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Reviews For: Solarcon A-99

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Solarcon A-99
Reviews: 204MSRP: 57.99
Description:
10-20M Vertical Antenna
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
152043.6
G1NOR Rating: 2009-01-27
Waste of good glassfibre. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
One word to describe this one and it has four letters and begins with a capital "C" It's worth about £20, looks like it should work, you really want it to work. But it is utter garbage. To be fair, I had mine before the groundplane kit was devised, it may improve things; it certainly needs to. It's a typical CB antenna with lots of hype, but it's a load of sh....... (whats that smell)...
GB001 Rating: 2008-12-08
Absolute Rubbish CB Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Not good, poor quality, narrow bandwidth. Any disbelievers, check here:

http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=7582

The Antron 99 EXPOSED!

It shows how easy it is to hide a bit of old wire & poor soldering to fool people to think they are buying some magical antenna.

Any amateur worth their licence will soon construct something that will easily out perform this. For those that can't be bothered to make an antenna, a G5RV is a lot better & a lot cheaper !
KC4WWL Rating: 2008-08-18
great antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
just obtained my general license works great on 10 thru 17,i just wish it would work on 20 but my ft450at has no problem tuning on 10 thru 17 like it was made for it
KD6HUC Rating: 2008-07-27
a winner for 10 meters Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased my first in 1989 and it was a replacement for my beloved Sigma IV. Easy install and easy tune up on ten. I gave it away to a new ham about six months ago when I found a brand new one at a yard sale for ten bux! I never did try the ground radial kit,but I have heard it makes the antenna even better. No, it's not a yagi and no it doesnt have the 9.9Dbi that my first manual states, but it breaks down super small and sets up super fast! I love it!
KD8GTP Rating: 2008-07-27
Good for 10m Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Mine is mounted 10' off the ground on a PVC pipe.
It works better than my 10m dipole. I can recommend this antenna for 10m work.
KJ4EOZ Rating: 2008-07-17
always come back Time Owned: more than 12 months.
i have had 6 or 7 of them in the past . i have used it for 11 meter and works 100% i have used it from 10 - 20 meters and works great with a atu
i always come back to it . very easy to put up . And the guys on here that tell you it is not a very good antenna are telling you that for the fact that they dont like things to do with CB / 11 meters . so if you want to speed $400.00 or get one of the A-99 and speed $49.00 its up to you .
FRODO45 Rating: 2008-07-13
10 Meters Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just purchased this wonderful antenna using the advice of an old army friend who is much more knowledgeable about ham radio than I am. This antenna really works! So far have made contacts from Japan, Canada, and throughout the Western US. Haven't made it past Denver as far as the east goes. Conditions probably have a lot to do with it but I've installed this at approximately 28' above ground and so far I'm impressed. More later after some time with this antenna. No comparison compared with my G5RV, at least on 10 meters. I installed the ground plane unit so that may help quite a bit.
KU4GW Rating: 2008-07-03
Good 10 Meter Vertical Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have used a Solarcon A-99 since 1996 on 10 meters and it performs well. I can hear DX stations better on it than on my 260 feet doublet up 50 feet. I have it mounted on a 30 feet telescoping mast. It is a good 10 meter antenna. I have worked JA stations several times with 57 or better reports on the 10 meter band. I wouldn't recommend it for any bands other than 10 and 12 meters.
N7SGM Rating: 2008-05-29
FANTASTIC ANTENNA Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my A99 as a used antenna for $25. It comes in 3 sections. Simply screws together with heavy duty metal connections. Tuning rings allow for optimal tuning w/o the use of a tuner.
Works fantastic on 10, 12, 15, and 17 meters. It is mounted on a piece of heavy duty chain link fence top rail at a height of 30'. The top rail is attached to a line post via 3 u-bolts and has survived many strong wind storms. No radials. My coax PL259 connects directly to the S0239 on the antenna. I have made many stateside and DX QSO's with this antenna.

The best price I have found is at copper.com
Solarcon A99 $48.99 and the ground plane kit Solarcon GPK-1 $38.99 or the combo for $87.99.

Other antenna manufacturers should take note of this antenna. Build one to cover 80, 40, and 20 meters with this quality at this price and then we'ed really have something.

Bottom line: Outstanding antenna for 10, 12, 15, and 17 meters without a tuner.

N4EDX Rating: 2008-05-14
Great Cheap 10/12/17 meter antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had one for 10 years and worked over 100 countries on 10 meters, at 72 ft. from Greer, S.C

You can't beat it for $49.00 ..plug and play !
I worked a VK a couple of weeks ago, still 5/9 on 100 watts ! I just bought an Imax2000 and made an elaborate ground-plane system out of 4 / 102' and some a pair of 113" s/s whips.. I am going to replace the a-99 and hope I get as good a service for as many years..
73'
ED