| N3WVB |
Rating:  |
2023-01-02 | |
| Exceptional Beam For The Money |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
If I Can Hear You .... I Can Work You .....
Excellent for Field Day, Mountain Topping and Base Operation.... For The Budget Minded Ham
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| K6KCC |
Rating: |
2017-08-03 | |
| Outstanding antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Mine is actually a TH3 MK3 and it was donated to me by a very nice HAM whom I had never before met; I posted on several websites that I was looking for an antenna for cheap as I didn't have much money at the time and though I received several offers, only one was any where close to where I lived but it was still a 3 hour drive each way. Best part was it was free!! I helped my benefactor carefully remove the antenna from his tower, mark each piece before disassembly, and load it into my Expedition.
Granted, the antenna had been up for a long time and there was some light oxidation and bird deposits on it, but all in all it was in pretty good shape. I took a week figuring out how it was going to clean it and cataloging the various parts I would need to order, mostly stainless steel hardware and new plastic end caps.
To clean it up I decided to use the lathe feature on my Shopsmith by chucking up a SOFT brass wire wheel and gave all surfaces a good cleaning, buffing them back to a like-new finish. I then sprayed a light coat of Rustoleum aluminum paint, except for connection points of course. As I was cleaning I made sure my disassembly markings were still visible so I could reassemble easily.
The moment of truth came when one evening I heard a DXpedition station on 10m on the Island of Kiritimati, or Christmas Island. Back then I was running a very old Kenwood TS440 that put out 50w max, but I gave it a shot anyway and to my surprise I made a 5/9 contact!
Would I buy this antenna again? You bet I would, even though mine was given to me, I can now afford any antenna I want to purchase. I am very happy with my TH3 MK3, and you would be, too.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by K6KCC on 2012-08-20
My Review is also for a TH3 MK2 which I got for free from a very generous Ham about 90 minutes from my QTH. As a newbie on a limited budge I placed an ad in several online Ham publications for someone willing to sell an HF antenna at a reduced price, or possibly donate one as I am disabled and on a very limited income.
After helping my benefactor lower the antenna down from his tower (I was ground support),we marked it and broke it down into lengths that would fit in my vehicle. I spent the next 6 weeks cleaning 40+ years of oxidation off every square inch of the antenna, replaced all the plastics with new parts ordered from Hy-Gain, and replaced all the hardware with SS components purchased from Lowe's. Reassembly was a snap as was mounting my "new" antenna atop my 55' crank up tower. I was really stoked when my first contact was a JA station and my signal report was 5/9+10 over....on just 50 watts from an old Kenwood TS-440S. My longest contact however was a long path contact with South Africa, again on just 50 watts and an armchair copy.
Although I got this antenna for free and put about $100 into it for parts I would recommend this antenna to anyone wanting a good tribander that is fairly small.
I'm now on the lookout for a TH6DXX... |
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| K4CME |
Rating: |
2014-05-21 | |
| Awesomeness in a small package!! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Highly recommend for a first time Ham. This was my first Beam antenna and I must say it gets out. Mounted on a 18 meter tower 1 mile from the Gulf of Mexico I get raving results of my signal and audio nearly all the time when conditions are favorable. This antenna can handle 1500 watts but my AL 811A only provides 600 watts which seems to be very efficient and effective at this time.
I came about this antenna on Craigslist from a ham that got it with a tower deal and for 200 bucks one can not complain. The fella said he had no interest in this antenna and stated that the person he got it from said it didn't work that well. I'm sure the reason may have been that 2 traps were attached backward and the lengths of the elements were not measured accordingly either.
I just love this antenna and hate to see it go but I found a great deal on a Mosley TA 36; however, this is going to make one wicked Field Day antenna for sure. 73 |
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| N8MAS |
Rating: |
2014-05-12 | |
| Disappointed in quality |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Purchased antenna new from R&L, began buildup, and the small gear clamps that attach the sections when tightened would fail before tightening the section. If I was reading this I might assume they were being over tightened, but they were not, they wouldn't tighten enough before slipping. ran to NAPA and bought 14 new clamps, problem solved, I thought. Raised the antenna to the top of my 50ft Rohn 25G and tested. 10 was great, 20 was great, 15 was dead. called Hygain and they quickly sent me 2 new 15 meter traps. when the new ones arrived I did something I didn't do initially, I pulled back the caps and checked the attaching hardware. Both were spinning. I removed the self tapping screw and replaced with a slightly larger diameter. We had access to a bucket truck so we changed the 2 15 meter traps. While up there I checked all the traps for serviceable hardware. Out of the remaining 10 traps I replaced 6 screws that were not tight. Once on the ground I inspected the removed 15 meter traps and found that 1 had a stripped screw and a 1/8th gap between the tab and element. Now that those quality issues are resolved,I am impressed with the actual performance of the antenna. From Thailand to the South Pole if I can hear them, I can work them with 500 watts. So in closing, Im giving the antenna a 4 rating because of its great performance, but do yourself a favor and really check the traps and clamps out of the box. Hygain made good getting me parts in a timely manner, but it was a hassle I could have done without. As a new ham I chock it up to a learning experience with my 1st trapped antenna. |
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| N0IDX |
Rating: |
2013-06-03 | |
| MFJ ruined a great product |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Ya, great it WAS. Performance better than you would expect from such a small antenna. Mine I bought used 30 years ago. Beefy hardware, tough antenna that stood up to everything Colorado could throw at it. 100 mph winds plus, ice, rain, sun. I have replaced a couple traps, trap caps, a balun and other things that the sun would destroy on any antenna. I cleaned up the antenna with steel wool soap pads about 5 years ago and it's STILL working, but the SWR curve continues to rise to near unuseable. So, instead of going through all the work and getting Mighty Fine Junk replacement parts, I have chosen to let her die a proud death at the scrap house than subject such a great antenna to MFJ parts insults. Next antenna? Optibeam 11-3? Why? It's the only great antenna left with new tech and quality workmanship. Hygain? You guys were awesome. Now with MFJ? Forget it. So long to the MK4. It was a good time man. |
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| VK6NGS |
Rating: |
2013-02-05 | |
| POOR BUILD QUALITY |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| Bought New th3-mk4.From day 1 i had problem,s.Opened the box and started sorting the parts and found the gamma match to driven element clamp,s missing 6 trap caps split.Took over a month to get new parts from hy-gain.Put it together after going to hardware shop to replace all the cheap and nasty clamps.After a month in the air noticed the elements flopping around.dropped the tower and found the trap spacer,s had come out.Put them back in and couple weeks later they came out again.Ive had antenna up and down more time,s and have glued them in.While the antenna was down last time i noticed boom wasnt straight,what i found was on the tapered part of the boom had cracks.My local dealer has emailed hy-gain 3 times no reply,ive emailed them no reply.There customer service is the worst ive seen.The peformance is great if you can keep it in the air long enough before it falls apart.Cheers Grant vk6ngs |
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| W2RDK |
Rating: |
2011-12-28 | |
| Believe It or Not! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
My review is for a TH3MKII, yes that's right a MKII!
Mine was purchased from Allied Electronics back in 1966 as a package that included 100' of RG-8 coax and a CDR TR-44 rotator with 100' of control cable. $199 back then!
I have used this antenna for over 40 years and with a little TLC, it will last another 40! Over time, I replaced all the element tubing clamps with the SS versions, I'm on my third set of trap end caps and have replaced all of the internal spacers that keep the trap covers away from the trap coil itself. Back about 20 years ago I had the beam down and completely disassembled it and had the opportunity to take all the aluminum tubing and trap covers to my place of employment. I chucked all the parts in the lathe and thoroughly cleaned all of the tubing till it was all shiny as new. Assembled the beam as per the instructions, put De-Ox-It on all mating surfaces and after completion, sprayed the entire beam with Rustoleum Clear enamel. That was back prior to the great Northeast Ice Storm of 1991. I have pictures of the beam elements drooping down with the surfacees covered with 1-1/2" if ice! The next day, the beam returned to it's natural state and worked just as it had in the past.
This antenns is a workhorse and has never let me down. Gain and front-to-back is exceptional and the quality of the parts themselves is second to none. Not so with the newer versions.
As I read all the recent reviews it is very apparent that MFJ has taken a classic beam and made changes that have reduced the quality of such a fine antenna. Many complaints about ill-fitting parts and suspect hardware. I also noted that the newer versions now use a hair-pin matching arrangement instead of the robust "Beta Tube" matching system from past years.
If you have a chance to get one of these, I would suggest looking for an older version that is in good shape and rehab it. Parts are still available and if MFJ still has them, I would replace all the element tubing clamps with the following part #'s (1/2" - 380284) (1" - 380286) and (1-1/4" - 380287) These clamps are horseshoe shaped, made of SS and will clamp the tubing together so it will never slip.
See you on the air and you'll hear for yourself how well this antenna still works! |
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| WA2HMM |
Rating: |
2011-08-09 | |
| Super Antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Installed it back in Oct of 2009. Have NOT had any problems with it. Still great F/B and get great reports.
Would recommend it.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WA2HMM on 2009-10-29
Got the beasty up on the tower and hit it with some RF...
The front to back is great, and the reports coming in from DX indicate it plays "Real-Nice".
Mechanically it is build very well/strong, the instructions are VERY easy to follow, and plenty of clear graphics, all dimesions are in inches, but with conversions for metric.
NO special tools are required to assemble.
I would highly recommend this antenna.
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Earlier 4-star review posted by WA2HMM on 2009-10-15
I found the Boom Clamp holes didn't match up with the Boom Bracket. This was reported before. I spoke to Hy-Gain Tech Support (Tom AA5MT), he said to install the Boom Clamp on the Boom Tube prior to trying to line up the Bracket holes, and they would line up. "They Did". I also mentioned the installation of the 2 5/16x3 bolts in the Boom to Mast Clamp, as indicated inthe manual. If you are installing the Clamp on the Boom "FIRST", and not on the mast "FIRST", they are really a pain to loosen and then slip the antenna (with the clamp attached) on the mast. They can be left out.
The antenna is mechanically sound.
Now only if Ma-Nature will stop making rain, I can get up the tower...
I will report on how it plays later.
I say "Good-4", as I haven't fired it up yet.
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| K6GKB |
Rating: |
2011-05-11 | |
| I love it! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I also bought my TH3-MK4 directly from HY-Gain and it arrived shortly delivered to my door by UPS. Assembly was straight
forward. There were some issues with hardware, but these were easily resolved and well within my tolerance limits. The
hose clamps for the outboard elements were much too large and unusable, but a trip to the local marine store came up with
the correct clamps. The trap boots did not want to stay put, but some RTV solved that problem. I preferred elastic stop
nuts to what was supplied and these were available in stainless at my local hardware store. In any case, when completed
and all my substitutions in place the antenna was first quality and ready for installation.
The 14 foot boom has the advantage that when I tilted the tubular tower over I as able to attach the antenna to the
rotator without help. With the reflector laying on the ground, the attachment is only 7 feet off the ground. One of those
aluminum, zigzag, click-click folding ladders configured as an "A" allowed me to safely climb up to the rotator and couple
the antenna to the tower. I did all the assembly and installation by myself.
Since this is a review of the antenna, the above is all irrelevant. Once up, the antenna performed perfectly and has met
all expectations. Nicely directional, clearly discernable front to back, seems to pull in the signals very well. My Icom
4KL loves this thing, matching is almost instantaneous and then remembered. When the wind blows very hard, I drop the
antenna from 40 feet to 20 feet and so far everything is working perfectly. I especially liked the price which seemed very
reasonable. Although a meaningless parameter, it looks nicely professional up there above the house and the neighbors have
said nothing! |
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| CX9BP |
Rating: |
2011-04-20 | |
| No recomendable |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
1º)Las curvas que aparecen en el folleto no se cumplen, la realidad es otra, es una antena plana, DEMASIADO PLANA.
2º)Problemas con las abrazaderas de "acero inoxidable" se rompen y no apretan.
He tenido otras Hy-Gain sin problemas, lamento haber comprado esta.
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