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Reviews For: Solarcon I-MAX 2000

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Solarcon I-MAX 2000
Reviews: 101MSRP: 80 SHIPPED
Description:
3 piece, over 21 foot tall fiberglass 10 meter base antenna
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001014.5
KB1YKX Rating: 2012-09-22
Great and versitile antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased the Solarcon Imax 2000 wave antenna and have been using it for about 7 months. It has worked out great for me. I use it off a switch box to my Yaesu FT857D and my Galaxy 949 11m.
I turned the tuning rings as far as they would go to the top, And I'm now able to work 15m 12m 10m and of course 11m on the Galaxy, and have made many many contacts.
SWR's are as follows 15m 1.8-2.1 12m 1.6 across all, 10M 1.1- 2.0 and 11m 1.0-1.3
It's great antenna! and for the price a good bang for the buck.
WP4OEK Rating: 2012-08-27
Great Vertical !!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This antenna is great. I made contacts from around the world with it. Great DX antenna. I left it on my 25 ft. mast on Hurricane Irene, it took all the wind and nothing happened. Use it for about 8 years until it broke.
PD2JPD Rating: 2012-05-06
Love it.! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm works all continents with this superb vertical on 10 meters. Also works great on 12,15 and 17 meters and with the LDG tuner it works on 20 meter.

For your money the best 10 meter vertical you can get.!
KD0KZJ Rating: 2012-01-10
Great for working 10m & 11m, monitoring 12m-40m Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Tried homemade verticals while working CB, just didn't get far (2-3 miles at most with poor Rx & Tx). Invested in Imax-2000 (24 feet in height), and 25 feet of mast (from ground to bottom of antenna), and the difference was amazing. 7-8 miles is do-able on 11m, unassisted, w/unmodified Galaxy 959, under low QRM conditions. Got my Amateur License (Technician) and working 10m with a Ranger RCI-2970N2, at approx. 100 watts, I have worked stations in the Czech Republic, U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, Morocco, and northern South America, as well as many points in North America, with 5 by 5 reports or better on Tx (Rx is great, depending on conditions). Many of the stations I worked were using beams or Yagis on towers. The Imax 2000 basically made radio possible for me, at a very affordable price, with minimal adjustment (tuning rings turned all the way toward the top gives me lowest SWR in both 10m radio and CB radio), and minimal investment in additional materials for set-up (2 10-foot masts, 2 additional pipes (galvanized steel) and some rebar for additional internal support, and rope). No, it's not pretty, but it works just fine, thank you. Thank you, Solarcon.
WC3O Rating: 2011-12-11
Very good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Have had for a short while, acting on the recommendation of friends that have had them for years. Works great on 10/12/15. You need to cut about 8 inches off the top to get it to tune correctly in the ham band (10 meters). (It tells you this in the instructions) Very happy with the antenna and works better on 10 for ground wave than anything else I have ever used.
M3SKF Rating: 2011-12-11
GREAT VERTICAL Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have been active on 10/12m bands with no ATU for a couple of years with this antenna.I have been very pleased with the results on these bands,have also used the antenna on 20/17/15m bands with a tuner and the results are ok.Very well made and tough takes alot of abuse to damage this aerial.Recomended and reliable sells at a fair price new & used.
KD8GTP Rating: 2011-12-11
VERY GOOD Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I am using mine for 10m and it is working very well. I wouldn't suggest it for anything else but 10/12m, even with a tuner. A few friends use it with good results for 11m and above and below 11m and say it's great. Overall if you have space restrictions give it a try, again 10/12m only :)
N0FPE Rating: 2011-12-11
OK Time Owned: more than 12 months.
As long as one remembers just how it works and ignores the silly gain figures. It is just a vertical longwire antenna! I got mine used and it does what I want it to do. Do I try to use it on 3-4 bands ..no..but for local 10 meter use that I wanted and the odd DX contact it works ok.
KC5CQD Rating: 2011-12-10
No better than an Antron 99 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
For the first time, I got to try an Antron 99, with the ground plane kit, side-by-side with an Imax 2000, with a ground plane kit. Same height, same radios and both with SWRs of less than 2 to 1. And I noticed hardly any difference. Same with my transmitted signal. The receiving stations noticed no difference. Dont' get me wrong. The Imax 2K is a really great antenna that works well. But its performance hardly justifies the additional money, weight and wind drag. In my opinion you should save yourself some money and purchase the Antron 99. It's a tried and true antenna design that works VERY well. My Imax 2K WILL be coming down this week to be replaced by my A99. Besides....with the lighter weight and lower wind drag of the A99, you can put it higher with less structural support! I gave the Imax a rating of "4" because it is a good antenna. I give the Antron 99 a "5" because it's a better antenna.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by KC5CQD on 2005-04-18

Many years ago I ran an Antron 99. The thing worked fantastic but the build quality really stunk. It was cheap, flimsy and warped and after reading the reviews here at eham.net, I was fully expecting the same of the IMAX 2000 that I recently ordered. I don't know if Solarcon has been reading the reviews here and have recently improved their antennas but I must say that I'm truly impressed! Ramrod straight, silicon sealant is used with nice, neat beads and my SO-239 isn't crimped at all. A very solid antenna as compared to the A-99 that I owned 10 or 12 years ago. Yes, the top section does wave in the breeze quite a bit but I understand the physics of that. Better for it to flex in the wind than to snap the antenna in half. This thing is quite big, though. It's one thing to see 24' in print but when it's assembled and in the air, it's a whole different story. Your neighbors will certainly notice it although it's quite slim and attractive. As antennas go, that is.

Performance? Well it's a damn sight better than the inverted-V I was running and much easier to tune with my Palstar tuner. With the inverted-V I couldn't hear any activity on 10 or 15 meters after the sun sank but tonight I'm hearing stations off in the distance. Too weak to work but I can hear them! That's a definite improvement in my book. Tunes easily from 10 to 20 meters.

For the money, I highly recommend it. Nice job, Solarcon!

KC5CQD
K5AAT Rating: 2011-11-08
works great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
replaced an A99 with it, seems more quiet, less noise. Also works DX well. 70 countries on 10 meters in 5 weeks. The LDG tuner I use tunes it 10-40 meters. It is low against the back of the house, this weekend I am getting it up a little higher.
Thanks,