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Reviews For: Comet CA-HV HF mobile antenna

Category: Antennas: HF Mobile & Accessories

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Review Summary For : Comet CA-HV HF mobile antenna
Reviews: 15MSRP: 159.99
Description:
40/15/10/6/2m/70cm Mobile Antenna - Model UHV-6
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cometantenna.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00153.9
N8CH Rating: 2000-05-17
Great antenna for mobile use Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had mine mounted and attached to my FT-100 since September 99. I have never had any of the problems discussed here. I use the 10, 15 and 20 meter antennas. work any DX I can hear. Have worked a bunch. Only time I had to retighten is when I whacked it on a tree going down a street with a low overhang. Have it mounted on a three magnet mount. As good or better than my Hustlers that I had for several years and I don't need to guy these to the cab of the truck. I think it does a fantastic job in the environment it is designed for. It ain't no beam. Not suppose to be.
N8CH
KM5N Rating: 2000-04-04
Works fine, but regular maintenance is needed Time Owned: unknown months.
I have this antenna mounted on the trunk lip with the Comet quick disconnect mount. Overall, I have been happy enough with it, always keeping in mind the limitations that are imposed by the design compromises. I mostly use it for HF, with a little bit of local 2M repeater chat. I have had QSOs with most of Europe, Central and South America, Japan and points in between. It's an adequate performer. Usable bandwidth (SWR 3:1 or less) on 40 meters is about 50 kHz, on 20 meters about 70 kHz, on 15 about 300 kHz, and on 10 it's around 1.5 mHz.

The real problem is in the mechanical frailty. Before I realized that weekly checking of ALL connections is necessary, I lost the 10 meter coil while driving on the freeway. I have had to replace three set screws (and at 3mm x 3mm, they are tough to find!) There is no problem if you check your connections frequently and retighten them, but it's distressing (and expensive) to shed pieces of the antenna while driving.


Generally, I am pleased with the CA-UHV - but then again I bought it used for less than half price. It will do for a multi-band HF/VHF, but I cannot recommend it glowingly. However, it will fit my needs until I can build a good screwdriver antenna.
KB9UPV Rating: 2000-04-03
More than expected for its size Time Owned: unknown months.
I was looking for an antenna to use on my wife's 2000 Imapala for trips. After using it for a couple weeks I have no complaints about this antenna for its size so far. The 2m/70cm works as well or better as my mag mount 5/8 wave. Granted the antenna is a large compromise on the lower bands, but I get about 40kc of usable bandwith on 40 and 120kc on 20m. I have used the antenna on 40m on a short trip and the antenna worked fine for its size on 20/40m. I also tried some DX on 10m and it works very well. This antenna along with a duplexer and a 706mkIIg is a very good compact system. I am not going to compare it to dedicated large antennas but I am quite pleased with its size/performance ratio and it looks well built.
I3APR Rating: 1999-12-15
Useless for frequencies above HF... the UHV Time Owned: unknown months.
I'm posting a deeper review as soon as mobile op will be legal in Italy, BTW I could use it to receive signals from my car in a couple of HF contests and it doesn't behave really like a bare piece of iron.
I thought that I could use it as dual band VHF/UHF antenna as well (mine is the UHV model) but I was wrong !!
I got better signals from the rubber ant of my Handheld RTX, and even trimmering didn't help...
So, I can't give a real rating bacause of missing TX reports, but be sure that nobody will hear you in higher frequencies...
'73 de Andrea i3apr@plugit.net
FORMER_WA_4RX_ROB Rating: 1999-11-17
A little flimsy and requires frequent adjustment Time Owned: unknown months.
This antenna is OK but not as good as I expected. Yes, the design is certainly sleek and unobtrusive but somehow it just didn't "cut" it for me. Normally, too, I'm a big fan of Comet antennas.

I've used it on the hatch back of my Ford Explorer.

With most mobile antennas you put them up and forget them. With the CA-HV I've found myself constantly checking the side mirrors to see if it's still standing straight up or tilting and shifting.

Many times I found it slipping from the mount and it required repeat tightening of the screws. Why? My thought is because of too much "whip-lash" movement.

As you speed up or stop when driving, the antenna whips back and forth. So, overtime it tends to loosen up a bit.

Also, the coils tend to shift from their positions with air speed, winds, etc..

At any rate, it's nice to have for multi-bands and VHF but there's a lot of room for improvement.

The manual also has a lot to be desired.