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write your own review of the Hy-Gain 14AVQ/WB.
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W4NRY
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 23, 2012 06:02
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Good Old Antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Purchased it in 1969 from Hy-Gain and it still is in great shape (no trap leaks)! Apparently, the newer ones weren't made as robust. I added 20 ground radials and the difference was very noticeable, loads great. Worked a lot of European DX. I have a space limitation and have considered replacing it with a newer model, but it keeps on surprising...
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IT9BQP
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Rating: 3/5
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Nov 30, 2010 05:54
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inverted 20 mt trap
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Time owned: months
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I recently purchased the antenna directly from the 'HY GAIN', unfortunately in my case, the trap of 20 meters was also reversed, and lacked the protection of black plastic, which I had to build the lathe. The quality of materials looks good to me. I suggest the manufacturer to make changes due. 73 from IT9BQP.
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NR7N
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Rating: 0/5
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Aug 15, 2010 09:11
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Awful
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I purchased the 14AVQ to replace an aging Hustler. When I assembled the antenna I found the materials inferior and all of the joints fastened by hose clamps slipped somewhat even though tightened. When I put the antenna up, it was ground mounted, it would not even remain vertical. It "listed" about 15 degrees to one side. This problem was caused by the traps being mechanically wobbly. Fortunately I was able to return it but it took several months to get my money back as there was a complicated route between the dealer I bought it from and Hy-Gain. I called Hy-gain about this issue and I did not receive much of an argument about the antenna.
This is not the old Hy-Gain quality I was used to. It's a shame.
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DH4SC
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 3, 2010 08:51
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Best antenna for the price
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have the AV-14AVQ for some days now, had several other verticals before.
The AV14 is cheap, well build and works as is should do.
Getting good SWR was a liitle bit difficult on 15m and 20m, at resonance SWR is 1.5 +/- and about 2 at band edges. 10m and 40m SWR is great got about 250 kHz bandwidth by SWR 2. Resonance on 40m at 7080kHz with SWR 1.1
My antenna is groundmounted with 16 radials in the ground 15 - 30 feet long + a 2,5m long groundrod under the concrete of the mast stub.
Works great for me, no problem to get into the US on all bands, had contacts to VK, YV and HK on 40m with 100 watts.
So I can say, this vertical works as well as or better than similar verticals but is much cheaper. I´m very pleased !!!
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KE5OKQ
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Rating: 4/5
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Oct 7, 2008 06:18
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Good Value
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is my delayed one year update for the antenna. As stated in in earlier posts, the antenna takes 20 minutes to assemble, is easy to tune and reliable. It has held up well in realtively high winds. I later added a DX Enginering tilt mount which surely saved it from destruction during hurricane Ike.
Mine is ground mounted with a dozen simple radials under the soil and has performed well chasing DX. It isn't a giant beam, but a vertical so you have to have reasonable expectations. Snagging Australia and Russia from Texas were not a problem.
Now the cons: During heavy sustained rain the traps get water in them and SWR can go haywire for a couple of days. This is compounded by spiders clogging the trap drain holes with webs. I finally sealed the top of the traps and cleaned the drain holes and the problem went away. As a preventative measure I clean the traps every 6 months, an easy task using the tilt mount.
My friend has a Butternut vertical that was a lot harder to tune, more then twice the price and performed no better. Save the money if you are limited to a vertical, get the AV 14 and buy your wife a present with the savings.
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WC1X
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Rating: 2/5
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May 5, 2008 23:22
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Poor workmanship
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Poor workmanship. One of the alluminum tubes was not swaged properly so I had to insert a shim to make a proper fit. Right out of the box the 10 meter trap was mechanically defective so I had to order a replacement from the manufacturer. I also purchased a 2 element yagi from the same manufacturer and had similiar/more extensive quality control issues.
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N7OQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 23, 2008 18:41
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Best vertical out there
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had this antenna now for 30 years, and it has served me well. It has been across the country and went to Germany with me, call there was DA1VW. It has been ground and roof mounted and works great both ways but I find roof to be the best. I have talked around the world with it and when I was back from Germany and Living in California I had a Sked every weekend with a friend still stationed in Germany and we had many 59 QSO's.
After a very bad storm we had this winter I could not get a good SWR, so I took it down cleaned the connections and found a intermittent 10 trap so took it apart and tightened the coil connections and put it all back together and everything works great.
I also found I could use it on 80 meters too by adding a Hustler 80 meter resonator above the top hat and after a little retuning it iwll now work 80,40,20,15, and 10 meters. Great vertical!
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IT9JCB
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 15, 2008 15:43
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The best HF vertical
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The 14AVQ is probably one of the oldiest trapped vertical still in the market, but I can surely state that It's still the best one. If you give a look to other HF vertical's reviews you'll hear guys speaking about fused traps, dummy loads, bad swr etc etc. I had my first one in the 80's, but the wind did its job and I'd always went back to a new one replacing the old, now I've my fifth 14AVQ on my roof still working great. Yes, there is another side of the coin: the 10 meters trap is not very strong and brokes after few years but, found the problem and fixed it forever with a simple mod. Whit this antenna you can load all the power you need very safely in a very wide 1.5:1 swr bandwidth. Of course the best you can do (like me) is to put the antenna not on the ground but on the roof, about 40 feet up and with two radials per band: in this configuration the antenna will probaby outperforms many triband beams mounted at low height, as I'm experienced many times in 20 years.
There is not a vertical better than this.
(but do not forget the radials !!)
73s Claudio
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K6LLO
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Rating: 3/5
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Jan 6, 2008 11:02
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Good Antenna, marginal contruction
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Have had MFJ purchased 14AVQ for three years due to great luck with same antenna in the 60's as a kid. I now live in dry high wind area. Two of the traps have failed twice - one with broken strap, and one with damaged insulator. All traps are loose and appear to be able to admit water. When working, I work DX from Redlands CA to Finland, Spain, and across the US. It is roof mounted with carefully tuned radials, and handled full legal power. Much better construction would make it a great antenna- more solid traps, wind proof, and water proof. It has failed again- and I loathe getting up on my sloping roof in the winds. If I do take it down, I am going to permanently seal everything and toss it if it fails again.
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VE4AMN
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 25, 2007 20:17
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Oldie and goodie
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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If you read these reviews, the older versions always seem to get the higher rating. Either old timers are losing their memory, or the quality of construction has changed.
I had good luck with this antenna between 1982 and 1990, with just 6 radials and mounted on my grarage roof. The only weakness was the 10 meter trap where the connecting tab broke; I fixed that using some braid from coax.
I purchased an R8 for the flexibility (no radials); the advantage of 14 AVQ was having 40 meters, but then it did not cover 17 and 12. It would seem that recent production has slipped in quality. The moral is - pick one up at a hamfest that is 15 - 20 years old and you have a decent antenna. If you buy new, be prepared to do some remedial construction.
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