|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
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 Array Solutions AS-BB-Series BroadBand Wire Antennas |
|
You can
write your own review of the Array Solutions AS-BB-Series BroadBand Wire Antennas.
|
K7UXO
|
Rating: 5/5
|
May 22, 2008 15:22
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
great mutliband antenna
|
Time owned: 6 to 12 months
|
I have the first two production copies of this antenna.
Array Solutions is producing a high quality antenna that fills the need for no-tune broadband hf antenna.
This antenna is very similar to the Bushcom BBA antenna in that both are 3 wire terminated folded dipoles. It is somewhat similar to the B&W folded dipole antenna that uses 2 wires. The extra wire in the Array Solutions antenna results in significantly improved performance over the B&W or any other 2 wire T2FD.
The antenna is quality build all the way through. Materials are first rate and put together very well. The balun used is a high quality product - what you would expect from Array Solutions. This antenna is of much better construction than the B&W two wire antennas. I have not seen the Bushcom antenna up close, so cannot make a workmanship and material quality comparison there.
First a note about this antenna, and what is to be expected. It is a dipole type antenna with a resistor and therefore should be sized to be a half wavelength at the lowest planned frequency used. This is true for the B&W two wire antennas, and the Bushcom two and three wire antennas too. This is not a limitation of SWR, the antenna will exhibit a low SWR at frequencies much lower than it's half wavelength, but a limitation on performance. When the antenna is used at frequencies less than it's half wave frequency, resistor losses increase dramatically - to the point where the antenna becomes a dummy load with wires. When the antenna is one half wave or larger than the frequency used, it exhibits good performance, I calculate about 3 db less than a resonate dipole.
On average 3dB less than a resonate dipole performance should be expected. This should not scare you if your looking for a broadband antenna, and I believe it is at least as good as other broadband alternatives. For instance placing an antenna coupler at the center feed of an antenna will also give frequency agility - but antenna coupler losses are undocumented and can become extreme at some frequencies. Most people will use a feed line between the antenna and tuner, and again at some frequencies, transmission line losses due to high SWR even with ladder line can become severe - much more than 3db. With this antenna, these factors are known up front and accounted for.
I have the 177 foot version mounted at approximately 60 feet. This antenna works VERY well on 80 meters, and MARS frequencies in the 3.3 MHZ range. It also work well on all higher HF frequencies, both Amateur and MARS.
Directional pattern will be like a 177 foot long dipole. Height above ground will determine elevation of the pattern. Like any horizontal dipole antenna, place the antenna too close to the ground (less than 1/10 WL) and a significant portion of your transmitted power will warm the worms in the ground below it.
The antenna is somewhat heavy due to the quality construction - and if supported by only two supports on the ends, they should be strong trees, poles, or towers. I recommend 3/8 or larger rope.
This is a great antenna. I have eliminated antenna couplers from my system, and all the maintenance and expense that goes with them. I no longer have frequencies I just cannot tune, or certain frequencies that mysteriously don't work well. Oh yeah, this antenna looks cool too, like from the days of "old radio" with three parallel wires.
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
