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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
EI5JS Rating: 2016-01-20
Update - 6 months Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
When tuned against a decent ground this antenna matches better than 1.5:1 on all bands. Properly tuned against a decent ground it performs as well as any other piece of air-trapped aluminium!!

Performance: On 80M it is narrow, VERY narrow but it gets out. I work around Europe with ease on 3.582 MHz data, but the 1.5:1 SWR bandwidth is no more than 10kHz.

On 40M it is a revelation. I regularly break pile-ups with my first call and 100W. I never expected that. This evening I broke the mother of all pile-ups when I worked 4X6TT from here in EI. Kp is 5 this evening and noise level is high. It sounded like the whole world was calling him and he called me in after my first try and he gave me 59++ and "fantastic signal". This antenna is a keeper if only for 40M.

30M performance is just average. 20M is very good indeed, lovely working it late into the night this summer. On 15M it does not get out at all. On 10M though it is surprisingly good.

This winter has been terribly windy so far. Already we have had 5 storms pass over. The antenna is still standing and still dead straight, ..unguyed.

I have 32 x 25ft buried ground radials. That's what's doing all the hard work on 40M I guess, but without the 6-BTV, the ground would do nothing. The best advice I can give is to install a decent ground radial system and take time to tune the antenna carefully on each band. The results are worth every minute spent in setting this antenna up..
KK2DOG Rating: 2015-06-05
7-Year Update Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After seven years of use, I must say that this antenna is nothing short of fantastic!

I have it ground-mounted with sixteen 32' radials and I use it primarily for 10-40 meters with the optional 17-meter kit and an Ameritron AL-80B amplifier. Usually, all it takes is one or two calls even in a pile-up and I'm heard.

I've recently been using it for JT-9 and JT-65 with excellent results as well. With only 25 watts, I'm GLOBAL!

Absolutely no issues in seven years.
KE7MU Rating: 2015-06-05
Not Great, not even good Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had this up almost a year, and have used it very little. Maybe I am spoiled, my other antennas are an inverted Vee at 30 feet apex and an 80 meter full wave loop also at 30 feet. The loop is 3 or more S units better than this vert. I must say the 6BTV is a compromise antenna pretty much useless comparatively. I was hoping for a low angle radiation, but all bands and almost every time I get on the air, the other two antennas outperform the Vert. I am not sure now what to do with it. Perhaps if I only use it on my Motorhome ( parked of course ) it would perform better than a screwdriver. Funny thing is the radials are all tuned and SWR less than 3:1 on all bands.
WB0BBC Rating: 2015-04-08
Works well! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I assembled a new Hustler 6BTV and used the DX Engineering tilt base and radial plate. Installation using the DX Engineering instructions was clear and performed over 2 days.

The radial plate made radial installation easy. I purchased additional ground staples to hold the 14 gauge radial wire into the hard, rocky Florida soil.

After some minimal tuning adjustments, the antenna hears and radiates quite well. I've been working worldwide on 80 through 10 meters using a 100 watt transceiver. It performs MUCH better than my previous 53 ft. end fed Zepp.

When storms threaten it's easy to tilt the antenna down. I expect this antenna to give me many years of good service.

Next I want to add the 17 meter kit and additional 32 ft. radials.
N6PAT Rating: 2015-04-08
Who needs a beam? Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I got my ticket 2007-04-11 but didn't get on the air until 2012-09-04 due to business and family obligations so I've been using the 6BTV for about 2 1/2 years now.

This antenna is absolutely incredible! Built solid, it handles high winds without any problems.I have it ground mounted with about 50 radials and guyed with 4 nylon cords. Included is the tilt base , 12 and 17 meter add on kits and the 80 meter heavy duty resonator.

I never run more than 400 watts but the results are amazing!

So far 244 countries, DXCC on 7 bands, WAS with just 5 watts, many QSO's with DXpeditions that other ops running max power into huge beams couldn't get.

I've made contacts all over the world with this antenna but the icing on the cake was when I broke thru the mega pileups for Navassa Island on 6 different bands (10,15,17,20,40,80) while running only 200 to 400 watts! Check the K1N log on Clublog if you don't believe me. I also snagged QSO's on several different bands for the TI9/3Z9DX Cocos Island DXpedition.

Some interesting QSO's with this antenna include

K1N Navassa Island 6 bands - #1 most wanted phone in Clublog at the time of my QSO's
TI9/3Z9DX Cocos Island 3 bands
HV0A Vatican City 4 bands
(RI1ANU, RI1ANC, KC4AAA) Antarctica 4 bands
XR0YY Easter Island 5 bands
TX5K Clipperton Island 5 bands

And many, many more

I just don't understand why anyone would go thru the expense, time and work to put up a huge beam when they can get an antenna like this for a fraction of the cost. Another benefit is that this antenna is so small it's not even visible from the front of my house and can be taken down in minutes. I don't have to worry about offending the neighbors with a big ugly hunk of metal high in the sky.

So if you're considering putting up an expensive tower and beam I strongly encourage you to check out this antenna first. No need to dig up your yard, pour concrete and have a dozen guys help you. I put this together in a couple of hours and installed in by myself without any problems at all. I doubt I'll ever put up a beam. I'm having way to much fun with this little vertical!! I get a real charge knowing I can get contacts that ops with super expensive setups can't get.






WB4TJH Rating: 2014-12-11
Very good performer if you put a good radial system under it. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my first 4BTV about 40 years ago and installed it on the roof of my house with two tuned radials per band. It was a superb antenna. About 6 years ago, I acquired another. This one I have ground mounted, with at least 50 radials under the grass, for a total of 1000 feet of wire. I also have two chain link fences and a copper underground water line hooked into the ground system. I do have the 80 meter resonator, and it works so-so, about 10 to 15db less than a dipole. I also added a 17 meter and 30 meter full length 1/4 wave wires alongside the vertical for those bands. The antenna will rate about a 4.6 out of five and I have made a lot of dx contacts with it. No doubt, based on my previous experience, it would work even better elevated off the ground with tuned radials, well above the ground clutter. But as a ground mounted system, provided you install a suitable number of radials, it will work well. My radials are under the grass and are NOT tuned, since on or under the ground radials can not be actually tuned, because of the detuning effect f the ground. They need to be at least as long as the antenna is tall. If you elevate the base of the antenna off the gound, then you will be forced to tune the length of the radials. I can switch back and forth between this antenna and a 135 foot balanced feedline fed dipole at 45 feet, and sometimes the wire is stronger, depending on the band and distance. The 80/75 meter resonator works, but is generally a very poor radiator, being a good 15db less than the full sized dipole on 75 meters. The antenna is easy to tune and install and is very rugged. It is a time proven system.
N4JLR Rating: 2014-12-10
Great performance for a ground mounted 6 band vertical Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought this antenna about 8 months ago from DX-engineering as well as the Radial mounting kit and tilt over mount. This antenna is resonant, mid band (for my General Operating Class), on all the 6 Bands it covers. It tunes without a tuner on 10,20,40, and 3900 Mhz of 80Meters. I can also use my Dentron to easily bring in 15 meters and cover most of the 80 meter band. Great performance for a vertical but found it does work best ground mounted with 40 radials. I used 4 radials each cut to 10,20,40,& 80 meters, with the rest of the radials cut to the 20 meter band length (about 62.4 ft) Being in an HOV antenna restricted area, this antenna is a godsend. Being also in a Hurricane area, I can bring it down via the tilt mount in about 2 minutes. It also helps greatly in tuning the traps for resonance. No climbing necessary. Can work anyone I can hear. and I can hear very weak signals due to the DSP technology of my Transceiver. Constantly get 59+ great audio signal reports. What more can you ask for. Very pleased with the price and the performance.
KE5WIQ Rating: 2014-11-01
Great 1st Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I started out with the 6BTV, later adding 17M then 160M. Bandwidth is limited for 80M, and even more so for my implementation of 160M, but that is just not a problem when tuning is well placed for desired operation. When I started in the hobby I set out to learn CW so I tuned for the lower end of the bands. Now I do mainly CW and data. Occasionally I get on SSB - when I do I switch out the whips for 80M and 160M.

This antenna won't work miracles, but it is a very good jack of all trades and therefore a very good choice for 1st antenna. Be sure to lay a good radial field. I got mine from DX Engineering and got their tilt base and radial plate with it. See my QRZ page to see how 160M was implemented. I recommend this antenna. You won't do as well as a beam or high dipoles, but short of that this plays well indeed.
VK6SMK Rating: 2014-08-12
Great Results Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I got this antenna and all required hardware from DX Engineering May 2013. Having now used it all for a while I thought it good to share the results.
First of all the service from DXE was brilliant, from design and parts required through to the info one receives with the antenna. I would not hesitate to pay the extra freight to Oz and use these guys again.
The antenna only has 20 radials but cut to 1/4 wavelength. It is only off 3 sides of the antenna due to my location,(See my QRZ page if you want to see what I mean). The ability to put it up and down using the DXE tilt over plate keeps the neighbours happy.
The performance is superb, I was using 100W for a while and worked around 70 countries but once using 400W it has helped a fair bit. Over 100 countries in 10 months.
I get good signal reports back from the USA and on one occasion was told I was the loudest signal on 20M.
The build quality of the antenna is great as are the stainless steel plates and fixings from DXE. The sea air 500M away has not corroded it one bit. I cant say the same for some outdoor lights put up at the same time.
I did put a wooden rod inside the bottom section as read online, to prevent extra stress on the antenna in high wind. Its probably not needed as it gets tilted regularly but then again maybe it does to provide extra strength when tilting? You choose but I recommend it either way.
Overall I am extremely pleased with this whole setup right down to the PL259's a complete service and a great result. Hope to work you on the air sometime, thanks for reading my ramblings.
Steve VK6SMK
KE8CQ Rating: 2013-11-18
Happy with the 6BTV Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I installed the Hustler 6-BTV and ground mounted it using the DX Engineering radial plate and tilt base. Following the directions, I did have to make small trap adjustments to get it tuned where I wanted it to tune. The best advice is to determine the best location you can and install lots of radials. I used the SS plate and went to home depot and found that you really need two rolls of 500 ft. black #12/14 stranded copper wire with a PVC coating. I have about 60 radials varying in length from 16 to 48 feet as anything longer put me into the next property owner's space. I installed my radials in December 2012 just before the first snowfall and used the DX engineering wire staples (300) of them or you can use electric fence wire and cut your own stables cheaper. Once the spring hit, the grass completely covered the radials and I have yet to find or hit a radial with the mower. Then a small flower bed using concrete pavers was installed and it softens the look in the yard. I used a standard water pipe and three ground rods spaced out in a triangle pattern to create a decent RF ground. The antenna is fed with buried LMR-400 coax. The results have been pretty impressive using 100 watts. On one opening I was able to work out about 5600 miles on 10-15-20 meters to the same DX stations. 30 meter digital work from VK6, JH, RU, ZS, PP, etc. My only complaint would be 75-100kc on 80m. However, I expected the narrowness on the 80 meter band so I purchased a second whip for $8 than is cut for the phone portion of 75m. Additionally, I used the DX engineering guy rings and parachute cord and the antenna is still standing after these MW storms with winds in the 30-60 mph range lasting 14 hours. All in all, I plan to keep this antenna and use it at the HOA restricted home out west as well. I highly recommend this vertical antenna.