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Reviews For: Comet GP 15 Tri band (144/440/52 mhz) vertical ant

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

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Review Summary For : Comet GP 15 Tri band (144/440/52 mhz) vertical ant
Reviews: 52MSRP: 149.99
Description:
6M @ 3.5dB; 2M 6.2dB; 440 @ 8.6dB; 150 watts; 7'11"; fiberglass
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cometantenna.com/base.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00524.4
KK4OBI Rating: 2021-03-15
Time tested mature antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Interesting design. Two types of antennas combined.

1) A ground plane with two radials on 2 meters and 0.7 meters. This gives a circular radiation pattern. Tuning is not effected by how high it is over ground. Higher the better for distance.

2) An "L" dipole with a loaded (shorter) horizontal radiator. This gives gain in the direction of the "L" and narrows usable band width to 1 Mhz or less. (If you cannot hand-turn the antenna for strongest signal, think about which direction you point the "L" when mount it). Also the horizontal element interacts with the ground so 6 meter tuning changes with feed point elevation.

If you want to convert to a 6 meter omni-directional, ground plane, add a second radial opposite the loaded radiator. This could be a rod about 4.6 feet long or another loaded element like a 6 meter Hamstick, Procom, Shark, etc.
KQ0J Rating: 2020-04-16
Performs as advertised... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Looks like there have been no recent reviews. Price is now $170-180. I wanted to replace my adequate but underperforming Arrow Jpole. With the GP-15 I gained a 6 meter omni to supplement my 2 El 6M beam. Installation was a snap. I tuned it for the low end of 6M but it has a reasonable 2.X:1 SWR up on the FM portion and works fine for repeaters. SWR on 2M and 440 low across the FM bands. Has good gain over the jpole and a lower SWR. Used it for this weeks 6M openings and it was about 1 S unit below my 2 El beam which fits. I had a 6M omni loop up but could not bring up the nearest 6M repeater - about 15 miles away but with this vertical its 20-30 over 9 and no problem. Not good for local SSB but if you want a FM antenna that will let you play when the band is open and polarization does not matter, its a good choice. Also I am running the CF-706 duplexer so I can use it without swapping cables.
WD4AB Rating: 2018-06-11
Good Performer Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Installed the GP-15 over the weekend just in time for the VHF Contest. Was surprised how well it worked on 6 meters. worked 48 contacts on sporadic E in s short time. Performance on 2 meter and 440 was very good and was able to hit repeaters with ease. Antenna was mounted at a mere 25ft, SWR less than 1.5 on all bands including the 6 meter SSB portion after tuning the stub. A good choice for limited space installation.
W2RWL Rating: 2018-05-23
Great gain - easy to tune 6M Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am so sick of folks saying things like "lightning magnet". ALL vertical antennas are lightning magnets. disconnect them and put them to ground during storms you idiots. This antenna is a great performer on FM or SSB and I have pumped 100 watts 6M SSB thru it with no problems. With the internal tuner on my FT-991A this thing tunes up perfectly. 6M tuning is touchy without a good analyzer. tuning 6 effects 2/440 and you have to find the happy spot, or medium of the 3. I find a 410mm whip length works best.

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Earlier 3-star review posted by W2RWL on 2014-12-03

2 Meters and 440 work like a charm...I have the 6 meter stub tuned to 53.000MHz with a 1.1:1 SWR as suggested by many...Even though SWR on 6M is low across the band, the performance of this antenna on 6M is not all that great...I get constant reports of poor audio on 6M, but great reports on 2/440...I think 6M should stick with being on its own...
F4EPP Rating: 2018-04-17
What a good scanner antenna as well Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Let me write another review after several years of serious activity with it and tests/comparisons with other antennas.
It's definitly hard to beat, even with V/U Yagis antennas. It does always a great job even outside of Hamband, what is very rare. Diamond antennas are usually bad outside of our bands, this antenna keep receiving signals correctly. I monitor military air band, Uhf, civil airband below 50 mhz activity.
Ragarding Hambands, it's all you need for 6m summer ES. That's true that it won't beat Yagis for TE propagation but I tried though !
Everybody around are amazed about the performance of my Comet in V/U. Last fall I had to use it with an HT (5 watts) several months, my FT-991 was under repair, they almost couldn't believe the DX I did with that set up. I realized how easy and powerfull FM DX is when there's tropospheric propagation with a decent antenna.


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Earlier 5-star review posted by F4EPP on 2016-01-02

I could tune it easily for our 50 Mhz european dx band portion 6 feet above the ground and I didn't notice any swr change on the roof of my house. 144/430 was ok right away.
I have a 150 km range without propagation on Vhf and I easily reach 300 km with small daily tropo in the mornings and nights.I don't really know if it's a matter of a superiority compared to other antennas but mine works great. I did more than hundred qsos this summer (2015) on 6 mtrs but single hop only. I would have preferred 10 mtrs rather than 70 cm for the third band. I can't blame Comet as this kind of antenna doesn't exist yet !
N2MDV Rating: 2017-01-11
Great, depending on where you use it. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
On fairly flat terrain, this antenna is an all around performer. That extra gain on 2M and 440MHz will work well, as long as you can get this antenna above, or way away, from trees. Deep in a valley, expect only the unity gain of 6M to get you out. That narrow radiation pattern just goes to the valley walls and gets reflected back to you. A 1/4-wave GND-plane works there. No tuning on 2M and 440MHz should you want to work out of band FREQ's, but then again I don't ever remember getting out of band intermod, like I do with a wide band Discone. 6M is tunable and in a pinch you can work CW, SSB, and AM, portion of the 6M band vertically. So, before deciding on this antenna, 1st do research of the terrain around you.
K3ICH Rating: 2016-08-29
Needs effective ground plane Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I agree with all the comments concerning lack of performance on six meters.
However, a simple fix is to fashion a second,dedicated ground plane for 50 MHz.
I used a junk chicken-band vertical, scavenging the three solid aluminum radials and mounting plate. I cut the radials for 50 MHz and mounted it just below the existing radials on the antenna.

The performance difference is night & day. It now acts like a true quarter wave vertical on six with no detriment to 144/440.
K0HWY Rating: 2016-08-28
Get What You Pay For Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned the Comet GP-15 for about four years now and it's been a decent antenna for the most part. However, decent is not great and this is reflected in the price. If you want a good performer on 6 meters, this antenna is not what you need. Although it will tune up exactly as described, a good match does not equate with a good antenna. The antenna does much better on 2 meters and does an average job on 70cm. My recommendation would be to buy a really good 2m/70 cm antenna and put some serious cash into a true 6m antenna, especially if you're serious about using 6. Due to its 6m shortcomings, I would rate this antenna at 3.
W5JMW Rating: 2016-08-10
Pretty good so far.. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had a ar-270b up on the tower.took a lightning hit.I put this up as a temp.BUT,seem to be great good on vhf,uhf and 6.Swr good at 20 ft.It will go up next and see what it can do...
WB4U Rating: 2013-02-11
Just awsome! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Excellent construction. All elements and coils inside are soldered to maintain integrity over time. All hardware is stainless steel. No assembly required so there is less potential to make a mistake. Check all set screws to make sure they are tight and measure the 6 meter radial to ensure it is correct for the part of the band you intend to use. My GP-15 covers 51 to 54 MHz between the 2 to 1 SWR points, it covers all of the 2 meter band plus more and all of the 440 band plus more. On air performance it amazing. I can highly recommend this antenna. It will give you years of great service.