| K4FMH |
Rating:  |
2020-04-26 | |
| Great solution for HOA site..works superbly! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
About 8 years ago, we built a house in an HOA community, on the corner of the main entrance. Everyone in the neighborhood (only 35 houses on a lake) sees our house. So there's really no place to hide a ground plane for 2M/70cm. I bought this dual band Ventenna, had it installed by the plumber in concert with the roofing team with the pigtail coax inside the attic. I am on a bit of a bluff overlooking a large reservoir to anything East to South. I hit all the repeaters that I could reasonably expect to reach with a ground plane on a 40' mast outdoors. The Ventenna in my case is also about 40' from the ground.
It's painted black as are all other vent pipes (my decision). The plumber who installed it came back a year later to seal another vent that wasn't done properly. He asked me, which vent is the antenna? I replied, you can't tell? He said, no I can't. I replied that I wouldn't tell him because if the plumber who installed it can't identify it, then there's no "visible" antenna there (as per wording of the CC&Rs)!
I highly recommend this product to any ham who sees it as a solution to have a dual band coverage without any overt visibility. After 8 years in the sun and cold, it's not wavered on a 1.2 to 1.4 SWR on either band. |
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| N4CEO |
Rating: |
2020-04-26 | |
| Works great for 7 years so far |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Mine has been in operation for 7 years. I have the dual band 2m/70cm model with coax inside the pipe install. It's about 36" tall so probably a little longer than a normal vent pipe. I painted it to match my existing pipe. The only comment I got was from a neighbor: "I wonder why the builder left your vent pipe so long?" (I just shrugged my shoulders).
Hits all the local repeaters I use with no problems. |
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| KB4BJM |
Rating: |
2019-02-23 | |
| no problem ever. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've had mine up for over a decade with no issues. |
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| NG2Q |
Rating: |
2019-02-22 | |
| Works Great! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This is a great working antenna for what it is if you live in an HOA or just not want to draw attention to yourself. I had mine up for over 2 years at this QTH and never a question about the "funny looking antenna" on the roof. Very solid performer under the AZ sun and no signs of material breakdown. Works better than putting something in the attic! |
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| K6DGW |
Rating: |
2015-02-06 | |
| Very Sturdy Antenna!! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
We have had the antenna on the summit of Squaw Peak at almost 10,000' in the Sierra Nevada now for 5 years. Brutal winds, blinding snow, a very hard site to maintain. It has survived just fine.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by K6DGW on 2012-10-15
Repeater site at Squaw Peak in the Sierra Nevada. 1 year now, 150 kt winds, huge icing, still there. Not the highest gain, but "antenna down"=zero gain. We're happy hams. |
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| N6QIH |
Rating: |
2014-10-20 | |
| Heat Ice Snow Hail Wind |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have owned the Ventenna 2m/440 Dualband antena for about 6 years and have mounted it on a vent in Hawaii where the restrictions are in place at my Huelani Ewa Beach home. I asked if I could mount and was able to install if I painted it the same color Green as my Monier Tile Roof.
I have since then removed and installed in Utah home where the conditions are much different ie Snow Ice Wind Hail. In both installs the antenna has preformed great. This antenna still performs today the same as the day I installed. Mine has 50ft rg58 coax installed on the outside of the antenna from Ventenna when purchased and has the so239 on the end so I can put more coax on the line if needed. Great Antenna... |
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| K5CPF |
Rating: |
2011-08-01 | |
| Still PERFECT for me! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
After about a year's worth of use. this antenna has performed very well. I get consistently strong signal reports.
During a recent simplex ARES test, my station was heard way further than I would have anticipated.
Best of all, I have not heard a peep from the HOA, even after a bird or two attempted to draw attention to it! ;)
I am a very pleased customer and would highly recommend this antenna to anyone with similar needs.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by K5CPF on 2010-08-21
I recently reactivated after about 10 years of being off the air. I bought a nice rig for the house, but was only able to hit a couple of nearby repeaters using an inside antenna. I could not even hear the local club’s repeater!
I live in a highly restricted neighborhood, but hiding an antenna in the attic would not have worked since we have Tech-Shield roofing.
Reviewing my options, the two key factors were that it needed to look good and not need a ground plane (striking out most mobile antennas). I did not need it to be directional and/or high gain; I just needed it outside of the house/roof.
I showed my wife a picture of the Ventenna and she agreed that was the way to go.
I had a few questions, so I ordered the dual-band VT-27 directly from the manufacturer. I chose the “inside coax” option so that I could easily run the coax down the vent pipe. John was very courteous and professional. He also answered several follow-up questions I had via email after the sale. The antenna arrived within 7 days as he had stated it would.
I fed the Ventenna with LMR-400 to keep signal losses to a minimum.
I chose to mount the VT-27 to one of the 2” vent pipes near the apex of the roof. That places the antenna as high as possible and minimizes the reflectivity of the Tech-Shield. Because the antenna and the pipe were the same size PVC,
I picked up a 2” coupler at the neighborhood home improvement store. I decided to use screws to holder the coupler to the antenna and vent pipe instead of PVC cement so that I can easily remove the antenna if needed. Most of the antenna is above the roofline, giving me some omni-directional coverage. A little camouflage spray paint finished off the installation.
Now I am getting repeaters all over town and they are full strength (“S9”) as you’d expect.
I *highly* recommend the Ventenna.
Note to self: Next time wait until not under a heat advisory to work on the roof and in the attic.
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| W7RUE |
Rating: |
2010-04-24 | |
| The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought the VT-14 2 meter model first. It was OK but I didn't have a 440 antenna and I was needing another to cover the backside of my house. So far so good.
I ordered the VT-27 model and it didn't work. Bad! I sent it back to Ventenna. They told me because I had moved the coax back inside the pipe I had voided the warranty.
Because I live in a no-antenna neighborhood, I had moved the coax leads back into the pipes so the yard nazis could not see the coax run. I rerouted the coax through the attic and not out in the open on the roof.
Ugly! I offered to pay for repairs no dice! Ventanna doesn't build their own antennas. There is no repair facility! John the owner said that he would be happy to sell me a new one or have one built with the coax inside the pipe at custom price.
Common sense tells you run the coax inside the pipe and not out in the open. The only thing I did was carefully move the coax back into the pipes and seal up the holes.
Buyer beware! There was nothing in their literature or on their website warning folks not to put the coax back in the pipe out of sight. I am now a very unhappy ex-customer!
Since then I have built my own which works much better and there is no exposed coax run to be seen by the yard nazis. The original 2 meter model is still working by the way, but eats up a lot of power.
W7RUE |
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| N2YEG |
Rating: |
2010-02-07 | |
| Yes...it does radiate |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Purchased this antenna before moving into a CCR community. Was using a Diamond X510 in my previous QTH, but its 18' height made it totally out of the question here. Pros: very stealthy, easy to install, very low vswr (1.47:1 max); Cons: 2.6 dBi gain which equals .45 dBd, essentially unity gain. So, yes, it does radiate, but so does a coat hanger. In all fairness to the manufacturer, they do explain that this antenna is rated in dBi, and they have a no quibble 60 day money back guarantee, including shipping. However, after moving, it took about six months to get around to setting up my shack. Switched over to an old Cushcraft A148 3 element beam, mounted in my attic. Lost about 3 feet of elevation, but reports from a 30 mile away repeater went from "frying eggs" to full quieting |
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| KJ4HGN |
Rating: |
2009-04-14 | |
| It's a New Vent (tenna)! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Our CCRs, like everyone has mentioned, do not allow anything other than TV antennas and small dishes. I was somewhat surprised at the length and breadth of this antenna. It's a bit larger and longer than most "vent pipes" that are on most homes. However, with clever planning, a few different shades of spray paint, we now have an external 2m/70cm antenna!
It took me more time to find all my tools than mounting the antenna. Prepping for, and mounting the antenna, took about an hour. First, from inside the attic, I measured back 10 inches from the roof apex, drilled a 2" hole in the roof as close to a roof joist as I could get. Make sure the hole is 90 degrees from the floor plane (and not the roof pitch). Get as close to the joist as possible.
Next, I installed a two foot long, by 1.5" I.D. black ABS pipe (non conductive), into the roof by mounting it plumb onto the roof joist with two 1.5" metal pipe straps. To allow for water evaporation, (if you decide not to plug the pipe), drill 1/8" holes through and around the pipe, about 6 inches from the bottom. The "new vent" pipe should stick out of the roof enough to accommodate the Ventenna AND a Roof Jack (about 12").
I finished the install outside and fit the roof jack, with a rubber boot, to the new "vent." Don't forget your roof sealer and a few 2" roofing nails!
To complete the stealthiness, I sprayed a faux patina-look to the Ventenna before-hand. I also added an additional keyhole slot-type hole to my newly installed vent pipe to bring the pigtail connector back down through the pipe - back to the inside the attic. Everything was sealed with the caulk-type black roof sealer. Don't forget to add a drip loop to the RG-58.
Back inside, I added another key-hole about 1.5 " from the bottom of the new vent pipe. I pulled the pigtail through this hole and then added an end cap to the pipe. Sealing everything again with the roofing sealer.
The SWR reading was a solid 1.2:1 on 2 meter (at 146MHz @ 5 watts). And yes, I can hit more repeaters with this than my attic mounted copper cactus j-pole! It's amazing what a few additional feet in height will do, as well as a 6 Db gain! The Ventenna company will also provide you with free adaptors for pipes larger than 1.5" ID (you need to tell them though). Awesome job! Oh, and the XYL approves too!
SAFETY: Make sure your ladders are in good condition. Follow ladder safety rules including to have someone hold the ladder for you. Do as much work as possible ON THE GROUND. A rope tied to a gadget-bag helps to get tools up to you without having to go up and down the ladder. Have your wife take pictures! Have fun and 73!
TOOLS and SUPPLIES: 2" door drill, 1/2" wood drill bit', 1/4" drill bit, 1/8 drill bit, roof jack, 1.5" ID x 24" ABS pipe, ABS end cap, 2 - 1.5" metal pipe straps, 4 - stainless wood screws, cordless drill, small pocket level, caulk gun, tube of black roof sealer, 4 - 2" roofing nails, shears, philips screwdriver. |
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