Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: SPECTRAL ISOPOLE

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

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : SPECTRAL ISOPOLE
Reviews: 10MSRP: 89.95
Description:
Omni directional VHF antenna
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.isopole.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00104.1
WE6OZ Rating: 2010-02-19
Great for snow prone areas Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been using the Spectral line of the old AEA IsoPole for the past 5 years, and have had excellent results at My high elevation in the Sierras, 6500'+.
I've found that snow does'nt stand a chance of sticking, or detuning these antennas, and if You follow the instructions when assembling them for Your desired frequency they perform quite well.
I used to run a Comet tri-bander, then switched over to Isoples for 2M/220/440, and the lil' mono-banders ran circles around the tri-bander.
Besides that, the price is right as well.
JH2ARI Rating: 2007-04-15
Best Buy!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Excellent contruction, easy to assembly, great boadband and very good gain, Cheap for the price!!! prompt deliver from factory , after installed the station is ALIVE!!!
VHF ANTENNA BEST BUY!!!!
KB9R Rating: 2007-03-31
Has it's place Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have used an AEA Isopole on 2 meters since April of 1987. It is an ugly Lil bugger, but I have enjoyed it's wide bandwidth. I can use it anywhere on the 2 meter band and it is also a good public service monitoring antenna. I switch to my Cushcraft 230WB (a pair of 15 element beams) for anything serious. At any rate, it has served it's purpose with no abnormal deterioration here in Wisconsin all these years. I certainly would not use it on my repeater or brag about it's gain performance however. There was a review in QST in April of 1980. I think I paid under $50 for it back in the 80's.
MAZZ1232002 Rating: 2006-11-13
Little vertical outperforms 18 Element Yagi Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Must be nothing short of a Miracle Antenna! A little vertical outperforming a long yagi. We must all take down our towers, yagis and other apparatus and replace them with this little vertical which will increase our signal strength many DB's without towers, hardline, rotors etc. Many thanks to the last reveiwer for sharing this incredable information!!!!!
KA3NXN Rating: 2006-11-13
Incredible performance for such a little antenna! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Awesome performance! I just set up the 2 meter & 440 models and both are performing well above expectations. Believe it or not I took down an M-Squared 440 18 element beam, to put up this vertical. The vertical runs circles around the beam. The Isopole was very very easy to set If you follow directions, the SWR will be right within the usable range. This thing is so small that you can get it really high up in the air I have mine about 25’above the height of my chimney I was able to talk back to the house with my VX-2R which I believe is a 1 watt radio on UHF. I was giving the base rig about an S-9 and on my little hand held I was receiving the base signal full scale. This was probably about 5 miles as the crow flies with plenty of hills, & buildings & trees in the way. I really love this antenna. You cannot beat it for the price. You can keep your overpriced Diamond & Comet junk. Give me single band antennas any day
W6PMR Rating: 2006-03-01
Poor at best. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had a chance to "play" with the AEA version for many years in Southern California and here are some observations on this antenna.
Construction quality is poor, the bottom decoupling cones are thin, and held on to the pole with automotive style hose clamps. They are stuffed with a foam that degrades with time and turns to dust in the Los Angeles heat and ozone and just fall out. This leaves the bottom of the antenna to dangle in the wind and in many cases I've found these thin metal cones bent from wind damage.
You provide the pole in the center, unlike most other antennas on the market the bottom of the antenna is also physically the mounting mast, so be aware that in some installations, you might need more bottom clearance than you think.
Hy-Gain uses the same principals in it's "V" series antennas but they are MUCH better built and provide a MUCH better mounting arrangement.
Over the years I have found the Isopole to be a so-so performer with mechanical problems. By no means is this a good mountain top antenna nor is it a good choice for harsh enviornments. Lots of better stuff out there!
EA4-LU1BSN Rating: 2005-07-03
Great Antenna!!! OK+++++ Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Me llamo la atencion este tipo de antena muy aerodinamica y dados sus caracteristicas ordene una al fabricante.
Por 99.00 dolares realmente es EXCELENTE !!! no he tenido niguan antena que fucione igual que esta.
Estoy ubicado en Barcelona y abriendo un repetidora local pude abrir otra en Francia!!!!!
que trabaja en la misma frecuencia.....
Increible!!!
La construccion es muy buena y cuidada.
OK +++++

Great aerodynamic shape, for 99.00 dollars is EXCELLENT !!!! Im never worked with other antenna
like the ISOPOLE.
Iam living in Barcelona and openening a local repeater , I openend another repeater in the same
frequency.... but in France located more than 300km of distance...
The construciton is accurate and easy to asseembly and tuning For me is OK+++++!!!!
KB2BWF Rating: 2005-04-20
The best for me for VHF and now for UHF!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my 4th Spectral Isopole after my first AEA 144 ( I have 2 144 1 220 ) and now the 440, this is really great , easy to assembly , good gain and the broadband have compariosn with other UHF antenna, and good price for quality and construction Iam in love with these antennas.
Joe
K4SHF Rating: 2004-09-18
Difference? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Many years ago, I found that the Isopole worked better at lower heights than the Ringo Ranger II did. It would be good to see what the elevation patterns are in relation to distance to ground. Has anyone done any plots with NEC?
N8PEP Rating: 2004-09-06
Performs about like any other single element 5/8 wave antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The Spectral Isopole is very similar to the AES Isopole. If you make a side by side comparison to a Cushcraft Ringo Ranger II, a Comet GP-15, or a Workman UVS-200, the Isopole seems like a poor performer. The very noticeable difference in performance is due to the fact that the Isopole uses a single element, where as the other antennas I mentioned use two coupled (phased) elements. Given that the Ringo Ranger II costs less, and the Workman UVS-200 cost much less and even gives you dual-band capability, my question is, "Why would you consider the Isopole?"

On the other hand, the Isopole seems mechanically solid, and it provides a slightly lower noise level than some other verticals in a computer-intense environment. So, it could have a place in your antenna farm, but don't expect it to be a truly great performer.