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Reviews For: HUSTLER 4BTV

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : HUSTLER 4BTV
Reviews: 114MSRP: 119.99
Description:
4 BAND TRAP VERTICAL ANTENNA
Product is in production
More Info: http://WWW.NEW-TRONICS.COM
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
151144.8
N4KC Rating: 2008-02-29
Don't worry about SWR! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Got mine for $50 used. I mounted it on a 4X4 that was sunk in the ground about 4 feet and had about 4 feet above ground, using DX Engineering saddle clamps and lag bolts. I also use the DXE radial plate and already had a field of about 80 radials laid down for a previous Army surplus telescoping vertical (see www.n4kc.com for that installation story).

First, ignore Hustler's advice about using tuned radials for a ground-mounted installation. That's goofy for radials on the ground. Cut them at least a quarter wave for the highest band (40 meters in the case of the 4BTV) and do as many as you can. You'll get diminishing returns after about 30 or 40, but it is still better to have more than fewer. Curve them, bend them, cut 'em short...do whatever you have to do to make them fit your space, but the more symmetrical a spread beneath the antenna, the better.

Secondly, quit worshipping at the altar of SWR! I see where some of you have taken the 4BTV up and down so much you've boogered it up, all to try to get it to 1:1. Or you take ground radials loose to see a slightly lower SWR. Don't! Tune it--with radials attached--to as low an SWR as you can on all bands, then go in the shack and OPERATE. With a multi-band vertical antenna over typical soil, a low SWR usually means you don't have ENOUGH of a ground plane!

This is a great addition to any antenna farm...cheap, easy to install, tough as a Waffle House steak, and it works as intended.

Don N4KC
www.n4kc.com
www.n4kc.blogspot.com
(A blog dedicated to technological change and its
effect on life, society, and ham radio)

W7NWH Rating: 2008-02-28
Excellent trap vertical Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I love mine, easy to tune and really nicely constructed. I sank a 4 foot steel fence post with a sledge hammer, no radials and when prop is good can work the world with 50 watts. Bought a 5-BTV for another property with same results. Finding I don't need a ground plane with my wet soil. Not so into traps but for the $$$ can't be beat! Suggest using the rf traps described in manual.
AI4IT Rating: 2007-08-27
Simply Works WELL Time Owned: more than 12 months.
On my forth 4-BTV due to simply being cheap. But moreover, reasonable. These antennas work and work very well for what the price tag is blended with the low angle of take off. Traps? Yes. But it tunes fine with the radials. If I had the financial wherewithal to buy a big beam (I do and I have one), I would still get one of these for practical purposes. It works.

NN4P,
Brian Jett
KU2US Rating: 2007-08-27
4 Band to 5 Band Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I will not repeat the positives, they all have been said on this thread. I added 17 meters to this antenna with a very simple mod. Add 1/4 wavelength wire attaced to the top spider (insulated from the spider element) and down the side of the antenna to a non conductive support. Attach the wire to the physical metal on the antenna. Support the spider element with rope to the top of the antenna so it does not bend. 100 watts on 17m I QSO'd 3Y0X!! You can do this with any band except 80 & 160m due to size. The antenna is mounted 2' above ground on a pipe driven 3' into the ground with 4 radials cut for each band except 17m? This antenna is a tank. Low noise, great DX angle of radiation, and the price is right. My next expirement will be with a full wave wire for 6 meters. This antenna kills my G5RV. My 5 rating is because of the antenna's versitality, reliability, quality and ease of assembly. Get one-you wont be sorry..
KB6HRT Rating: 2007-06-05
LIKE THE WAY IT SOUNDS Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Got a good deal from DX engineering on the 4BTV antenna,have a small antenna farm two Verticals and 2 inverted Vee's. The 4BTV is grounded mounted with radials as per Hustler, it is more directional than my R6000 vertical and has less gain,but still works well SWR is 1-1 on the antenna and the antenna is very quiet with a good signal to noise ratio, which is good for monitoring Qsoooo's to pull out real weak signals I have a W9INN inverted Vee that does a great job at that. This antenna is built very strong and should last a very long time....KB6HRT
KA9GIX Rating: 2007-04-02
Good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had one for years, ground mounted over 30' of chicken wire (an AM broadcast antenna trick to minimize ground losses)for a ground plane and it works fine. Low VSWR, broadband and is cheap, can you ask for more.(PS try the chiken wire trick insted of buring radials)
KC5CQD Rating: 2007-02-11
A two day struggle to tune!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I already knew what a great antenna the 4BTV was since I had owned one back in 2000. The last time I assembled this antenna, I ran it with no radials. Just a 4 foot pipe in the ground. I set it to the measurements given by the instructions and it worked perfectly. No adjusting at all.


However, this time was a whole different story. I decided to do it right and sink two ground radials per band. Good grief....what a fist fight this thing was to get tuned. I'll guarantee you that I took it down and stood it back up about fifty times and probably walked a good ten miles between my radio and the antenna location.

Here's the final setup and results:

The antenna didn't like the radials on ten and fifteen meters and so I removed them. I'm getting a 1 to 1 match from 28MHZ to about 28.300MHZ. It rises to about 1.5 to 1 at the top end. Very acceptable.

On fifteen meters it's good until about 21.200, then it starts to rise rapidly. The CW portion of the band is flat, though.

Twenty meters is about the same. I'm flat until about 14.100MHZ and then it begins to rise quite rapidly. Going above 2 to 1 by 14.200MHZ. Again, the CW portion is fine.

40 meters is great! Going from flat at 7.000MHZ and rising to less than 2 to 1 at 7.300MHZ. There I have both CW and phone bands.

Considering that I'm a 99% CW operator, this setup is ok for now but man.....what a beating!!!

Great antenna, though. The manual does warn that certain soil types can be tricky to tune and boy was it ever TRICKY to tune!!!!
N5MDM Rating: 2007-01-19
Works Good Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Upon install had a bad 20m trap, would not tune up. Sent back trap & got a new one under warranty. Other than the bad 20m trap out of the box, all is well. I'm using 2 gound radials per band 10/15/20/40m, mounted on a 4ft water pipe in the back yard. Tuned to the General class SSB freqs. Have worked all 4 bands no problems with decent reports. I gave it a 4 because of the bad 20m trap, otherwise it would have been a five. I'm going to add the 80m section in the spring. Decent 4-5 band vertical.David N5MDM
W6POK Rating: 2007-01-18
Hustler 4BTV Vert. Dipole Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I wrote the article in the June 2006 issue of CQ magazine referred to in AE5Js posting. Thought some more info would be of interest.

The use of Hamstick antennas (one for each of the four bands) configured at 90 degrees to each other, and the antenna mount isolated from the supporting structure, constitute a dipole configuration, as opposed to functioning as a true counterpoise.

The Q of the Hustler traps is such that they contribute to the broad band characteristics of the antenna. This enabled me to use the antenna settings for tower mounting and then tuning only the individual Hamsticks to adjust the resonant point for each band. Some readjustment of the Hamsticks was required when re-mounting the antenna at higher elevations above ground, but the Hustler part did not require any readjustment.

The antenna has been tested in comparison with another Hustler employing quarter wave wires in lieu of the Hamsticks. The only discernable difference being greater bandwidth obtained with the former configuration.

It has also been tested with and without an RF choke near the antenna feedpoint. At power levels above 100 watts, a choke may prove desirable.

Others have tried this approach utilizing different brands of trap verticals, with varying degrees of success. The Hustler appears to be the antenna of choice for this configuration.

I have personally used vertical antennas from Hy-Gain, Cushcraft and Gap utilizing small counterpoise arrangements. These antennas have worked well when mounted 10' to 20' above ground, but performance seems to suffer when mounted on tall structues, such as a multi-story apartment building. This indicates that they are quite ground dependent. I have found the Hustler/Hamstick antenna performance improves with height above ground.

There are a couple of approaches for adding the 17m band to this antenna that are currently being evaluated. Once the best approach has been determined, I will write another article.

Not to be overlooked is the physical strength of this antenna. I have used Hustler 4BTV antennas for many years, without guying. Have never experienced a failure from either wind or ice.





KX2T Rating: 2006-10-30
Easy 40mtr Phased Array Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had one 4BTV up for a few years so I added another(for $120 each these are hard to pass up), placed then 24' apart and on 12' masts with 3 radials each(just for 40ty mtrs)ran 2 equal feedines into a 2position relay switch and used a 90 degree phase line. The array faces kinda east/west and kinda just finished the tunning before this weekend. Well I only had about 8 hours free to op this weekend during the CQWW phone weekend but after 107 Q's 67 contries 22 zones I was very impressed. I have owned in the past 2 element short 40ty beams and even one very good force 12 3 element plus a few 2 element vee arrays but for small lots with tower restrictions up the gazu these verticals play. Plus there seems to be an added bonus of directivity on 15mts.