[TowerTalk] Hy-Gain AV-640

[atrampler at att.net]

Bill,

I have an AV640...small lot, wrong sized trees in all the wrong 
places...powerline...and will vouch that on 30 and 40 it is a very nice 
antenna.  I've had very little experience on 10-20 with it due primarily to 
conditions.

In short, I outperform most people on 30 and 40 with wire antennas.  Whether 
the pile-up is in the Pacific, Africa, grayline to northern EU or LP to the 
middle-east...with 800 to 1000 watts I'm usually in on my first call (not 
ALWAYS, but usually).

When I get on 20...it's another story.  I haven't had enough time to play 
with it on the upper bands due to my time and the propagation.  It's played 
well on 10.

I think he'll do well having it up a bit.  I think Peter is steering you 
right in suggesting some guys.  I don't have any on mine; it's on an 18' 
foldover pole (4"/3") and has withstood 50+ mph winds, but why chance it. 
The antenna does play better the higher you place it.

If you have concerns about stray RF on the coax (the unit has a current 
balun in it) consider adding a good current balun behind it.  I have noticed 
that I can saturate my balun in calling CQ long enough and will likely 
replace the matching unit with separate 4:1 and 1:1 current baluns rated at 
higher power.  This has only happened a handful of times and may be weather 
dependent.

Hope this helps.
Art, KØRO


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Jackson" <k9rz at radiks.net>
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2008 6:45 AM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Hy-Gain AV-640


> Hello Towertalkians,
>
> I am mentoring a new ham who has limited options for putting up an HF 
> antenna.
> He has 30 ft. of Rohn 25 tower placed directly next to his house (an old 
> TV
> tower), but it is located on a very small lot and he has XYL restrictions 
> which
> prohibit any wire antennas or radials off of the tower.
>
> He is thinking about a Hy-Gain AV-640 multi-band vertical to place on top 
> of
> the tower.  His reasoning is that it gives him multiple bands (40-6M) and
> requires no radials.
>
> He is looking for comments, pro or con about this antenna.  At this point, 
> he
> is just interested in getting his feet wet on HF.  He has a used Kenwood
> TS-480S with the built in auto tuner, so useable bandwidth should not be 
> an
> issue.
>
> Thanks in advance for your comments and 73.
>
> Bill, K9RZ
>
>
>
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