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Reviews For: Hustler 5BTV HF vertical

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Hustler 5BTV HF vertical
Reviews: 146MSRP: 211.99
Description:
Hustler 5BTV HF vertical antenna for 10,15,20,40 and 80 meters.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.new-tronics.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001464.6
SV1HEP Rating: 2004-02-15
TOP ANTENNA Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have install this antenna following the factory instruction and the results it’s amazing. 12meters high from the ground with 2 radials per band and I have working from Europe the whole world. In 80-40-20-15-10 meters this antenna have an amazing bandwidth to keep the SWR in acceptable level plus in warc bands with an antenna tuner to help a little. I say only this. Buy it.
KD7UDG Rating: 2004-02-08
Excellent antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The 5BTV antenna has performed very well for me on a ground mount without radials. The assembly instructions are very well written and easy to follow. In my experience with this antenna, if I can hear the station I can work it.
KE8U Rating: 2004-01-19
SUPER! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Like a lot of folks, space is a problem for me. After looking at a lot of verticals I decided on the 5BTV - best decision I could have made. I am so restricted on ground space that I could not even put radials down. I am next to my fense(wooden), 3ft from my workshop, 2ft from by boat slab and about 15ft from the house. It is ground mounted and assambled as per instructions, which took about 1 1/2 hrs. The only band that I get an SWR of 2 or higher is 80. And 80 is easy to adjust to the freq that you like to work the most. If I hear them I work them. Oh yea, the XYL was soooo against me putting up an antenna, when she saw it she said "that doesn't look so bad!" The 5BTV is a WINNER !
K4WQ Rating: 2003-12-07
Great Value, Great Performance Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had been off HF for about 10 years. When I wanted to get back on the air, I decided on the Hustler 5-BTV. I owned a 4-BTV back in the early '90s and was impressed with the performance back then. I have been more than impressed with the performance of this sturdy, easy-to-assemble antenna this time around. After a couple of days of intermittent operating, I worked 13 states and 7 countries with no trouble at all using 100 watts. If I was able to hear 'em, I was able to work 'em. And by the way, the antenna is mounted at ground level (with radials). My backyard and the neighbor's yard are full of large live oak trees. No problem for the antenna though. I highly recommend this one. The only gripe I have is the fact that there is no SO239 connector for the coax. I took the advice of another ham and made a short jumper with lugs on one end and a PL259 on the other end. This facilitates removal of the antenna. The SWR on 40, 15, 10 was great. On 20, the SWR was about 2 to 1 in the phone band. I probably could have made it better but got lazy. It's more than adequate now and it doesn't seem to hurt my hollow-state rig. On 75, the SWR is only good for about 75 kHz of the band. Still, I love this antenna!!
K4AXX Rating: 2003-10-20
Praise,praise, praise Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
So much has been said about this antenna there really is'nt much to add. The instructions that accommodate it are excellent. The phone support is marvelous (thanks Gary) and the antenna's performance is magnificent. If you run into a problem with this one, more then likely you have fouled something up. Biggest bang for the buck I have ever encountered.
N9PVW Rating: 2003-09-09
Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had this antenna for 12 years. Moved from Chicago 9 years ago and set it back up in Louisiana. I have NEVER has a problem with this antenna. Ground mounted with 2 rads. per band. I used a hatchet to bury my rads. I work MARS and 17 with no problems. Would buy another for sure.
KB4QLZ Rating: 2003-09-07
Nice Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
No missing parts. Instruction manual straight forward, construction is easy. Ground mounted mine with 4 ¼ wave length radials per band. Antenna receives very well as compared to my 3/2 wave 40 Meter Inverted V with the apex at 115 ft. Only 1 S unit lower with most stations. Worked a few stations in Europe with 100 watts, receiving 57 to 58 signal reports. I feel this is going to be a good addition to my shack.

Mark – KB4QLZ
http://www.kb4qlz.com
KB7NZG Rating: 2003-08-11
like it ok..easy to install Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
wanted a vertical for years,finally got one. it had been used for a few months so i got a good deal.
dug deep hole in the hard red desert clay and put the 5 foot piece of pipe (missed the correct length in the instructions!!) oh well. read instructions..meas. everything exactly and all was perfect except for the 80 meter whip...cut off a bunch...now resonant about 3650.i work mostly 40cw but check into day nets and have sked with reno,nevada..usually my inverted vee up 25 feet gives slightly better sigs both ways.
i would add radials but i drag a harrow around the lot to cope with the nasty desert weeds,but sometime this fall/winter i should try at least 2 radials for 40 meters. years ago had a hustler mobile and with the ten ten argonaut i worked the western caroline islands on 40 at 5 am in august from missoula,montana!!!!!good job hustler for sure.got lots of s9 reports all around the northwest from souther idaho where i lived.
i am at 4800 feet elev and about 13 miles south of ZION nat. park in the red dirt/red rock high desert. i like to qso qrp stns on 40 cw.
adios
jim
kb7nzg
N4CQR Rating: 2003-07-28
Good value, good manufacturing and customer support Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned at least three of the Hustler BTV series; the most recent being a 6BTV and 5BTV, respectively. After reading the reviews here, several times, I thought I would endeavor to share my experience.
Due to some changes in adjoining property owners and the construction of a deck, I have two choices to locate an antenna. One spot of approximately 170 sq. ft. and one area approximately 64 sq. ft.

I have used the 5BTV (as a 4BTV) ground mounted both with and without radials prior to the above situation with good success. Same with the 6BTV. Over all I consider the antennas to be a good choice and customer service from Hustler has been second to none on 3 occasions.

What I wanted to share, and to a degree outside of the scope of a review, is my recent installation. One of the reviews mentioned mounting the antenna on a chain link fence.
I decided to try that just for the education.
I set the antenna up fairly close to the instructions. I set the dimension for a
4-foot mast on a roof with radials.
Dimensions were eyeballed rather than actually
measured. A 2" dimension may be 1-7/8 or 2-1/4 but close enough.

Measured VSWR came out to be:
40 meters 7000-7340kHz 1.8:1
20 meters 14020-14450kHz 2.0:1
15 meters 21025-21490kHz 2.0:1
10 meters 27050-30050kHz 2.0:1
Impedance: 30-60 ohms, mid 40s being typical.

My first suspicion is the antenna is far to wide banded to have any efficiency in the way it is installed. However, signal reports on 40-meters from GA and PA were very good at 2030UTC which (here in KY) is a bad time of the day for 40. Attempting to work a CX on 15
and a LU on 10 at 2040 and 245UTC proved futile. Both were running S3 and S5 respectively. Certainly not the fault of the antenna.

Now back to the issue of review. I find the BTV series of antennas to be well constructed
with clear and simple instructions that make assembly a breeze. The newer style trap sleeves
(tapered bottom as opposed to the old flat bottom) presents less of a bug issue and the
stainless steel clamps are much better. Good value and excellent customer support.

Regards,
Craig, N4CQR

KB1JIR Rating: 2003-06-30
I'm impressed Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have small yard plus ground in New England is very poor. Put this up at ground level with radials. 20 meters is 1.2:1. Work all bands except parts of 80 without tuner. Have gotten 59s into eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Romania) with my ICOM 706 barefoot. Need to take time to tune the antenna for best results. Just takes little patience unless you have antenna analyzer then 20-30 minute job. Instructions are great - make it quick and easy to assemble and get on the air.