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Reviews For: Hustler G7-144

Category: Antennas: VHF/UHF+ Omnidirectional: verticals, mobile, etc

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Review Summary For : Hustler G7-144
Reviews: 23MSRP: 160
Description:
7db gain 2 meter base antenna
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00234.6
K1CJS Rating: 2007-09-30
This one is a keeper Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The G7-144 I have was bought used. I sent for the spec sheet and completely reconditioned the antenna. I did have to cut new radials for it, but the rebuilding was easy enough, and the fibreglass elements and the bottom loading coil were fine-no corrosion or water seepage at all.

I've had it up now for five years, with it coming down once about a year ago because of moving to another residence. With minimal attention the antenna went back up at the new house. I have to agree about it being better than a lot of 2 meter antennas. The range of this antenna is simply unbelievable.

I think the people who have it up at high repeater sites may expect too much of it. The G7-144, although rivaling the range of some commercial antennas, is NOT a commercial antenna after all, and a repeater site should have a quality commercial antenna if at all possible because of the less than ideal conditions there.
KC4FWC Rating: 2007-02-14
Good 10 year antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
One of these were installed at 300 Ft on a local repeater and lasted about 10 years. The radials falling off were the weakest link, some due to ice falling from the above tower and others due to wind vibration or birds. It was side mounted and top supported.

The fiberglass coils have tiny weep holes in the bottom which tend to stop up with bugs. However, small amounts of condensation in the coils really shouldn't have much effect on performance.

Water does tend to get in the aluminum tubing. After repairing the antenna, I stuck a piece of pine resin heat shrink over each joint before the hose clamp to keep water from migrating. I also bought some solid 3/8" aluminum rods which should out-last the rest of the antenna. With proper extra pre-care, this one is a great performer, especially for higher powered repeater operation where duplex noise needs to be minimum.
WA2NAN Rating: 2005-12-05
Poor Design Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have been using this particular model antenna for several years at our local repeater site. Our site is at 1400 feet ASL in the mountains of NY. The longest we can get this antenna to last is about one year. They always break in the same place, the end plugs in the load coils become unglued and the retaining pins break off. The company has been less than helpful in replacing the antenna under warranty. One of the antenna was defective right out of the box and they chose to repair rather than replace the brand new item. The repair lasted 3 months and the same thing happened again. This time I called them and they said send it in and we will look at it but we will not pay for any shipping to return the antenna to us. This was the second repair on the same antenna that failed. Bottom line the antenna will not hold up as a repeater antenna if there is any wind at all, and don't expect much assistance when the antenna fails. I suggest a commercial antenna be used and don't waste your money on this one.
KE4MOB Rating: 2005-12-03
Water, water, everywhere Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I can echo the same concerns as the last reviewer. The last time we took down the antenna, we began to disassemble it and lo and behold, a teacup of water came pouring out.

Not good. It's up right now and working, but a 4 bay dipole is in the works to replace it.
AE6EO Rating: 2005-03-03
Good but not fully weather-resistant Time Owned: more than 12 months.
A repeater association I'm a part of has had a G7-144 as its primary 2-meter antenna for about ten years.

We recently had some problems with it, and had to do a fairly substantial rebuild. Some aspects of this antenna's design leave it vulnerable to corrosion.

It's back on the air now, fixed, and probably better than new.

Details of the problem and the fixes can be found on my web site:

http://www.radagast.org/~dplatt/hamradio/Hustler-G7-144-review.txt
AK9S Rating: 2004-08-30
Excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Justed installed the G7-144 about 21' over the ground (at the base.) Was able to communicate with a distant repeater 60 miles away with only 5W. That's impressive for a low height installation.

Some things to know...
This antenna contains multiple sections that are attached to each other using short pieces of threaded rod. The ends of each section contain threaded recepticles where the thread rod is attached. Due to poor quality control, these recepticles are off-axis with respect to the section itself.

My erected antenna looks zig-zagged rather than perfectly straight!

You are also given a Frequency vs. Dimensions sheet for tuning your antenna. There are three lengths that must be adjusted which are given as X, Y and Z. Unfortunately, the illustations do not define where X, Y and Z are located.

FYI...

X = pertains to adjustable segment at the bottom of antenna
Y = " " " at center of antenna
Z = " " " at top segment of antenna

Other than these shortcomings, I appreciate the high-gain, quiet reception and nice SWR curve that this antenna delivers.
WA8EDX Rating: 2004-01-30
Simply The Best Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased this antenna in 1984 or 1985 and have never had any problem, even after re-locating twice to different sites and countless windstorms and frigid WX in extreme northern locations. The radials were bent from mis-handling and recently was taken down for a good clean-up. I use other antennas (3 elem. LPDA) for two meters but this one is a main stay. If it ever gets destroyed, I'll buy another.

73,
WA8EDX
N9ESH Rating: 2003-09-21
A good value Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Built like a tank! And works, too!

Not hard to tune. If you can't get the SWR down to 1:1, try spreading or compressing the 8 ga copper inductive shunt coil at the base (after adjusting element lengths for minimum SWR). I eventually removed one turn from the top of the coil.
KZ1X Rating: 2003-08-22
got you all beat: 22 years! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Read the whole story:

http://torborg.com/ka2dew/catfish.htm

There is only one. 22 years of service, flawless performance, unbeatable value, American-made and supported.

All the others are just pretenders.
KS3R Rating: 2003-08-22
17 Years of Service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
We use this antenna on our club's 2-meter repeater. The only problem we had was one of the ground plane radials fell off. Not sure if it broke off or came loose, but it was after many years of service. We bought another G7 to swap out our original. Haven't put it up yet. After some clean-up, I'll be using the old one at my home QTH. You can see our original antenna in operation by going to http://www.nb.net/~rikercdr/sh-1hist.htm

73, KS3R
South Hills ARC