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| Reviews Summary for Comet CHA250B |
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Reviews: 68
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Average rating: 3.5/5
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MSRP: $469.00
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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.
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More info: http://www.cometantenna.com/products.php?CatID=1&famID=5&childID=6
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W4GLX
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 30, 2009 19:24
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Very Pleased !
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I Bought mine a year ago though word of mouth from a Friend and i am having a blast with this Antenna i made contacts Into NYC,MD,VA,CA,NH,VH,MO,GA,CO,NJ,Al signal reports have been 5-5 to 5-9 Cant wait Till the Sun spot Cycle Kicks In. i was using a Hustler BTV5 with 40 Ground Radial what a disapointment would Not tune i rate that at Zero.
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K3AXR
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Rating: 1/5
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Oct 19, 2009 04:21
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Disappointing
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I am very disappointed in this antenna. I, like many, live in a ham "unfriendly" community and this must use "stealth" in erecting my antennas. I thought this would do it and I'be had great success with verticals in the past. The manufacturere recommends raising the antenna to 35' above ground, but let's be practical, can anyone operating in stealth mode really do this. I find the antenna to work reasonably well on 40 and 75 meters. On 20 meters I made numerous calls to stations I was receiving at 5-9 and they could not hear me and didn't respond. Therefore the antenna is useless on 29 meters. Since 15 and 10 are basically dead here I couldn't try it on those bands. A poor antenna at best and definitely NIOT worth the high oprice.
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M3VXJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 11, 2009 04:16
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Great bit of kit
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I've been struggling to find a reasonable antenna that works for me in my tiny garden and at the bottom of a hillside. I bought the CHA250Bii and it is excellent. Build quality is very good and remrkably no tuner needed, Good reports received from Eastern Europe. Home QTH is central England. I'm more than happy with this. Probably will take this down when high winds forecast though.
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VY0HL
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Rating: 2/5
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Sep 22, 2009 11:19
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Mechanically deficient
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Have been using this antenna for a little over a year, and despite good performance, especially as a broadband rx antenna, I am disappointed with the quality of the aluminum used. The antenna is rated at 65 mph survival, but a recent storm with a verified wind speed of only 91 kmh (56.5 mph) destroyed the antenna. An earlier storm of 35 mph bent the antenna at a 45 deg angle at section no.3 where is slides into no.2. I expect this weakened the tube to the point where addition bending caused it to break. I have contacted Comet and requested a replacement section, but they have not even answered by query. I am not impressed with the build quality of the antenna, and less impressed with Comet's customer service. It is unlikely that I will ever buy another comet product.
Larry
VY0HL
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K9WAS
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 11, 2009 12:12
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Outstanding! 5/5
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I've read that some believe that the Comet CHA-250Bx is a "dummy load" or "heat sink" -- well I can only tell you that I've had mine up about 5 days, and it has proven to an amazing antenna for a vertical!
I live on a hillside, where the street surface in front of my house is at eve level when viewed from my front window. The ground drops quickly behind my house, but I am blocked in back by the opposite side of the valley; a tree covered hill, the peak of which is about 100 feet above my house (terrible for 2m).
My Comet CHA-250Bx is mounted on a 10 foot long, 2" o.d. steel mast with 1/8" thick ground wire clamped to the top of the mast. The bottom of the mast itself sits 16 feet AGL on my deck, so the bottom of the antenna is roughly 26 feet AGL. 35 feet is recommended by Comet, and that was not possible.
I just bought a used Icom IC-756 PRO and I have been using it for a day and a half -- what an amazing combo! I get great matches on 20 and 40m and need very little tuning. I cracked a pile-up on 14.300 on my very first try to western Colorado with 100W and the response was that I had a very clear and strong signal. I then had another QSO in Florida with a gentleman running a rig with 400 to 500 Watts through a four element beam and he reported the same signal response on me that I had on him!
Granted, you will never get the performance from a vertical that you will from a beam, but given my topographic situation, and CCR limitations (no tower, and any antenna can only be 15 feet above the house peak) I can only say, WOW! with regard to how this antenna performs -- next I will compare it to my Tak-tenna mounted on the roof.
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VK3FICA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 13, 2009 20:26
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Great restricted space HF Multiband Vertical
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have a small garden and I recently installed a Comet CHA-250-BXII HF Multiband Vertical on a 15 foot (1.5") mast attached to the eave of my house.
Very easy to put the antenna together (less than 5 minutes).
The antenna works as advertised with SWR below 1.5:1 or better from 80m to 10m. It even works on 160m with my TS-2000 built-in autotuner.
So far the performance has been better than the G5RV Junior that I had installed for operation on 40m-10m.
High Recommended if you don't have the space for a Yagi or full size vertical.
73's VK3FICA
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KG4RUL
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Rating: 1/5
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May 19, 2009 03:57
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Truly is a 'dummy load'!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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In the Charleston, SC area, we have set up 18 sites with emergency medical supplies and communication equipment. These are housed in converted cargo containers with A/C and emergency power sources and an FT-897 for HF comms. To allow HF comms with these sites, the three area EOCs were each bought a CHA250B.
During a recent exercise, we set up one of the EOC antennas at the exercise site. The antenna was erected on a Penninger, portable, 30' mast system. Performance was compared with a homebrew, OCF dipole strung at 30' in the center with the ends at about 12'.
Compared to this basic wire dipole, the CHA250B is 'deaf'. Stations that were easily worked on the dipole were not even heard on the Comet.
This is NOT a good buy, IMHO.
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W8JSA
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Rating: 5/5
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May 19, 2009 01:28
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Still a lot of bang for the buck!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've since moved and got the Comet CHA-250B back up. Not at the 30 or so feet that the manufacturer recommends but at ground level. I've been able to work up and down the East Coast as well as the EU, Central & South America. When I get it up to where it should be I'm sure that Asia and Oceania will be come in strong, depending on band conditions.
Another thing that surprises me, how many fellow Hams remember about polarization of antennae. Vertical to vertical, horizontal to horizontal and that's not just for FM either. Every Ham would love to have the real estate for a beam on each band, I'm no exception. It's not going to happen at this QTH, ever. So I have to work with what I have, including a very patient XYL!
I've said before and it needs saying again, every antenna is a compromise and this is no different. I do wish that the gauge of the aluminium stock was beefier but then it would be heavier and not as easy to handle. I've read where damage was done at just 40+ MPH while it's rated at 67+ MPH. I have no doubt that the next hurricane to blow through Hampton Roads will cause the antenna to look like a pretzel but I have to deal with that when it happens.
Yes, I would buy another Comet CHA-250 and in fact, I did.
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GM7UED
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 21, 2009 12:51
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Follow up report
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Well, has been a week now and the antenna is now in it's permanent location mounted at ground level, which is "35 feet" lower than recommended but it is working great. Had my first contact tonight into maryland USA using only 10 watts from here in Aberdeen using an Icom IC-703, and being my first contact across the pond on HF I can say that these antennae do work, and work well. So for £200 GBP second hand I can say it was a good purchse and I'm very pleased with it.
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AB9SO
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 10, 2009 18:08
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Pretty Darn Good!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I bought this antenna used for about half of the price of new. Paid less than $200 for it. For that price it is GREAT!
I put it up about 18 feet above ground level, much less than the recommended height, but that was the best I could do. I have to say that I was very surprised! Comparing it to my off center fed dipole, it is only about 1 S-Unit less on most bands!
So far I have worked all over the US, the Islands, Brazil, and even some of Europe! I worked UK and Italy on 75m. 20m is great too! I worked Spain the other day, no problem. Running just 100 watts into it.
Don't get me wrong, it is not the greatest antenna in the world. But for a vertical with no radials, it does a pretty good job. I wanted a second antenna, preferably a vertical to use for HF, and this one fits the bill very nicely. No tuner needed on any bands. I had it up and in the air in about an hour. Well built, and it has survived the high winds that we have had (60 MPH already this year). I was skeptical, but at the price I got it I thought it was worth a try, and I am sure glad I tried!
If you want a simple and decent vertical then I recommend this antenna for you. If you are looking for the magic antenna that will bust through every pile up, then you may want to consider something else.
My only negative is the price when new. Like I said, I got mine used, less than a year old for under $200, so I am ecstatic! If I had paid the $400 new, I may not be so excited.
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