| 2W0AXI |
Rating:     |
2006-01-13 | |
| Good deal |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have the usual small lot problems that many hams suffer from, so a vertical seemed a good idea.
I bought the 5BTV through a UK dealer and was impressed by the robust construction. I installed the antenna using a 5 foot galvanised gas pipe banged into the ground. Like a kid with a new toy, I assembled and tuned the antenna according to the instructions and hey presto! SWR was usable on all bands except 80M
Bear in mind that with no radials, no earth rod and a temporary lashed up feedline this thing can work out of the box. Highest SWR was at the upper edge of 20M but was still less than 2:1*
After I had clamed down, I put down 3 5 foot earth rods, and slowly added some radials, in very haphazard arrangements due to lot restrictions. Performance just got better.
My one and only gripe is the performance of the 80M resonator*. It CAN be made resonant, but only in such a narrow bandwidth that Hustler's claim of no tuner needed goes out the window. This may be because the 75/80M resonator is one of their mobile whips. Anyway, on 10M - 40M this is a great DX, no tuner antenna that performs well in very limited space. If you want to use 75/80M, either get a tuner or be prepared for very narrow bandwidth operation (50 - 70 kc's).
Come on Hustler, improve the 80M section for 5 out of 5.
Buy one, for the money it's a good deal.
73
Simon |
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| N4NYY |
Rating:      |
2006-01-10 | |
| Best bang for the buck ! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Where do I start? This antenna is built like a tank, all for $170 at HRO. I dare you to find another 5 band vertical that works this well on 5 bands, and is built this well, for this price.
Assembly was fairly routine. I have it ground mounted in a swamp, toward the low end of the property. Tuning took my about 1 1/2 days, mostly because I later figured out that I had a bad anaylzer. After I sorted out the antenna analyzer problem, tuning was a breeze. I used a Diamond SWR to tune. It would have been even quicker to tune if another person was there to help, so I wouldn't have to run back and forth. I have 3 radials for each band at 20-40-80m, above the ground. And they aren't even perfectly straight or evenly spaced. I don't use the antenna on the higher bands like 10-15m, because I use an IMAX for that. I might add radials for 10 and 15m, but it tested well on both those bands anyway. At the initial tuning, I could not get the SWR on 20m under 2, so I contacted Newtronics, who promptly emailed be a trap cal procedure. That took all of 5 minutes, and my 20m SWR was perfect.
Tune this antenna at 10-15-20-40-80m, in that order !
As far as performance, I get great reports. I have hit South Africa, and Europe, with no problem. I get 55,57,59 reports all the time. You might say, what is the big deal? But if you see where I have it mounted, you would end up understanding. Maybe the swamp and wet soil are acting as an excellent counterpoise. Whatever it is, something is working right.
The only drawback I have is groundwave talking, and that is because I have it on the ground. So I would expect that. I really don't see the advantage of mounting it high in the air, unless you want to do a lot of groundwave. If you are simply doing DX, ground mount will work fine. I would recommended using at least 3 radials for the bands you want to use.
Also, I guyed it about half way up, because the antenna is high with the 80m resonator. The manual recommended it, so I did it to be safe.
Lastly, I did make and RF choke balun as per the manual recommendation, and you can see a picture of it here (mine is on the right).
http://www.hamuniverse.com/balun.html
I cannot send enough praises to Newtronics, for price/quality, performance, support. Save yourself hundreds of dollars, if you are looking at one of those expensive multiband verticals. Get this one instead. |
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| N1IRA |
Rating:      |
2006-01-05 | |
| Great Antenna |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I bought my Hustler 5BTV a little over 6 months ago from DX Engineering and set it up last fall. I was able to follow the instructions and it took only 45 minutes to put it together by my self and there were no missing peices. I am running only 6 ground radials at its base do to lack of space between houses where I had to set it up (city lot). I did have some minor problems with 80Meters however Jason at Newtronics was very helpful and was more than willing to walk me through different tests till I got it adjusted.
The SWR is excellent on all 5 bands and is working flawlessly for me. For the money I don't think you can buy a better antenna new that works this well.
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| KD2E |
Rating:      |
2006-01-05 | |
| The best |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
You have to have at least half a clue to appreciate this antenna (understand verticals).
I had one as a novice, and it was great. Used with a ring for radials, stapled 'em to the ground with bent coat hangers, then with landscaping stakes. I also like the HyGain trap vertical, but now that MFJ is involved..I wouldn't touch 'em with a ten foot..er ten meter vertical!!! |
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| VE9AIR |
Rating:      |
2006-01-04 | |
| get it |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| there is not enought room here to tell you how good this antenna is...I have had it for over 2 years....you hear it you can work it..I had a dxcc dipole... took it down.. the 5btv works great..with low swr..just go and get it... |
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| W9PMZ |
Rating:      |
2005-12-30 | |
| This is a good antenna! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
With a vertical, be it on ground or be it elevated you need more than two radials per band for it to work.
I've had this antenna mounted on the ground now for 5 years with 60 33' radials at its base. It resonates as advertised.
Heck, even on 75M (very narrow bandwidth) I get a decent signal.
73,
Carl - W9PMZ
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| WA4AUU |
Rating:  |
2005-12-30 | |
| Bad choice piece of junk |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I bought the Hustler 5BTV because of all of the good reports.
Bad choice.
After trying roof mount at 40 feet plus with 2 radials for each band and without radials,
I could not load it up or tune it on any band except 75-80M.
I tried the same as Jason at newtronics said, on the ground,
Then he said to check the traps adjustment, I did that and tried adjustments after that,
Still same results, even tried 10M alone, that did not work either.
I took it down and boxed it up, ready to junk
And if you have to use all that wire for radials with it,
You might as well put up a full wave wire antenna.
Even with all the good reports, I rate it (Hustler) now, as a real bad decision.
I rate it and Hustler now, as a 0 minus.
I also have a Hustler Mobile set up for all bands that is over 25 years old
Old gray resonators (no problems), and broke a 20M resonator, so I bought a 20M super at Dayton, and worked fine until it rained and got wet (swr off scale),
Jason said coat it with silicon (bad deal), I did it, and it still did not fix problem.
Junk Junk Junk.
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| NF2C |
Rating:      |
2005-12-22 | |
| Big Bang for the Buck! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
After moving and temporarily losing my A4 tribander and other assorted wires I purchased the 5BTV from R & L Electronics. Being a ham since 1981 I always felt I would NEVER own a vertical as everyone griped abt performance and the radial hassles! But this ant was a pleasant surprise. I generally can work all I hear, although not always on the 1st call (running 85-100w). Before purchase I spent time looking at Butternut, Gap and HyGain and I am sure that I made the right choice. This ant is well-made and it needs to be at my NJ shore QTH. It gets quite windy here between the ocean and Delaware Bay!! I initially had this ground-mounted with no radials and it worked ok. At present it has 2 buried radials for each band, and I have noticed a big improvement. I also added 3 guy lines after abt 6 months as the winds and occasional icing had me a bit worried. Ant was flexing alot unguyed, but always came out ok. I do recommend guys if you are in a high-wind area. Bandwith on 75/80 is a bit limited but I mostly do cw and can do all I need with my tuner. Instructions are relatively clear and I had no real assembly problems. If doing it again I would probably purchase the radial plate from DX Engineering. Also an SO-239 connector at ant base would simplify hook-up but no real big deal. When compared to others in the performance and price categories, I feel this ant is hard to beat! Give this a try and I think you will be quite surprised as I have been. Now just have to figure how to get back on 160??
PS: I used a sturdy pizza cutter on a wet lawn to get those radials away from my mower. Good luck!
73, Chris NF2C |
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| AD5TH |
Rating:      |
2005-11-10 | |
| Add 12M/17M to 5-BTV |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I love my 5-BTV with it's associated 72 radial ground field. Performance is outstanding and the antenna looks sleek and handles 1KW. But....I missed 12M and 17M so I added them to my 5-BTV and now have what one might call a 7-BTV with SWR below 1.5:1 on all bands and legal limit ability. Cost is about $10 if you fabricate the plexiglass spreaders yourself. Drawings, swr data,parts list and assembly instructions at this link.
1. http://www.ad5th.com/5-BTV-WARC.html
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| KC2EIW |
Rating:      |
2005-10-17 | |
| Great Performer |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've had the 5BTV for over a year and it's been trouble free so far. Roof mounted on a Radio Shack tripod, unguyed, it survived the winds and rain of Hurricane Stan in Guatemala this fall. I would have felt much better if it were guyed as others have mentioned. I thought I would return to find it blown off the roof, luckily it did not.
Although it does pick up a lot of noise as compared to my 20M dipole, it really puts out a good low angle DX signal. Reports from around the globe have been excellent, particularly on 40M. It also tunes up easily on 12M with an automatic or manual tuner. Got it from DX Engineering with their radial plate, no missing pieces. The BTV was easy and fun to experiment with and tune. Hustler and DX Engineering, a winning combo.
KC2EIW/TG9IIW
Dennis |
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