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Reviews For: Maldol EX-510 6/2/440 mobile antenna

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

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Review Summary For : Maldol EX-510 6/2/440 mobile antenna
Reviews: 14MSRP: 70
Description:
6mtr/2mtr/70cm MOBILE ANT 1/4W 6M,1/2W 2M, 2x5/8W 70CM; GAIN = 2.2dBi 2MTR/5.5dBi 70CM; M-P Connector; Maximum Power Input = 50 Watts; Overall Length = 985mm
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00143.6
W6CAW Rating: 2013-07-27
Mine broke also its made that way Time Owned: more than 12 months.
According to a factory rep. The antenna is made to break when it hits something. Some idiot pulled one out of his roof when he went in his garage and sued for damages and won! Maldol then changed the design and made the bottom coil thinner so it would break first. As far as performance it's great for my 8900 and not so big that it puts stress on my roof. Just don't run into anything with it.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by W6CAW on 2011-08-14

Had no trouble with VSR or the mount staying on. A great 3 band antenna. Problem is they don't last more than a few years. The loading coil wall is so thin they break after a few years. A good antenna if you can afford to replace it once in a while and do not want a 60" antenna on your roof all the time
N3OC Rating: 2013-07-27
broke within a few days Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
worked fine electrically, but snapped on first branch it hit

the plastic middle section is very fragile

I would not buy this antenna again
KJ4OBR Rating: 2011-07-21
Good but Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This could have been a good compromise antenna for my situation. It looks good on the car, and fits in the garage but:

Unlike others I cannot get a good SWR match if this antenna is grounded. I have "L" brackets in the trunk seams and had to fashion insulators for the NMO mount in order to get the SWR down under 3:1. (Insulated I'm seeing 1.3:1 - 1.8:1) Insulated from ground the antenna performs very well considering the design. I contacted Comet/Maldol about it and they were not able to offer any insight.

I have an ft8900 and the plan was to run the ex-510 to cover 2/6/44 through a comet cf-360 duplexer and leave 10m duty to a Larsen nmo27 cut appropriately.

Unfortunately, the minute I connect the grounded nmo 27 to the duplexer SWR on 2/440/6 via the Maldol jumps up.

Additionally, my wx band receive is very good.. go figure.

I'll probably be in the market for a 5/8 wave 2m antenna (for use on 2m and as a 1/4 wave on 6m), a 1/4 wave 440 antenna and another duplexer to accomplish what I'm after.

The ex-510 would have been the perfect solution for me if it acted like everyone says it should.

Granted I'm trying to do something more complicated than most.
DZRTRAM Rating: 2009-11-24
Needs threads Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This should be a 5, but, as one other reviewer said, there aren't enough threads to get a good grip on the mount. Mine just fell off one day and I had to buy a new one, then a friend of mine found my old one in a parking lot. This would be better than a 5 without that one problem. Excellent across all bands right out of the box.
K1WCC Rating: 2009-10-04
Problems on 440 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had mine for a couple of years. It works fine on 2 meters but is a dummy load on 440 with all 3 of my rigs. That should be OK because we cannot use 440 here in this part of the country due to Air Force restrictions, but if I deploy elsewhere in the state (I'm an ARES EC)and 440 is in use, I'm in trouble. I intend to replace it soon, with what, I'm not sure. To be fair, other local owners report no problems with theirs on 440.

Henry B./K1WCC
KB7RGT Rating: 2007-12-26
Great Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Just bought my second one. Some Schmuck broke the first one at a rest area. Never had a problem with it. Good transmit and receive. I bought it for looks, kept it for performance. The only problem I have ever had is no big deal: when driving in freezing fog the antenna gets heavy and will do the 'fold over' all on its own.
G0YAP Rating: 2007-04-17
1st Class, Low Profile Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have a Yaesu Quadbander in the car and needed a low profile tribander ( Don,t use 10m ) I purchased a Watson tribander and this works fine but its a large beast full of loading coils and shouts 'LOOK AT MY ANTENNA!' I came across the Maldol for sale on E Bay and got it for a good price. I cannot believe how slim it is and how well it works even though its just under a metre long. It does not have the edge on the Watson but its half the size and the difference in performance is so slight, it is not worth worrying about. Unlike the guys on here with swr probs, I use mine on a gutter mount at the rear quarter of my Volvo Estate and the swr is fine. I would recommend this antenna to anybody with no worries. The build quality is superb and the performance is well up to scratch. Need a neat triband twig?? BUY IT!
M0ECZ Rating: 2006-11-06
Poor SWR on 70cm Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been using this antenna with a mag mount, both on the roof of my all steel 60 foot canal boat and also in the center of the roof of my car.
The SWR comes in at around 1.5:1 on 2M and 3:1 on 70cm.
Others have noted that this antenna does not work well with mag mounts, perhaps this is the reason for my poor SWR results??
N1UMJ Rating: 2006-06-15
good for my purposes Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have this antenna for my go kit because it can come apart and fit in a backpack and for what I use it for, it works well. I haven't tried it mobile, but as a temporarty base antenna or what ever, it does a godo enough job for me. A lot of the local ARES and RACES guys do this and I think we're all happy with it.
WB1AEX Rating: 2006-03-23
Very Solid Antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have mine mounted on an NMO hatch mount at the rear of my Jeep Cherokee Sport. I ran some braid under the set screws of the mount where it clamps to the hatch, and then grounded the braid through a sheet metal screw that was 6 inches away. The EX-510 is just the right size to slide into my garage without clanging against the top of the door. No problem loading up on all three bands right out of the box. Very low SWR on 2 meters and 440. On 6 meters the SWR is 1.4:1 at 52 mhz and it rises slowly upward from there in both directions. I suspect the match would be better if I moved the mount up to the top of the hatch. Currently, only the top half of the antenna extends above the roof line, with the lower half of the antenna in close proximity to the vehicle's body. There are no adjustment directions included with this antenna, so, if you need to make any adjustments, you are on your own. I have no problem working the six local repeaters on 6 meters (all within 50 miles) and performance on the other two bands is exceptional. It also does an excellent job covering the commercial airband and public service frequencies in the 150 mhz and 450-460 mhz bands. It does struggle with the weather band, but that is no big deal for me. I have had nothing but good experiences using it with an FT8900.

Rob WB1AEX