NO SINGLE ANTENNA WILL SUIT ALL OPERATORS.
This antenna is the right antenna for the right person
under the right circumstances. It is for me, even though
it may not be for you.
I HAVE ONE OF THESE 43 FOOTERS... AND I AGREE
WITH MOST OF WHAT HAS BEEN SAID -- But I am
VERY HAPPY WITH IT.
YOUR assessment will depend on various factors, including
1) your desire to be the biggest signal on the bands,
2) your economic threshold for pain,
3) your need or desire to have a 60 foot tower,
4) your need or desire to be a serious contester
5) your available space in the yard, and
6) your XYL's threshold for aesthetic pain - i.e.,
her ability to tolerate a tower or other significantly larger antenna
structure out back -- and other considerations personal to
each operator.
I DISAGREE with the claim it is a mere cloud warmer on the
higher bands. EZNEC studies, performed by others more
knowledgeable than I, indicate it has a fairly low take off angle -
rather good for European DX from my Michigan QTH, and it
works really well on all bands 80 - 20 Meters, OK on 17 M
(the jury is out on 10 M as nothing seems to work on that band
lately...I have yet to even try it on 10 M.) and it provides a
just-OK (not great) antenna for 160 meters - but that is better
than no antenna on that band. And that is the point.
HOW MANY REALLY ALL BAND ANTENNAS ARE THERE?
HOW MANY REQUIRE A TUNER TO WORK ON MULTIPLE
BANDS? HOW MANY ARE EFFICIENT ON MORE THAN
ONE BAND? Some get acceptable results with a G5RV,
others with the mystery antenna, others with an all band
doublet, other with... and I with my big stick in the back yard.
Nope... you will NOT be cutting your Hy-Tower down to 43
feet... but that is OK... there are reasons I selected this over
the Hy-Tower and I have no regrets.
Nope, it is NOT as good as a beam on a tower. But not too
many guys have towers big enough for 80 M beams... or even
big enough for 40 M beams. SO IT PROVIDES A LOW BAND
ANTENNA - WHICH IS A HECK OF A LOT BETTER THAN
NO LOW BAND ANTENNA -- and does it with low cost, in
very little real estate.
MY BIG STICK VERTICAL IT IS A GOOD ALL - IN - ONE
ANTENNA FOR THE RIGHT GUY IN THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES.
YOU NEED TO DECIDE IF YOU ARE THAT GUY. If not, then
purchase another antenna - but there is no reason to bad mouth
my big stick as your take a pass and opt for another solution.
YES... JIM LUXE SAID IT WELL... It is "optimized" in ALL the ways
Jim says.
I BELIEVE THIS IS A COST EFFECTIVE COMPROMISE FOR
THE GUY WHO NEEDS A COMPROMISE.
IT WILL PROBABLY NOT BEAT A HY-TOWER even on its
best day - and that was the other antenna I was considering
last Fall -- but the 43 foot monopole does not require a heavy
concrete base, costs about 25% of the cost of a properly done
Hy-Tower, and provides a decent (again not the best) all-band
antenna that I can tune anywhere in each band of interest, and
get a decent signal out - all with small physical foot print and
low visual impact on the neighborhood.
My big stick has enabled me to put out a signal all over the
country and work a fair amount of DX. Guys who hang out at
the Arizona HRO are so impressed with the signal from my big
stick vertical, they have contacted me several times to schedule
repeat contacts on various Saturday afternoons when they are
operating from that location.
So... If you cannot afford a tower, or do not have the space, or
cannot hang dipoles high enough, or if you just want a good
all-band antenna, then it can be a good idea. It was OPTIMAL
in MY SITUATION and I have no problem with the advertising
claims. It just might not be optimized for YOU.
I acknowledge subjective anecdotal claims about making
DX contacts is not "proof" one antenna design is better than
another ... but I am satisfied I am making DX contacts I could
not make before, and I am often the bigger signal in many
rag chew nets and that did not happen before.
SO I AM A REALLY HAPPY WITH MY BIG STICK vertical antenna.
For $500, I think it is a good deal. A Hy-Tower might be better,
I am sure, but that would have cost me $1,500 to$2,000 to do it
right, and even then it would have a rather narrow bandwidth on
80 meters, and virtually no play on 160 M. (The 160 M Inverted
L long wire add-on kit costs extra and is is no more broad-banded
than my big stick .)
So... what's not to love about my big stick 43 foot monopole?
YOU may not want one... but I am thrilled with it. I have a workable
signal with a very small footprint, and very low visual impact in the
yard. No one has complained about it- but I am confident a tower
would not put me on 80 or 160 meters at all, and might cause a
range war with the neighbors (even though there are
NO RESTRICTIONS in our subdivision.)
Just MY take. Happy trails and good DX to y'all !!
======= K8JHR ========
==============================================
W5JMW wrote:
> Thank you Frank,I was getting ready to start cutting down the hightower to
> 43 ft....hi hi
===============================================
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