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Reviews For: CHAMELEON EMCOMM II

Category: Antennas: HF Portable (not mobile)

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Review Summary For : CHAMELEON EMCOMM II
Reviews: 36MSRP: 125
Description:
Portable (or Base Station) HF Antenna
1.8-54 MHz

The CHA EMCOMM II Antenna has been specially designed for backup
emergency HF system or permanent installation.

It is the perfect backup antenna for apartments, condominiums, homeowners
associations, deed restrictions and CCRs (Covenants, Conditions &
Restrictions), ARES, RACES, MARS, EMCOMM, NVIS, First Responders and
especially for Emergency Preparedness.

The unit is totally waterproof. The antenna is 60’ long and covers 6M to
160M. An external tuner is required.

The antenna will perform very well with a sloper or an inverted “V”
configuration. For a NVIS configuration (40M – 80M) the antenna must be
installed horizontally with the ground and elevated between 9’ and 12’ high.

The CHA EMCOMM II do not required any ground- plane.

Specifications:
Frequency: 6M - 160M
Power: 500W SSB
RF Connection: PL-259
VSWR: Subject to configuration
Length: 60’
Weight: 1 Lb.
Mounting Configuration: None

The antenna system consists of:

1 X CHA EMCOMM II matching box 1 X 60’ wire
Product is in production
More Info: http://chameleonantenna.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00365
W0RDR Rating: 2021-12-26
Surprisingly good performer - Much better than expected Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased my EmCom II as a quick backup for field deployment. Expecting to use it as a get-on-quick antenna while I setup something more efficient and durable. The first time I used it, I literally threw the end up in a tree - draping over some branches, connected the coax that came in the kit to the radio (iCom 756 ProIII at the time) and got on the air. Great signal reports were coming in from the other deployed units, so I didn't even bother to setup another antenna.

A few months later, while operating for Winter Field Day, I did much the same. The EmCom II outperformed my G5RV and even tuned up on 160 as a sloper with the top end at about 40' in the air. I added a "radial field" at the base (5 runs of zip cord), but I'm not sure it was really necessary.

I'm currently using it as a base antenna at my new QTH, where I haven't been able to setup a permanent antenna yet. This is one outstanding product!
K6GBW Rating: 2021-12-01
Solid Performer Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm a big user of end fed type antennas for portable use. I like to keep it simple so I can set up and tear down fast. I've used mostly 9:1 UnUn's with various wire lengths and I've had good results. I mainly operate 80-40-20 meters and inevitably one of the bands would be difficult to tune. I finally decided to try this antenna. I was curious because it uses a 5:1 transformer instead of a 9:1. I wasn't expecting much but I was ultimately very surprised. I used a 30' length of RG58 and hung the antenna at 8' running up to 15' feet to simulate what I might find in the field. The SWR was under 2:1 without a tuner from 80 to 10 meters. My Yaesu FT-991A's internal tuner easily tuned it up flat on all bands except 160, which, unsurprisingly, wouldn't tune.

Signals were strong on 40 meters and the noise was pretty low, so I checked into a net using only 10 watts just to see what it could do. It took me three tries but they heard me in Nevada from Los Angeles. Not to bad! I spent the rest of the morning making contacts on 40, 20 and 17 meters. On the whole I'd say this antenna performs as good as any other end fed deployed in the same manner. The thing that makes this one difference is that it tunes so easily and that makes it much easier to deal with.

The construction of the transformer is better than most. It is very well sealed and I have no doubts about Chameleons claim that it is "totally waterproof." When I gently shook the transformer I could just barely detect some rattle. By comparison other makers have more, so it seems the innards are well secured. The 18 AWG wire used is fine and handles easily. The winder is pretty cool. The design of it makes it very easy to wind out and then wind up. They have plastic rings as isolators and they work fine while taking up less space. There is a second ring isolator on the wire and I realized it's included so that you can hang the center of the wire to get it higher. Kind of a neat feature.

In the end I recommend this antenna for field use. If you want to use it as a permanent base antenna you can change the wire to 14-16AWG and make it longer to add 160 meters.

Chameleon has a new end fed called the EmComm III that has the UnUn and winder connected together. This might be even better for rapid deployment.

UPDATE 12/01/01: Changed out the wire to a 75' 14 gauge and it's working even better on 80 and 40 meters!
KD5ZAT Rating: 2019-11-07
Great Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased this antenna back in 2016. I live in an HOA and this little antenna was a perfect fit for my lot size. The antenna has exceeded my expectations.
KO8A Rating: 2018-04-07
The Absolute Best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am adding another interesting note to my previous review.
In spite of the terrible band conditions we are in during the sunspot cycle, I made a contact to France last night around midnight with my EMCOMMII on 40 meter CW. 100 watts and got a 579 report. AMAZING.
K3NP Rating: 2017-09-18
great antenna! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought one of these in March 2017 and until reccently would have rated it as a 4; It had good all around performance but SWR was a bit higher than I'd have liked on 40m and 80m--about 3.5 at the feedpoint/2.5 in the shack. Granted, I could match with a tuner but I wanted it better without one if possible. Last week I swapped it out for a heavy-duty 9:1 unun and a longer wire, but that had it's own problems and SWR actually was a lot worse. So I went back to the EMCOMM II but kept the longer wire (98.5 ft at 40 ft high, sloping, with a 50ft wire counterpoise), and now it works GREAT! SWR at the feed point is 2.5 or less on 160-6m, and in the shack, most bands are 1.5:1 with a few spots that creep up to 2:1. I emailed and discussed with Chameleon and they told me longer wires are perfectly fine to use if you have the room, and they actually sell some longer length wires for this antenna now. I do note that their antenna wire has Kevlar fiber in it, presumably for strength while remaining lightweight. I am using as a base station setup with 13ga insulated wire. The EMCOMM II matching unit is sealed and weatherproof and has withstood a Carolina summer on my roof quite well.
KM4HRR Rating: 2017-09-14
Love it! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just now received the new EMCOMM III from Carl for testing and review. It's been up for 30 mins and WSPR @ 5W is being heard all over the world. I'll try it with WinLink tonight and SSB over the wekend and report back. So far so good. Using this antenna at 12.5' with an IC-7300 in Northern Virginia.
KB3ZLZ Rating: 2017-04-28
A Good Antenna to Have! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This Antenna is a great addition to my antennas that I Have.
It can be used as a go kit antenna or if you need a Base Station one. I have used it for both. I would recommend this Antenna to any of my Ham friends or to my County EMA Director for their Go-Box for the ACS unit. It is very easy to setup with two people but can be done with one if need be.
KG4PIC Rating: 2017-03-13
Portable or Base either way great! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Great little antenna. My friend has taken it on quite a few SOTA activations with great success. He just threw it over two limbs enough off the ground where he could reach. The weight is not too heavy for SOTA hikes either. I had to pry it back from him to make it my Base antenna. I have another antenna up that cost way way more and doesn't perform nearly as good as this one does. I have it up about 8 feet off the ground and I am able to get many contacts with just 5watts from a FT-817. I highly recommend this antenna if someone is looking to get on the air at a reasonable cost and with great performance!
KW4XJ Rating: 2017-02-16
Easy to install, high quality Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is an excellent antenna. Easy to install and I've been very happy with its performance. Very unobtrusive. I've been working digital modes and have had numerous DX contacts on this antenna. The antenna has been up since summer and it has stood up to winter weather (and a few good storms) with no problems whatsoever.
KF4AQO Rating: 2016-01-09
Great product and customer service Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased this antenna to replace an antenna that had seen better days. The antenna works great. It was easy to install, it is built like a tank, and I've received great signal reports. I plan on buying another in the spring to keep in my go bag.
Regarding their customer service, I returned the antenna after about 1 month after I bought it because it wouldn't tune. They replaced the transformer and returned it without any cost to me. The transformer I returned tested out fine and they couldn't find any problems.They were very easy to work with. (The tuner was the problem by the way.)