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Reviews For: Antennas and More WindomHSQ

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Antennas and More WindomHSQ
Reviews: 15MSRP: 99.95
Description:
A wire "no tune" HF antenna.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.antennasmore.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00153.9
KC2ISG Rating: 2003-05-19
Very pleased with this antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I’m not highly technical when it comes to antennas but I did buy one of these and put it up in my back yard. Had a bucket truck come and hook a block with chain and halyard into the top of two trees and rigged the WindomHSQ between them. Unfortunately, I was only able to get it up 28 feet not the 35 recommended so the 30 foot vertical legs touched the ground. To correct this I rigged some line with insulators to turn the vertical legs back under the antenna in a box shape. I suspected this would compromise the performance; however, it was the only option with such short trees available. I was not optimistic about the outcome of not following the designer’s specifications for installation. But, than I started getting these outstanding signal reports. One contact in Nebraska asked if I was using full legal power. Although not very directional it does slightly favor the east-west signals. It seems as if the turned in vertical legs are acting like radiators to the horizontal section twenty eight feet up. For me the true test was when I needed to maintain communications with a very good friend sailing from Long Island, NY to Azores. He was in some serious weather and finally diverted to Bermuda. The WindomHSQ got my signal out and I was able to offer guidance and critical navigational data to the crew on their unplanned approach to the Island. The radio is an Icom 706Mk2G - No tuner, No amp, with RG213+ and the Windom HSQ. All I need to do now is keep fertilizing those trees. KC2ISG
KZ1Z Rating: 2002-07-14
Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After reading the reviews ad researching heavily on the Internet, I decided to install the 10-80 WindomHSQ model. I have not been disappointed. It runs head and shoulders above my previous wire antennas. As an added benefit, it is well constructed, light and very stealthy. I run the antenna without a tuner and it will handle the full legal limit. Congratulations on an excellent product
W7UIV Rating: 2002-02-19
A Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've been trying various antennas at low level (less than 30 feet) in a restricted area, and thought to give the Windom40HSQ a shot since I found an unused one on ebay and my bid got it at half price. It's the same size as the 20 meter halfsquare I've been testing, but since it's fed as a windom it works on all bands 40 - 10 including WARC. SWR is a bit high on 10Mhz, but all the other bands are 2:1 or less at a height of 20 feet. This is much easier than fiddling around with a multi wire dipole.

Although the same size as the 20 meter halfsquare, it does not work as well as the true halfsquare on 20 meters, and I suspect doesn't work as a halfsquare anywhere at all because it's not feeding the vertical elements in phase. It looks more to me like a 40 meter Windom fed dipole with the two ends bent down to fit in a compact space. On recent tests over a 1450 mile path to Copper Center, Alaska I got the following reports of signal strength (and these are what receiving on various signals indicate too);

TGM MQ 1 minihybrid quad at 25 feet - S 5
20 meter halfsquare at 20 feet - S 7
Windom40HSQ at 20 feet - S 4

Switching to 15 meters; the minibeam was S-7 and the Windom40HSQ was again S-4. I couldn't use the 20 meter halfsquare on 15, and neither the beam nor the halfsquare when going down to 40 where it seems to be responsive to DX as well as local stations - unlike my GAP Challenger vertical. One can see right away the outstanding feature of this WindomHSQ is that you CAN switch bands. It's probably about the same effectiveness as a dipole with the ends bent down excepting I can go to any band (40 and above) and be on the air. It would likely work better at 35 feet or higher, or as a flat-top without the ends bent down, but my tests are to find what works best at low level. I like the "clean look" and simplicity of it over a multiwire doublet. It's definitely a "keeper".

Since I'm mostly interested in 20 meters, the best performing so far are:

Best DX signal reports: 20 meter Halfsquare
Best Rx antenna: TGM minibeam. Signal strength may be down from the halfsquare, but signal to noise is fantastic. I can sit back and armchair copy signals that are covered up in the noise pickup of the other antennas, including the halfsquare. Best solution on 20 seems to be to transmit on the halfsquare, receive on the minibeam. Nice that ICOM has a designated RX antenna input jack to make this convenient.

Of the six antennas tested in my application (GAP Challenger, TGM minibeam, 20 meter halfsquare, Apha Delta DXCC, 20 meter double bazooka and Windom40HSQ) I'd rate the Windom40HSQ as "BEST OVERALL VALUE", taking into account the relatively low cost, multiband versatility, and ease of use. However I have not seen anything on my S meter as of yet to indicate it is a high performance type of antenna - but do keep in mind this is comparing antennas at less than 35 feet off the ground.

Jim
WB6UQA Rating: 2001-01-18
outperforms G5RV Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have the 40meter - 10meter version. First contact was Anartica through a pileup.On 40 meters I work stations that had other California stations fade out.
W2CBK Rating: 2000-11-30
Amazing value Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This antenna was originally sold as "The Contester" by Antennas West. It has an off center fed 66' horizontal element, with a 33' vertical "tail" on each end. It is coax fed.

The lobes on the various bands are interesting. There is some gain on the higher frequency bands.

My antenna is virtually invisible. I've had no complaints from neighbors.

Performance has been great. I use the antenna primarily on 75, 20 and 10 M. Performance on 20 and 10 is great. I made DXCC with this little beauty. On 75, it seems comparable to a dipole.

The ad said, "If you can have only one HF antenna, this is it." They were right. I haven't been disappointed.