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| Reviews Summary for Solarcon I-MAX 2000 |
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Reviews: 51
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Average rating: 4.4/5
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MSRP: $80 SHIPPED
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Description: 3 piece, over 21 foot tall fiberglass 10 meter base antenna
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More info: http://
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KC8CXZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 19, 2008 09:16
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Great, inexpensive antenna for 10 and 15!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Some may mock this antenna as being a 'CB antenna', but truth be told, the wire radiator inside this antenna does not know the difference between the CB and the Ham bands people! Anyway, i've had the I-MAX 2000 going on 10 years or so now. It's never failed me, and continues to surprise on 10 and 15, where the SWR is flat (you need to adjust the 2 rings at the base of the antenna, every time when you switch bands though... not a problem if the antenna is just a few feet above ground mounted), and DX is worked easily. My 'elmer' used to come over frequently when sunspots were high just a few years ago, and we worked some great DX (including VK and ZL) on 10 and 15 CW/SSB with good signal reports. Also worked some good Sporadic-E recently with excellent signal reports. The 'icing on the cake' is that the antenna requires NO RADIALS! I continue to be AMAZED at how well this simple great value antenna works, and how long it has lasted without a single problem.
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KB3GJL
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 18, 2008 14:08
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Tough, dependable, cheap, and it works.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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You know, the Antron 99 and its big brother the iMax 2000 are like cocroaches. They will still be here after we are dead and gone, ready to transmit and receive. Something the Solarcon does very well I might add. I ran one of these for years and was always very happy with it's performance. I worked into Europe and South America from my inner city QTH with no issues, and a surprisingly low noise floor. It survived several hurricanes, countless severe thunderstorms, and a couple of nasty blizzards before it got taken down and given away. man, what was I thinking?? That was a mistake I still regret by the way. The next one will be a keeper.
Yeah, it's a CB antenna. Big deal! I am sure the retailer would be happy to write 'Amateur radio antenna' on the box in magic marker and charge you double the price if it would make you feel any better. Otherwise, get over it and just put one up. It's tough, it's versatile, and it works pretty darn well.
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K2HAT
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 20, 2008 18:15
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Very Happy
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had my Imax 2000 for over 10 years,
long before I got my Ham ticket,
I was using it for 11 meters.
When I got my license last year,
{March 2007} I tried the Imax 2000
on 10,15 and 20 meters and made a lot of
contacts even into Europe on 20 meter.
I would gladly buy the Imax 2000 again,
for 10m 12m 15m etc thru 20m use.
I also owned a couple of A-99 "Antron99"
made by Solcarcon, they did not have near the
broadband good SWR's of the larger Imax 2000.
Well worth the $100.
check Ebay if you can't get one locally.
73
K2HAT
Lee
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KC9MSA
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 27, 2008 17:17
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Great 10/11 meter
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Well made, no tuner required for 10/11 meter, SWR almost flat...great buy!
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VK2FTNY
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 11, 2008 04:41
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Great 10m vertical
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Ive owned this antenna for well over 2yrs.In that time it has served me extremely well and seems to be robust despite its tendancy to flop around in the wind.I have a majar problems with galahs and cuckatoos and at times have seen the birds (around a dozen) bend the tip down almost touching the 5 element beam underneath. And till this day there have been no major problems with the build quality.Also works great on 15m with a tuner.For the money its been a great investment and hope to have many more years and contacts on this big beauty.
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N6ELO
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 10, 2008 23:13
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Decent Antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I purchased this antenna about 1 year ago. I will have to say, I have had many contacts and the reports of how well they resonate on different bands is all true. The problem I have is the overall quality and so far, the customer service at Solarcon is lousy. During our recent storm (50mph), the antenna (rated at 100mph)collapsed and folded over like a wet noodle. I contacted Solarcon through the contact page on their website and through email along with photos 1 week ago and have not received a reply. What kind of customer service is that? I like the antenna, but the company may not stand behind their products.
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VE7REN
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 6, 2008 17:06
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works for me
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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tunes on 20/17/10/11 no problem. get good results. for the price,this antenna is worth the money. if it last as long as my solarcon a99(16yrs) ill be happy. it takes the beatings of our b.c winters and drastic climate changes.
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W4HWD
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 6, 2008 15:27
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Review Update
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Still a great antennas, but some improvements make it even better. My antenna is mounted 28' above ground, or about 10' above the peak of the roof. Here's what I did:
1) Purchased the optional GPK-1 Ground Plane Kit. Since this is an antenna tuned for the Citizens Band, and since the four 70' fiberglass whips provided with the kit are too short to be 1/4 wavelength radials at 27MHz, I replaced the fiberglass whips with four Radio Shack 102" steel whips. That gave this antenna a symmetrical ground plane consisting of four 1/4 wavelength radials, sloped at a 45 degree angle.
2) I would a coax choke, 6 turns of the feedline (LMR-400) on a 4-1/4" PVC form, and I placed the choke down the mast about 1' below the tips of the radials.
Doing all this turned this antenna into a real performer. This antenna without a ground plane is, let's face it, a wide-band resistor of pathetic efficiency. When I added the ground plane, the 3MHz 1:1 bandwidth disappeared, replaced by an 800kHz bandwidth less that 1.2:1, centered on the Citizens Band. Again, since this thing is first and foremost a CB antenna, I optimized it for that and I use my tuner (where required) for the top four HF bands.
Adding the correct size ground radials not only made this antenna way more efficient over a narrower slice of spectrum, it also added gain to the antenna by simply lowering the main lobe angle of radiation. Without the radials what power was actually being radiated was going off at about 60 degrees. With the 1/4 wave ground plane under it, the take-off angle is now estimated at approximately 23 degrees (height above ground and soil quality will be the final determining factors).
As an added bonus ALL MY TVI IS GONE!
I highly recommend adapting the available Ground Plane Kit to your Imax. It minimizes TVI by taking all that power you're losing on the feedline shield and it puts it all up on the antenna to be radiated (that alone will reduce the potential for TVI, but add a coax choke too!). It lowers the angle of radiation. It turns the antenna into a respectable platform, far removed from the "CB Snake Oil" antenna some make it out to be.
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KI8FS
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 21, 2006 02:30
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6 years later
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I was the first to rate this antenna here at eham and gave it a 4. It has now been almost 6 years since I have been using this antenna. It is still going strong as day one. Yes this antenna sways a lot in heavy wind but keeps on going. 10-15 meters for the price it is hard to beat. This is not a copy of the A99 antenna. This is a 5/8th wave.
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ROMEODELTA1
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 28, 2006 13:51
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A great deal
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I replaced a decades old and crumbling A99 (still working with SWR 1.1) with a new Imax 2000 with radial kit. It took one hour start to finish to take down the old and put up the new. SWR 1.4 out of the box, half the static as the old one, twice the local range, DX from here in San Diego to Australia, Florida, Oregon and more. No more TVI. If you are an antenna wonk and like to assemble and adjust im sure you can beat the Imax, but probably not by much. If you like easy, trouble free install, no adjusts needed, durability and price, theres nothing better short of a beam.
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