 2

 

[Turp]

Since I have not put an antenna up before, Im going over this in my head. Im trying to figure out to get the antenna up in the air in the first place. If I am shooting for 40 ft to the top of the antenna, I need 22ft of mast. That already seems tough to get something 40ft up, how can I go higher?

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

guy wires or a tower , unless you have a 2 or 3 story house . some folks do OK or even pretty well from a 18 or 20 ft feed-point . you may be lucky , try it and see . if you can go higher later then shoot it up there

 

[mr_fx]

Since I have put an antenna up before, Im going over this in my head. Im trying to figure out to get the antenna up in the air in the first place. If I am shooting for 40 ft to the top of the antenna, I need 22ft of mast. That already seems tough to grt something 40ft up, how can I go higher?

depends on the the situation. I mean if it is on a pole just push it up. I mounted mine on top of my house. the peak of the roof is about 45 ft up and the pole is mounted on the on a home made eave mount that spreads the weight out over a 4 foot area. so the base of the antenna is at about 60 foot in my case. but all I have to do is use a ladder on my back deck, climb up the the lower roof, then lower the pole down (loose the mounts and let it slide down) then climb on to the main roof, install the antenna, climb back down to the lower roof, push the pole back up and tighten it down, then I am done. simple but that is MY situation.

 

[Turp]

I just looked at galvanized push up poles. 20-40ft seem reasonable. Would be ugly as all get out. That would also negate the post above about using a wooden or fiberglass mast. I just dont want my neighbors knocking on my door.

 

[mr_fx]

I just looked at galvanized push up poles. 20-40ft seem reasonable. Would be ugly as all get out. That would also negate the post above about using a wooden or fiberglass mast. I just dont want my neighbors knocking on my door.

you could still use the push up pole and then put a 3 or 4 ft fiberglass or wooden on top

 

[W5LZ]

There's no sure way of not causing interference from RF. At least half that sort of problem is cause by the device receiving that interference, just not designed very well. The antenna isn't the 'cure', they all produce RF, that's what they are designed for, isn't it. Getting that RF further away from things that can be interfered with is the only sure 'cure'. That doesn't have to be only further away side-ways, getting it higher also means getting it further away.
Any increase from the 'normal' amount of power will also mean an increase in the possibility of causing interference. No way around that, no matter how 'clean' a signal is. It's still RF, and RF is what causes interference. Start by not using any power, then a little bit more, then some more on top of that. At some point there will be a beginning to the interference. The trick is to then take a step backwards to a lower power level. If that interference goes away, or becomes 'livable' then you just found your limits for the particular set up you happen to have. Not quite as much power as you want to run? Well, that's too bad, isn't it. So start 'improving' things, antennas, heights, filters, whatever.
Have fun.
- 'Doc

 

[M0GVZ]

Good antennas but the a99 and imax2000 shaksphare big stick are splatter poles,

No they're not however like all verticals you need to set them up properly. I run 400W into my Imax 2000. Its 8ft from the TV antenna and I don't cause TVI to even myself. Why? Because I put a RF choke at the feedpoint so the RF goes where its supposed to instead of randomly radiating off the co-ax.

5 turns of RG213/RG58 round a 4.25" former are all you need or you can go posh and build one from 6 turns of RG58 round a FT240-61 mix toriod.

 

[mr_fx]

5 turns of RG213/RG58 round a 4.25" former are all you need or you can go posh and build one from 6 turns of RG58 round a FT240-61 mix toriod.

YEP YEP!!!

 

[Zman]

I run one but i use it on the ham bands. Most of my neigbors all run cable or satellite dishes... The idiots on the north side of me moved out and they ran "rabbit ears".