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Reviews For: CliffDweller II

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : CliffDweller II
Reviews: 15MSRP: 39.95
Description:
Portable Slinky Dipole
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.usa2way.homestead.com/CliffDweller.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00153.9
KC9SNB Rating: 2010-11-02
Good for what it is Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had one of these and used it, off and on, for years. I notice a wide swing in opinion on these antennas, and I think I know why. Some users swear by it, others advise to avoid it at all costs. This is a dipole made from a pair of coiled stainless steel slinky type wires. Each side is 65' of coiled wire. The ad says that these can be fully stretched out to a length of 50'. Technically, this is a coiled 80 meter antenna, and is multi band in the same way that the G5R is multiband – with a proper tuner. Initially, I had this antenna strung across twenty feet of the ceiling of my shack, fed by a short coax from the back of my transceiver. I presently have this antenna installed inside of my attic, sloping down the attic ceiling in an inverted V. Total length that I have stretched this out to is 36'. My auto tuner will tune on most bands, but not all. I have never been able to get this thing to tune on 160, 17, or some of the other odd bands. A previous reviewer advised to have at least 75’ of coax to feed this antenna on the lower frequencies – this is scary. To me, this means that the coax is radiating on the lower frequency bands, as part of the antenna. So this antenna is not perfect, and is not the answer to a ham radio operator’s dreams. It is not a beam, nor is it a 250’ dipole strung between a pair of hundred foot high towers. What it happens to be is good enough to get you on the air, with a reasonable amount of flexibility, and a certain amount of compromise when it comes to operating efficiency and full band operation. In the future, I plan to disassemble this unit, and integrate it into a multi band, multi element dipole I am building. For now, it is good enough.
WB0FDJ Rating: 2009-01-28
A decent antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I think this is a case where we need to seperate the concept from the implemetation. I have one of these, indoors on the 2nd story and I have made contacts. Typically if the band is good and I can copy S7 or better signals on my Ten Tec OMNI 5 running about 25 watts I can make stateside contacts with fair to good results. (Looking at the log quickly I see TN and NC from MN) This is a compromise antenna but for some hams it might be all that can be put up. (Mine is stretched about 16' overhead from the ceiling). Run with short coax to keep losses to a minimum it's not entirely a bad idea. The quality of construction is very good. The "idea" is so-so, but if you don't have room for a full sized antenna it's an inexpensive alternative. My best "DX" was Maine from my home QTH in MN, on 6 meters this past summer, running 5 watts from my FT817. Indoors! Your mileage may vary.......
NS5U Rating: 2008-05-30
Doubtful Time Owned: more than 12 months.
These are next to worthless as antennas. My rain gutters are more effecient. The retired hams who build them also post reviews to sell them.
W9FBI Rating: 2006-11-05
Solid Brass Slinky Antennas beat 'em all hands down! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
For all of you who think Slinky Antennas are hard to find,check out Slinkyantennas on e-bay!
Some people have made remarks on the web re: the conductivity of the steel wire Slinkies are made from and the fact that they rust over time out in the weather.
Well,they're not right about that anymore either!These guys have Slinky Dipoles and SWL antennas made with Black Oxide coated Slinkies;
Solid Brass Slinkies; Green,Blue and Red Powder Coated Slinkies; and even 14 Karat Gold Plated Solid Brass Slinkies!
These are extremely inexpensive, AND THE AUCTIONS STATE THAT THEY ARE ALL MADE BY RETIRED SENIOR CITIZEN HAMS! Thes eare not not just junky kits like those sold by antennasRus either.
I bought one of those for $29.95 plus $7.50 for the instructions and $7.50 for shipping and all I got was two loose toy Slinkies, some weed-eater twine, a short piece of coax and three little pieces of plastic all twisted up inside a Tyvek postal envelope. They advertised Ready To Go Slinky Dipole! That's a lotta' BULL! Slinkyantennas.com has a photo of what this kit is like on their website.
I gave them my kit and bought one of their Brass ones after getting ripped off by the people who scammed me into buying it from them.
Check out their e-bay store at http://stores.ebay.com/slinkyantennas
73's and don't forget to
Listen to Paul Harvey for THE REST OF THE STORY
N8EZZ Rating: 2005-11-10
Awsome 5/5 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this a few years back. I have it outside on the side of the house where the roof peaks. The slinkys are comming down in an inverted Vee toward the gutters. I added 40' per side of 12 gauge wire soldered to the slinkys, and hiding in my hard plastic gutters. The results are incredible! My question is, can I run 500-600 watts through it? Whats inside the "T" pipe? Does anyone know.
Thanks in advance.
N8EZZ
KZ5I Rating: 2005-08-14
Good Overall Antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have the Cliffdweller in my attic, strung out about 20 feet on each leg up about 35 feet. I live in a townhome in an antenna restricted area and I am able to use it on 20, 40 and 80 meters using a LDG AT-200 Pro without any problem.

The rig is a Ten Tec Omni VI/Opt1 and the antenna is very reliable and the antenna is made of solid construction.

!73 Emmett de KZ5I
WX4O Rating: 2005-06-03
Better than Expected Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought one last year and put it up inside during the Alabama portion of the hurricane (just a lot of wind and rain at my QTH). Just hung it from a ceiling fan support and checked into the a 40 mtr. emergency net with 5 watts SSB. It's going
to Field Day with me.
KB3RMX Rating: 2005-06-02
Excellent As A Portable Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just got this antenna 2 weeks ago. I was a bit skepical about its performance, but for $30.00, I figured I'd take a chance on it. Last Sunday I ran this up my flag pole about 15 feet and stretched out the slinkys at 25 feet each leg according to the supplied instructions, and ran it as an inverted v. I hooked this up to my Icom 718 and a small mfj tuner and I was in business within 30 minutes. I made 6 contacts on 40 meters in less than an hour. I probably could have made more, but band conditions weren't to great. I am very pleased at the performance of this little antenna. I did not try any other bands yet, but I sure this will work on other bands also. This thing is coming with me on field day. In fact I may purchase another one for my base station rig which is an Icom 746 pro. Great Antenna! Keep up the good work.
W3KLF Rating: 2005-04-26
Works Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have my CliffDweller II in the attic of a 2-story house for over 4 years and its the only antenna that I have. The house is aluminum sided and the CliffDweller II is stretched to 29 feet at 27 feet above ground level. Resonance frequency is 6.9 MHz. Using a MFJ tuner, I can load it from 160 to 6 meters. I typically can match it to a SWR of 1.2:1 or less. I was probably equivelant to QRP on 160 meters, but it works. The first time that I went on 160, the group (CT, NY, MA, PA) could not believe that I was using an indoor antenna. I have a WAS on 40 meters and 47/50 on 80 meters. Worked Montana from EPA on 160 meters, New Zealand on 40 meters and lots of DX on 20 meters (VK's, ZL6's, PY's, etc.). As in most compromised antennas, efficency suffers, but there are some advantages to this antenna. 1. No one knows its there (stealth). 2. No disconnect in storms. 3. My comuter is 2 feet from rig and tuner and I have no RFI problems.
KB5DRJ Rating: 2005-04-20
Great Antenna for the price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've had my Cliffdweller II for a little over a month now. I live on a very small lot (about 40 feet wide) and considered many options before buying this antenna. When I first set it up, I hung it from the ceiling and was able to tune it up 10-80 meters with my Z100 tuner. It worked ok and had many contacts. Then last Saturday I put it outside up about 20 feet or so. It works a lot better that way. Make sure that you feed it with about 75 feet of coax or you'll have trouble tuning it up on 80 meters. The construction is very good and the performance is pretty good for the price. I'm thinking that a full length dipole would work better, but without the room, this antenna will get you on the air. USA2WAY shipped the antenna very quickly. I give it a 5 due to the quality construction and customer support.