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Reviews For: MOONRAKER SQBM1000N

Category: Antennas: VHF/UHF+ Omnidirectional: verticals, mobile, etc

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Review Summary For : MOONRAKER SQBM1000N
Reviews: 1MSRP:
Description:
3 BAND COLINEAR VERTICAL COVERING 6M, 2M &70cm
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0012
G4RNI Rating: 2016-08-27
DISAPPOINTING 70cm Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have two identical setups, one at home in South Tyneside, the other at my girlfriend's in Durham, UK. Radios are the same so no need to go into detail.

At both shacks I have two colinears; an original Diamond V2000 and a brand new Moonraker SQBM1000N so one of each at each shack. All are fed with RG213 and all use GREENPAR N type connectors or GREENPAR PL259's (the best). Feeder lengths are 10m and 15m at both locations, both are bungalows so it's easy to maintain stuff.

At both shacks the colinears behave pretty much the same on 6m & 2m. 70cm though is a completely different story.

At BOTH locations, on 70cm, the Diamond colinears show local repeaters GB3TS and GB3NT at greater than S9+30dB. Both Moonrakers showonly S5 to S7.

At BOTH locations friends report my signals as being S9 or better on the repeater inputs when using the Diamonds but only S2-3 when I connect the Moonrakers.

I've exchanged radios, feeders and aerial positions and the poor signals always follow the Moonrakers.


My interpretation (as a retired communications tech): The Moonraker is vastly inferior in performance to the Diamond. Its quoted "gain" is vastly exaggerated. I can only assume that the internal loading for lower bands is having either a screening (Faraday) effect on 70cm, or is squirting the radiation pattern in some very odd direction.

It's NOT bad feeders. It's NOT local reflections. It's NOT oprator error. These Moonraker aerials, whilst fine on 2 metres, do NOT perform as advertised on 70cm. I can put my Diamond on the end of any feeder and everything is fine. Return the Moonraker to service and 70cm signals drop by an enormous amount.