To those who are interested,
I have a T 10 Tennadyne. It has been in the air about 11/2 years and I
will report that the performance is outstanding. It is at about the 65
foot level on top of a 45 G Rohn and the top set of guys are Philistrand
(is that how they spell it?). I have several friends near me with
antennas ranging from TH7DXX and KT34xa's to Quads and X9's. Under most
situations, the T 10 out performs these other antennas using the same
output levels of power. The quad seems to be the closest and X9 is
right in there too. But the tribanders are no contest, usually I can
keep the band open at least another 30 to 45 mins after the tribanders
leave the picture. Plus the T 10 gets a better signal report of about
5-10 db on the other end. Due to this typical advantage as outlined
here, many of the local DXers are picking up T 10's. SWR with the
antenna at the 65 foot level appears to be almost flat across most of
the bands, with the exception of 12 meters where it is about 1.4 to 1
and parts of 10 meters rise to about 1.3 to 1 and remain flat across the
balance of the range. 20 meters has a worst case SWR of 1.15 to 1 at
the low end. 17 meters is 1:1 and 15 meters is 1:1.
The antenna is a single feed line, trapless antenna with a reflector at
the rear for 20 meters. This gives improved performance on 20m. Gain
is about 6.5 dbd as per the ARRL antenna book, using the twin boom feed
design, which it does. Front to back I find to be around 25-30 db
depending on where the station is. Front to side about the max, since
I can null out anyone completely.
I did rebuild the antenna and redesign it structurally for out winter
conditions here in Maine. I used Nylon gussets vs. the stock PVC and
replaced much of the hardware with stainless bolts and stainless nyloc
nuts vs. the self tapping screws used from the factory. I also used a
piece of the Philistrand for a truss wire. So far, touch wood, it has
stood up to several ice storms. I think this is the best bang for the
buck in antennas out there, short of multiple antennas and towers.
73, Bruce K1XR
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