Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna - Elmers Forum at eHam.net

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eHam.net Forum : Elmers : Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna

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Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna	Reply
by W8BNL on June 19, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
I saw a previous post here about this antenna and I am considering the purchase of one for "my particular application". I live in a mobile home community that doesn't allow "permanent" antennas to be installed and that is why I am considering this collapsable version. Please, don't tell me that this vertical antenna can't perform like a yagi or a large tuned dipole. I have read comparisons like that in other posts and it is kind of silly don't ya think. I mean you wouldn't try to compare a small pickup truck with a semi for hauling capacity now would you. If anyone has compared the performance of this antenna against other vertical antennas, please let me know. 73 de W8BNL - Tom

RE: Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna	Reply
by W3LK on June 19, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
I feel your pain ... This antenna is pretty much inferior to any other vertical properly installed over a decent radial field - several dB down on everything but maybe 10 and 15 meters. It is bascially a 50 ohm load across the coax with a radiator attached to one leg of the load. There are no loading coils, no traps - just that radiator and the "matching network". Forget the claim about low SWR. A dummy load has a 1:1.0 SWR, too. Will it work? Sure and you'll make contacts but you can do the same on a lightbulb. If you absolutely, positively have no other option then go with it - but it is WAY overpriced. A 4 or 5-band Hustler, installed with two tuned radials per band will run rings around it at 1/3 the cost. A Butternut HF6V or 9V, ground mounted over about 35-50 30' radials or elevated with two resonant radials per band, will beat the Hustler hands down. This antennas, and its Comet clone (both made in the same factory!) would be my absolute last choice for a vertical. I would find a way to fit in the Hustler, at the very least. 73, Lon - W3LK Baltimore, Maryland - soon to be Naugatuck, Connecticut

RE: Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna	Reply
by W3LK on June 19, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
Tom: I just looked at your bio. Congratulations on finding your family. I cannot begin to imagine how much of a thrill that was. Good luck on the antenna installation. 73, Lon - W3LK Baltimore, Maryland - soon to be Naugatuck, Connecticut

RE: Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna	Reply
by W8BNL on June 19, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
Thanks for all your input. I was also thinking about the Hustler vertical and may go that way. I need to be able to take it down when I am not "on the air". 72 de W8BNL

RE: Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna	Reply
by KE3WD on June 19, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
Butternut will outperform it hands down. If taking it down is the big thing, consider a mobile screwdriver antenna on a removable mount, too. Nothing says that removable mount has to be fastened to a truck. Place as many radials under the mount as you can. .

RE: Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna	Reply
by N3OX on June 19, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
"I need to be able to take it down when I am not "on the air". " Spend the money on a good automatic tuner and use a 20' fiberglass fishing pole to support a wire vertical and use the tuner at the base. Dan

RE: Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna	Reply
by AB3EI on June 20, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
You can still use a bog-standard vertical like the Hustler or Butternut models, while keeping a "stealthy" profile. Look at: http://tinyurl.com/2betrn For DX Engineering's vertical antenna Tilt Base. There are amateurs using these to lay the antenna flat when not in use. When you need it, hoist it up into place. The Hustler version costs $60. Add $150 for the Hustler 5BTV and ~$50 for other installation needs - a mounting pipe, a couple sacks of Quikrete, etc. - you're looking at less than $275. That's FAR less than the $400 price tag of the Diamond aerial, and such a setup will work much more reliably. My two cents! Bob NQ3X

RE: Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna	Reply
by WA3SKN on June 20, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
OK, I read "mobile home"... this usually indicates a good ground plane. Any of the verticals can be made to work here. I would consider auto-tuner and some sort of removable whip as a first choice, and home-brewing the whip would keep the price reasonable. Think of the possibilities! -Mike

RE: Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna	Reply
by KE3WD on June 20, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
One neat way to hide a vertical antenna in plain sight is to put it inside a nonconductive "flag pole". I once knew an old coot who installed a large metal flagpole in his trailer home yard, but with a Butternut vertical on top instead of a ball or an eagle. Of course, these days there are neighbors and neighborhoods complaining about the flying of our flag...

RE: Diamond BB7V Vertical Antenna	Reply
by W3LK on June 20, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
<< I once knew an old coot who installed a large metal flagpole in his trailer home yard, but with a Butternut vertical on top instead of a ball or an eagle. >> How did he handle the need for elevated radials? The flagpole itself is not a sufficient counterpoise, especially for a Butternut. 73, Lon - W3LK Baltimore, Maryland - soon to be Naugatuck, Connecticut

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