Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: CHAMELEON EMCOMM II antenna

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : CHAMELEON EMCOMM II antenna
Reviews: 7MSRP: 115.00
Description:
60ft. end-fed wire with 5:1 matching unit at the base in a waterproof enclosure. Designed for portable or base station use, covers 160m-6m with an antenna tuner. Rated at 500W.
Product is in production
More Info: http://chameleonantenna.com/CHA%20EMCOMM%20II/CHA%20EMCOMM%20II.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0075
K7KDE Rating: 2022-08-30
Superb end-fed wire antenna! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have limited space at my QTH for an HF antenna installation so I started looking for a high quality end fed wire antenna about 60 feet in total length that I could install as an inverted L. The EMCOMM II fit the bill perfectly. The transformer is mounted about a meter above ground level to a 4x4 post which is about 2 meters past the edge of a lower deck that extends about 15 feet behind the house. The vertical segment runs up 25 feet to a 5 foot 2x4 attached perpendicular to a tall tree that runs straight up about 5 feet from the 4x4 post that holds the transformer. The wire goes around a pulley attached to the end of the 2x4 and then runs 35 feet horizontally and attaches to a line of paracord that goes about another 3 feet to a second pulley attached to a 4 foot long 2x4 that extends out perpendicular from a 12 foot vertical 2x4 attached to the outer edge of an upper bedroom deck. The paracord runs around the second pulley down toward the ground and terminates about 5 feet above ground level with an attached counter weight. The whole system is incredibly stable even in very windy conditions. I attached three 25 foot counterpoise wires to the transformer with one running under the horizontal segment as recommended by Chameleon and the other two acting more or less as radials for the vertical segment. The whole arrangement sits at the top of a hill that slopes down about 40 feet to the road behind my house at about a 35 degree angle. This gets the antenna up pretty high with respect to the surrounding terrain. All VSWR readings from 80m through 6m are 2:1 or less with the exception of 40m which sits at 3:1 across the entire 40m band. The internal tuner in my radio tunes this antenna with no trouble whatsoever.
And man does it work! I have received stations all over the US from San Diego down in southern CA all the way northeast to Portland, ME and all the way down into southern FL. I've also received stations in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Cayman Islands, as well as stations in Japan and even a station in Angola Africa!
Needless to say, I am more than happy with this antenna. It is rock solid, built like a tank, totally waterproof (a very important commodity here in the PNW) and simple to install. I would highly recommend this antenna to anyone with space restrictions that wants to work all the HF bands from 80m through 6m.

Update 29-Dec-2020:
I just made phone contact a couple of weekends ago from my QTH in northwestern OR on 20m with a gentleman in western Argentina just east and a bit south of Santiago, Chile with this antenna and my 100W radio. Received his signal at 5,7 and he reported me as a 5,5! This is clearly a very simple yet capable antenna!

Update 30-Aug-2022:
Well, my EMCOMM II is still up and still working great - perhaps even better than before. I have added two additional radials for a total of four 25' raised radials running down the hill behind my house and one 35' radial running directly underneath the horizontal section of my inverted L. I also added a Palomar Engineers 5K choke at the feed point even though I never really experienced any RF in the shack. All my SWR readings between 40m and 10m are less than 1.6:1 with the exception of 40m that sits at 2.25:1 or less across the entire band. I decided to give up on 80m given how noisy the band is here at my suburban QTH, but, luckily, my noise levels on 40m through 10m are all S2 or less which is really good given my location. I have never had a problem making solid contacts to anyone in the continental US and Alaska, the Caribbean, and even into South America including well-south into Chile and Argentina. And the other day, I finally made my first contact into Europe in Barcelona, Spain! Given the space limitations at my QTH, I can honestly say this antenna has worked exceptionally well for me and it continues to work just as reliably as the day I purchased it.
AB7DP Rating: 2021-12-10
My NVIS Results Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a review about the EMCOMM II in a low, horizontal configuration suited for local and regional communications, not for long distance. Reliable and clear state and surrounding state communication is the goal of this antenna.

This EMCOMM II was set up using two masts to keep it horizontal to the ground to aid a near vertical take-off angle. The signal is purposely intended to go straight up and bounce back down to earth, usually the 40 Meter and 80 Meter Bands are used for NVIS. There are many excellent explanations online about the theory.

The height was 17 feet at each end.

There was no counterpoise used, in this case 100 feet of high quality coax became the counterpoise. At the end of of that coax, it was connected to a 1:1 isolation choke Balun (Balun Designs 300 watt model or similar). It is very important to use a choke balun to prevent RF from continuing into your radio. The EMCOMM II is actually an UNUN, not a Balun, therefore a choke balun is essential.

Here are the readings, and very broadbanded:

160 Meters 1.4 SWR
80 Meters 1.3
40 Meters 2.0
30 Meters 1.2
20 Meters 2.4
17 Meters 2.1

Also, one might consider an MFJ-931 should stray RF still find its way into the shack. Found the 80 Meter Band RF seems to like to enter the shack even with a choke balun.

If you vary the length of coax, the height of the antenna, or slope of the antenna, you will undoubtably receive different results.

In conclusion, found that the EMCOMM II, configured as an NVIS antenna was quiet and very broadband and was pleased with both transmitting out to local states and ham stations nearby. I actually did not need a tuner on 80 Meters, however it needed a little touch up on 40 Meters. As a comparison to a double size, Off Center Dipole (OCF) at about fifty feet this was may two "S Units" lower, which is perfectly acceptable.

Was very pleased with this antenna which I have had for years. Hopefully, others who are interested in NVIS may try this configuration of the EMCOMM II and see similar results.


N2EIO Rating: 2020-10-20
Excellent multi-band go-kit antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Nice design, excellent materials, easy to deploy. This is my go-kit antenna, about 60' with one end at your station. I checked SWR between 3 and 30 mHz, which was similar to the SWR curve in the manual and within range of most built-in tuners. I compared on-air performance with a commercial 82' 40/80 dipole and a commercial 132' EFHW antenna. I tested 75m, 60m, and 40m. The Chameleon was comparable on 60m and 40m. Signal strength on 75m was quite a bit less. This was expected given the shorter length and lower height. I give it 5 starts as a go-kit or EMCOMM antenna, less as a base station antenna.
K6USN Rating: 2019-04-15
Simple and reliable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My Chameleon has been up for nearly 4 years. I I live near the sea and not a hint of corrosion.

Tunes easily with my radio's built in tuner. Forgiving of less than perfect surroundings. Hard to spot in my yard (hence the name).

I thought ham radio was over when I retired and moved to a deed restricted QTH. Not so - I am having fun and working locals and DX. Good work Chameleon!
KN4OO Rating: 2017-09-21
Very first Endfed Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I give this antenna a 5/5 cause it's very impressive. The "8oz soda can" is connected to the top of a 25ft pole which is also holding my dual band Diamond X50. It is stretched 61ft to a huge tree. It's connected to a LDG Z-11ProII tuner and so far it is working great. I even got it to tune on 160 and made my first ever contact. I would recommend this antenna to anyone who has limited space to hang a wire antenna
N5WTK Rating: 2017-03-18
EMCOMM II Still Fantastic after 3 years in the Texas weather! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
In July of 2013, I became a new ham. I started researching what type of radios and antennas I wanted and after months of research, I chose Chameleon. I would like to make comment right here and now that Carl Lavoie is one of the most patient and customer oriented people I have ever met. From the time I first started emailing him, until 2 months and 38 emails later, I purchased my EMCOMM II. It's set up in an NVIS installation, and has endured the Texas Heat and Winters like a champ. I've made contacts all over the world and can't say enough about the great quality workmanship of Chameleon products. Before my EMCOMM II, I had purchased another antenna that just never seemed to work the way I wanted. Not so the EMCOMM II. From the moment it was put up, until this very day, it's been prime. Great workmanship, great customer service, great product.
K3NP Rating: 2017-03-15
Great restricted space HF antenna! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got this antenna to replace a 40m OCF dipole at my home QTH because I wanted to be able to get on 80m. Lot size precludes me from putting up something bigger, and an HOA precludes me from using anything conspicuous. Setup instructions for the EMCOMM II were easy to understand. A counterpoise is recommended but not required. I used the old 22ft leg of my previous antenna for this. The antenna is mounted on the side of my chimney at 35 feet high. The matching unit enclosure is about the size of an 8oz soda can and the driven wire is 60 feet long, with black insulation. There are wing nuts to secure the driven and counterpoise wires to the matching unit, and there is a small screw eye on top of the matching unit with a carabiner clip to secure it. My driven wire goes out into the backyard trees, where it is secured with a pulley/rope/halyard. I have an MFJ 1:1 current balun at the feedpoint as an RF choke. SWR measured with an analyzer ranged from 1.7 to 3.7 on 160m-6m. My rig's internal tuner matches it without difficulty. I'm able to get on all the WARC bands now too-previously with my dipole, my SWR had been too high to do so. So far, with the EMCOMM II I've worked Canada, Cuba, and an assortment of CONUS stations using 25-100W, about half of those on 80m PSK. I'm very pleased with its performance and that it fits on my lot and is stealthy! The only issue I had (minor) was that the wire came wrapped around a plastic form, and the end of that wire had been passed through a hole in the form, then looped and crimped-so it wouldn't come back out. I had to carefully cut the plastic form to remove it so it wouldn't be flapping in my trees. To their credit, I emailed the company about that and got an email back from Carl Lavoie, the owner, thanking me for the feedback and saying that they would change that going forward so that the wire can be easily removed from the form if desired. In summary-for a little over 100 bucks, this antenna has been a great solution for me. I can get on all the HF bands, my SWR is better than it was with my old antenna, and this new one didn't take up any more space. Win!
The other option I considered was a multiband fan dipole from Alpha-Delta, but it would have been too long-I'd have had to run one end to a tree in the front yard and the other to the back. That, along with the parallel wires, would have made it too noticable to neighbors and passers-by.