| VK2LKW |
Rating:  |
2010-09-09 | |
| Solid made, well constructed |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
After having bought full size 103' WA2NAN G5RV some half year ago which does a great job on my 33' push up mast, I have now also got G5RV Jr for taking that one along when going bush. I like those antennas because of their solid construction and the fact that coax cable (in good length) is integrated as part of the antenna. Also great that Kerry is replying any question promptly. For me, both antenna and its maker are deserving five stars
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by VK2LKW on 2010-01-15
Put antenna on squid poles, just 22' high and not even in a straight line due to space restrictions...and worked stations in UK (10,000 miles away) and Chile (7,000 miles) on 20m band with my FT897D in first evening.
Solid construction. Quality materials!
And an amazing bloke, this Kerry. Replied to correspondence instantly (within minutes), twice. |
|
| K6JEB |
Rating: |
2010-08-15 | |
| Durable, well-made, EFFECTIVE! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This won't be my one and final review of this antenna, but let me give you an example of what you can do with it.
I've taken this antenna around with me and it even helped save the day when the traps in a Field Day tri-bander went-out in the middle of a 20m daytime pile-up. That time, it was just mounted on a 31' Jackite fiberglass telescoping pole in an inverted-Vee configuration. One of the old-timers who was helping me put it up was impressed with how well the center-point of the antenna was done and how well it held the weight of the antenna. The wire is smooth and doesn't kink easily.
The best time I've ever had with this antenna was when I took it to a local campground that had these towering eucalyptus trees that reached from 150-200 feet. Of course I brought with me a WB6ZQZ Pneumatic Antenna Launcher and enough rope to hoist one end of my G5RV Jr up to about 150 feet. The camp rangers were impressed with how I got it up that far. The other end sloped at about 45 degrees towards Asia. I pulled the feedline as perpendicular to that as I could get it. I went into my camper and hooked-up my little ATS-3B QRP transceiver and with 4.5 watts on 20m I was working through pile-ups of stations all over Asia and Europe. In the evening, same thing, but on 40m. 5watts and a great antenna as well as some good timing will let you work the WORLD!
This antenna holds up beautifully to the rough and tumble terrain I've used it: sloping down from a cliff with one end tied to a rope that goes into the ocean, laying-out over Sierra scrub, being dropped when I didn't secure one end enough for the 50mph winds, and coming out of the whole thing with nary a scratch, and working as well as the day I got it.
Sure you can try to make something this good, but good luck beating the price and the quality. And wouldn't you just like to have something that you know will work well?
OK, one more: I used a G5RV from an apartment when I was in Germany (DA2UI) had a blast! No radials to worry about, looks like a dipole but on many of the bands has more gain. |
|
| K7HV |
Rating: |
2010-07-06 | |
| Design Flaw and Water Infiltration with this antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
For starters: the antenna does work out of the box and Kerry's customer service is FIRST RATE... But I feel that I need to point out a problem which I see no one has talked about here:
I put the full sized G5RV up in late June of 2009 and it behaved as a G5RV should: easy to tune and especially good on 20. The past few months I noted that my LDG Z100 Autotuner was taking longer to tune and that it would not tune on some bands. In the course of moving gear, I unplugged the antenna from my Low Pass Filter and noted that the PL-259 was wet! I put a meter on it and noted a short. I went up on the roof and lowered it enough to inspect the twinlead-to-coax connection... that was the culprit. This connection was sealed with shrink wrap that had a wire tie at the top and bottom. What happened was that water ran down the twinlead and into the shrink wrap and it became a "funnel" that collected water. I cut the shrink wrap back and the other shrink wrap that covered the solder joints that attached the coax to the twin lead. The wires were completely corroded; the water eventually was able to work its way into the coax and down into my shack.
I emailed Kerry with cell phone photos of the problem and immediately responded that he has noted this problem in some of antennas of this design. He said that he has modified the design to address the problem. We worked out a deal where he immediately sent me a new antenna with a new design - I offered to pay half since it did work for a year and I will be able to convert the old one into a "shorty" G5RV for backpacking.
The NEW version Kerry sent me utilized actual windowed ladder-line vs the heavy-duty twinlead. The coax-to-twinlead connection is done via a heavy plastic board containing a strain relief for the twinlead and a SO-239 connector. When I installed it, I used the procedure (I learned working as a radio tower climber for Tower Tech) of wrapping the plug in black tape, then plastic coax seal, covered by more black tape. I also secured the cable in a way that no more than 15 feet of it was pulling on the connector.
If you have this antenna, chances are that it is fine; there are many folks who have had it up for years without a problem. If there IS water infiltration, you can spot it either by checking the connector for moisture and/or put a meter between the conductor shield and tip to make sure there is no circuit. Even if it tests OK and is behaving normally, it might be a good idea to place some coax seal at the top of the shrink wrap with a few wraps of good plastic tape to cover it.
If you are considering buying this antenna: BUY IT! This glitch has resulted in a better, more robust antenna. Kerry is a good guy and will go the extra mile to help you. The test of a good vendor is how they react when things go awry: Kerry has passed with flying colors in my case.
For what it's worth: I have worked over 100 countries on all continents with a G5RV Jr and this antenna. There is a reason the G5RV is a popular antenna - Kerry builds good ones. |
|
| EI4GMB |
Rating: |
2010-06-26 | |
| DXCC with G5RV Jr !!! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The G5RV Jr.(51ft)(10m,20m,40m) was the first antenna I purchased as a Radio Amateur. I installed it 35ft above the ground and sloping northwards in an east-west configuration.
At sunspot minimum and using just 100W, I reached DXCC with contacts on 5 out of 6 continents!!! It is truly a remarkable antenna. I have since bought a Carolina Windom at 3 times the price and in many instances the G5RV Jr. is better, so much so that I find myself constantly switching back to it!!! It is indeed a superb limited space antenna and even outperformed a vertical that I eventually took down.
If you buy this antenna you will not be disappointed. It will definitely exceed your expectations!!! |
|
| CHARLESPG |
Rating: |
2010-06-24 | |
| excellent!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
bought this thing off of ebay for $75.00
and put 40 ft off the ground in a inverted v
so far I have worked
VK7ZE,VK4KKD,PY5KA,OM1QX,JW5ZM,HR2DMR plus W6LG in CA and WN5GNZ Washington State as well as TK9E,YO4RYU and others on a average of 5/7 5/9 transmitted/revived from my location in Northeastern North Carolina
if I get a bigger lot I will buy the 160 to 6 meter version
would definitely recommend this |
|
| N2QGV |
Rating: |
2010-06-20 | |
| Works for me |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Reviews of antennas are so subjective, how is it deployed, what metal objects are around it really should not influence the review. The manufacturer would have to engineer one for your location, but then as a Ham, that's your job. The G5RV as an antenna has worked great for countless hams over the years.
As far as the True-Talk wire.... Well it is very well manufactured and tough. My 102'er is not really ideally installed at approx. 25' at the apex. It is not quite a flat top and is a real shallow V with the ends around 20'. It allows me, with the assistance of a LDG AT-100Pro autotuner to bring the SWR down to 1.3:1 or less, to work on 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 30, 40, 60, & 75 meters.
So my review is I am extremely pleased with the construction/parts and happy with the performance. 73....... Art
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by N2QGV on 2007-06-04
I installed my 102' version with one end supported in a tree around 40' up, and the other end about 15' above the ground. My installation initially would not tune 15M or 12M. An e-mail brought a quick and complete response from Kerry. I added 6' of RG-8X and "Bingo", the G5RV now tunes from 6M to 75M using the internal tuner of a TS-2000.
How to describe the antenna? Quality, sturdy, attention to the small details, and broad banded would do it. Could I recommend this antenna to my best Ham friend, definitly yes.........
Thanks Kerry for a great product.
|
|
| W6GX |
Rating: |
2010-06-10 | |
| Great antenna for multi-band operation |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
My G5RV Jr. has been up since Oct. 2009. This review is not so much about the great quality of the WA2NAN G5RV (by now everyone knows this already!). It's more about how great the G5RV is as a multi-band antenna and how to get the most out of your G5RV. For the eight months I've owned this antenna, I have worked a total of 105 countries, of which 83 have been confirmed. This is a testament to the great design of the G5RV. I live in an antenna restricted community. The G5RV is great in the sense that I can operate multiple bands all on one semi-stealth antenna. Below are some tips on this great antenna.
1) The G5RV works wonderfully when mounted in a flat-top configuration. The mounting configuration has more of an impact to the angle of radiation on the G5RV than antenna height. My advice would be to mount your G5RV in a flat-top configuration even if you have to give up height. I have the 52' version so it's easier to mount it this way. Always remember, on the G5RV the radiation angle is more favorable with a flat-top/low height configuration than an inverted V/high apex configuration.
2) There's no need for a fancy balun/choke. If you want a peace of mind you can put a common-mode choke at the feed-line transition point. I made my own choke by wrapping the coax around two large snap-on ferrite beads.
3) My G5RV Jr. tunes on all bands from 40m to 10m. It also tunes on 75m but the efficiency on 75m is very poor. The G5RV Jr. works the best on 20m, with 15m being the least efficient band. I have made a great deal of DX QSOs on 17m, a band that is popular among many Japanese stations.
4) The G5RV is a very stealthy antenna. I live in a deed-restricted community and I didn't ask for permission before I put up the antenna. So far I haven't gotten any complaints from neighbors, which is a big deal nowadays for a ham radio operator living within city limits.
5) If you are interested in an in-depth analysis on the G5RV I highly recommend this 36 page technote. In it you'll find antenna plots for the G5RV at various heights and mounting configurations. It's the best article on the G5RV that I've come across. Each copy is only $7 and the amount of knowledge and know-how in this article is worth many times more.
http://www.antennasmore.com/technotes.htm
Good luck and Good DX.
73,
Jonathan W6GX (ex. KF7BBJ) |
|
| N8FXH |
Rating: |
2010-06-10 | |
| Great results |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have had this antenna up since October 2008 and still am very pleased both the construction and my results. I have worked Europe, Africa and South America on 75 Meters with 100 watts and Europe and South America on 40 with 100 Watts. I can't wait for consistent conditions allowing a real test on 12 and 17. Very Satisfied.
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by N8FXH on 2010-06-10
II have used this antenna for 18 months now and have no complaints. I was able to work Europe and South America on 75 Meters with 100 watts. 40 Meters to Europe is very doable with 100 watts. Can't wait till Conditions improve to try it on 12 and 17.
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by N8FXH on 2008-10-13
I have only had the antenna up for about two weeks but I was able to tune 80-10 well using the AT 180 that accompanies my IC 718. I am getting S9+ reports on 80 meters from Florida to Connecticut which is off the end of the antenna. I am also getting S9+ reports consistently on 40 Meters. I operate almost 100% SSB. The antenna is very well made much better than previous G5RV's I have had. So...So Far so good will follow up next year...Hal/N8FXH |
|
| CHARLA |
Rating: |
2010-06-10 | |
| Troubled |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I bought this G5RV to replace one that was cheap and cheerful. That one other than just about to fall apart worked well on all bands 10-80mtrs. The Truetalk although well made is very disappointing. Hopeless on 80mtrs and mediocre on the rest. |
|
| LX3KR |
Rating: |
2010-06-09 | |
| Great Antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
As we lift out of Solar minimum I decided to get back in to Amateur Radio after a 20 year break, after reading the reviews on eHam I decided to go for a Kenwood TS480-SAT and True-Talk G5RV junior. The antenna is sloped from the Apex of my house at 10 meters to a pole in the garden which is about 3 meters, to keep the feeder clean I installed a choke at the coax/ladder line feed point using the ugly balun design at the URL below:
http://www.hamuniverse.com/balun.html
Despite reading reports that the TS-480SAT internal ATU cannot tune a G5RV I managed to achieve a 1.1 SWR on all bands from 40 to 6 meters with the exception of 30m.
The antenna is very well constructed and uses quality materials, within 10 minutes of plugging into my new rig 59++ to Poland, Russia and Spain.
Well done Kerry!
|
|
