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Reviews For: Cobra UltraLite Multiband Antenna

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Cobra UltraLite Multiband Antenna
Reviews: 138MSRP: 89.95
Description:
A complete 10-160 wire antenna constructed to handle extreme weather
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.k1jek.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001384.6
K3USC Rating: 2008-09-24
Still GREAT !!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
OK, Now I'm at the new OH QTH. Got a break in the unpacking & working and put up the remade Cobra in a tree in the backyard. Not real high-maybe 35 feet or so. Much of it in heavy branches & leaves-not optimum but really the best I can do for now. Ends tied with a few feet of rope to corners of my chain link fence-no more than 4 or 5 feet off the ground-again not optimum but I'm anxious. Hooked the feedline up to the Radioworks 4:1 balun I used with the previous Cobra at the old PA QTH with a maybe 8 or 10 foot RG8X coax run into the shack. Checked in with a bunch of 75 meter buddies in Western New York last night and this AM and all reported I'm as loud or even louder than usual from PA. At the new QTH I have nothing to compare the antenna with like I did at the previous house. BUT, based on these initial reports I'm delighted. I really don't care where this antenna resonates-it works ! Lou McCoy W1ICP always promoted using the longest dipole you could manage fed with open wire (ladderline) and have fun with the hobby. For me the Cobra is just the ticket for working 160-10 on a suburban lot with minimal effort and expense. Buy one or build one I believe you'll be pleased.
W9BR Rating: 2008-09-20
Cobra Senior Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is the absolute worse antenna I have ever tested in my 46 years of being a ham and building and testing antennas. The company is right in it's advertisement, it is resonant at 2.8Mhz (with MFJ antenna tester) and you DO require an antenna tuner. Unless you transmit on 2.8 Mhz, this antenna is not what you want!! Although my Palstar could find a tuning solution on every band, the tuner ate up all the power on 160m. This antenna was about 20 db down from a 160 m carolina windom on 160. Absolutely unusable on 160m. On 75 meters it was a push against a 75 meter dipole. On all other bands, it was somewhat useable, but much worse on receive and transmit than all other antennas it was tested against. I hung a G5RV, dipoles, and a carolina windom in the same space as this antenna to run tests. I have ample property to test these antennas. The Cobra tested far less than acceptable on all bands. I sold the $120 antenna on E-Bay for under $4, as that is all it was worth!!

The only good news was that I got introduced to the Balun Design baluns through the purchase of this antenna and they are truely a great balun. Bought several more of them for my inventory since!!!!! Built a few antennas using them....great find!!
K1COD Rating: 2008-08-19
5 years and still going strong Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been using this antenna over 5 years now (140' senior model). Works great and I get a 1-1 match on all bands 160-6 meters with a tuner ofcourse. The antenna is up at 70' in a flatop configuration. I usually run about 500 - 600 watts output. If I can hear a station I can always be certain they will hear me. My property is surrounded by forest and I could easily put up a full wave 160 meter loop but I just can't bring myself to making any changes. This antenna just performs to well to make any changes. I have been enjoying 10 meters for the past couple months during sporadic E openings. I wanted to compare the cobra to an Imax 2000 5/8 wave vertical on 10 meters. After more than 50 contacts and qso's switching between the two antennas the cobra would always receive stations 3-4 s units better than the vertical. I would also receive the same reports on my signal. If you have 140' to get this antenna up 30 ' or more I have no doubt you will be very pleased with this antenna.
W1WH Rating: 2008-06-22
Great antenna! Very satisfied. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My experience with the Cobra is a little different from KG1F's. I find that I can use the internal tuner of my 746 Pro (which is designed to handle mismatches less than 3:1) to easily tune any band from 80 through 10 meters. I tune 160 and 6 meters with an external Palstar tuner but have not attempted to try 160 or 6 with the internal tuner. Additionally, I am hearing significantly better with the Cobra than I did with the ladderline fed 135 foot dipole it replaced - although one of the legs is somewat higher than it was on the original dipole. The Cobra is also well constructed...my only suggestion for improvement would be to use stranded ladderline rather than the supplied solid copy line. All in all, the Cobra is a solid '5' in my book!

Bill, W1WH
KG1F Rating: 2008-05-27
Really needs a tuner Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Updating my earlier review - after a couple of weeks use, I came to realize that the guy at HRO had given me bad advice. He said, "You don't need to buy a tuner. Just use a 4:1 Balun and the internal tuner in your new FT-950 should be able to handle this antenna just fine..."

That prove to be untrue. With the internal tuner the SWR was all over the place. I couldn't tune 40M or 160M at all. And SWR levels on the other bands fluctuated all over the place.

I added an LDG Z-11pro and bingo, everything worked just great. I worked the Indy 500 special events station this weekend, and tonight I got home from work, turned the radio on, and a moment later had a nice QSL with two guys in Ireland and England.

SWRs on most bands are close to 1.) on most bands. On 17M and 10M they are around 2.0.

So you need a tuner. That is not bad news. With a tuner this is a great antenna.
WU1E Rating: 2008-05-17
Very Pleased! In service 2 months. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have it end supported by two trees with the feedpoint at approx. 40 ft. Unfortunately the antenna and feedline is in contact with lots branches as it runs through several trees. I can attest to the durability of this item as I really had to wrestle it thru lots of branches on the way up. After a couple of wind storms I went out and wrestled it up some more since the branches moved themselves out of the way bit. Best part is you cannot see this antenna against a treeline. Very stealthy.
At first I was using an old MFJ-949D tuner grounded to a cold water pipe using 50' of heavy gauge outdoor lamp cord. Using a coax jumper and a W2AU 4:1 balun it didn't always tune easily. Using the MFJ internal balun however, it loaded easily on all bands. A few weeks ago I added an LDG Z-11Pro to my shack and going back to the w2au balun it also struggled a bit. I swapped out the short coax jumper and put in about 25' of coiled up coax and now the system is a dream to use. The extra coax concerns me a bit but I just don't dwell on it and enjoy the QSO's and the easy operating.
This antenna is up to favor east/west, but I'm thinking of adding another one to favor north/south.
So far I have been most active on 20, 40, and 160 and having lots of fun ragchewing and chasing DX.

My only long term concern is the solid core ladder line. If it does fail at some point I will just upgrade the feedline and see if I can get the antenna a bit higher.
Sorry I can't give side by side comparisons with other antenna's but I can say that seems to perform like the good dipole that it is and that I hold my own in a pileup. Actually, IMO I do very well in pileups using 125 watts barefoot.

73 de WU1E
W1CDX Rating: 2008-05-09
absolutely the best... Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
after reading so many 5.0 reviews of the Vertical Zero-Five MB ... I purchased one and while installing the 43' Vertical, I found my Senior Cobra to be in the way. I raised the Senior from 35' to 55' and straightend everything out a bit (flattoped). Boy oh boy what a difference. It was like a new Antenna. What 20' hight can do is unbelievable. I never really had a problem tuning and the SWR was allways good. This tenna is truely the best.
I just ordered a second Senior from Joe to replace my 73' model (Junior) which runs north to South. With this 2nd Senior I will be able to work all directions, all Bands.

PS: The Zero-Five is still not installed completely. I only have 12 Radials up and will install at least 30 more Radials. This review is not a comparison between the two Antenna's.
W3RXO Rating: 2008-04-18
Very Happy with it! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
It is not an antenna for someone, like me, who is uninitiated in the operation of manual tuners, and doesn't have a built in tuner in his rig. It IS a great antenna, but it has it's "quirks". ALL of which are resolved by operator experience, and getting to know your antenna and tuner. I had never operated a wire antenna before, nor had I used a manual tuner, and made MANY mistakes trying to operate this combination. Now that I am getting experienced, and learning more and more about how to bring an antenna into tune with a manual tuner, I am extremely pleased with it's performance. I run it as a flat top, at about 25' above ground on one end, and 20' above ground at the other. I never seem to have any problems getting heard, easily get through in pileups, even with only 120 watts output, and it handles my Gonset GSB 201 MkIII quite well, when the time comes to use it. I believe the manufacturer rates it at around 1KW, so I haven't even tried running my Alpha through it, but I suspect it would handle it well. It is a VERY WELL BUILT antenna, and I think the manufacturer sells himself short on it's capabilities, just to be safe. So, I follow his rating, and if I'm going to run the Alpha, I run it through the vertical.
VE9AIR Rating: 2008-02-10
best yet Time Owned: more than 12 months.
this antenna has lasted through hard canadian winters, best money I have ever spent..and works the very best, it says up to 80, well I get 160 off it easy, I can not tell you how good this wire antenna is, it would take up too much space, the storms this antenna has gone through, and I have a LKM-36ax that I was going to put up,,still sitting in the barn..been 2 years now..
KC9GKE Rating: 2008-02-04
KC9GKE Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought i have a small lot and i wanted 75/80 and a 160 meter 1.1 each band have it up centre is up about 32 f.t works great