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Reviews For: Hy-Gain SPT-500

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Hy-Gain SPT-500
Reviews: 15MSRP: 149.99
Description:
Hy-Gain SPT-500 12/10M vertical
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.hy-gain.com/Product.php?productid=SPT-500
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00153.8
KC4SJC Rating: 2023-01-12
Good But Not As Great As the ORIGINAL Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had one of these in the early 80's called the 'Super Penetrator'. Had it up for over 6 years and never had a single problem. Sold it for $60 when I shipped OCONUS.

I took extra corrosion prevention precautions during assembly and maintenance using NO-OX-ID on all the tubing mating surfaces and connections. While the SPT-500 is similar to the original there are some differences. Chief among these are the hose clamps used in place of the original saddle clamps that sadly don't grip as well. The plastic stand-off for the matching arm seems a bit flimsier than the original as well although appears adequate to the task. Overall though it performs electrically the same as the original. Only time will tell if it holds up like my old one.

...and yes I'm kicking myself for selling the old one.
SM3LGO Rating: 2020-06-06
Good performance but hard to tune on 12m Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this for 12m usAge, which is supported according to the information from Hy-Gain. However, there is no assembly instruction for 12m supplied with the antenna. I contacted Hy-Gain and they told me to extend it as much as possible for 12m usage. I did this, but it was simply impossible to extend it far enough to go below 27MHz. In the end, I lengthened the top section using my own aluminium tubing. I had to extend it by over 3 ft(!) to get it to resonate inside the 12m band. I have no nearby objects which I can blame for detuning the antenna. Anyhow, the antenna does work well. Even with the poor cndx these days, I made many good DX contacts wioth good reports.
NT9M Rating: 2018-06-27
New production Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Full disclosure: I really wanted a Zero-Five but just couldn't pull the trigger on that much money.

The new production run of these antennas is about what you might expect. Mine was missing some screws and nuts in the package. Assembly was easy enough until I got to the capacitance hat at the top. There is a pressed insert with threads to receive the screw that goes down through the capacitance rods. My insert was either not threaded correctly or not pressed in straight because it wouldn't tighten down enough to hold the rods in place. So I bent the ends parallel to the vertical element and used a small hose clamp to hold them in place.

In other words, build quality was a bit lacking. Packaging of the antenna also left something to be desired. An inadequate amount of bubble wrap was used allowing all parts to move loosely in the box. The instruction manual was blackened by whatever was coating the aluminum parts.

Performance wise I've been pleased and the antenna has done what I had hoped it would do. We will see how long it holds up.

Build quality 3
Performance 5
Rating 4
VK4FACT Rating: 2018-06-26
Awesome antenna!!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had 1 of these antenna's for many years including back in the 70's and still to this day there is no antenna that can compete, just an all round awesome antenna exhibiting the most forward gain possible and lowest radiation angle of any vertical antenna to this day.
W0DV Rating: 2017-03-26
Update!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Purchased new about five years ago. Performs like it should no issues with performance. Unfortunately a winter wind destroyed mine. We had some gusts of wind of about 50 mph and the nylon parts of the lower base unit cracked and fell apart. This caused the antenna to lean destroying the mounting bracket and destroying the matching/shorting rods.
Another base unit for this antenna is about $50. No thanks.

The antenna should not have failed like it did in 5 years time.
KB1ZYQ Rating: 2017-01-14
swr Time Owned: more than 12 months.
i wondered why my swr would jump up every time it rained. turned out upon inspection between the bottom metal and the bolt where the match sits arched out, it was clearly seen on the plastic of the antenna. surprising because i don't run high power. besides that design issue the performance is great for what it is.
KE0ETZ Rating: 2016-09-12
Assemble it correctly and it works Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I’ve read a couple questionable reviews on here and I can only conclude the individual didn’t know how to properly assemble the antenna. I own both the original Hygain version and the modern incarnation offered by MFJ. The modern version is every bit as good as the final production run of the original and perhaps better due to improvements in plastics and manufacturing process. My SWR does not change in heavy rain. For the reviewer with this problem, again, you have either assembled the antenna incorrectly or you have bad feed line, perhaps you did not seal your connectors. No antenna is going to perform well if you have water in your feed line. I primarily use this on 10-meter with good signal reports on our local net as well as remote contacts when band permissions open. In the 30-years I’ve used these antennas I have never been disappointed. No antenna-matching tuner needed. There is no lossy tank coil at the base. This makes it easy to tune the antenna for a wide frequency range from 12 to 10 meter by merely adjusting the length. I’ve never had a problem with matching this antenna to the band I want to use, and I have never had a problem with common mode current on the feed line. Anyone giving this antenna less than a 5 is either trying to do something with it that it is not designed for, or lacks the understanding of antenna systems.
AE4XL Rating: 2016-07-02
RAIN NOISE HIGH SWR'S. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had this antenna up for less than a year and when it rains I can't hear anything for the rain noise and now all of a sudden the SWR'S have gone above 4.
I haven't taken it down yet I am disable and will have to hire someone to do it,anyone have any idea's what I should look for as the cause? when I get it down.
ANY thought's would help.
THANKS
KY2V Rating: 2015-11-21
SWR length chart Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Since Hy-gain didn't include a frequency chart to help customers initially set the SWR, I added this frequency chart that will get you close to the perfect length setting. 24.960 (center of 12 meter band)- 23 ft & 5 1/4 in, 28.000 (start of 10 meter band)- 20 ft & 10 23/32 in, 28.100- 20 ft & 9 27/32 in, 28.200- 20 ft & 8 15/16 in, 28.300- 20 ft & 8 1/16 in, 28.400- 20 ft & 7 3/16 in, 28.500- 20 ft & 6 11/32 in, 28.600- 20 ft & 5 15/32 in, 28.700- 20 ft & 4 5/8 in, 28.800- 20 ft & 3 3/4 in, 28.900- 20 ft & 2 15/16 in, 29.000- 20 ft & 2 3/32 in, 29.100- 20 ft & 1 1/4 in, 29.200- 20 ft & 7/16 in, 29.300- 19 ft & 11 19/32 in, 29.400- 19 ft & 10 25/32 in, 29.500- 19 ft & 9 31/32 in, 29.600- 19 ft & 9 3/16 in, 29.700 (end of the 10 meter band)-19 ft & 8 3/8 in
KC7JLJ Rating: 2015-11-05
1st review- MFJ SPT500 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought the SPT500 to replace my fraying iMax2000.
The SPT500 appears to be good quality except for the clamps. I used NO-OX on the fittings and the clamps didn't seem to hold too well after that. I ended up riveting after I assembled prior to mounting to the tower. It took me about 4 tries to get the SWR down to an acceptable level. Here is where the problem I had begins. After taking the coax loose from the connector it pulled the center pin of the SO239 on the antenna out of the socket. I was able to get it back in, and SWR's finally got down where I wanted them. This is not as broad banded as the iMax as noted previously on other reviews. Evidently I don't live in an area that has a lot of noise as the noise level is about the same for this SPT500 as my iMax. I say that as I've heard others that say the SPT500 antenna has less noise.
I like the fact that it is aluminum and with the high winds we had after installation it seems sturdy and doesn't bend near as much as the iMax. My receive does seem to be better as well, not scientific by any stretch, just my impression.
All in all, I would recommend this antenna for a 10 meter omni.