| N6SUZ |
Rating:  |
2006-04-17 | |
| Great Antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I bought this antenna from a friend who had a hard time getting it to work. I have always had a vertical as one of my antennas and know from experience that they all take a little work to function properly. This antenna went together fine. I discovered an assembly error my friend made that probably caused his problems. At first I mounted it next to the house...bad decision. It would not tune up on any band. To make a long story short, I moved it to the back yard and it has performed perfectly since with no adjustments. Moral of the story, pay attention to the manufacturers installation recommendations. |
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| W6NYC |
Rating: |
2006-02-25 | |
| 5 years later |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
It has been about 5 years since I intalled the Titan in my back yard. I submitted a good review after only a few month, but must say that it is still there, no maintainence required and still works like a champ! I have worked over 250 countries, most with 100 watts and many during this sunspot low. I love DX and have actually been able to get through the pile-ups in many cases. My antenna restrictions and small lot do not allow for radials and the Titan is mounted only three feet above the hard clay ground but the operation has been wonderful. Thank you again Gap for the great product!
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Earlier 5-star review posted by W6NYC on 2001-10-02
Thank you GAP, for such a superior product!
Finally, after two months of research, I bought the Gap Titan DX. I was particularly impressed with the fantastic information offered by Mr. Mike Banz on his website at: http://www.qsl.net/aa3rl/titandtl.html, and also thank him for his kind email assistance.
I thought I would wait a while before writing a review and either praising or damning this antenna, but I just couldn’t. For about three hours since it was finished and placed in service at about 6pm on Sunday Pacific time, and for about three hours Monday night, 100 watts were used to work the following:
South Korea on 10m; Contadora Island, Panama HO1A on 15m (second try in the pile); East Kiribati, both T32EQ and T32CY on 12m, 15m and 17m, (first try in the pile); Guadeloupe FG/KF6NWQ on 15m (this one took me five tries… life is sometimes rough); Fiji 3D2AD on 10m (first try); Falkland Island VP8CTM on 20m (third try); and Mozambique C98DC on 20m (got there before the pile so it was easy). I haven’t worked on 40m or 80m yet, and understand from other reviews and emails, that 80m is there pretty much for show, but if I ever try, I’ll let you know.
After working from dipoles that were not up high enough, and hearing 10 over S9 stations that couldn’t hear me, it is such a pleasure to be able to work stations that are S1 or S2. I can’t compare to beams, I have never had the pleasure, but I have had other verticals in the past and have never been this impressed. Even though the bands were open, the results with only 100 watts, over several different bands tells me this is a great performer and to some degree, can even bust a pile-up. The Gap Titan DX is also a quiet antenna, unlike traditional verticals. If you need the best in a small area, you need this antenna.
I am very restricted in space and height so the antenna was mounted on a 1¼ inch galvanized steel pipe, (Don’t even think of going smaller than this, the antenna, though nice looking is a beast, and bigger than you may first imagine). The pipe is 10 feet long and a full 7 feet were driven in the ground with a sledge hammer and a bucket of sweat. The antenna then is mounted three feet above the mountainous, sandy, rocky soil. That makes the counterpoise about three feet, two inches above the ground. I couldn’t get the mast any further away from the house than 18 feet, (about 11 feet to the counterpoise wire). Just so you’ll know, the house is stucco and has chicken wire mesh, so I felt it would be a problem, but so far doesn’t appear to be.
I did a lot of preparation as suggested by KB0ETC (see his review below). I also thank him. His suggestions were invaluable and well worth the work. If you want to mount this thing near the ground and want to do it with only two people, this next part may be of help. I had earlier assembled the mounting plate with ALL SIX mounting U-bolts and tightly bolted it to the pipe. Then I “snugged” the U-bolts for the antenna mast just so the insulators on the antenna would easily slip through them. I measured and cut a 2x2 to the length where the bottom of the antenna mast should rest when properly placed and taped it to the lower part of the mounting pipe. This did work well. When my friend “walked” the antenna up, all we had to do was lift it straight up and slide it through the U-bolts and let it rest on the 2x2 as I tightened the bolts. Everyone says to guy this antenna, but only a few say they have, so I figured I wouldn’t either. After seeing this thing in the wind, I am reconsidering that decision and may add guys.
My friend and I completed the assembly in about 3½ hours, it was slower than others have done it, but I have a tendency to screw things up if I hurry, and because of previous reviews about the manual. I read the instructions several times even before starting the assembly and recommend you do the same. The manual seems to have been improved, but you MUST read carefully and study the pictures closely, and like us, you shouldn’t have much trouble following the instructions. The antenna was lifted into place, the counterpoise was attached, the PL-259 was attached, and now came the moment of truth.
What a piece of work! The starting, and with the exception of 15m which was tuned by following the great work of KC0IWV, the ending SWR (taken with a Vectronics HF/VHF SWR Analyzer) was as follows:
10m 28.000 = 1.8 28.500 = 1.1 29.700 = 1.6
12m 24,890 = 1.3 24.930 = 1.4 24.990 = 1.5
15m 21.000 = 1.2 21.225 = 1.3 21.450 = 1.4
17m 18.068 = 1.3 18.118 = 1.2 18.168 = 1.2
20m 14.000 = 1.7 14.175 = 1.5 14.350 = 1.4
30m 10.100 = 1.4 10.125 = 1.4 10.150 = 1.4
40m 7.000 = 1.7 7.150 = 1.6 7.300 = 1.4
80m Green CAP = Resonant Freq 3.900
80m range of 2.0:1 SWR = 3.795 to 3.940,
with 1.3 @ 3.860.
And just for grins:
6m 1.9 at 52.000 but as high as
2.5 from spot-to-spot.
2m range of 2.0:1 SWR = 143.50 to 147.10
with 1.3 at 145.15 and 1.8 at 146.25.
Again, I praise and recommend the Gap Titan DX very highly, and if I can ever be of help like so many that have helped me, I would love it. Feel free to email me at w6nyc@arrl.net if you think I can be of any assistance, I will welcome your questions.
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| KB1AWV |
Rating: |
2006-01-22 | |
| Very Good Antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
My Gap Titan was give to me by a friend who had it left to him by another ham who passed away.
When I picked it up it was in many pieces and lying on the ground where it had sat for about a year. I also got a "box of parts".
I had to toss the 40 meter wire - all frayed and dangerous. The yellow coax lead in was all rotted inside - shield had crumbled. I had to cut off about 5 feet of this before I got to good coax. I could not get inside the 'gap' to disconnect it all together. It would not come apart. I then used a coax splice/union made by Shakespeare (it crimps on & then seals with lock ring & o-rings). I downloaded the assembly manual. That manual is a joke. I then assembled the unit. Then I tested it while it was lying on special saw horses I made. There was not continuity between the center pin of the coax and the area above the 'gap'. I contacted Gap and they said that this is the way it was supposed to be.
By the time I was done assembling, I could not stuff all the coax into the top end of the antenna - it and the attached 80 meter capacitor protruded about 2 inches. I disassembled and reassembled several times to no avail. So, I let it protrude and coverd the top of the antenna with a plastic Sprite soda pop bottle held on with a radiator clamp.
I then put 10 feet of steel pipe 4 feet into a PVC pipe in concrete and attached the Gap to the top of it all. I also have four guy wires that are attached with guy clamps from Radio Shack.
Result - One year later I still have nearly flat SWR on all bands for full width of band (except 80 meters which is narrow - right on the CW/phone line ... as Gap says it should be). I make contacts easily. It is a quiet and fun antenna. It's not a beam; but then I don't want the bother or expense of a beam.
Love this antenna. How can anybody say it is expensive? They charge more for mobile HF antennas.
Oh, mine is ground mounted between a cluster of large oak trees, each 10-20 feet away. I found a clear space right up the middle of them.
And yes, you must guy it. And yes, have soeone help you put it up and down. |
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| NY5J |
Rating: |
2005-12-15 | |
| Good overall performance |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought the Titan a few months ago based on a friend's recommendation (N0EYE). I have not been disappointed. The antenna works very well for DX and and short skip. Performing very well for ground wave as appropriate. It weathered 50 mph winds with gusts of 60+ within a week after the install. Same windstorm Matt mentions below. By all means you should guy the antenna!
Mounting is very simple. I have a PVC sleeve set in concrete per instructions with a mast high enough to run the lawn tractor beneath the counterpoise. Excluding concrete cure time - every bit of 2 hours for the whole install.
It has issues: It's mostly useless for 80m except the phone portion of the band. The "manual" needs pictures -- I actually had to read the manual.
It has pluses, also: no radials, no tower, no rotator, easy to install.
All considered, I would happily buy another. |
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| N0EYE |
Rating: |
2005-12-01 | |
| Good DX Antenna |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
In the few months I have had the Titan up I have worked some pretty good DX, and at a really lousy time in the sunspot cycle to boot. I have worked several Europeans, Russians, and even the Phillipines and Palau with 100w on the Titan.
While it is indeed very solidly constructed, as many others have pointed out, I highly recommend guying the antenna. I was initially reluctant to do so beacuse, quite frankly, I'm lazy. In retrospect I'm glad I sucked it up and guyed the thing. We just had sustained winds of 45 MPH with gusts near 60, and I'm not sure it would've survived unguyed.
I vacillated between giving it a '4' and a '5', because (1) it is not good on 80m, and (2) the manual leaves a little to be desired. I had to read a few steps 3 or 4 times to understand what they meant. However, neither of these was a real huge issue to me, so I went with the '5'. |
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| W1ZZA |
Rating: |
2005-11-07 | |
| A solid antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Have had this antenna for a few weeks. Construction is excellent. Unlike my Cushcraft R-7 that fell like a wet noodle in a storm, this antenna is built to withstand a lot of abuse. Like other comments, I recommend that you guy this antenna especially if its mounted on a roof. It will allow you to sleep better at night especially when the wind starts to howl. Gap has put a lot of thought into this antenna. If you cannot have a beam and love DX this antenna will not let you down. It's also more fun to put the Titan together with another Ham friend. Its easy to give this antenna a 5. |
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| KG6POG |
Rating: |
2005-09-04 | |
| folloe up |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I do not know what happened here, but the SWR at 3.900 has shifted after a recent storm. I did call Gap and they asid to play with the counter poise and it isn't the problem. So I'll be calling them again next week.
Since the Titan wasn't great at 39.000 anyway I'm not too concerned, but I am hopeing that I can get it back to where it was. By the way the SWR shifted down to 3845.0 at 2.0.2 with the center at 3750.00and going back to 2.0.1 at 3660.00.
But more importantly I forgot to mention in my earlier review that I have a 20 meter dipole up about 60 feet, and the Titan beats it 99% of the time, and then It's ussually so close it's hard to call but honestly the Titan is equal to or out performs the dipole as far asd I can see. I also did comparison to my G5RV Jr. and the Titan out performed it in all cases. I was actually a little surprised since the G5RV Jr. was also up about 60 feet and I figured it would beat the Titan on 20 meters anyway, but that wasn't my experiance. So I've taken down the G5RV, and though the 20 meter dipole is still up, I'll be taking it down after a bit and replacing it with a 17 meter dipole since 17 meters on the Titan shuts off our TV.
So I have trimmed my antennas down to the Titan and a Cushcraft MA5B, and the two make a pretty good combo for limited space applications, but might add the 17 meter dipole as mentioned.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by KG6POG on 2005-07-15
I was surprised to see how well this antenna works on 10 through 40 meters.
On 80 meters it's not great, but it covers more than 100 KHz Gap claims under 1.5.1.
The SWR on my antenna is.
1.1.1 at 3915.00 through 3.999.00. Then 2.0.1 at 3.860 dropping to 1.2.1 at 3.900.00
1.1.1 from 7.220.00 through 7.299.00 then 2.0.1 from 7.120 through 7.215.00
1.2.1 acrossed the 30 meter band
1.2.1 or less acrossed the entire 20 meter band
1.3.1 from 18.070.00 through 18.167.90
1.1.1 from 21.000.00 to 21.430.00 then raises to just over 1.1.1 at 21.435.00
less than 1.2.1 on 12 meters
1.1.1 from 28.000.00 to 28.665.00 from 28.665.00 it raises to 1.5.1 at 29.695.
I used a new MFJ 949-E and the radios SWR meter, so I feel these are reasonably accurate results.
I was concerned about putting it together after reading some of the reviews here, but I was lucky enough to get it together in a couple of hours without calling Gap.
Over it's a great limited space antenna that I could recommend to anyone without hesitation. I'm sure there are better antennas out there but considering my space limitations and not being able to run any kind of radial system it surpasses my expectations. |
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| KB9GPN |
Rating: |
2005-07-13 | |
| Excellent Vertical |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I wanted to wait until I had a few QSO's completed with my GAP Titan DX before commenting.
Using the GAP since last October I've just finished WAS, am 60+ countries towards DXCC and logged over 500 QSO's.
Is this antenna a replacement for a Log Periodic at 80 ft? Hardly, but this vertical dipole can work stations around the world with ease.
If mine was lost I would happily buy another.
73
Steve
KB9GPN |
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| N3BRS |
Rating: |
2005-07-13 | |
| Quality Antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is my second Titan. When I moved to Myrtle Beach, I bought number two. I painted it forest green to blend into the foliage behind my home, I reside in a housing plan with a HOA that restricts antennas. So far the GAP Titan is doing what is expected of it, and the HOA hasn't said anything about it, so far. It't mounted on GAP's ground mounted flodover mount in cement. Two ideas, when a major hurricane comes through and to keep the darn HOA people happy.
The Titan has worked very well for me for several years. Yes, if needed I would buy a third. It's the best vertical I have owned.
"God Bless our FREE America"
Jim, N3BRS |
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| RADIOBOB92121 |
Rating: |
2005-06-09 | |
| Works good |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I have had this antenna up for about 1 year. For a vertical it works well, better than most. You must take the time a follow the instructions closely. Bandwidth on 80 is somewhat narrow, but what would one expect?
73s
RADIOBOB92121 |
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