|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
| Reviews Summary for Comet CHA250B |
|
Reviews: 88
|
Average rating: 3.7/5
|
MSRP: $469.00
|
Description: The Comet CHA250B broadband vertical antenna will amazingly cover 75/80 meters through 6 meters with no gaps! Transmit range is 3.5-57 MHz and receive range is 2-90 MHz. SWR <1.5:1. This 23.5 foot vertical requires no radials and weighs only 7.1 lbs. The antenna consists of five sections of aluminum tubing that slide into each other. The bottom section has the matching network built-in. Only two simple measurements are required during the easy assembly. It can handle 250 watts SSB and 125 watts FM. SO-239 input. Mounts on a 1 to 2 inch mast (not supplied). Rated for 67 MPH wind survival.
|
|
Product is in production.
|
|
More info: http://www.cometantenna.com/products.php?CatID=1&famID=5&childID=6
|
|
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this review.
Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help
|
You can
write your own review of the Comet CHA250B.
|
KT8DX
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Feb 3, 2012 13:19
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Got me on the air
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
For the first time in 21 years at my QTH, I now have 80-6 meter transmit and receive capability. For numerous reasons, I only have space for one dipole up 22 feet and one vertical. I cannot put up guy wires or extensive ground radials,and I have to get the antenna up in the air so I've even had trouble with the BTVs.
Enter the Comet. Easy to assemble and install. I could put it in the one logical place I have for a vertical, its not visible from the front of the house, in fact its barely visible from 40 feet away. I have it mounted on a chain link fencepost and with suspect coax am getting 1.6:1 swr on 80, 40, and 30, and 1:1 on the other bands. Signal levels are strong, and I've gotten decent signal reports from several stations I've contacted.
It may not be perfect, but as they say, even a bad antenna will provide contacts. Very happy and at peace with the compromise.
|
|
K3NOQ
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Jan 17, 2012 18:37
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Motorhome Installation:simple-ez-respectable performance!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
I bought this for "parked" use on my Motor home, it is now my primary antenna for HF, my screwdriver is now my "road"antenna. It Needs a coax isolator at the antenna feed point(mfj)915. I Made a HB ArmStrong fold over mount for it and mounted it to the rear ladder. It raises easily to about 15' off ground when set "up". I realized it was a compromise antenna and I found its operation very respectful, I am not a rabid Dx oriented operator and this antenna has provided some very nice enjoyable chats across many miles already (5 continents!). I bought mine used for $225 and would do it again.
|
|
N8NN
|
Rating: 3/5
|
Jan 10, 2012 08:19
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Compromise antenna
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
I needed an HF antenna for my motorhome. The CHA250B is well made and perfectly suited to mount on the rear ladder of a motorhome. The SWR is low (<1.5:1) on all bands.
As others report, the received signal strength is way down compared to antennas without a lossy matching unit. This is a problem for operating in a noisy environment like a campground. The noise level I experience is usually S-7 to S-9 all the time due to RV generators and converter/chargers. Thus, I am only able to receive really strong signals, and there are few of those with this antenna.
From Florida I worked Brazil, Peru, Israel and much of the US on CW with 90 watts. Phone contacts were very difficult. Best performance was on 15 meters. I found the antenna useful for shortwave listening because many broadcast stations were loud enough to be heard above the noise.
My antenna is mounted 10 feet above ground, not the 30 feet recommended. I do not recommend it for use in a noisy environment.
If a multiband antenna is needed in limited space with no room for radials, this antenna fits the bill.
|
|
K0TF
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Jan 1, 2012 01:19
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
For $12 you can't go wrong!
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
Just finished building another replica of this antenna. Average cost $12 a piece. Gets you on the air anywhere, anytime, no ifs or buts. It is NOT R8, but still its not $500+ either.
|
|
KI8DJ
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Sep 7, 2011 12:17
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
jetstream cloneclone
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
I have a copy of the cha250b sold buy jetstream,seems to compare to the comet at only 250 bucks . It is called the jtv 680 and well built. it loads 80- 6 meters without tuner and work pretty well on 40-10.
|
|
W9JB
|
Rating: 2/5
|
Aug 11, 2011 11:24
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Useless below 7 MHz
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
If you're in a CCR environment and forced to use this antenna, it's better than an indoor dipole . . . but not by much. While it loads well on most bands, you should expect (at best) 3-3 reports on 75 meters; performance seems to improve (marginally) on higher freqs. Adding radials to the installation did not improve signal strength, and messed up the SWR on some bands. A pricey compromise antenna, but has held up well to the weather elements.
|
|
N7SMI
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Aug 10, 2011 14:11
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Works well
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I'm a new ham, so I don't have much to compare this to, but considering my limitations for antenna options, the CHA-250Bx is working well for me. I have it mounted at 22 feet with a 60' run of LMR-400 into an Icom 756-PRO2.
In fairly limited time on the bands, I have 12 DX countries (Georgia, Lithuania, Hawaii, Brazil, New Zealand, etc.) and have worked about half the states. It tunes easily using my rig's internal tuner and I have made 5/9 contacts from 80 meters to 6 meters (excluding 12m, which is either really quiet or is deaf to the antenna). It tunes and I can listen on most of 160m (haven't tried a contact yet). I've easily worked through moderately big pileups for DX on the first few calls, yet I sometimes can't even hear contacts (Western Europe, Africa, etc.) that other big guns around me are reaching.
The biggest issue I have is the NOISE! I know the bands aren't in great shape now, but I believe the antenna to be much, much noisier than other comparable alternatives. I can't imagine using it without a modern DSP-equipped rig. I'm going to try some 1/4 wave radials and adjusting my ground system to try to clean it up a bit.
This is clearly a compromise antenna with some losses, but it does well what it says it should.
|
|
N4ZAW
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jul 27, 2011 06:08
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Pleasantly Amazed!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I would never have purchased a compromise antenna like this. As a MOF, the closest I ever came to compromising on an antenna was a G5RV (Which is my "go-to" favorite). But I ended-up with one of them from a fellow on craigslist. He had an Astron SS-25M power supply for sale for $50, and this "CB antenna" as he called it, was thrown-in,as was a "hunk of power cord" that turned out to be a complete plug-n-all power cable for my Yaesu FT840 twins (i run two of them). After coming here and identifying this "CB antenna" as a "cha-cha vertical", I decided to shlap it together on a 10ft pole and see what it would do. I need to now move it to a permanent install because it simply WERKZ! I can now have a garage rig without breaking the bank, or doubling-up on my antenna farm. The CHA250 is one compromise that is 100% USABLE throughout the HF spectrum -- and without a tuner! Boy, did I SCORE!
|
|
W7RUE
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Jul 20, 2011 08:40
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Good Compromise Antenna
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I have had this antenna for over two years now. I use it only as a backup now. I live in a very restrictive CC&R neighborhood so it was a logical purchase and choice for me. I have since built and bought other antennas which are much more effective and hidden. So far so good.
The Comet CHA250B works as advertised; but nothing exeptional. A good compromise antenna but not very effect during low sunspots. It was easy to assemble and it went up quickly. I have the base of the matching unit at 37 feet on four, 1.5" sections of conduit painted with camoflaged paint to blend with the foliage in the greenbelt. If you can put up a wire or dipole then you would be better served. If not, it will get you on the air which is what it is all about.
W7Rue
|
|
VE3QTH
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jul 20, 2011 05:33
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great Antenna,period.
|
Time owned: 6 to 12 months
|
First EVERY ANTENNA will be a comprimize, unless it is designed and built for one spefic frequency and even then the feedline could be a comprimize. The key is to know what you want to achieve.
I wanted a simple, low windload, durable, all band 80m-6m, wide-band, vertical HF, without ground radials, that I could mount on my 36 foot tower and handle my 100 watts max.
Guess what? The Best and only choice in my book was the CHA-250bx. The 21+ feet is a little tricky at 36 feet up a tower but works flawlessly.
Enjoy it.
VE3QTH, Barrie, Ontario Canada
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
