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You can
write your own review of the Comet GP-9 dual band base antenna.
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M0TTB
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 21, 2009 05:38
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excellent perfomer, erect & forget
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Up at 30ft to base for 18 month or more. QTH asl is no more than average for my area but my rx & tx considerably better than neighbouring radio amateurs on 2/70cm fm. SWR effectivley flat on 2m from 144-146, and a similar story on 70cms.
Simple enough to construct, although the internal elements were pushed down in some sections and required a bit of fiddling to pull them up to mate with the section above.
basically, erected and forgotten about.
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M6SIX
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 22, 2009 09:45
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Superb!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Where do I start, well, this aerial has a flat vswr right across the 2m band, it has a lift to about a 1.3.1 at the edges of the 70cms band, and boy am I pleased that I swapped the old, but reliable Moonraker for the Comet GP-9. It was a real easy job to set up and get running, (but check the box and contents first, and read then re-read the instructions), they could have been a bit more informative, and were written on a single piece of photo-copied paper? (c'mon Comet, you can afford a decent manual out of all the money you have made outta us 'Hams'). I would seriously recommend this great DX'ers aerial, superb!!!!!!
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COWBOYBOB
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Rating: 3/5
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Jul 2, 2009 23:11
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dissappointed at first.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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at first i was dissapointed, actually shocked. wasnt sure what the swr of 6 was about. yes i said 6. my setup consists of a yaesu 897d, belden 9913 (and yes i know about its problems, another story though)and the antenna in question, the comet gp9.
after calming down, reading reviews and information from this site and others on the gp9 and the belden 9913 i decided to just take the antenna down and treat it like i was doing it for the first time. part of doing this was completely disassembling the antenna and inspecting the insides. turns out i saved myself a good deal of trouble. it was a cold soldier between the copper and the brass tube in the bottom section. i had planned on making a whole new coax with ends, always by in bulk when you can, not just for the deal either-B prepared! that wasnt necessary though. my "engineer" (the buddy of mine thats older and smarter than me) and i were pleased to see there was virtually no standing wave! receive is exceptional as well as the transmit.
we used pl connectors, they seem just fine, especially if you are on a budget. we also used approximately 60 foot of belden 9913. take your time with the soldering! antenna is only up 16' at the base, however our elevation is 700+ feet above sea level. sealed the connection to the antenna well, was carefull not to cover drain hole either.
even though im extremely pleased with my gp9 preformance, i cannot ignore the fact that i had to repair my new antenna, also didnt care for assembly or instruction sheet (sorry some of us require a little more detail, they also dont have to jam it all on a single sheet of xerox paper either). i have owned a gp6 for a year now, have noticed considerable difference between antennas, gp9 is definitely an improvement.
in the end though, it gets a 3 and next time i will be looking around before i go to comet.
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W2TMA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 15, 2009 22:30
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Almost 13 Yrs and Still Great!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Antenna has been up for 13 yrs come March. Besides changing feedline once and tightening the radials once, it is going strong. Got my moneys worth out of it, for sure. I wouldn't put more than 100 W FM through it, though.
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N2OEL
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Rating: 3/5
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May 19, 2008 05:20
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Low Power Antenna, do not use over 50 watts FM
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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The package brags that the GP-9 antenna is rated for 200 watts. As an omni-directional antenna, it is obviously aimed at FM Simplex and Repeater users. However, the instruction sheet rates it at 200 watts SSB, not FM. It was my impression that SSB ratings are about 4 times that of a AM or FM rating. I would then assume that a 200 watt SSB rating would give a maximum FM power rating of about 50 watts.
I asked the US Distributor that type of question via email. Their reply email is below. The only change I made in copying this email, was in my changing my email address to protect me against spam.
-----Original Message-----
From: MickStwernik
To: n2oel@aol.com
Sent: Tue, 13 May 2008 2:07 pm
Subject: Re: GP-9 Data Sheet
The FM rating of the GP-9 is 100W FM, 200W SSB.
Depending on the duty cycle, 160W will probably damage the antenna.
Mick Stwertnik
NCG Company
15036 Sierra Bonita Lane
Chino, CA 91710-8901
800-962-2611
909-393-6133
Fax 909-393-6136
www.cometantenna.com
----- Original Message -----
From: n2oel@aol.com
To: sales@natcommgroup.com
Sent: 2008-05-12 07:27 PM
Subject: GP-9 Data Sheet
http://www.visradio.com/dwg/ncg/gp-9.gif
What is the FM Power Handling capability of the GP-9? The data sheet says 200 Watts SSB, which is about 50 Watts FM power. I want to use the antenna with a 160 Watt Mirage amplifier on FM Simplex at 146.58 Mhz. Is this wise, or will I be melting the antenna?
Noel Spears N2OEL
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KB5UIA
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 9, 2008 01:31
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VERY HAPPY
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Very easy to assemble... only small bit of common sense needed. Very light (~5 lbs.), so easy to carry/install. My only negative issue is one of the three tapped holes for the radials was not threaded properly. Had to re-tap hole to get radial to seat all the way like it should.
SWR Performance:
( @ 50w, 20' RG-8 coax jumper, 3' RG-8 coax jumper, and 100' LMR-400 coax with perfectly soldered connections )
144.000 = 1.4
145.000 = 1.1
146.000 = 1.2
147.000 = 1.1
147.995 = 1.1
435.000 = 1.1
440.000 = 1.4
445.000 = 1.3
446.000 = 1.4
447.000 = 1.2
448.000 = 1.3
449.000 = 1.4
449.995 = 1.2
Current setup is only until I get my tower up. Current setup only has antenna up ~12' from ground (i.e. tip of antenna is ~28.5' high).
Range:
QTH = Huntsville, TX
Can bring up repeaters in Galveston & Tyler... both are over 100 miles away with 50w. Can hit Conroe repeaters (~30 miles away) with only 5w, all day long, any day, no matter rain or shine. Can have simplex ops to mobile with 5-9 report up to ~15 miles out... through mainly forest-type area (i.e. mobile has lots of tall pine trees all around it at all times). Have been labeled as "full quieting" from all our typical contacts (repeaters out 15 to 40 miles out).
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W5SDC
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 4, 2008 09:31
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Seven years old and still going strong
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My GP9 has been in and on the air for 7 years and has held up well in the Texas sun and wind. SWR is almost flat at 5W on both bands and around 1.3 at 50W on both which isn't too bad.
If you handle a fiberglass antenna thats been out in the weather for awhile, don't make the mistake of not wearing gloves!
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KB3MMX
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 3, 2007 20:42
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Kick Butt Vertical!!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This thing works outstanding, as good or better than my 6270-13 Cushcraft beam ever did on VHF/UHF!! .....With less clutter on the tower that saves space for horizontal antennas to use on SSB!!!
This antennna is an exceptional performer for working those distant stations and repeaters!!
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VA3JDL
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 3, 2007 16:39
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Great Repeater Antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I set up the GP-9 as a repeater antenna for VE3JOP our VHF/UHF repeater system in Toronto.
The antenna has been up since early 2004. From day one performance has been great with flat SWR.
Performance on both bands is nothing less than excellent. Hears just as well as it gets out!
I would recommend the GP-9 over the standard repeater antennas on the market.
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N8EKT
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Rating: 2/5
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May 16, 2007 04:21
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NEEDS MODIFICATIONS
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I JUST PUT MY GP-9 UP YESTERDAY.
FIRST, THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE WRITTEN IN BROKEN ENGLISH AND IT WAS SO BAD THAT I HAD YO READ SEVERAL SENTENCES MULTIPLE TIMES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY REALLY MEANT TO SAY!!
MY FIRST IMPRESSION WAS THAT IT WAS A LIGHT-DUTY ANTENNA COMPARED TO THE DIAMOND X-510 AND X-500. THE TINY SET SCREWS CAN EASILY GET LOST DURING ASSEMBLY,
THE BIGGEST DISSAPOINTMENT WAS THE ABS SECTION COUPLERS.
MO MATTER HOW TIGHT I MADE THEM, THE SECTIONS WOULD STILL SPIN OR PULL OUT!!!
THE SECTION FASTENERS ON THE DIAMONDS ARE FAR SUPERIOR.
THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD USE THE GP-9 ON A REPEATER OR WHERE I COULDN'T EASILY TAKE IT DOWN FOR REPAIRS.
I MAY TRY TO EITHER EPOXY OR SILICONE THE ABS COUPLERS SO THAT IT DOESN'T PULL APART AND START FILLING WITH WATER.
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