I have some comparison
I had a new model of the TH7DX on a 43ft tower for 4 years - bougth the antenna
new from Dxengineering
In Feb I got a Optibeam OB9-5
I really hated putting the TH7DX togeather - and then picking it up after each
storm, the build quality was bad, tapering was not done properly so the clamps
did not hold the elements properly, so I had to put a screw into every joint.
Trap caps would not stay on, QRO op in rain was troublesome (live close to the
sea). The Optibeam was just properly designed and withstood one of the worst
storms we had here in decades (gusting over 45m/s) it was so easy to put to
gether and no room for error. Just read the rewies on eham.
On the air, the OB9-5 performs so much better than the TH7DX - that is my
feeling albeit bit subjective - It seems to have much lower angle of
radiation. I was sceptical as the OB9-5 only has 2 elements on each band,
wheras the TH7DX has 3 or more. But on all bands the OB has outperformed the
old design by far. It's very flat over each band in SWR. So I'm never going
back to trapped yagis. I now have the feeling If I can hear the station, I can
work it - and I always get the DX in few calls ;)
73, Benni TF3CY
-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Kelly
Taylor
Sent: 10. apríl 2015 18:48
To: Bry Carling; jim@audiosystemsgroup.com
Cc: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] antenna choices
Again, bad example.
Cushcraft designs date back decades, in some cases to the 1950s and 60s. The
development costs are all paid for.
As we have seen, and as much as some people choose to disagree, modern antenna
designs outperform 50-year-old trap designs. Enough people are willing to help
pay for the development costs to get better antennas.
Any business can only ever sell at a price the market will support. Enough
people are buying F12, Optibeam, JK and other brands' antennas the businesses
don't need to cut their prices. Those who don't buy their products aren't in
enough quantity to force a lowering of price.
If enough people voted with their feet, these makers would either have to cut
their price or go out of business.
Brian, if enough people are willing to pay you $10 for a crystal, and if you
determine that a price cut is NOT going to alter demand for crystals, you're
leaving the price at $10, yes?
73, kelly
ve4xt
On 4/10/15 11:56 AM, "Bry Carling" <bcarling@cfl.rr.com> wrote:
> Mass production always lowers the price. That is not a fair comparison.
> Somebody somewhere is quite happily making Cushcraft antennas for a
> much lower price than these multi thousand dollar antennas.
>
> Best regards - Brian Carling
> AF4K Crystals Co.
> 117 Sterling Pine St.
> Sanford, FL 32773
>
> Tel: +USA 321-262-5471
>
>
>
>
>> On Apr 10, 2015, at 11:56 AM, Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On Fri,4/10/2015 8:08 AM, Bry Carling wrote:
>>> It seems like very few antennas are affordable to the average ham.
>>>
>>> It seems like they need some competition. With prices in the
>>> multiple thousands of dollars for a few aluminum tubes somebody
>>> could make lot of money by being less expensive...
>>
>> When we buy a product, we are paying for design, manufacturing,
>> marketing, shipping, documentation, and support. None of that is free.
>>
>> Want to reduce the cost of an antenna? No problem. Pull out the ARRL
>> Antenna Book, pick a design, order the hardware, and build it. Or get
>> some version of NEC and design it yourself.
>>
>> While you're at it, keep track of the number of hours you spend. From
>> the cost of those overpriced antennas, subtract what you paid for
>> materials, and divide that number by the number of hours. Chances are
>> it will be less than what you could make flipping burgers at McDonalds.
>>
>> 73, Jim K9YC
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
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