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Reviews For: Tram 1480 VHF/UHF Collinear Base Antenna

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

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Review Summary For : Tram 1480 VHF/UHF Collinear Base Antenna
Reviews: 54MSRP: around 70.
Description:
2 Meter/70 centimeter two piece omni. 5/8 X 2 VHF (6dB) and 5/8 X 5 UHF (8dB). 200 watts with a SO-239 connector.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.k1cra.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00543.9
W5PKY Rating: 2014-03-26
Don't Rely On it Surviving Time Owned: more than 12 months.
When the antenna is in working condition, it's in good working condition. So for that, it's great.

What I would not recommend is using on top of a structure exceeding 100 ft in the high plains/tornado alley.

Most common problem seen, the base breaks and the antenna falls over or often becomes a missile. Out of the 50+ hospitals and repeater sites that use them within 100 miles of Lubbock, all but three have succumbed in such a manner.
W0KRD Rating: 2013-07-14
Very good product Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Installed on 40' tower for 1 1/2 years and worked perfect. Withstood winds of 60mph and never needed adjustments. Recent winds have brought down the tower and I will replace the bent 1480 with a new 1480. Why fight success?
AD5KO Rating: 2012-05-19
Good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Good antenna, works well, no problems, good value, well made.

73,

AD5KO
KD5PNT Rating: 2011-11-20
not a good antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
had a 1480 and it did not work out of the package . took it back and as they did not have another 1480 it was replaced with a 1481 .
the first thing I did was to toss the mounting collars and got 3 ubolts from the farm store and put it up with them , has been up since 2003 with no problems until recently . the SWR on 2 metres has gone above 2:1 , 70 cm is good . I did have to take apart and reinstall the set screws that fell out of the package during the first assembly . while I had it apart I soldered all the crimped connections .
KE6LCE Rating: 2011-03-29
It works great! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
During a wind/rain storm my X50 was knocked-out by a tree branch. Low on funds, I ordered the 1480 at $46 shipped. This antenna hits repeaters that were unavailable before. If it survives rain and weather, I will be very happy.

I give it a 5 because of price/performance. The downside is the lost knowledge from building a homebrew 2/440... the other option.
W7PV Rating: 2011-01-24
Great antenna... no issues Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I happened to be checking out an antenna I just built, and put the Bird meter on the Tram, and much to my surprise the SWR was still under 1.5:1 all across 2M and 70cm. At first I couldn't even remember the name of the antenna.... had to look it up in my files. I live near Seattle.... plenty of rain, wind, and falling tree branches smacking it. However, this antenna has been up (at the peak of my roof about 35 feet off the ground) for two years with no issues..... don't even recall having to seal it with anything. Highly recommend.
W5WPD Rating: 2009-02-16
SWR Issues Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
We've experienced the same SWR issues as listed here on this antenna and the public safety VHF antenna. It must be tuned tightly to the TX frequency used to work well.
VE3GIH Rating: 2009-01-25
Inconsistant & Difficult Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've managed to get three local governments to buy these antennas, based on a local suppliers recommendation. For the past four antennas, we have had problems where the 2m SWR does not stay below 2:1 across the entire band. Since these problems could be related to installation, the supplier volunteered to open up two new packages and test them at his expense.

Our supplier is a P.Eng, instructor in telecom at a local community college and university, a ham, as well as selling these products. I trust him.

What he found was that one of the two brand new antennas showed a 4:1 SWR at 144 MHz. The SWR curves for the two new antennas weren't in any way related. Neither antenna had a 2:1 SWR across the 2m band. When we opened the antennas up to examine their construction, the supplier noted that;
1. These new antennas had much poorer construction than the ones he had inspected when he started selling the product line. Poor quality crimps had replaced soldering.
2. The construction between these two new antennas wasn't consistant.
The supplier concluded that the Tram 1480 product was being manufactured by a new supplier. The product he inspected several years ago, wasn't the same one he saw last week.

I have two more of these antennas installed on a government site, that are working well. The problem is not the design, but the inconsistancy of the manufacturing and quality control. The manufacturer has no explination for the problems, and insists that we are the only ones having any difficulty.

I suggest that EmComm sites stay well away from this product.

VE3GIH Gord Hewit
KE4DMO Rating: 2008-11-24
Works like a champ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It was easy to install and the SWRs on mine were about 1:2...very flat. So far, I'm very pleased!
K1WTX Rating: 2008-11-10
Great for the price Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this antenna in use about 30' above the ground for over a year now and really can't fault the performance. It has performed very well on 2m and uhf and withstood the 60+ mph winds that it has seen since the installation. My only real complaint is with the mounting sleeve which is near impossible to tighten down so that the antenna is perfectly vertical when installed. Mine always leans a few degrees, depending on the wind direction. As for all the whining here over the measured swrs. on this ant.....1.8:1 or 1.2:1, it won't matter much to the repeaters anyway! I work repeaters with this antenna that I couldn't even hear with a J-pole. It isn't as sturdy but at less than half the price of a similar Diamond or Comet, it's not a bad deal....Jerry-K1WTX