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Reviews For: Hustler 6BTV Vertical

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Hustler 6BTV Vertical
Reviews: 160MSRP: 189.99
Description:
6btv
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.new-tronics.com/main/html/base_hf_6_band.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
33.71604.6
KRA1266 Rating: 2007-04-12
Recommend it Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Put one up for a friend. The assembly went easy and it has a small footprint for space limitation. The radials are the most work as you need at least 10 and each pair should be matched or you will be directional. I never needed a ladder and an 8 ft. steel pipe sticking out of the ground about 2 ft. was excellent to secure and stabilize the antenna. I saw it work all bands with 100 watts with excellent feedback. I would recommend this, although my knowledge is limited.
N4LQ Rating: 2007-04-05
Simple and effective Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my second BTV. My first was a 4btv back in the late 60's!
Assembly takes a matter of minutes. There are no coils, capacitors or dinky wires to worry with. The traps are simple sleeves with huge dia. wire inside. It could not be simpler!
This vertical performs as a quarter wave vertical, slightly shortened due to the trap inductance. Performance is almost totally dependent on your radial system. I used the DX-eng. radial plate and so far, 30 radials, pinned to the ground, each 35' long. Hustler's instruction manual is wrong about cutting radials for a ground mounted installation. Make them as long as possible. Cutting them to a certain length is a joke. Wire laying on the ground totally changes the resonance point.
Here's a suggestion:
Buy this antenna from DX Engineering. Call and talk with them about your plans or use Email. Ask for their suplimental instruction sheet which describes how to tune the traps. DXE is the only vendor that not only provides personalized support but also has the lowest price.
Don't fall for gimmic verticals. There are so many on the market with all kinds of goofy coils, gaps and false claims. Stick with something simple like the BTV design and you will have better results. Just remember, that RF has 3 choices once it reaches your antenna.
1. Radiate
2. Heat up the antenna.
3. Roast worms.
The low loss traps prevent heating up the antenna and your radials protect the worms. There's nothing left for the antenna to do but radiate! 73
N3JBH Rating: 2007-02-26
almost great Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
ok i may need to be seasoned a litile bit longer. but i say it worked great for working stations across the pond. but it really stinks for local ground wave. but then maybe it is just my location??? any ways i dont regrett buying it. i just need a good yagi i guess to use also
W9RIG Rating: 2007-02-11
Disappointed Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased this vertical about 4 years ago, after I purchased a property that has rendered me antenna challenged. I have this antenna ground mounted with no radials at this time. I have achieved good SWRs on all bands with some tuning and retuning. Now, I didn't expect this antenna to be a pile up buster when I bought it. I also didn't expect it to be this DEAF! I hear stateside OK, but DX? Forget it! Compared to a Butternut vertical I used to own, the Hustler is awful. I plan on putting up some sort of small yagi this spring, and saying goodbye to this dummy load. I guess I should have applied "you get what you pay for" to this inexpensive vertical. For a low price I got a poor performer with no 12 or 17 meters.
KH6ITY Rating: 2006-12-17
WONDERFUL! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My 6-BTV was delivered by UPS with the box all torn up. There was a 10 inch rip on one side and one end of the box was completly torn open. Plus, the box was crushed in two places.I expected to find parts, nut, and bolts missing. Upon openig the box I found a packing job that was nothing short of fantastic. Everything was so well packed and taped together that the antenna could have been shipped without the box. I bought the antenna to replace my 15 year old Butternut. I can't say I could be happier. The instructions were very clear. The quality of the tubing was much better than the Butternut. The antenna is a breeze to adjust for low swr. Everything fit just as it should. No problems in assenbly. It resonated perfectly on every band except 30 meters. I'm sure I just need to add a few radials for 30 and it will be ok also. Because I live in an area with deed restrictions, I have to keep a low profile with my antenna. So I mounted it in the same place as the Butternut, 18 inched from the side of my house in the back. Even with being so close to the house, the antenna loaded perfectly. There is one area where the Butternut was better and that is band width. The 6-BTV does not give as wide a band width as the Butternut. The Butternut has massive coils that give a much higher Q than my new antenna. The higher Q gives greater band width. However, I'm willing to trade off a bit of band width for an antenna that is much easier to assemble, tune, has super quality parts, and costs between $150.00 and $200.00 less. Both the Butternut and the Hustler are top antennas. But, after using both, I prefer the Hustler. Regards & 73's Larry McCartin kh6ity Brownsville, TX
RADIOGUYR2 Rating: 2006-12-08
Good Antenna but lacks a few old time features Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Just got a new 6BTV antenna. Had the other one for over a year and it worked as advertised. Some problems came from the traps and their new design with water and ice getting into the bottom and not draining out like the old ones did.

With the new one we figure we have the jump on the corrosion problem. We first sent it out to get all the slots (which look like they were cut with a hand tool) re-milled so they are now streight and uniform. (some of them were not cut at 90 degs to the other end either making the tube just a little less structural sound) We ended up buying some more tubing from texas towers and making up the sections the right way.

While we were at it we then had the bottom section cut down from the one(1) 72 inch piece to two (2) 36 inch pieces with a coupler to go inside. This was to accomidate the antenna being taken out in the field on airplanes when we travel to the DXExpiditon site. It also was due to intrest in re-using material that we had as extra pieces left over from the orginal antenna which let themselves to be cut and re-milled correctly.

We got rid of the burrs and sharp edges inside the tubes by having them re-milled and streightend out. (poor manufactureing no doubt in todays world its common-- especally on items made over seas)

As the last thing we did to them, was have the alu parts sent out to the local platers shop. Here we had then alodine the parts which gave them a gold look. It also gave them excellent corrosion protection through the coming years. We also dumped their so called stainless steel hose clamps which do rust, for the aircraft grade adel clamps that don't.

this is the second of this kind of antenna now. Why one might ask why two? Well actually 3 so that we can try to phase all of them to get a vertical gain. Having talked to the antenna experts (not the current newtronics) we have found that most are in agreement-- and after testing--it does work.

As to the feeds and mounts.
We have found that a squair stainless steel plate is fine but, a round one is more equal for the radial lengths. Thus, and the radials can then be all cut at one time the same length. It is also noted that Stainless Steel is not the best conductor of RF, by Ceibec, in a recent article.
It is heavy and also diffiuclt to work with.

We made up our own- drive it in the ground--attach the radials to it--mount out of alu which is easier and lighter to transport. (our plate uses AN-3 (10-32 aircraft grade cad plated hardware and/or brass nuts and bolts) Again lighter and works as well or better than the stainless (1/4 inch) hardware that come with the plate.


Using a pig tail with a PL-259/SO-239 and/or choke already made up out of PVC is the best. Richard Measure suggested a good choke that was easy to build which turned out to be the cheapest and can be done at home in little time without expending large sums of money on things that don't work well through all the bands.


For the DXpeditions the Choke and pig tail to the antenna is one piece. At the end of the choke you will find the cap. We drilled and installed our SO-239 into this end so that the Cable which is coming from the raido has the PL-259 that mates directly to the choke section. It also keeps the connector off the ground by a couple of inches resting with the choke assembly. Simple and effective, light and easy to fabercate with only hand tools.

From the antenna mount (as provided) we then run a piece of heavy cable (do not use strap material) to the radial plate below which has all the radials attached for the different bands lengths

In the field everything is contained in one box that is about the size of a gutar/dual rifle gun case. (we had the shop make ours up out of FiberGlass)

At home we were asked why we didn't get the current stainless steel fold over mount from one of the leading dealers making the antenna easy to adjust. Anyone who has used one of these antennas for a while can answer that question almsot as quick as it was asked. Once adjusted its set. However, to adjust it is a simple task if you keep the mounting at the same location. Here we use a piece of electrical tape --or as I do-- use another hose clamp under the seat of the bottom tube section of the antenna will give you a constant and repetive referance point. Lifting the antenna off to adjust it then becomes a simple inexpensive matter.

As to the home radial plate. Ours is a 10 inch piece of 1/4 alu plate, anodized, with equal radials lengths. The plate has a 1.5 inch hole in the center and radial holes drilled at the outside for the 10-32/AN3 hardware. This plate then goes around the mounting pipe with a heavy grounding cable (not strap) coming from the antenna mount/pigtail connection. It is one piece that goes from it to the antenna mount to the radial plate. Again cheap, easy to fabercate and works good. (One could fabricate up a SO-239 angle bracket and attach it to the plate if no choke is used. I have found that using the choke in line is much better and restricts the RF back feeding.

Connection to the feed coax on mine then comes from the handmade choke (that has the connector inside the coil area) at the end. Thus, from the choke coil to the antenna is one piece of coax that is mounted directly to the antennas connections as the manufacture shows in their drawings.


For the price it is the best antenna to use in the field. However, don't go compairing it to a larger one such as the hy-gain 18ht. That is apples and oranges. We have found that the 5/6 BTV's will hold their own however and give the larger antennas a run for the money they cost.

73's
W7MJM Rating: 2006-10-29
Solid performance Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Having recently moved from a home with big trees to one without, I needed an alternative to my wire antenna farm. With fond memories of a 5BTV I used in the early 80's, I purchased a new 6BTV.

I modified the stock antenna to include 17 and 12 meters (a simple, cheap mod which you can easily find via Google) and installed the vertical on a ten foot steel conduit pipe in the back yard.

I left off the 75/80 meter resonator because I wasn't too interested in a narrow slice of that band. Also, I'm thinking of putting up a low inverted vee for 75, since I would prefer a high angle radiator for local/regional coverage on that band.

I installed 2 elevated radials per band and used the SWR analyzer function on my IC-703 to guide me in bringing the system to reasonable resonance on 10,12,15,17,20,30 and 40 meters.

I tuned the system by trimming the radials since that's easier than lowering the vertical and adjusting the tubing lengths.

Since I accomplished all this the weekend of an SSB DX contest, I had the opportunity to see if I could bust some pileups. Running 150 watts on 15 I cut through on my first call to a YV.

Subsequent contacts on 20 with JAs, ZLs, an HC and a maritime mobile near Easter Island (sometimes while running 150 watts, sometimes 500) confirmed for me that the antenna works. Of course, it being a contest, all signal reports were 59 ;-) but the fact that I could get through pileups, often on the first or second call, brought a smile to my face.

It seems to get out well on 40 as well (working JAs with 150 watts CW). I look forward to seeing what the the antenna will do on 30,17,12 and 10, but haven't had a chance to give it a workout on those bands yet.

I use a W2DU-style 1:1 current balun at the antenna and a coiled coax choke balun just outside the shack. There's no RF inside the shack and no TVI or telephone interference, so far as I've been able to determine.

All in all, I'd rate the 6BTV a solid performer that's easy to install and like. If you're looking for a simple, economical antenna solution, don't want to invest in a tower and beams, and don't have big trees to hang wire, I'd recommend this classic trap vertical without hesitation.
N5UV Rating: 2006-07-17
Still a great ant... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this antenna now for almost a year, and it's still the best commercial vertical antenna I've ever used or owned. Now worked about 30 new countries on 40m and 80m that I wouldn't have without a decent vertical ant. that can handle some power.

The only issue I have run into so far was on 80m...I tried tuning up in the 3.550 mhz range, when the ant. was tuned for 3.900, just to see how it would do. When I ran 800 watts, the amp. didn't like the mismatch and started to arc. So the moral of the story is: if it sez it only has about 50 hz. bandwidth, BELIEVE IT...I tried to cheat by "tuning" out the SWR, but my amp reminded me why I shouldn't do that. Again, that's user error, not the antenna's fault.

I can see that there are a lot of negative reviews of the ant. of late. Regarding customer service: I had to call Newtronics for a replacement plastic cap to cover one of the traps, which I broke when I dropped the trap on concrete during construction. They shipped out a couple of new ones (gave me one extra without me asking) for no charge. The complaints about expensive replacement parts I can sort of understand...antenna mfrs. almost prefer that you just buy a new ant., especially when they are this cheap. But I'm surprised about the comment about the clamps for the different traps...there's nothing special about the clamps, they're your basic hose clamps you can buy for 45 cents at Home Depot (?). If anything, one should thank Newtronics for making replacement parts easier to procure.

Same is true about the complaints surrounding the lack of a SO-239 socket...buy using lugs, they actually make antenna setup EASIER, because you don't have to solder a connector at the other end of your feed to the coax. If you are like me and you have to feed a line out of the house thru a narrow weep-hole in the bricks, I pretty much HAVE to cut a connector off of my feedline to pass it thru...this ant. saves me the trouble of resoldering a connect back on. I guess this is a relative issue, but I don't think it's one that Newtronics should be penalized for just because they DON'T have an SO-239 socket.

Also, the recent mention about poor response from using the antenna in an elevated position, then revealing that the ant. was bought from a SK...well duh, any piece of equipment lying around at someone's shack isn't going to work too well if it hasn't been used for some time...blaming Newtronics for that is like blaming the Ronald MacDonald clown for getting cold fries and a sh*tty cheeseburger.

For the price you pay, this is still the best multi-band vertical you can get. As I've told others, for the price of 1 Butternut HF6V, you can get 2 BTV ants. and PHASE them on 80m or 40m to get some real gain...or have a back-up ant. to use for spare parts, whatever works for you.

KA3DRO Rating: 2006-03-22
Does the Job ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
OK.... It was just received a week ago......but bought because of past experience with a 4 BTV when i lived in Md. Now, i live in a deed restricted community that has allowed me a small beam.....but we still have that sandy Florida soil to contend with! Ground conditions change hourly as well as daily........ but it only took an hour to assemble the unit per instructions. I ran 100 ft of RG-8 out to it with a set of coiled coax ----5-6 turns------at the antenna end and just before entering the house about 8' from the coax switch. It was installed on a 1 3/4" pipe that was driven 2.5' deep and the base is about 4" above ground.
The unit worked Ok and i noted with the MFJ 259B that it was a bit above the desired freq at 10, 15,20,30 meters and below what was desired at 40 & 80. It appears also that the antenna is picking up a noise that i believe is from the Computor system that is running on RoadRunner and is a wireless setup within the house....but 30 ft away. Hopefully i will be able to filter this out after tuning the unit and installing the radials. I expect to install 4 radials for each band using 14 G insulated starnded wire set into the ground surface with wood pegs. I am using gardwood oak cut into 6-8" lengths with a 5/32 hole drilled in the top to run the wire thru and then drive the wire into the Florida St. Augustine grass to keep it under mower height till the rhizoms grow over it and secure it to the ground.
I also came across a tuner that will arrive soon and be placed in line for variations and to maintain the best possible resonance.
I must admit that i was pleased with the quality of the materials and the construction and expect that when my obligation to "tune" it properly is completed, i will be bale to work whatever i can hear. With no additional work, no tuning, I have already worked South America and Europe ( belgium) on 30 meters as well as cross continent 5x9 SSB reports on 20.
This 6BTV was selected because I needed 1 "quiet" unit to work 80, 40, and 30 meters without a lot of wire overhead due to the noted deed restrictions.... I expect that once tuned, i will bury the feedline about 4" deep and then paint camo the shaft of the vertical to look more like the tall thin pine trees it is almost surrounded by behind the house. This should get rid of the Computor "hum" as well....... If not, perhaps adding some inductance at the base will drop it to where it is not a factor.
MI3LVZ Rating: 2006-03-13
STICK IT IN THE GROUND MAN Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Hi all, i have had a 6-btv for almost a year. I did try to mount it on a 20ft pole, but to get it to resonate, the radial system would have been massive (it ended up looking like Skylab), so on ground mounting it, within 3/4 of an hour i had the antenna tuned on all bands with good to exellent swr readings and without a radial system, although i do have a Sirio 827 and when tuned with an ATU it will out perform the Hustler on all bands from 17 to 10!!!.
All in all the hustler is a good virtical, however i did put my own SO239 socket on it, (would someone please tell Hustler we are now in the 21st cent!!!!). Plus the top plastic insulator on the mounting bracket seems a bit fragile as mine has started to crack (11 months old!!). I live in Northern Ireland where men are men and sheep are nervous, and getting into the states on the hustler is not a problem, LA not a problem and East Russia the same so for a virtical it seems to work for me.