I'd be willing to bet that all antenna manufacturers cut corners in all
their processes in order to bring to market a product the consumer will
probably purchase at a price they will probably pay. I own a Mosley
antenna and an M2 antenna because my good friend in the midwest had a
Force 12 break apart as a result of a storm. I know from personal
experience he's excellent at antenna assembly and installation, leaving
the cause of his failure on the mechanics (or lack of) of the antenna.
Even so, the first thing I had to do as I unpacked my new antennas was
to remove all burrs with a file and burr quick, then laser cut from
3/16" thick stainless steel, new boom to mast mounting plates to replace
the cheesy aluminum one provided. Deburring parts costs labor dollars
and a stainless boom to mast plate would add another few of bucks to the
antenna selling price. In other words, I tried to put back into the
product some pride of workmanship the manufacturer was unwilling to do
in the first place. We, as antenna consumers, get what we pay for, and
we're the ones demanding that manufacturers cut corners so closely that
the antennas on the market stand a 50/50 chance of providing the service
we expect. My $.02 worth.
Bruce Miller, AA5BH
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