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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
N1UMJ Rating: 2012-07-08
it works Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
My g5RV was in trees that got destroyed in tropical storm Irene September 2011, someone came up with the 5btv for me since my landlord was fed up and goign to remove the trees completely. I moved shortly after never having put up the antenna but where I moved to is a trailer and we don't have any trees on the lot i'm in, no real way to run a wire so, I put up the verticle. Now, I put it about 6 feet from my trailer because if it ever went down,I didn't want it in the neighbor's yards, not by much anyway, and the shed is probably 12 feet from it and also metal like the siding on my house. Some told me that was too close it would never work but it does, I tried it first with no radials, I didn't want to go to the trouble of laying radials only to be told to take it down but quickly learned that was not going to work. I could not get the SWR where it should be on 40 and 75 or even close but once I laid radials it fell right in, using the previous owner's markings I think I only had to move one trap about 1/8 of an inch and there was no clamp on it when I got it so it may have shifted in shipping. As many have stated 75 meters is very tight so I may try a 1/4 wave dipole over the roof for 75 but really, looking at reviews and talking to someone I know running one, it works as expected. It's ground mounted so if I want to talk with the local groups on 10 meters, that's probably out but with a 102 inch whip on the side of the house, I have that option and the hustler really does what I want on the bands it's meant to. It's not going to work miricles and i'm still adding radials as I go, I don't recommend anyone try without that was a real waste but only a few radials make a huge difference and at this point my yard has high traffic but in the fall I'm going to lay a bunch more radials and let them work their way in the ground over the winter. If it will get much better than it is or not I really can't say yet but I expect it to get a little better, I'm not complaining now, it does what I want and expect from it. I miss my cobra ultralite 75 feet up in the trees I had at a former QTH and this can't compare but with a band opening, I'm abel to make the contacts and on most of the NTS nets I check in to regularly, other than the 75 meter ones it does a good job.
KC7YE Rating: 2011-11-10
works as expected Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Live in condo, no antennas allowed. I like to work QSO parties and contests have found a couple of places to operate from, rent beach cabin on salt water. Have tried several lash ups but went back to 5BTV as can deploy by my self. This is third one of these I have had in last 40 years. The DX Engineering instruction booklet make a lot more sense then original, tune up is a snap. Less then half hour to take off roof rack to on the air. Have used in IA QSO party and CW SS. XYL likes the beach weekends too.
K7ZGQ Rating: 2011-10-05
Works like a good vertical should Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I was left a little wanting on 80M and spent alot of time doing a little research on a way to enhance the efficiency a little without killing any of the other bands. Heres my trick. Take a MFJ 40M whip(Hamstick) it has a 2 piece screw together design. add in a 2 leg capacity hat each 48 inches long between the coil and whip on the hamstick. my reports went from S8-S9 to 10 over and 20 over respectively on 80M. Im happy all the other bands work the same and my efficiency on 80m is now at a sweet spot. coupled with 30 ish radials 30 feet or so. make decent contacts all day and all night. talk 800 miles easy with my 100 watts on 80M. Good Nuff for me. check out my QRZ for a picture of good ol frankentenna!!
K4JC Rating: 2011-07-18
There's a reason it's a classic! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The Hustler BTV series antenna has been around for decades, and the reason why is...it works! Yes, you should add radials (or something resembling a counterpoise) but if all you can do is string a couple of random wires on the ground the 5BTV will still perform well. Construction is simple and straightforward, and if you have an antenna analyzer the tuning is very easy.

Several years ago I used a 5BTV ground mounted with no radials and managed to achieve WAS on both 40 and 75 meters (yes the WAS nets helped a lot :-) These days I use a 6BTV mounted to the backyard fence as a counterpoise (see my 6BTV review for more details) but I still have a 5BTV for emergency and Field Day use. On Field Day I plant a 10 foot piece of mast in the Indian River and attach the antenna to it. Salt water makes such a great ground plane! I have also built a few 4 and 5BTVs from parts scrounged at hamfests and scrap yards and given them to new hams. For stealth the capacitance radials can be removed (with no ill effects) and the antenna placed inside PVC pipe disguised as a flagpole. No, it's not a beam on a tower or even a full size dipole, but when built and mounted properly (and even sometimes improperly) this is an antenna that will get you on the air quickly and, with a little patience and finesse, maybe even put a DXCC certificate on your wall!
KF5MC Rating: 2011-02-07
it works!!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Suggest you replace the 80 meter element with a ham stick. Amazing result
VE1VOX Rating: 2010-11-28
Proof! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I thought I would give an update on my Hustler Vertical. I installed it August 2008 and decided to check my log to see what I have worked since then. I'm not retired so I'm not on the radio everyday and work some 100km from my home. Enough about that. To date I have worked 802 qso's with 183 countries. 29 countries on 80, 117 on 40, 139 on 20, 57 on 15, and 59 on 17 metres I haven't done anything on 10m due to the poor band conditions. I mainly chase DX and already had DXCC achieved on all but 17m before I started so these are mostly more rare contacts and many all time new ones for me, such as ZL8X most recently. The BTV 5 doesn't come out of the box ready for 17m so I added the DX Engineering add on kit. Another great product! The antenna is ground mounted and guyed with 24+ radials. And is located only 6 feet from a dense ornamental Blue Spruce so it is not in an optimum location. SWR ranges 1.5 to 1.8 depending on the band. I would have to say I am extremely pleased with this antenna it is ruggedly built and works very well. I would most certainly recommend it if you are in the market for a quality vertical antenna.
M6FBS Rating: 2010-10-24
18 months on - still great! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Well, I have now lived with my Hustler 5btv, which wasn't new when I bought it, for over 18 months and I am still delighted with its performance. Every time I go out to mow the lawn, I treat it to another radial or two. You would be surprised just how many radials you can sink like that - almost painlessly, in one year's lawn mowing season!

I can safely say that, receiving, the Hustler has out-performed every wire antenna I have tried. It is many times quieter than the assortment of windoms, GR5Vs, inverted Ls and end-fed longwires which have come and gone in the meantime!

Transmission in the daytime is pretty good on all bands except 80m where it significantly underperforms all the aforementioned wires - hence the reason for trying to find the ultimate 80m band wire! On the whole, though, the Hustler is, I would say, better than adequate in the hours of daylight. It is, however, as the shades of night begin to envelope it that the Hustler really starts to show its true colours. Like the man under a spell turning into the Werewolf in an old Hammer Horror film, darkness unleashes the beast!

As a night-time DX antenna the Hustler is second only to using a dedicated beam. 10w QRP, UK to Vancouver on 20m - no sweat - at about 4am here which is 8pm there!

I have made QRP contacts with Western Austrailia, Bali, and New Zealand using the Hustler at various admittedly anti-social hours of the night! Signals from exotic South Pacific Islands, far off jungles and icy tundras permeate the Sussex night via the Hustler into the warmth of my shack.

As day breaks, the spell is broken and the Hustler settles back to being a reliable workhorse and one which I would not like to be without.

If you are thinking about getting one (and for what they are, the price is very reasonable) and you have room for radials then go for it. You will not, I predict, regret the decision.
KF7DLQ Rating: 2010-07-24
IF YOU HAVE AN 85' SQUARE AND $200 YOU GOT A GOOD ANTENNA! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased my 5BTV from DX Engineering a while ago and have been extremely pleased with this antenna and the customer support that came with it.
Research on how to mount a vertical antenna in a way to make it roar out RF in a efficient way took the most time... So much good reference mat'l to go through and so little brain power to process it all... (hi hi)
All kidding aside, I ended up mounting mine with the feed point about 1 foot above the ground, then fashioned 4 resonant radials for each: 10,40 & 75/80 meters. On 20 meters I have 8 radials, because my prevelant reason for this antenna is 20M DX.
My antenna is set up in a fenced off area, with no open access, where I have my radials elevated to only about 18" off the ground. This arrangement is working good for me,so far.
I am extremely pleased with this antenna. Tuning was quick and easy(thanks, Customer support!)--and it's performance meets my expectations. Yes, there is some labor involved, but it is worth it.
My 20 meter DX (on 100 watts SSB)now has me into many Countries accross the water... and the 75/80 meter performance does as well as my dipole at 20 feet.
Yes,on 75/80 M the freq range is very narrow, but easily tuned, so plan ahead. For me, it makes a great backup for my 75/80M dipole.
I live in a windy area, so I installed guys as per the instructions and so far no problems.
We will see how it holds up through the winter... but to be honest, as beefy as this antenna is, I forsee no problems.
I am very pleased.

Tony KF7DLQ

WA6IPD Rating: 2010-06-15
5BTV vs Carolina Windom 80 & 40 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My 5BTV is over 30 years old. Several years ago I did have to replace the 80 meter resonator, but everything else is original.
The 5BTV is mounted at 10ft on the side of a building which has an all metal roof that I use as a counterpoise along with two full size radials for 80 & 40. Located 70ft away is a 40ft tower where my Carolina Windom (CW) is mounted. The Windom is a 133 ft full size, not the compact model. I am located in the San Diego area but inland by 20 miles where it is very dry and soil conditions are very poor. I'm usually on in the mornings by 3am and then throughout the day. If I had to have only one antenna for 40 it would be the 5BTV but on 80 the CW is usually best. Many times on 40 the 5BTV is 6-9 or more S-units better than the CW but not always, on occasion the CW will have the best signal by 1-2 S-units. Chasing DX in the morning on 80 the 5BTV is sometimes the best performer but overall the CW is the winner. However if I can hear an 80 meter station on the CW I can also hear it on the 5BTV but sometimes several S-units lower. If I had to have only one antenna for both bands it would be the 5BTV.
KC0GSB Rating: 2010-03-27
Worked fine Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I ran one of these for 4 or 5 years. However, the 80M resonator never did work right. It was installed with the base about 4 inches from the ground and I had a lot of radials for each band. 20 and 40 meters worked very well. Since it is a vertical sometimes I needed extra power to make contact, but it did make the contact. Very good antenna for limited space. If 80M would have worked, I would give it a 5.