>Dennis Schaefer <w5rz@cswnet.com> wrote:
>
>Any opinions/info on the Mosley TA-34XL? I believe QST had a review,
>so
>will go look for that.
>
>Specifically, how would it compare with Mosley TA-36, CL-36 or PRO-57,
>which I am familiar with. I believe it weighs 74 lbs, but the guy who
>has
>it for sale didn't know the boom length. Must be substantial, though,
>to
>weight 74 lbs!
>
Dennis,
The TA34XL is the heavy-duty boom version of the TA34. The boom is 21
feet long. Each of the four elements has a single trap in each element
half. Mosley also makes a 40-meter kit (adds a trap and some length to
the driven element, and adds a trussing requirement for the driven
element).
I've had a TA34 (not XL) for several years. For the past 18 months, it's
been at 103 feet on my tower, where it has been subjected three times to
75+ mi/h winds with no problems. It's easy and fast to assemble. It has
reasonable gain, good bandwidth and moderate F/B. (F/B is typically no
more than 20 dB and typically less than 15 dB.) The pattern is
reasonable.
It makes a dandy side-mount rotatable antenna also, since the closest
elements are a reasonable distance from the boom-to-mast clamp.
>From an electrical standpoint, the thing honks. As an SOAB entrant in
the 1996 CQWW CW, I had 989 Qs, 35 zones and 100 countries on 20 meters.
In this year's ARRL CW (also SOAB), I had 1100 QSOs on 20. And so on.
The higher bands work well also, but I think that 20-meter performance
is a pretty good measuring stick for any tribander. I will say that my
Hy-Gain 155CA at 48 feet worked better on 15 for almost all of the EU
openings in this year's CQWW CW contest.
I expect this antenna to be around and working well for a long, long
time.
--73, Rus, NJ2L
ps: I reviewed this antenna back in 1989 or 1990 when I was the QST
Product Review editor. To get the exact issue, send email to
>tis@arrl.org.
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