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Reviews For: ProAm Valor Micro Dipole

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : ProAm Valor Micro Dipole
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0034
KE4SKY Rating: 2002-05-31
Portable RACES HF Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Virginia RACES has a "fact sheet" on the hamstick dipole in Word format which we circulate as a training aid. I will send this to anyone, anywhere upon request. The fact sheet has more information than it is expedient to post here.

Suffice to say that the hamstick dipole is a compromise, but it is a good field expedient antenna for ARES and RACES operations. This is particularly true if you must set up in an open area with no trees, such as an EOC parking lot.

It is less effective than a half-wave dipole on 75 and 40 meters, but it is much more effective for short-path than any mobile whip because it is horizontally polarized and permits a high angle NVIS radiation pattern.

Contesters and DX'ers who are interested mainly in using 20 meters and up will find it even more effective.

73 de KE4SKY
Virginia RACES State Training Officer
VA2DV Rating: 2001-10-14
Great for limited space ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just installed and tried a Proam Dipole on the
advices of many hams here on Eham Elmer's.I run
a 80m version on a 10 foot pipe into a 3' tripod
from Radio Shack.This setup is on my balcony at about 30 feet of the ground.It's not a full size dipole but it works very well for a 14 foot dipole.Reports were goods in nets check-in and locals hams were surprised by the performance.I have tried several small antennas (including Isotron and Pro-am AB-5) and i can tell you that this one is really superior.It make a very effective portable system.
K8DXX Rating: 1999-10-23
Once you get it to resonate, its great! Time Owned: unknown months.
For quite some time, I have wanted a resonant 17 meter antenna. Not having conveniently spaced supports, I opted for a "micro dipole." What's that? Its a dipole made from ProAm Valor mobile whips joined in the center with a DAK mount (a bracket with insulated 3/8X24 studs mounted in opposing directions). The first thing one must do is get the two whips to resonate. In my case, that took quite a bit of sliding in and out and eventually several cuts with the hack saw. Also, one of the lower or wound sections was not properly hollowed out to accept the maximum 4 inch length of SS whip recommended. That took some drilling and scraping. After several hours of work on the ground (micro dipole attached to a step ladder) the SWR across 17 was 1.6:1. The next day, I ran RG8X up to the roof where I prepared a pigtail, tightened it to the back of the studs and sealed it in Coax-Seal. The next challenge was mounting. The bracket supplied was too small to fit around a standard Radio Shack TV mast. So, again I had to improvise, this time, successfully.

Down in the shack, SWR improved to 1.2:1. Bandwidth covers all of 17 meters. It sems to hear well. Unlike previous attempts on 17 using my tribander or Gap Voyager IV (both with a tuner), I made contact after contact. Since installation, it has rained hard and become quite windy. No problem. I like it!

Conclusion, if you want a "reasonably" efficient 17 meter antenna that can be economically supported from one light duty point, try a Micro Dipole. One could build these for any band from 160 - 6, although, I'd imagine that the bandwidth and efficiency would decrease with frequency. Why use Pro Am Valor whips? They are 8 feet long, rather than Hamsticks which are 7 feet. I "opined" that they might be slightly more efficient. I'd be curious what others discover about the Micro Dipole. By the way, materials are available from AES and RadioWorks (to name a few, I am sure).