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Reviews For: Butternut HF2V

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Butternut HF2V
Reviews: 53MSRP: 374.95 USD
Description:
Two Band Vertical Antenna for 80 and 40 meters
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.dxengineering.com/parts/but-hf2v
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15534.4
VE6LB Rating: 2006-04-02
Exceeds Expectations Time Owned: more than 12 months.

I've used the HF-2v, especially on 160 and 80 for several year. It consistantly exceeds my expectations!
K1YPB Rating: 2006-02-09
A very good antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had very good fortune with my HF2V. Of course... it needs radials - it won't operate properly without such. Have about 60 some odd 14 gage solid copper radials made from Romex of various lengths to fit the location (an urban lot) and I've been able to work Brazil from Massachusetts on 75 ssb. It takes some "tweaking" of the little coil on the bottom to get 75 in, but a little patience will render a match where you want it. A tuner will handle any slight miss match from there off frequency. I found construction to be simple, and quality of materials was acceptable. Of course it needs to be guyed - no problem in any of the winds or storms we have had here. I would have given it a "5" if the mounting design(base) was better, say similar to Cushcraft.
NB2A Rating: 2006-01-28
junk Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I cannot believe the other reviews on this antenna if you can call it that for the price! Most of the mounting holes did not line up as stated by someone else. In fact one screw near the top snapped on me because of that. One section was not even labeled luckily it was the only ONE that was not!I have put many antennas together this one took me many hours.My 5 element tri-band yagi went to together quicker! It has poor instructions actually. You end up jumping from one completely different part of the antenna to another! if it was not for the parts breakdown on the rear page showing a complete diagram I would have not been able to finish it.The SWR is terrible across both 40 and 80 and in fact with or without radials it stinks!
I tend to think also with the way the stress is right on the fiberglass insulator near the coils the first strong wind will take this right down! Even with some type of guys!The most troubling part was that section and the clamp not being shown as to how to exactly where to mount the capacitor for tuning! The picture on the diagram was not close enough to see detail!
I think ultimately I would have been just better off putting up an inverted V or loop much cheaper and less time consuming and less parts. Oh yeah I have lots of extra hardware left wonder where it goes?LOL
The only reason why I gave this a 1 is to have some pity on the makers!
VE3IOS Rating: 2006-01-25
Excellent Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
What a great antenna, performs excellent. Very well made with the bottom two sections double walled for strength. Good instructions and very easy to tune to 1:1 SWR. I have mine guyed and run 20 quarter wave radials for 75 meters. This is a great DX antenna if you want something that will get the job done in a small space and at a good price. I run 700 watts into mine and can work anyone I can hear. And I can hear plenty on this vertical.
ZL4JB Rating: 2005-10-18
Very Surprised with the Results Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got a used HF2V from my father. He had no luck with it. I hooked it up and after a little tuning got it up and running. It covers the entire 40m band and about 50kHZ of the 80m band. I am extrememly surprised at the results on 40m! I havne't really used it too much on 80m yet. I never know there was so much DX out there, and I had no problem working it either with 100w. I worked a contest soon after erecting the antenna and worked had my own pileup into Europe (from New Zealand). I can't say enough about this antenna. I reckon the antenna is 10-15 years old, and I am sure it has many more years left in it. I attached it to a post about 5' above the ground and I think that helps steady it. I wouldn't want to have it up without any support. I think it also is not too obtrusive, for people that worry about the neighbours. It does blend into the sky quite nicely after it is up for a day or so. Excellent antenna, I am very, very happy with it.
KO1H Rating: 2005-05-09
Great 40m Antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Well Im real pleased, Ground mounted over lots of 1/8-1/4 wave radials and it rocks. Broad banded and plays well. Cant wait til the fall when I get the second one secured and get them phased.

de John ko1h/qrp
NU4B Rating: 2005-02-10
Excellent Anrenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned a HF2V for 20 years and it has been a great antenna. Used mine with the 30M kit, ground mounted with radials. Easy to tune, Never had a problem.
W0VX Rating: 2004-09-12
Excellent Low Band DX Antenna Solution Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I am very pleased with the performance of this low profile antenna. My HF2V is ground mounted with 30 each 33 foot long radials. I also have the 30MRK 30 meter kit and the TBR-160-S 160 meter kit. DX performance on 80, 40, and 30 has been consistently better by 1 to 2 S-Units than my tower mounted 80/40 and 30 meter inverted V antennas. The 160 meter performance is what you would expect from a 32 foot vertical but I am able to get in the 160 meter contests with a respectable signal.

From a hardware standpoint, the aluminum tubing, coils, and door knob capacitors are top quality. Assembly was very quick and easy. All the parts were properly machined and de-burred. Unlike some commercial antennas I have had in the past, all the predrilled holes lined up perfectly.

Tuning to minimum VSWR was easily done in less than 15 minutes by simply following the instructions. Using an antenna analyzer at the base of the antenna significantly speeds the tune up process but it can also be done using a transmitter and standard SWR meter.

VSWR on 30 and 40 is well below 2:1 across the entire band. The 80 meter 3:1 bandwidth is about 50 KHz. Remote switching of a coil tap using remotely controlled relays moves the 50 KHz bandwidth form the CW to the SSB portion of the band.

Bandwidth on 160 is small but bandwidth and radiation resistance can be significantly improved with top loading. I temporarily install 4 each 25 foot long top hat wires for the 160 contests. As on 80, the resonant point can also be moved around the band using relay controlled selection of various coil taps. It isn’t a perfect antenna on 160 but it is an excellent choice for a city lot. It does work significantly better than brute force tuning my 80/40 inverted V to 160.

An unadvertised feature of the antenna is that it is low profile and reasonably neighborhood friendly. Mine is installed in the middle of my back yard and it is hardly noticeable from the front of the house. With a bit of dark green paint and it would completely blend into the trees and be very difficult to see. Like the QST and CQ ads say, “Every ham needs at least one!”
OH1LA Rating: 2004-08-14
1 Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Hello!
I started with HF2V since 1990. Mni dx is logbook on 40/80m. This moment I have only the one vertical. I am QRV on 80,40,30,20,17,15,12 and 10 meters using HF2V (orginal coils) with Tokyo Hy-Power antenna coupler. Try it also other bands.I think best results on 17m. I have about 200 countries (17m) with 100W.
Pse give your info to e-mail: pekkalahdensalo@hotmail.com
73 Pekka, OH1LA
N0SP Rating: 2003-10-19
Solid performer, lasts forever. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased my HF2V second-hand FIFTEEN years ago. It's the best money I've ever spent on an antenna. It was up at one Florida QTH for 2 years enduring frequent rain storms and one hurricane near miss. (Andrew) The other Florida QTH had the antenna mounted out on a pier over salt water. It was there 2 years with no corrosion or ill effects from the salt spray. IF, and ONLY if, you properly install this antenna it will perform wonderfully. The first Florida location it was installed over sandy soil with 35 radials about 30 feet long laying on top of the ground. They were made of #18 enameled copper wire. I later added the top hat kit and 160 meter coil which resulted in tremendous signal reports on 160 and 80 meters. The over-water mounting did not use the top hat, but it's salt water ground caused my 700 watt signal to blow away the big east coasters with their 4-tower arrays. My signals in the middle east and Europe were consitantly 10db stronger. Of course the salt water ground is largely responsible for that, but the low-loss design of the Butternut coils has much to do with it also. No lossy traps as in other designs. The most recent installation in Colorado is rooftop with 50 radials covering the roof. It's been there for 3 years and again, with VERY good performance in cross-country and JA paths on 40 and 80. Two years ago it endured a 30 hour ice storm that loaded up up so badly that the antenna actually bent over 90 degrees! I could not access the icy roof to fix anything and thought my trusty HF2V would never recover. The ice melted and the antenna bounced right back up to the vertical position without a hint of stress. I couldn't ask for more.
If there is a weak spot in the antenna I would place it on the doorknob capacitors. They always handled the power up to the legal limit with no problems, but if you miss-handle (drop them) they will crack and fail. They're fairly expensive to replace. That has happened to me twice.
The absolute key to performance with this antenna is A GOOD GROUND! Radials are necessary for good performance. After lots of experimenting I've concluded that the best solution is as many radials as you can reasonably put under the antenna. They don't have to be any longer than the antenna is tall, about 30 feet. Longer is better, but the greatest advantage occurs at around 30 feet in length. The return diminishes pretty quickly if you go longer. They have to be much longer for any percievable improvement. The top hat was a huge enhancement on 160 meters but it precludes using the antenna on 40. (too long electrically)
Every few years I dis-assemble the joints, clean them, apply a very thin coating of conductive grease, and re-install. Heavy duty cycle at the 1500 watt level will cause the doorknob caps to get pretty hot... hot enough to discolor them. The never failed however. At one point I had a vacuum variable mounted in their place for added efficiency. If you have a place to mount it as I described you will not be disappointed in it. The factory says you can get by with an eleveated (rooftop) mount using 3 or 4 long (resonant) radials, but 65 foot radials can be a problem in most installations. You'll do as well or better with lots of shorter ones. It's a bargain even at full retail price. Unless the antenna has been "cheapened" in the last 15 years I highly recomend it.
73,
Dennis
NØSP