| W3UTD |
Rating:  |
2022-11-07 | |
| Isotron 80 for WSPR & FT8 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Wanted to run a WSPR beacon, and possibly FT8 because I have no room for anything serious on 80m. Isotron looked like a good choice. Assembled in about an hour, put up on a 25' telescoping aluminum pole in the backyard. It shares a radial ground with my Hustler vertical.
Spent an hour or so tuning it up using a RigExpert Antenna analyzer, got it resonant at 3575, SWR of 3. Not amused ... then I realized I had forgot to ground the mast. Did so, the resonant point changed significantly, but the SWR was down to 1.5.
Spent another hour re-tuning, and got it just right. Tidied up the coax, zip tied it to the mast ... and guess what? ... the resonant point changed again.
Another 1/2 hour and it finished up resonant at 3575 SWR 1.3. So, when testing it, have the coax set as you would when operating, it does appear to interact with the mast.
Ran it last night with a ZachTek WSPR transmitter at 200mw. From Central PA it was heard all over the east coast, west coast into San Francisco and up to Vancouver, west coast of Africa and into EU. Furthest was 4117 miles! Awesome performance at just 200mw from an antenna that many people say shouldn't work!
I can also run with my rigs internal tuner anywhere on 80m. Highly recommended if you keep in mind the tuning requirements and read the instructions well. |
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| W5ODP |
Rating: |
2022-06-06 | |
| Pleasantly Surprised! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Read ALL the reviews here on eHam of these antennas. I'll have to admit I was a little skeptical looking at the pictures. I mean, come ON!?!?! 40 meter antenna THAT small and "weird looking"? Picked up a used 40 meter Isotron from another ham for a good price (compared to a new one). Needed to get on 40 meters as my go-to vertical (Cushcraft R9) is down and I had to take down my 80/40 double bazooka to please the YL.
Installed it on a 28' metal push-up pole. Tuned it where I wanted it (centered on the phone portion) and all I can say is WOW!!! It performs just as well as the double bazooka. My very first contact using it was a 20 over 9 report from a station in the Dallas area and he was surprised I was using an Isotron because HE had heard mixed reviews as well.
Long story short.... I just ordered an 80 meter Isotron and can't WAIT to get that baby in the air. VERY pleased with the performance of this antenna! |
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| KK6YO |
Rating: |
2021-04-21 | |
| Fantastic UNBELIEVABLE |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
We live in a CCR and up tell now, we have been using a G5RV antenna.
I was looking for a better solution I bought the 17 meter ISOTRON version and can not believe how great it is working.
Full swr coverage on 18 and I also am using 500 watts. I really did not believe that this small antenna would work as well as it does. (Texas 55 57)
UPDATE: Just put up a 20 meter on my outside pole. fed with one coax for both the 17 and 20 meter bands and works GREAT!!!
Check out my QRZ site KK6YO
Just ordered the 40 meter antenna :-) More to come soon.
4/20/21 UPDATE:
OK, 4/20/21 The 40 meter ISOTRON showed up here last week. SWR was tunable easily in the extra phone portion of the band. Contacted JA5WNH (Toshi) 5731Mi. with a 59 signal. Bottom line, all ISOTRON antennas really work. The 40 meter specification are as follows:
40 Meter Isotron Antenna
Size (H x W x D} - 22" x 16" x 15" Bandwidth - 250 Khz.* Impedance - 50-75 ohms Freq. Range - 7.000-7.300 MHz. Power Input - 1000 watts.
73
Jerry , KK6YO |
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| N8YA |
Rating: |
2021-03-13 | |
| Awesome w/ a good earth ground! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have the 80M, 40M and 20M versions of the Isoltron antennas. I have mainly use them as my backup antennas. I have had great success with them.
The key in my opinion, is a good antenna grounding. I lost my wire antennas in an ice storm and put up my 80/40 combo and was back on the air in less than an hour. I was even able to tune my 40M for 15M! I have used them for field day as well.
They are a compromise antenna, but they do work well if you ground them properly! |
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| N3YQA |
Rating: |
2020-11-21 | |
| 30 METER ISOTRON WORKS BEST FOR ME |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I HAVE OWNED THE 20, 30 AND 80 METER ISOTRON ANTENNAS FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS, AND HAVE USED THEM ALL FROM TIME TO TIME, DUE TO ANTENNA SPACE RESTRICTIONS. IN MY OPINION, THE 30 METER ISOTRON IS BY FAR THE BEST OF THE THREE. THE 30 METER ISOTRON IS PRETUNED AND REQUIRES NO TUNING. I RUN NIGHTTIME STEALTH OPERATIONS DUE TO CONDO RESTRICTIONS. THE ANTENNA IS MOUNTED OUTSIDE ABOUT 8 FEET FROM THE CONDO ON A MFJ HEAVY DUTY TRIPOD, USING TWO 5 FOOT ANTENNA POLES FROM HOME DEPOT WHICH PUTS THE ANTENNA UP ABOUT 18 FEET. I CONTINUOUSLY RECEIVE VERY GOOD SIGNAL REPORTS, BOTH STATESIDE AND DX, WITH THE 30 METER ISOTRON RUNNING 50 WATTS OR LESS. IF I HEAR THEM, I WORK THEM. THE 30 METER ISOTRON ALLOWS ME TO GET ON THE AIR DURING THE EVENINGS AND ENJOY HAM RADIO ONCE AGAIN. IT DOES TAKE A FEW MINUTES ERECTING THE ANTENNA, BUT IF YOU ENJOY HAM RADIO LIKE I DO, IT IS WORTH IT. ONCE AGAIN, IF YOU WANT TO GET BACK ON THE AIR, BUT HAVE BEEN FRUSTRATED WITH ANTENNA RESTRICTIONS, TRY THE 30 METER ISOTRON! IT WORKS! THANKS BILAL. I'LL REVIEW THE 20 AND 80 METER ISOTRONS LATER. N3YQA |
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| N2DEP |
Rating: |
2017-04-06 | |
| very nice, and stealth |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I figure I should toss my hat into the ring, I have been semi active on HF for about 10 years, had a bunch of different antenna's form an 80 meter delta loop ,g5rv dipole and most recently a home made 31 foot vertical, it worked great but having a 15 month old grand daughter running around my back yard dodging 60 plus radials was dangerous , so I decided to give the Bilal Isotrons a shot. very easy to assemble , tuning is a bit tricky but once you get it its done, and I use a ldg at 200 pro ch up the swr, I d a few questions and called Ralph at Isotron, I explained some rf problems and what was common to look for in his product, this is customer service at its best, before doing anything Ralph wanted to know exactly what I was running in my shack and what coax I use, after explaining it to him he spent almost 45 minutes on the phone walking me through my installation and made suggestions that actually worked with out spending a boat load f money on to correct. the end result is I can pretty much talk to whomever I can hear, very nice product , outstanding customer service , right now I am using the 80/40/20 combination, I'm sure eventually I'll be getting something in the 17,10 and 12 meter antenna, bottom line for me bravo Isotron and ralph great desigh that actually works |
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| WC0L |
Rating: |
2016-11-25 | |
| Works As Advertised |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought the 80-40 combo back in 2003. I quickly put the antennas together and tried to make them work. I could not get them to tune correctly, so I threw them back in the box, thinking I had wasted my money. I retired in May of this year and my wife and I have since been enjoying our travel trailer. In getting ready for a recent trip to Arizona, I decided to dig out the Isotrons and try to get them working with my portable ham rig. I mounted the Isotrons at the top of a 20 foot telescoping mast made from steel conduit sections, supported with a 3 foot tripod held to the ground with steel tent pegs. With this setup, the Isotrons still would not tune. After studying the manual carefully, I decided to drive a 4 foot ground rod into the ground next to the telescoping mast, and connect the ground rod to the mast with a stainless steel hose clamp. The Isotrons then hit resonance with an SWR less than 2 to 1. I then adjusted the resonance points in accordance with the manual. On 40 meters, I set the resonant point for 7.170, with provides a 2.5 to 1 window of 7.100 to 7.225. My Icom AT-500 easily brings the SWR down to 1 to 1. I use my Icom IC-2KL to put 500 watts PEP into the Isotrons. With this setup, I am able to keep in touch with my friends in various parts of the US with regularity. In fact, I believe the Isotrons work just about as well as my home antenna, which is a G5RV variant in an inverted V configuration with the apex at 35 feet. So now I am a believer in Isotrons, but studying and following the manual is a must. I need to pick up a 20 meter version in the near future.
73,
Mike, WC0L |
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| N5ODX |
Rating: |
2016-09-13 | |
| Works as advertised |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought the Isotron 20 and the Isotron 160. The 20m took less than 20 minutes to assemble, mount and set the SWR. I use it everyday and works as well as my butternut vertical maybe a bit better.
The Isotron 160 was much more difficult, the assembly was straight forward and everything lined up perfectly. When it came to setting the SWR well that took a bit of effort and a couple of calls to Ralph at Bilal antennas. We had to shorten the antenna by about 3ft (removing one of center rods) to get it to load at the very top end of the 160 band, we also had raise the matching rod all the way up. The antenna is flat at 2.043.0 but with a aux tuner it loads fine at 1990.0. Ralph said by adding a bit wire to the top capacity hat we could bring it flat at 1990.0 and I will try this but it's working great the way it is with the help of the tuner. This antenna is not a 1/2 wave dipole but it does work. The 20 meter Isotron is great !! So if you need stealthy small footprint antennas this would be a great way to go.
READ the directions this is most important !!!
Painted in camouflage colors these antennas would be hard to see in front of or in a wooded area.
Both of my Isotrons are 20ft high, more height might be better but for now they are doing the job for me.
I plan on purchasing the 6m and 17 Isotrons in the near future :)
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| W4BN |
Rating: |
2015-05-12 | |
| W4BN |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| The isotron 20 is a small but effective antenna. It consists of an inductor wound for 20 m and a capacitor which consists of a top fixed metal plate and a movable lower plate which allows you to tune the antenna. The antenna was well packaged and it only took me a few minutes to assemble it. My antenna is mounted on the top of two 10 foot telescoping sections of conduit. The smaller diameter section was driven 5 feet into the ground. The larger diameter section was slipped over it and clamped so that the antenna would be 11 feet above the ground and just over the edge of the roof. The antenna is fed with a 25 foot piece of RG8X coax. A friend of mine, David WB8VQU help me install and tune the antenna. I connected a MFJ 259B swr analyzer to the end of the coax and adjusted it for the middle of the 20 m band which allowed me to operate phone and CW. David used a wooden pole to push the movable lower Rod up until the swr was 1 to1. I checked each end of the band and the SWR was 2 to 1 at each end. Although band conditions have been bad during the past month and a half, I have worked stations in Europe, South America, Central America and the US with good reports. The antenna is rated at 1 KW PEP and on phone I have used up to 800 W input. I have an attic dipole which I used to compare the two antennas. At times the dipole would give me one or two S unit's more than the isotron, but reception on the isotron was quieter because there was less QRN. I am 89 years old and I have been licensed since I was 16 and during those many years I have had many antennas, but this was the easiest and simplest to install. I highly recommend it. |
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| AA7LX |
Rating: |
2015-05-10 | |
| 20/40 Combo Didn't Work Disappointed |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Excellent Customer service- Telephone and E-mail. A wonderful receiving antenna- No performance otherwise, tested Antenna for one Month. SWR at 2.5; with a Tuner- 1.5 or better. If, you have a balcony, inside house, or basement-- don't purchase the Isotron Antenna(s). Isotron must be above the roof line -or- in your yard. Recommend instead, Wire, Yagi, Dipole, Horizontal, Vertical Antenna(s). I Can't and won't recommend Isotron Antenna(s)to any person. With a 20% Restocking fee($37.99); loss and, of paying the shipping cost both ways($31.10 total), My Total Loss was $69.09 !! The Isotron Antenna: NOT Recommended! |
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