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You can
write your own review of the Buckmaster 7 Band, 3KW, OCF Dipole Antenna.
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N6LY
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 5, 2009 15:32
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Works great!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I threw up this antenna into a tree at my family cabin up in Arnold, CA last weekend for the CQP contest (Oct 3,4 2009). I got it about 30 feet up and was able to reach all across the U.S., Germany, Slovenia, Australia running only 100W with no effort even in this horrible sunspot lul.
The internal tuner on my TS-2000 handled every band advertised with ease. I added a Unadilla W2DU Current choke about six feet below the balun just for good measure.
The MFJ analyzer closely matched what was advertised on the hamcall website.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
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W2FBS
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 4, 2009 05:54
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Better Than Expected
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I put the 7 band version up about 6 months ago to replace a Carolina Windom that failed. It has worked great except for the fact that I could not get the SWR on 75 meters down to the levels mentioned in the Buckmaster literature.
Just yesterday I replaced the old coax, which was two pieces of 213/U spliced with a double female UHF connector, with a new 125 foot length of 213. Wow, what a difference a good feed line makes! The SWR is below 1.3 to 1 on the entire 75 meter band and below 1.3 to 1 on 40 meters. It even loads up on 60 meters with just the tuner in the Pro 3.
I have always had great reports with this antenna, now I have great SWR. The lesson? Change your coax every few years.
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N2DY
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 6, 2009 18:29
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Works Great
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is my second review, having owned the 7 band antenna for a couple of years now. I have put the full legal limit through the antenna for extended periods of time and it just takes it. I do not use a tuner with it and it works perfectly on all advertised bands. I have mine mounted roughly as a flat top around 45 feet up.
I am confused by the previous reviewer who noted that his 6-bander does not tune on 75M. The 6 band model is not designed to work on 75M. Perhaps I am misunderstanding his complaint.
Anyway, I cannot be any happier with this antenna. It gets me on all the HF bands that I like with a relatively low profile and good performance.
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TODD5251
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 12, 2009 10:59
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Great antenna
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Put the antenna up about ten feet off the ground for a trial run before I permanently mount it.Hit Austria second call 20 meters.Vswr not bad at all at 10 feet.All reports stateside were 5/9.I cant wait to get it installed according to the directions.
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N9ZA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 10, 2009 12:24
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Versatile in more ways than one
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Time owned: months
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I recently purchased the 7-band version and departed from the recommended inverted V configuration (tree displacements,the arbiters), and strung it up in a V pattern with the heavy balun dangling free 7 feet above the ground.
In this free-of-attachment arrangement, the heavy balun acts like a bungee cord in leveling out the stress when the wind blows - elimating the need to have actual bungee cords at each end of the OCF to equalize stress.
This arrangement also jettisons the need for a 30 to 40 foot vertical tie-and-feed point close to shack entrance.
But what about the SWR numbers in a "rabbit ears" configuration, do they match the inverted V numbers? They sure do. The Palstar ZM30 analyzer even up the score when it comes to the numbers.
All in all, the Buckmaster OCF with its solid construction and weighty balun, plus its top perforance, makes this one versatile antenna.
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IRABREN
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 20, 2009 15:54
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Very Good Quality
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is a pricey - but very high quality antenna. I have the 6 band; 300 watt version. It will tune(with a palstar AT1-KP Tuner ) - 6-80 m.
I can talk on 80m with some added 200w of power.
The best thing is the small size for my lot (50X100) - I have it hanging from a nail - at top of chimney - angle of 120 degrees and apex about 30 ft high.
It is a very good performer for only 30 ft. The balun and wire are very high quality. They ship fast. 1 leg is only 20 + feet and the other is 40+ feet. I have the legs elevated 10ft with painter's push up poles at the fences. I am very happy with it for what it is. It is great improvement over my HS-1800 screwdriver ( on a tripod with 12 above ground radials ). It doesn't take up much space.
It is in back of house, low footprint, I just hope the HOA will allow it.
For those in my situation - I highly recommend it !. If you have more room - get the 7 band 3KW version.
73 and Good Luck, Ira, KE5STP
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N0YXE
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 10, 2009 17:09
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Third or Fourth Review
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Time owned: months
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Ok, so why not great? Glad you asked. This antenna works well, just not as well as claimed by Buckmaster and many of the other reviews, but well within the tolerances for an OCF that produces reasonable SWR on even harmonics.
The problem that I was having was with my amp not running on full power with my G5RV, even though I was using a decent external tuner. My Elmer, W5RUM, suggest that I check out the OCF from a couple companies. Since replacing the G5RV, the amp has been very happy.
My Buckmaster is located at 35' off the ground on the deck. The ends are tied to the fence, with a small extension on one side to try to get close to a 120 degree angle near the top of mast. It's not perfect. The short end is running East and the long end is due West.
I have moved the ends a bit, both in direction and in height. Slight changes occur in SWR but the direction pattern is about the same.
WHAT DOES THE METER SAY: On some bands it is possible to eliminate a tuner, while on other bands, you gotta have one! In other works, your built-in (3:1) tuner will do fine. On a few bands and/or frequencies you will need that powerful external tuner. From my experience, don't buy this antenna thinking that you do not have to have or use a tuner. If your rig is small and inexpensive and you just don't want to purchase a tuner you may get lucky with your location. Do you feel lucky? Sorry about that--too much Eastwood.
MY LATEST RESULTS: BUCKMASTER 80-6 METER 135' OCF
3.8 3.0:1:1
3.9 2.9:1:1
4.0 3.4:1:1
I use my external tuner on this band.
7.175 2.8:1:1
7.250 2.9:1:1
Forty Meters can be used with my in-board tuner if needed.
14.225 1.8:1:1
14.270 1.7:1:1
14.320 1.6:1:1
Again, the built-in takes care of this band, or I use the external with the amp, as needed.
18.110 1.4:1:1
Seventeen Meters stays pretty good throughout.
21.275 5.4:1:1 Buchmaster warns you to stay off this band. I wonder why? I use the 3,000 watt model, but I still heed their warning as they do not have a lifetime warranty on their balum like the one from Array Solutions! I have a Solarcom I-Max vertical that brings the SWR down to 3.8:1:1 and with my external tuner I have no major concerns.
24.930 1.2:1:1
24.960 1.1:1:1
Go ahead and turn your tuner off and kiss your Buckmaster and feel proud of yourself. Yea!
28.300 1.5:1:1
28.315 1.4:1:1
28.360 1.3:1:1
28.400 1.2:1:1
28.450 1.1:1:1
28.580 1.2:1:1
28.640 1.3:1:1
29.300 2.8:1:1
29.400 3.1:1:1
Ten Meters is great until you get to the top of Ten Meter FM. Again, I rely on the Solarcom vertical and built-in tuner for good results.
50.125 2.4:1:1
Six Meters is ok with the built-in tuner.
Overall the Buchmaster is a very heavy duty and well built antenna. OCF's seem to radiate in the direction of the sloping ends and while I would love to have more DX, I actually work stations in Europe. The antenna is in an antenna restricted area and I wish it was further from the side of the house. Maybe even five or ten feet higher would be good too.
If you would like for me to e-mail you an excellent article on OCF dipoles, send me a note. I would be glad to discuss my antenna exploits with you.
tbgspaceship@yahoo.com
Good luck and have fun with your OCF dipole!
Terry, N0YXE
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PAULMANDEL
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 9, 2009 10:31
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Just as advertised
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After a number of suggestions and reading the eHam comments I decided on the 300W 7 band antenna. Installation made easier with a MFJ analyzer. The results mirror the website even though for my location 27' was the best overall height from using the MFJ.
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KJ4ICB
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 8, 2009 15:44
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Great!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This antenna is a great choice I worked 197 DX and in 124 different countries during ARRL SSB weekend. I worked 10m 15m, 20m, 40m, 80m I did not use the clusters much at all, I mostly used the turn the VFO and listen. I found it had great RX and my TX power was pointed out more then once in BIG pile-ups where I broke through easy. This is just the start for the antenna, next test is the Boy Scouts and ARRL Field Day GOTA station.
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W1JUS
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Rating: 2/5
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Mar 1, 2009 09:33
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Failed after a while !!!!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I really hate to write this, but the balun failed
causing what seemed to a bad ground . This antenna
has given me fits since 8-08 & I wasted a lot of time checking my ground -- coax -- ect. It also fried the CI-V portion of my IC-7000. When I called Buckmaster they were very helpful & asked that I return the ant since they were aware of water problem with the balun.
When I put up my Alpha-Delta dipole up all my problems went away.
If U suddenly have "ground" problems -- STOP using
Buckmaster !!
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