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Reviews For: GAP EAGLE

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : GAP EAGLE
Reviews: 59MSRP: 299.00
Description:
40 through 10m vertical
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.gapantenna.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00593.7
KF4OKF Rating: 2013-08-09
Great Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought my GAP Eagle in 1998 and used it in FL. Have a very small lot and putting up a wire antenna at any respectable height was impossible. Installed it on a galvanized pipe next to house in my backyard and it was up 13 feet. The installation instructions were easy to follow and it went up on the pipe with no problem. It withstood many high wind events without a problem. The best part though was the QSO's I had with the Eagle. First used it with a Ten Tec Scout at 50W and couldn't believe the difference between using it and a inverted vee antenna that was too low to work dx- I could now actually work dx !!!!! Added a Kenwood TS 950 SD to the station and this made the dx experience even better. Had no problem tuning up the antenna on any of the bands with the internal tuner of the 950. Running without an amp I was able to break many pileups even on SSB. The Eagle received many compliments from other hams with my signal on all bands including 40 M. This antenna is a great dx antenna for anyone with a small lot or perhaps for an RV. Of course living 500 ft. from the Atlantic didn't hurt I suppose but have worked other hams using the Eagle located in such locations as the desert southwest and they had great signals as well. Follow the directions and you'll be working dx in no time. The antenna police made me take down my antenna but soon I hope to have the Eagle up and running again at another QTH. Thanks to GAP for making a fine product.
KB1TCD Rating: 2011-10-23
great antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
We've had this antenna a couple of years, installed it on the side of the house, very poor results, lots of RF in the shack and high SWR.
Last spring we moved it and attached it to the barn about 100 ft away from the house and added four 30ft ground radials as well. Difference is night and day, antenna works great with decent SWR on all bands it's supposed to.
Instructions are crappy but with patience it is doable.

73 de KB1TCD
KC6ZWH Rating: 2010-12-03
Junk Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
horrible instructions. something that would normally take me a few hours took me a few days. after assembly i tested it on the ground and it was perfect. put it on the roof and 40 and 10 meters went to 10:1 vswr. Where did my perfect go. grounded or not still the same. The only pleasure i got from this was sending it back. bought a hy-gain AV-640. that was very easy to assemble and works fine. As they say in England, mind the GAP
WB8YQJ Rating: 2010-11-12
Good and Durable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had a GAP Eagle installed at this location since 1993.

Mine is painted green, and ground mounted near trees for a minimal visual impact.

The antenna performs equal to a dipole at 30 feet in height on 20m-10m and is super tough and durable. I cannot keep any wire up for one year, the wind always blows them down, the GAP just works for years and years without a care or worry.

The RF exits the antenna at a height where it has a chance to escape large ground loss as compared to a true vertical and there are no traps so 100 watts less your coaxial loss is what goes out.

This antenna is 40m "compatible", but is too short to use as anything other than an emergency antenna on 40m, any longer wire will beat it.

There are two ways I see to make this antenna fail for SWR, a botched application of the PL259 - that happens more often than you would think, and if you dont wrap electrical tape around the top of the steel pipe which is driven into the ground, it is possible that the rigid ground rods assembly will short to the mast upon assembly. The antenna will not tune this way.

The antenna is a dipole mounted on one end, not a vertical, and thats why the GAP antenna does not have the aggravating problems common to smaller than physical half wave antennas. But neither side of the antenna can be grounded, the entire antenna must be insulated from the ground pipe.

This antenna design has a major benefit in that it collects the signal from more polarity angles than a dipole.

As a test, I mounted crossed dipoles at 20 feet, one vertical and one horizontal and then put them on an A/B switch. I see from equal to S9 differences and it always changes within moments from one antenna to the next being the better.

The GAP has the vertical part of the antenna, the tuning rods, and the horizontal counterpoise
all working to accept the signal from many angles.

The GAP can be adjusted to better than 2.0 to 1 SWR on 20m-10m but it takes time and lots of trial and error. There are these "stubs" at the bottom of the antenna, which must be adjusted band by band and yes a change will affect slightly other bands, this is in the manual. What they dont say is the rods assembly can also be rotated small amounts around the antenna center vertical mast and that can provide the ultimate
best solution.

It sounds problematic, but it is consistent and can be dialed in with time, trial and error.

Some other antennas I have used (the Butternut Butterfly comes to mind) are loaded with reactance and are feedline length+orientation sensitive, they will truly drive you nuts. The GAP has a wide sweet spot and it can be found fairly easily.

Cheers de wb8yqj
Carlsbad, Ca.

W8KQE Rating: 2010-10-15
Update: 13 years now, and still working great! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've now had this well made, sturdy vertical up in the same location for 13 years (mounted to small mast and attached to eaves on lowest point of roof), and I have not had to re-tighten, re-tune, or do anything to it! The steel mounting u-bolts are now rusted but the aluminum antenna itself looks and works great. For a small footprint, no radials (just short counterpoises), multiband, trapless vertical, this HF antenna is a great value and simple solution to getting on the air. Today on 17m and 12m, I worked a 'VQ9', 'SV1', '4X4', 'EA9', 'HB9', and 'OK2' running barefoot. For me, this vertical has been a godsend in getting me on the air from a small backyard location for so many years now. THANK YOU GAP!

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Earlier 5-star review posted by W8KQE on 2007-08-01

Ive had my GAP 'Eagle DX' up for 10 years now, mounted on a concrete sunk mast against the side of the house. It has survived windstorms, snowstorms, icestorms, and other typical weather scenarios, and it works as well as the day I put it up! I haven't touched or adjusted it in any way all these years, and it continues to work great on all bands, with low SWR. Talk about 'low maintenance' and well-made products! The key to making this antenna work well is to properly assemble and install it, making sure you follow the owner's manual diagrams and dimensions 'to a T'. An antenna analyzer helps as well, and at the very minimum, take the time to adjust the length of the aluminum tuning stubs, and experiment with coax position and # of turns coming out the bottom of the antenna. I HIGHLY recommend this great antenna as a 'smaller footprint' HF multiband solution to getting on the air!
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Earlier 5-star review posted by W8KQE on 2002-10-24

I cannot speak for those for whom this antenna has performed less than adequately, but I guess I am one of those who has had phenomenal luck with assembling and using this sturdy and excellent performing vertical. I've had the Eagle DX for several years now, and I must say, this thing works great on 20 thru 10, and O.K. on 40. For a multiband trapless vertical that requires no lengthy radials (it has small counterpoises instead), the Eagle DX is a winner! I was essentially looking for a smaller footprint vertical that I could mount near ground level that would work well and not alienate the wife and neighbors. Incidentally, I don't work for, or have any vested interest in the GAP company, but this Eagle DX has performed beyond my expectations, especially on 20 thru 10. Maybe I am just one of the luckier ones...
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Earlier 4-star review posted by W8KQE on 2000-11-11

I've owned the GAP Eagle for several years now, and am very happy with it. It was easy to assemble, although a bit time consuming, and went up easily. I mounted mine on an approximately 13 foot long mast with one end stuck into the ground with cement, and the other end mounted against the side of the house eaves with an eave mount. The antenna is quite secure sitting about 9 or 10 feet above the house, and is not guyed. It sways intensely in the wind, but has held up with no problems. Peformance wise, this thing is amazing on 10-20! 40 leaves a bit to be desired, but this is to be expected on a 22 foot high antenna. Running only 100 watts out (I never run amplifiers), I have easily worked close to 200 countries on both CW and SSB. Most contacts are effortless, with the DX worked in 1 or 2 calls. SWR looks good on most band segments. It rises to near 2:1 on 15 CW, but my tuner takes care of that, and performance does not seem to be affected here. The Eagle is truly one of the best multiband, shorter vertical solutions for those with limited real estate or wives that cringe at the sight of larger ham antennas. A very good performer overall when assembled and installed correctly! If I had to choose one drawback it would be that GAP should provide an SO-239 weatherproof connector at the base of the antenna instead of having us manually solder on the coax connector to the small piece of coax that runs internally.
KD8FVJ Rating: 2010-05-29
Good Antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Good Antenna Did find that mounting at 10' did lower SWR on 40mter to what is claimed as well as all the other bands and as far as noise for a vertical it is quiet . the directions for assembly
are not that good but any Ham should be able to figure it out . over all a good antenna made a lot of QSOs
W2UOY Rating: 2009-12-23
Continues to work well Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is my second post and follow-up to previous post. Now owned for about 6 months during poor sunspots. I continue to get good reports over most of the world running a FT-102 barefoot without antenna tuner. Asia is a little tough but aqain poor sunspots and no amp. Using no radials and antenna about 2 feet from corner of house.


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Earlier 4-star review posted by AA4WB on 2009-08-30

I have owned the Eagle DX for a few months now. Although I think the Butternut is a better vertical, the no radial and lower cost is a good value. I can't afford towers and beams and the expense of many verticals these days but I have found the GAP Eagle DX to be a good value. It was easy to assemble. I use a hybrid transceiver with now SWR meter and setup antenna per manufacture spec. Since I use a hybrid transceiver with 6146 finals ( tank circuit ), I can easily load all the bands. A snapshot of my log recently under poor sun spot conditions is this:

Ukraine
Balearic Is
Bosnia
Italy
Belgium
Mexico
Haiti
Balearic Is
Spain
Italy
Ukraine
Bahamas
Catilina Is
Italy
Russia
Italy
Canary Islands
Yugoslavia
Italy
Germany
Agean Sea
Belgium
Crete
Costa Rica
Yugoslavia
Germany
Tobago
Belgium
Ukraine
Slovenia
Brasil
Cuba
Italy
Portugal
Belgium
Italy

Granted a dipole may do just as well to Europe I have found the GAP to perform well. I am realistic in that a yagi, quad or even Butternut or other vertical over a ground plane would be better but I think the cost vs other verticals and the fact that it is 2 feet from corner of house the antenna has performed well using a FT-102 at 150watts only. Nice job GAP.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by AA4WB on 2009-07-05

I assembled a Gap Eagle DX vertical this weekend. The assembly was quite easy except the confusing part about which end of the double-walled end goes into the antenna. With modern day inkjet printers and digital cameras, it amazes me why the company can't spend a little time making a better manual. This review however is about the antenna.

I currently have the antenna in a temporary setup broadsided three feet from the side of the house, only about three feet high. So far the performance has been good under poor band conditions. In less than a day of casual operating I have worked:

Costa Rica
Latvia
Ukraine
Balearic Island
Italy
Iceland
Belgium
Mexico
Haiti
Spain

Not bad for a shortened vertical without radials. Yes, I would rather have a big vertical with 30-60 radials or a 70 foot tower and beam. For the money, ease of installation, I think the GAP Eagle DX vertical is performing well.

The SWR is < 1.5 on all band except 40M but I use a tuner and not concerned.

73's de W1UOY
KE7VXP Rating: 2009-08-23
OK antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Put mine up ten feet on an iron pipe in the front yard. Already had a G5RV shorty at about 20 feet to compare. The Eagle receieved about one S unit better and get out much better. My farthest reach at 100 watts is mid-Mexico reported 5-9, but I have yet to hear, much less work Europe or Asia. This antenna is a decent compromise when you don't have much space for a dipole, or inverted V. Bottom line: its OK, but I'm not waving pom-poms.
W7CAR Rating: 2009-03-11
Works Awesome Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've had my GAP Eagle up quite awhile now, and it never ceases to amaze me. Most recently this past weekend I played around in the ARRL DX Contest. Near 11 hours operating made 118 contacts with 46 countries for a score of 16,284. Not a dissapointment in the little Eagle's performance 10' off the ground. Worked it Transmit & Receive, so no special extra Receive antenna. Of course a Yagi would be better, but the Eagle is a solid performer, and equal to any other Vertical in my opinion!

"73" Dave - W7CAR

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Earlier 5-star review posted by W7CAR on 2007-10-01

I puchased my newly aquired GAP Eagle DX antenna NEW in the box from an advertisement on an Internet classified listing. I had been researching Verticals for a couple of weeks prior to finding this one! Assembly was quite easy for me, as have been a Mechanic all my life! I put the antenna together in just a bit over an hour on my deck. I had no trouble putting it on a 10' mast as is so light weight. After mounting, and hooking up the coax I found the SWR across all bands to be far less than advertised, and showed near zero reflected power on the meters. My first two contacts were on 17 Meters, and worked Chile SA and Grand Cayman Island. Not bad for it's first tries. I enjoyed assembling the antenna, and am having FUN using it!
K9JWV Rating: 2008-10-10
Working fivers! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I'm doing this as a follow on to my earlier post on putting it together and tuning.

Since I installed a couple of months back have worked VKs and JAs on 40 meters as well as FO, VKs, ZLs on 17 and JAs and numerous South American countries on 20 meters - all QRP!

I'm happy with my Gap. I'd read where it does shine on certain bands (e.g., 15, 17 and 20 meters) so I'm really anxious for 15 and 17 to kick in as it's doing great on 17 and we're really still at the bottom of the sun spot cycle.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K9JWV on 2008-07-11

Took about 3 hours of my time to assemble the antenna; I didn't rush it, read the instruction manual over several times before I even attempted any part of the actual assembly (I highly recommend you look the manual over several times).

I placed my ICOM 703 and inline SWR meter about 10 feet from the erected antenna and found that doesn't work well; e.g., VSWR on 15 meters was > 3:1. Called Chris at GAP and found out I need to be some distance away. Added 100 feet of RG-8X and tested it from the shack - VSWR for all bands as advertised!

Have been on the air with the antenna and ICOM 703 for several days. Difficult to compare this antenna to my home brew antennas as the bands are so crummy but.....getting good signal reports with the crummy band condx AND heard my first European station EVER on 20 meters. Prior to the Gap Eagle, I had a home brew vertical and never heard an Eu on 20 (QTH is southern Utah).

Good support from Chris at the GAP office.