| Author |
Message |
    
HoosierCardinal
| | Posted on Saturday, November 02, 2002 - 10:08 pm: | 
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hello all!
I finally got a Top one to try out. Pretty good antenna after i modified it to my needs and wants. Id say if you need a good antenna for low height intalls then go with this antenna!!! |
Bulldog
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 05, 2002 - 1:26 pm: |
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Hey Hoosier where did you get it from. I notice Copper does not carry them (hint hint)
Forummaster Note : We are in the process of getting them now. It will probably be a few months though.
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Tech833
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 05, 2002 - 8:57 pm: |
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So Hoosier, how does it compare to your old antenna? |
HoosierCardinal
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 05, 2002 - 11:42 pm: |
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Bulldog i dont know if they would allow me to post exactly who and were i bought the antenna but it was from a place in Iowa that sells only antennas.
Tech833. i cant comapre it to any of my existing antenas because it is temporarily mounted in back of the house only 10; off the ground and its too darn cold and windy out for me to put it up any higher. I think ill wait until spring to really test it but overall it seems pretty broadbanded much like the older astroplanes were. 1.2=1 or better swr ch 1, ch 20 and ch 40, 1.5=1 at 27.995. cant test it below the regular 40 because my cobra 142GTL only has the uppers. |
Marconi
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 7:20 am: |
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OK, how does the material quality and construction compare?
Marconi |
Buck
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 1:17 pm: |
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That place is in my backyard....Kinda high priced I got my Imax 2000 shipped to me from coppers cheaper than I could have picked it up at that place. |
HoosierCardinal
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 10:47 pm: |
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Oh well... To each his own i say! I like it and thats what matter right??? I dont just deal with Coppers but i deal with just about anyone.. Im sorry to say but im not partial to an one single place. |
Bracketbird
| | Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 1:23 am: |
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i have one that is bout 20 ft right now but it works much better than my 99 at 60ft...built flimsy though |
Marconi
| | Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 8:20 am: |
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Hey Bracketbird, I believe these TopOnes are probably flimsy, just as you say. I have heard that repeatedly about almost all of the Italian knockoff antennas.
That is why I asked HoosierCardinal about this quality issue earlier. He has an original AP and a Astro beam up there to compare to. Somewhere else I asked him why he modified his new antenna. I make comparison checks all the time with antennas on my 10'-20' test pole. Of course it is best to test at the same height, but he could give us some ideas, what do you think?
Now, in your case you claim that your TopOne works much better than your A99. I find the A99's hard to beat if you get them up about 30' or so, and the more the better. When the subject of antennas comes up in my DX contacts, I hear A99's being used all the time.
Maybe you could you tell us a little more about the differences you have noted, and if you made your comparisons with both antennas up at the same time or not. I have tested many antennas over the years and I have never been able to make any good comparisons of how the antennas actually worked without them working side by side.
How say you?
Marconi |
HoosierCardinal
| | Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2002 - 10:38 pm: |
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The materials it is made of are kinda cheap so thats why i beefed up mine with some parts from my older astroplane i have. I also made the top one tuneable so i can get a low swr on all 40 plus. Overall i like it even if i did pay a tad more for it (what i payed for it is my buiness no one elses) than an A99 but then again i dont like fiberglass antennas! |
Marconi
| | Posted on Friday, November 08, 2002 - 12:38 pm: |
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HC, how does the cap hat fit into the upper element? Does it come assembled in the element or do you have to assemble it? How are the wires held in there, are they in a little hub with set screws? If it is a hub, how is it installed and held in the tubing?
How are the docs that come with the antenna?
Marconi |
HoosierCardinal
| | Posted on Friday, November 08, 2002 - 6:53 pm: |
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Look sto me like the top part press fits into the antenna. The "ears" fit into the top by a set screw. The does are ok i guess. They just show a pic of how it goes together. Funny how Italians make some of the finest sports cars but when it comes to antennas they leave something to be desired. But mine works and thats what matters. |
Bracketbird
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 7:45 pm: |
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Marconi...both ant are running same coax,both are grounded good and have respectable swrs with the 99 being slightly better at 1.2 versus 1.4. I use the same radio on both and talk to a local on my home channel. the AP picks up less noise and seems to not bother my neighbors like the 99 tends to do sometimes. transmits bout the same as my contacts cant tell any difference in signalstrength. its possible that if i lowered or raised the 99 it would perform better than the AP but i havent tried that..anyway see ya on the airwaves |
Marconi
| | Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 9:22 pm: |
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Well Bracketbird, if your buds are close enough to where each of you shows an S9 signal or more on the other rigs, it might be hard to see a difference in signal between these two antennas. That works both ways (TX/RX). If you can control the signal by using an RF gain or a filter to reduce the signal, then try switching between antennas and see if the signals are still the same.
Something to consider.
Marconi |
Bracketbird
| | Posted on Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 9:50 pm: |
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Marconi....my local talkers are roughly 30 miles and i run a 2970 and usually keep it around 10w. dont get me wrong im happy with both of them especially for what i paid for them. im not gonna fool with any because they do both work well and i have a 60 ft tower that im gonna put up with a pdl2 or something small like that. This is a hobby of mine but not the number1 hobby so i kinda make the best of what i have at the time. Maybe as soon as drag racing season is over around here i might get some extra time to fool around more. Jesse |
Marconi
| | Posted on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 8:56 am: |
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Well Bracketbird, at that distance you are probably getting as good of results as you can and they are probably reliable as to results. Around my area 10 watts will not show an S9 signal from 30 miles away either. My idea was considering you guys were closer together.
I have never had an AP up and working, but I have several nearby and they do seem to work DX very well, but so do the A99. The whole world of DX land will tell you that. Two of my buds have both of these up and swear the A99 signal is still a little better locally, but the AP works DX a little better. Some of that is probably due to the noise factor on the two that you mentioned.
I have experimented with receive signals from these two and the old AP's really seem to produce a good horizontal signal along with the vertical, so I figured this was another reason they work DX pretty well.
I would think that the A99 up as high as you have it would show a big advantage over the AP you have at a much lower height. However, a neighbor that claims to be 40 miles away from me just put up an Imax and he took signal reports at 20' to the base. On my end he showed a little less than S7 running about 20 watts on my Kenwood TS50. He claims to have raised it up to 60' to the base, a day or two later, but it still shows me the same signal. I know it is not reliable to take signal reports over such a long of period of time, but he always showed me the same signal with his A99 on the same pole at 60'. Due to this, I figured this signal report was probably reliable, so go figure.
I like both these antennas.
Marconi |
Bracketbird
| | Posted on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 8:11 pm: |
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Marconi...yeah i really like both antennas . As long as it works pretty decent i am happy with it whatever type of ant i have at the time. im going to start putting my tower up tommorrow. I couldnt resist the price on it....haul it outta the yard kinda deal ..lucky for me that day. When i get it set up i will let ya know how the pdl2s work...excellent price on those also.Communication on a budget ya know. Later Jesse |
