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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
KE5MID Rating: 2008-10-03
Good Results Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been pleased with my 1480 for well over a year now. I just rode out Hurricane Ike, our winds here only got up to 70 mph which was enough. I have it mounted on pole which puts the tip right at 50ft. The antenna was bending but never broke. I checked everything out a few days later and it's still working good. For the price and results, I could not have done any better......
AD5TD Rating: 2008-09-18
Can't fault it! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had one of these up at our EOC for over 4 years now, not one problem. I have a 1481 at home that I just replaced because of a bad coax (couldn't get the antenna base apart yet so I replaced the whole antenna, will fix later) I never had a problem and it went through some 60+ MPH winds.

As for anyone that says "It worse than my mobile", you just did something wrong. I have mine on a 55' tower and I can work repeaters a hundred + miles away on a regular basis.

It's no commercial "big stick" but for the money (less than $90.00) you just can't beat it!
N3EAY Rating: 2008-09-18
Has weathered many storms and keeps right on performing Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This antenna is abused and keeps right on performing! It serves as both my VHF antenna and my UHF repeater antenna similtaniously without any problem! Tough, you ask? Well here in coastal south east Georgia normal wind is 15+ MPH, plus monthly there are 2-5 days of "lake winds" (20-35 MPH with 50 MPH gusts) and annually 1 - 2 tropical storms; this antenna has been up at 31 feet to the base for three years now without a flaw. I would highly recommend this antenna or its twin (packaged under the Workman brand) to anyone!
KF4LNE Rating: 2008-07-17
Works great for me Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this antenna in late 2005 and have used it for everything. So far the only problem I have found is the radials do not easily straiten out when bent and I had to have new radials cut and threaded. This antenna was installed on top of a 30 ft mast clamped to the side of my house. Due to a clamp failure during a wind storm the antenna was slapped to the ground really hard, so hard to mast now has a permanent curvature. The antenna had minor damage to the radial that was driven nearly 8 inches into the ground in the fall. Due to having to reinstall the antenna by myself it was dropped at least twice resulting in a permanent bend to the radial. To my knowledge the antenna has never leaked and if it has it didn't have any negative effect on its performance. After a year of having this antenna installed on a pole I took it down to move and have since used it for portable use. It has been abused, dropped, stepped on, stuffed into a car, fed with 500 watts of HF when someone connected the wrong cable, been rained on and was most recently subjected to Field Day with no noticeable damage. I highly recommend this antenna but be sure you aren't buying "new old stock". Older variations of this antenna were made poorly. Also, TRAM does make a commercial band version of the same antenna and they have been wrongly packaged as Amateur band antennas. If your antenna improves in SWR as you go higher in frequency you may have been mistakenly sold a commercial band antenna.
KG4NLW Rating: 2008-06-13
does a good job Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought it at the local Ham shop on the recommendation of the store owner to replace a ringo that was destroyed in hurrican wilma on august 2005 and it sits on top of a 20ft. mast. I have had lots of favorable comments in our tri-county area. I am satisfied with it. Swr measured well within stated 1.5:1. I recommend it.
Ted KG4NLW
N5XTR Rating: 2008-03-24
Excellent!!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This has been the best purchase of ham gear for me. Swr on both bands is lower than 1.3:1. I have this one on a 30' telescopic pole and it provides excellent coverage. Purchased for 49.95 in Nov. 2005. Has been used at 3 QTH's since then and no problems. It has 50' of RG-8/U coax and no problems except that time I put Xmas lights on it...the 1480 didn't like that HIHI.
K5WGR Rating: 2008-01-16
I should have known Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I put it up (the base is at 30 feet) and was so disappointed. I could not hit the same number of repeaters that I can from my mobile parked in the carport. The reception was poor as well. Put the SWR meter on it and it was running about 2:1 on both bands. I noticed that it was better on the top ends and hooked up some commercial gear. SWRs were nearly flat at 460 mHz and 155 mHz. So, I'm left to wonder if they are packaging some commercial antennas for amateur use
I should have read the reviews, but I went for cheap. Well, I should have known - you get what you pay for. I have just ordered a Diamond X-200A (which I should have done in the first place).
KG4SIX Rating: 2006-12-29
wish I had purchased a diamond Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned this antenna for 2 1/2 years, and have always been dissapointed with the performance. SWR issues: 2 meter 2.2>1 thru 1.7>1
440 2.6>1 thru 1.5>1. I recently replaced it with a diamond x-50 and cannot believe the difference. SWR is no issue at all and I can hit repeaters with no trouble at all now, and I'm not always choosing what portion of the band that I can operate on due to high SWR. Maybe I just got a lemon?
WV4R Rating: 2006-12-10
Works Great but does Not do Lightning! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Tram Model: 1480 - Product Review -
10 December 2006

Works Great but does Not do Lightning!

Years ago, when Tram started selling VHF/UHF products I purchased my first Tram Model 1480 topping the Main Tower @ 78’. The instructions were in Japanese. The antenna was made for the Japanese market & required adjustment for U.S. bands. HOWEVER it worked great for seven years until a thunderstorm blew the top half off.

Yesterday I installed a New production run Tram Model 1480 now with English instructions and No Tune design for the U.S. bands.

I noticed, on the ole 1999 model, the fiberglass was oxidizing and the surface was deteriorating… so when I installed the 2006 model I waxed the surface and then wrapped the entire antenna with 3-M vinyl tape… the good stuff that I use on all my outside connections not covered with Coax-Seal in hopes it might last as long as the old one.

Before raising the Main Tower, I put the trusty ole MFJ-259B on it and measured 1.1 SWR @ 146.62mhz and less than 1.8 SWR across the entire 2m band. Since the MFJ does not do UHF I kept my fingers crossed.

Once the Main Tower was UP and LOCKED, I retreated to the shack for gud ole On-Air testing @ 78’. Using a similar antenna @ 36’ for A/B comparison, local VHF reports were uniformly 20DB better… totally satisfying. One simplex VHF station 35 miles West reported 20DB difference on VHF and a whopping 4 S-units on UHF simplex. A new VHF repeater about 75 miles North was also approximately 20DB better.

This morning, I tuned to a UHF Dallas Texas Repeater around 90 miles Southwest. There was tropospheric ducting to consider, however the repeater was 5/9+20DB which is over 10DB better than I can ever recall. Local reports on UHF simplex 25 miles Northeast yielded a similar 20DB improvement on the A/B test… the difference between hearin’ ‘em and not hearin’ ‘em, eh?

Although the mounting brackets are a bit flimsy looking and not stainless, the radials appear to be solid stainless. Although the fiberglass tubing encasing it’s innards is very thin-wall and the base and center fittings appear to be some kinda base metal casting, it is light but adequate for the money.

This is my Third TRAM product and the Other two are still perculating having evaded the thunderstorms… for now. I am waffling on this Product Review Rating because, for the money there is nothing out there giving as much Bang for the Buck… yet it does leave me with a perception of ‘flimsyness’ compared to the much more expensive ones.

Performance, Pricing, Longevity Earn the new TRAM Model 1480 Dual-Bander the WV4R FOUR Star rating. 73 es God bless, murf/wv4r.
N1RIK Rating: 2006-07-25
Not pricey and works good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this antenna for my repeater a little while ago new off of ebay for 59.95 - I noticed the mixed feedbacks, but I thought it was worth the try. I finally got my 440 repeater up. It works great. In fact while testing it out on the local repeaters, I was getting 2m repeaters over 100 miles from my location from Wilmington to west of Charlotte, NC. I did take notes from fellow 1480 owners, and put silicon sealing on the antenna ( not trusting theirs) and using silicon tape and wrapping the center joint to seal out water and give better riggidity. From a "not-so-high" location, I can mobile the repeater up US-1 for over 20 miles into Sanford to the north from Southern Pines, NC. I would of gone for the taller & higher gain 1481 model, however seeing I was top mounting my antenna to a 5 ft mast on the house (30 ft above ground level), I wanted to cut down on the sway factor. I don't have too much experience with many UHF base antennas, but for the cost and what I got, and am getting out of it, I'm happy. If your ever in the Southern Pines area in North Carolina, feel free to call on the repeater and say hi. Freq: 442.400 + offset, PL tone of 179.9 hz ~ 73s ~ Bill, n1rik