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Reviews For: Comet GP-6 - Dual Band

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

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Review Summary For : Comet GP-6 - Dual Band
Reviews: 32MSRP: 150
Description:
Dual Band Antenna. 2 meter and 70 cm
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00324.3
KM8N Rating: 2016-02-05
Check Workmanship Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just purchased this antenna in the last several days. I agree this is a nice antenna and it is preforming well in it's temporary location. I didn't have any trouble retrieving the upper section from the fiberglass tube but the lower section was far enough into the fiberglass shell that the lower set screw was not accessible. I pull lightly on the couple and it came up easily so I was able to connect the two sections. Finished the assemble and installed it. Frist mistake not check the SWR on the ground. Once up the SWR was horrible 2 to 1 or more on both band. Checked the feed line which was new, no issues. Took the antenna back down SWR still the same but noticed that at times it would dramatically improve then go away. Long story short found that the first solder joint up from the load coil was defect and that all the internals above that where just floating in the fiberglass tube. Clean and repaired the joint. SWR well within specifications. Someone simply didn't completely solder the connection. 73,
K5HDA Rating: 2014-07-11
very good dual band ant Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I was very impressed with the quality of the hardware that came with this antenna. Aside from the "where is the other end" problem that others have had with putting it together it was easy to assemble and light to work with. The performance has been good and the swrs respectable.
K4TJO Rating: 2013-12-20
Fuzzy surface Time Owned: more than 12 months.
OLD NEWS, BUT WORTH REPEATING: ANY FGLASS ANTENNA SURFACE (some more than others) WILL WEATHER FROM EXPOSURE.
THE GP6 IS NO EXCEPTION.
FOR SEVERAL YEARS OF ADDED SERVICE, JUST WIPE IT DOWN THOROUGHLY WITH ACETONE AND BRUSH OR SPRAY-ON A COAT OF CLEAR EPOXY, EVEN RUSTOLEUM CLEAR ACRYLIC MIGHT DO.
NO NEED TO REPLACE IT!!
W5LZ Rating: 2013-07-02
Very Good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have found that the GP-6 works very nicely for me. Having assembled a Comet antenna like these before (GP-2?) I knew there was a bit more to it than just screwing everything together. The only 'trick' to it is to read the instructions and don't do anything obviously destructive.
Performance? It's certainly an increase in performance over a couple of previous antennas I've used. A 'hear-able' increase in performance, not just 'numbers'. The matching isn't good over the whole band (either of them) but how can you realistically expect that? The biggest difference between the first one I have and the last one put up was that connector in the middle, changed from metal to plastic. So far, I can tell no mechanical difference. The first GP-6 and the last one I bought are both still in service and doing well.
Would I recommend a GP-6 for average 'home' use? Yes, I would, and do.
How about for a repeater? No, it's just not designed for that, not 'heavy duty' enough.
I'm happy with the GP-6.
- Paul

KF5RGB Rating: 2013-07-01
Even recieves 800mhz Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this antenna right at a year now and its works great! I have it mounted to the eve of my roof which is approximately 15ft high and primarily it with my Icom IC-7000 in the VHF/UHF bands. I recently bought a Uniden HomePatrol police scanner and connected it to it to see how it would receive the local police frequencies in the 800mhz band. Needless to say I was amazed how well it worked! I didn't think a 2m/70cm antenna would pick anything up, boy was I surprised!
K9ASE Rating: 2013-04-01
poor instructions hurt it! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I should have come to Eham before I bought the antenna so that I was aware of the instruction issue. I ended up cutting down the fiberglass sleeve to reach the inner portion of the antenna. Now I have a weak antenna with poor SWR. It looks like I'll be replacing this with another brand antenna.
AA2HA Rating: 2012-11-12
Not a happy camper Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had a Comet GP-15 mounted for 12+ years without any issues. I noticed that the outer coating had taken a beating from the sun/weather. I decided to replace it before I had any issues ( I don't like heights!). Since I don't use this antenna for 6 meters, I decided on the GP-6. Surprisingly, most signal reports, as well as receive seemed a bit lower on the GP-6 than the GP-15.
After it was up for 2 weeks, I noticed erratic SWR. I climbed back on the roof (I hate heights)and took down the GP-6 and emptied about 1/4 cup of water from the antenna.
I made a call to Comet to inquire about this. Apparently it was my fault for using coax seal. There are two weep holes next to the connector that I blocked.
I dried the antenna (as per tech support), put a small, tight wrap of tape around the connector and it back up.
The next rain storm showed high, erratic SWR. Back up on the roof went I (Did I mention I hate heights?) The weep holes weren't blocked, but when I opened the antenna, everything was dripping wet inside!
I took the sections apart and sealed them well. I also added some silicone to the connection and put the antenna back up.
After some rain, the SWR was erratic again. One more trip up to the roof (have I previously mentioned I hate heights?) only to find the same thing. (the inside of the antenna dripping wet!)
I've only had the antenna up for 5 weeks and had it up and down SIX times! (4 up and 3 down).
When weather permits, I will make my final climb (Yes, I don't like heights) to replace this annoying piece of junk with another antenna. The SWR, and we haven't had rain in a week is 1.7:1 on VHF and over 2:1 on UHF.
Hopefully I can get my money back (minus shipping, of course)and mount an antenna that doesn't need weekly service.
K6KQV Rating: 2011-08-30
Good Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my GP-6 about 5 years. It is still watertight and performs as well as it did when it was brand new. The instruction sheet is rather poor. As others have mentioned, the top section is pushed up inside the radome and there are no instructions on how to get it out. Tapping it on ther carpet solved the issue.
N8QLT Rating: 2011-07-01
Bad instructions, nice antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have to attribute my success in getting this thing assembled to N5LUQ's mention of how to get the darn upper element to mate with the lower element. Like him, I also found that there were two holes for hex set screws to hold the upper element in, but only one set screw is provided.

The instructions are bad, and it would be so easy to improve them. The most puzzling issue is why they jam the upper copper element so far up the upper radome without any hint about how to get it back down to a position where it can be inserted into the lower element socket and secured with the set screw. N5LUQ's hint about tapping the upper element on a carpet until the element can be grabbed with pliers and pulled out a little saved me a lot of frustration.

This antenna replaced a 25-year old Cushcraft AR270 dual band VHF/UHF vertical. Works just as well and I'm happy with it. I expected it to perform significantly better than the old AR270, but it's on par. Doesn't blow away the old antenna, but it's worth the money and I'd purchase this antenna again.
SAPPHIRE Rating: 2011-03-01
Good gain Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Building good performance excellent. Comet GP6 is better than the x300 as diamond output. Were tested under the same conditions.