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write your own review of the Solarcon A-99.
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KB6HRT
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Rating: 5/5
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May 29, 2009 20:49
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I'M HAPPY
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Been a Ham an a CBer for a long time and have done lots of comparative testing with 10 & 11 meter antennas. The A99 does a Great job when compared with my Cushcraft R8 on 10 meters always out performing it 9 out of ten times. I get the same results on 12m. The A99 stays up in the high winds and just keep working and working an working....KB6HRT
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KK9H
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Rating: 4/5
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May 29, 2009 06:36
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Repeat after me.......
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Repeat after me: It is a CB antenna. It is a CB antenna. It is a CB antenna. It is a CB antenna.
That being said, our club has one that has been trimmed to resonate in the 10M band for a beacon on 28.297 (NS9RC). It has been on top of a five story building for almost ten years and has survived some very severe storms, one with winds around 100 MPH or more. Other than having a slight curve to it, it is still mechanically sound and working just fine.
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N0FPE
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Rating: 3/5
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May 29, 2009 05:25
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ok
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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ok for 10 and maybe 12. Havent tried it on any other bands and wont
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G0UIH
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Rating: 0/5
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May 29, 2009 00:45
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The Victim of Marketeers
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The A99 is the victim of marketing hype. I tested one against a $2 homebrew vertical dipole, which duly outperformed the A99 without any problems. The 'A99 Exposed' page about says it all.
http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=7582
Save your $$ - avoid
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W3TUA
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Rating: 1/5
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May 1, 2009 08:08
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Build Your Own and Save
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This antenna features shoddy construction and bad performance. Sure, you can work the world on 10m on a wet noodle when it's open, but why not build something better than this ripoff.
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W3WN
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Rating: 4/5
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May 1, 2009 08:01
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Not bad, more than adequate... but not a primary antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've used the Solarcon quite extensively as a high band vertical at my previous QTH, and when I have a place to put it, it will return to duty at my current QTH.
Is it the best thing on earth since sliced bread? No. But it is at the very least an adequate antenna, and in some cases and some bands, quite good.
I've had best results on it on 10 and 12 meters, and (surprisingly) 17 meters with a tuner. I can load it on 20, but not very well; it's probably just too short. I also lack the optional ground plane, which would have helped. (I did not tend to use it on 15, as my HF6V was more than adequate, so I can't comment on that band)
I would not recommend this as a primary antenna for most people for most bands. But as a 10 and 12 meter antenna, it will work quite well.
But get the optional ground plane, or put one of your own on, and it will work much better.
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N0FPE
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 30, 2009 19:52
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works ok for what it is
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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works great for a 10 meter vertical. Other than that it is worthless so for me its fine on 10.
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KW6LA
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Rating: 3/5
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Apr 30, 2009 19:12
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Dont over sell it !
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The A99 antenna was designed to be resonate on 26-29 mhz. Sure you make contacts on it with a
tuner, but so did a Ham using a tree as the antenna. ( No Kidding ) If the Hams that buy into this
notion that it works great on just about all bands, then the rest of the ham community must be
Stupid for putting up thousand dollar antennas. Yes I have made contacts on 40 meter with a 10
meter dipole, but when I switched to the full size 40 meter dipole both signals when up 6 s units !
Dont kid ur self into think that a piece of short wire and a tuner will bring great results. I have this
antenna now in the back of my garage. It does a good job on 10, 11 and 12 meters, but has no value
for the lower bands. I would bet the others do not have other antennas to reference this to ? Not to
mention the lousy consistency for strong reports on 20, 17 and 15 meters. Oh some say its the
Bomb on 75 meters too
..Not
.! !
KW6LA
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N0FPE
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 16, 2009 18:10
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works ok
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Mine works just fine on 10 meters, which is what i got it for. Tunes ok on 12 and 15. It will tune on 17 and 20 with a very narrow bandwidth but then it is cut for 10 meters, so i didnt expect a lot. works ok for me.
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K2SAV
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Rating: 3/5
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Feb 16, 2009 15:58
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ok..gets out
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Not bad to see what its all about...i had one when i was a tech. to try my hand at 10m ssb...now i am a gen... and a modest g5rv jr. with a tuner i get much better results( switched via switch on same contact) but i will say 10 and 15 m its ok and 20 with a tuner it is a good backup....so not bad for 50 bucks...i spend more for dinner out sometimes....its a good start and a decent backup...if thats what your after , you found it... but not a solid steady performer on pileups or dx...but as i said it is a good start or a decent backup, as i read mixed reviews even on expensive verticals....hope that helps...73
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