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Reviews For: HyGain TH11DX

Category: Antennas: HF: Yagi, Quad, Rotary dipole, LPDA

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Review Summary For : HyGain TH11DX
Reviews: 24MSRP: 1079.95
Description:
10, 12, 15, 17, 20 m, 11-element beam
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.hy-gain.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15245
AI2A Rating: 2005-04-17
Hard to Beat this one! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
About 3 years ago, a neighboring ham asked for help putting up his new yagi. I read and ignore most of the advertising claims of all antenas. I started by forcing my neighbor to read the manual and mark all the parts with a laundry marker pen to make sure each piece of tubing was clearly identified. I made sure we took our time. Indeed we took about 3 days assembling this antenna.

We did make one call the old Hygain support folks about the length of the wire straps which cris-crossed element halves to the matching network. It appear we were just paranoid - and needed that reassuring encouragement of the factory tech support folks. They were good! (Now its MFJ that operates and manufactures the Hygain line - They are good folks too!)

The neighbor was anxious to apply power and run some SWR tests - to see if it was in the "ball park" on all the bands. He mounted the antenna on a temporary mast at just 4' off the ground. Since we were losing daylight on this 3rd day, the neighbor ran a length of surplus coax to the antenna and hollered CQ on 20. He was amazed - but replies started. 20db over 9 from Indianapolis to Dallas TX. Then Hawaii - same report. No bad for an antenna just over 1 meter above ground.

That weekend, my neighbor cranked his Hinged Rohn 45 over to the ground and we finished the installation atop about 70' of Rohn 45. My neighbor was fortunate enough to have 1/2" hardline - WOW. A flexible jumper and double female connect the top of the hardline to the TH11DX. Once in the air, the reports only got better. Very satisfying to see the neighbor's eyes light up with each passing day of operation.

2 yers later, a high SWR was tracked down to a bit of corrosion in the feedline connectors at the splice of the hardline and the flexible loop of coax near the TH11DX - so don't blame the TH11DX for a problem there!

I have talked alot about my neighbor's TH11DX. I suppose all the experience with his TH11DX offered undeniable insights into the quality and durability of the TH11DX.

Oh, I almost forgot - my TH11DX was a near duplicate of the experience of my neighbor. We live about 1 mile apart. Out here in the rural Indiana farmland, thats a neighbor. Mine is at 89' with a couple of VHF/UHF yagi's sharing the same mast. About the only difference is that I run just 100 watts - while he runs Henry dual 3-500Z linear. Surprisingly I get better signal reports with my barefoot rig most of the time.

I wish I could give this antenna a "10" rating - it deserves it. Quality construction - all parts were present and accounted for (no shortages) - manual is good to excellent. My guy wires are about 10' below the yagi - with a few insulators to break up the guy line till I get a fair distance away from the yagi's path. I use ordinary RG213 class coax - nothing like the hardline on my neighbor's installation. I have no junctions in my coax once it departs the provided balun SO239 connector until it reaches ground level. This antenna is quiet and if either long or short path is open, I can usually work it with ease.

I suppose that even if you are as cynical as I am, you should like this antenna. For those who watch SWR closely, mine works with worst case SWR of 1.8:1 at a band edge. Wideband is defined as the TH11DX. Its no giant dummy load either!

Wish list - I wish this antenna worked on 30M and 40M (I hesitate to suggest 75/80 - for I would be really pushing my luck!). I guess I will have to load up the tower for now until I can afford a serious yagi for 40M.

Thanks to the designers and Hygain and their successors (MFJ) who still offer a fine antenna in the form of the TH11DX.

David, Ai2A
Greenwood, Indiana
W6SZG Rating: 2002-07-08
Very pleased Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I thought I would post a review as the previous notes are of older antennas. Antenna was installed professionally at my QTH two weeks ago on a 55 foot tower. I am using a FL-7000 amp (about 400-450W output). I was impressed with the components and construction. The on the air results are terrific. One or two calls and I seem to get through even the biggest pile-ups. SWR is as good as or better than specified in the manual. Weather is quite mild at my QTH so it is doubtful there will be durability problems for me.
KL7AC Rating: 2002-02-14
I made a great choice... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Having had this antenna for the last 7 years I can with no doubt say it is a wonderful 5 band antenna, hence this long overdue review.

It has withstood the very cold interior winters exceptionally well and I look for many more years of service. Luckily cold weather does not seem to age an antenna like a ocean environment, but I think it should hold up as all of the hardware is stainless steel.

I came across this antenna on a lark as I had my mind set on another 5 band beam. When I tried to order my first preference, I could not as the manufacturer at the time only accepted American Express. It was getting late in the antenna raising season in Alaska, late September, and called AES and went with the TH-11.

I somehow managed to build it in a little more than a day, by my lonesome. The antenna is big and was a bit of a chore getting it up to it's final height of 70' feet. After a day's hard work it was ready to play.

How does it play? Like gangbusters! I consistently place well in the major contests from Alaska. My best result was 2nd Place World QRP in the International ARRL DX Contest last year.

Pileups are no problem but there can be a wait while getting through the West Coast at times. After some 40K QSO's I am still a happy camper.

I cannot attest to the quality of the new TH-11's but I love mine.

KL7AC

K7MMM Rating: 2000-05-04
Outstanding 5-bander Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I field-tested the first TH-11 off Hy-Gain's assembly line (in the summer of 1993). After 6 years of use (and one disaster -- see following), I took it down and trucked it to the N0AX/K7LXC "HF Tribander Performance" test (see http://www.championradio.com/ to order a copy). It still performed as expected, although results were different from the real antenna test range data that Hy-Gain provided when I tested the antenna (this is what we expected in an uncharacterized terrain environment). The antenna is really fun on 17m, where I regularly receive reports from EU that I am the strongest on the band (barefoot 100W).

The disaster (and testimony to the mechanical design): in the '94 ARRL CW contest, when the antenna was about 6 months old, the cable on my crank-up snapped, and the TH-11 was slammed into the chimney of my house (about a 2-foot drop, good thing I had just cranked it down). The boom hit the chimney and bent my 1/4"-wall 2"-diameter steel mast about 15 degrees at the thrust bearing. When I could get on the roof to examine the damage, I was amazed how little there was. The boom was fine but there were a few element-halves that had been bent from hitting the roof. The most interesting damage was to the longest element, the 20m reflector, which had equal and opposite 90-degree bends at the element tips (from G-forces, not from an impact witht the roof). BTW, the Yagistress analysis that Hy-Gain provided during my testing showed that this element was indeed the weakest one (99mph survival).

Since repairing it, the antenna has been in service through 2 severe wind storms (80mph+) ... when the wind really blows, I worry alot more about that cranked-down tower than I do the TH-11.

It's really sad that Hy-Gain sold their amateur antenna line. They built some excellent antennas and I don't know if we'll ever see most of them built again.