Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: ZeroFive Antennas Multiband Vertical

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : ZeroFive Antennas Multiband Vertical
Reviews: 117MSRP: 469.00
Description:
A Multiband vertical for 10 to 160m,41 foot tall feed with your coax or ladder line,For use with a tuner,Made from 6063 t832 AL tubing,Requires radials,5kw cw,10kw ssb pwr handling,Freestanding,Comes with base insulator and tube.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.zerofive-antennas.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001174.9
VE7YSC Rating: 2006-11-19
5/8 ANTENNA ON 20 METERS Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Multi-Band Vertical is a 43' foot tall with no traps, or coils and is a non-loaded radiator.
The antenna is well constructed of quality materials. High quality aluminum is used with substantial thickness for durability and strength. The fold-over mount is highly
recommended with this antenna for easy mounting
and dismounting . The mount is a well constructed design and has high quality hardware.
The antenna had no problem with a recent wind storm gusting to 100 km. I didn't even consider
lowering this well build antenna for the storm.
The antenna is easily assembled in 35 minutes and is constructed with short sections for easy handling. The unassembled antenna is small enough for simple transport to field day activities.
The antenna performed better at my location then these 20 foot roof mounted verticals
Hustler 5BTV, Butternut HF6V and the SteppIr BigIr Vertical. These antennas were previously ground mounted with poorer performance.
I am assuming the Zero-Five antenna is at a disadvantage being ground mounted but it still out performed these antennas when they were ground or roof mounted.
My signal strength has improved from 10-15 db over 9 to 30-40 db over 9 with a familiar station at a distance of 450 miles.
I have received positive unsolicited feedback from stations that have heard me almost daily for six months on a net channel.
i.e. " your signal is 5-9 and the best I have heard you "
I did not divulge that I was using a different antenna to solicit reports.
I am most impressed with how well the antenna receives signals. The vertical antenna has a big pair of ears at 43 feet tall allowing me to hear stations on the net that were not heard before.
Tom, the owner of ZeroFive antennas is responsive to inquiries. His service is very supportive and courteous
N2JEU Rating: 2006-10-24
A great antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've had one of these for almost a year now and am impressed with the quality of the construction and materials used. Despite heavy winds this past winter and summer, the antenna is still up and in the same condition as when it was first installed.

With only two 100 foot radials down (due to the size of the lot the antenna is mounted on) it matches with the tuner in my Icom IC-756Pro on all bands from 80 to 10 meters. Using an external tuner it will match on 160 as well. On 80 through ten meters, if I can hear them, I can ususally work 'em with this antenna. 160 is a tough band for anything less than a half wave antenna over a LOT of radials but the miltibander provides some reasonable performance for being short at that frequency.

To be fair about this, I'm the person that maintains the web site for Zero-Five. To hear the vertical in action on receive, visit http://www.ralabs.com/webradio/ I'm currently using an ICOM IC-756Pro as an online receiver using the Zero-Five multibander. You can tune the radio using your web browser then listen to the received signals with only a short delay due to the buffering used to smooth out Internet audio streaming.

Bob N2JEU
KB2QQM Rating: 2006-10-02
THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been looking for a new antenna for the past couple of months. I have looked far and wide. I have for the past 5 years operated with the HF9V vertical by Bencher (Butternut).
I live just South of Milwaukee, WI ....Ya Know..
Harley Country. I wanted an antenna that was made of "Big Iron". Something that I could work, 160 through 10 meters, fed with coax and would withstand the high winds we have over here a mile from Lake Michigan in the winters and Giant thunderstorms in the summer. Something that I did NOT have to use tie-downs on.
Well I finally found it through TOM at Zerofive Antennas.
Tom has a great company. First, Communication with Tom was SUPERB. Emails answered promptly, Phone calls returned. He lives about an hour South of me, just West of Chicago. He delivered the antenna to MY HOUSE, and helped me install the antenna for free...ON A SUNDAY !!!!!
I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH NICE THINGS ABOUT TOM. HE BENT OVER BACKWARDS TO HELP ME. He is a real Gentleman.

His Antennas are built like a Tank !!
You will not be able to find a better antenna ANYWHERE! I know, I looked for 6 YEARS !!

I have never owned a tower, so I guess I am partial to verticals. The Butternut antenna I ran for so many years was great, but it is made to work certain very narrow parts of the bands, without a tuner. So that was nice, but moving from the low part of 20, or 40m or even from the Cw portions of 80 to the Phone bands was impossible on the HF9V, without having to go outside and retune the antenna, which can turn into an all day affair. I love CW, but I also love ragchewing. Tom's antennas filled the "bill" on what I needed.

Tom has many different antennas for everyone. He even builds to your needs if that is what you want.I gave Tom a "5" although he should be rated an "11" just because he is so far ahead of the other antenna manufacurers...like the Comet 259 dummy load with the big resistor in the base, and no radials..anyways..that is another story...
Why buy a piece of crap...from China, when you could buy an AMERICAN PRODUCT FROM A REAL AMERICAN WHO CARES ABOUT YOU...AND WANTS THE BEST FOR YOU AND YOUR ANTENNA NEEDS...and at a price below what the other people charge and you get 10X the antenna. Quit wasting your time dreaming...Call Tom at ZeroFive, and discover the Best money can buy. You owe it to yourself.

Here is my site at Flickr. Its my photography page. You will notice the Array Solutions AS-200 "Tuner" Balun (4:1-Widerange). I had to attach the balun with wire because I didn't have a stainless steel U-clamp. I forgot to tell Tom I had ordered the Balun, as I was originally going to use the SGC-237 Tuner to tune it, so it looks a little messy...that's "my" fault, not Tom's.

Currently there are only about 40- 50' #14 insulated house wiring stapled to the grass. They do not have to be cut to length for each band because ground mounted verticals with radials- the radials are detuned, so only have to be about 50' long. Anyways..check out the pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kb2qqm/


I hope Tom becomes a millionare, from these antennas because he solved my antenna predicament and he will solve yours too. Quit dreaming and call him tonight.

Greg Heath
KB2QQM
AI4QS Rating: 2006-08-26
Super vertical Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Another rave for Tom's great customer service. He is a pleasure to deal with.

As for the antenna, it's built like a tank. I have owned Mosley and HyGain verticals before, but they were toys compared to this vertical. I considered serveral other brands before deciding on ZeroFive. My decision was based on reviews on this site considering company reputation, antenna quality, and performance reports.

Assembly is simple and raising the antenna using Tom's very rugged foldover mount is very easy. I would recommend two people. Not because the antenna is too heavy for one, but it is a lot easier to get the last mounting bolt in place with someone else holding the mast upright. My xyl did a fine job!

The vertical is clamped to a 6' water pipe set into 4' of concrete about a foot square. Half of a concrete block was placed at the bottom of the hole with the water pipe inside to steady it whle the concrete set. I also put a 3' piece of pvc into the concrete about 2" away from the water pipe to clamp the radial plate with. The square hole in the radial plate is large enough so that the radial plate fits over both pipes allowing even outward distribution of the radials. Tom's foldover mount just fits nicely within the radial plate borders making easy access to the radial tie downs, plus the weight of the mount and antenna keep the radial plate firmly in position. I temporarly clamped the radial plate about a foot off the ground to fasten the radials, then clamped it flat to the ground and installed the foldover mount.

Comments on performance will have to be in two parts due to the fact that the SGC-230 tuner I was planning to mount at the vertical base was doa. Having no balun, and not wanting to buy one I wouldn't need once the SGC was in place (and desperate to make a few contacts after a 35 year absence from the bands!), I fed the vertical directly with 100' of coax from an MFJ autotuner in the shack. SWR is under 1.5:1 but no doubt I'm losing power at the feedpoint since an swr analyzer indicates about 100 ohms impedance for the radiator on 40m at the feedpoint.

So how does this cobbled up feed setup radiate? How about Poland on 40m and the Ukraine on 17m with 20 watts?
Can't wait to see how it works once the remote tuner is in place and the bands are better. I'll report back once it's up and running.

I followed Tom's advice and installed 60 radials, 50' long, using a DX Engineering radial plate which makes the installation very neat. The radial plate is also tied to an 8' ground rod. Used 14awg stranded wire from Home Depot at $45/500' roll. Once the weather cools off, I plan to tie the radials down with barn pole nails.

For what it's worth, the vertical is quieter on receive and brings in signals I can't even hear using a 66' longwire on a tuner.

Thanks Tom!
W3BNY Rating: 2006-05-31
Great! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Have to give it to Tom at ZeroFive. His customer service is wonderful. You email him you get a response. No games! If he says the antenna will be there on day X. It will probably be there the day before.

The antenna itself does not come with instructions (it doesnt need them but he tells you to call him if you need help in assembly). I suggest purchasing the tilt up mount at the same time. Make your install job that much easier at time for raising (which....isnt that difficult. It barely weights...oh 10lbs if that? Just walk it up and put the final bolt in!) It does free stand but he reccomends guying if you want to leave it up over 60mph winds or ice.

Two suggestions though. Make sure you have a bottle of NOALOX (or equiv. product) handy to coat the tube mating areas. (Tom dosent tell you that but its aluminum...if you leave it up long enough...its gonna oxidize... as you beam owners can attest to!) Oh and during the installation, dont gorrilla fist the hose clamps! I buggered two of them (my fault) I had some spares in the garage so it wasnt a show stopper.

Great antenna and makes a nice addition/complement to my 80m dipole.

Thanks Tom!
K1LDP Rating: 2006-05-02
Superb product and customer support. Highly recommended. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I live in a restricted neighborhood. Came up with the idea of putting up a birdhouse in the backyard since many neighbors have done that. After reading many reviews I decided to give Tom a call. Best thing I've done.
He was very helpful. Built me an excellent antenna with an attachment on top so that the birdhouse would be easily mounted.
It's 18 feet high and very well built. Excellent materials.
The base is very strong. Everything was mounted by myself in a couple of hours.
Right now I have 41 radials but will be adding at least 20 more soon.
As far as the performance it has been a great improvement from my wire in the attic.
Have made plenty of contacts in 17,20 and 40 meters and even though the antenna is built for 20 meters with the built in tuner in my Mark V 10,12,15,17,20 and 40 meters all give me 1.4 SWR or less.
As far as the HOA I can say that it hides real well with the birdhouse on top (Birds are already nesting in it since day one) in between the trees in the backyard.
Customer support from Tom has been outstanding. He delivered everything as promised, answered all my questions promptly before and after the sale (by e-mail and telephone) and followed through by e-mail to make sure everythung has been well.

I highly recommend Tom and ZERO-FIVE antennas. If you need a good vertical custom made to your needs don't hesitate to go with ZERO-FIVE.
Price, quality and customer support are superb.

See you on the bands.

Luis D. Paret
K1LDP
Keller, TX USA
W9CLA Rating: 2004-11-19
43 foot multiband vertical Time Owned: N.A.
I just got mine last week (43 foot multiband model) and had it up in no time. I gave Tom the diameter of my base stub that I had sunk in some concrete and he did the rest. I put down radials cut for 75M, 40M and 20M. I am using a Harris CU-2310 (RF-351) remote tuner and it tunes the vertical with no problem. I am driving it with my Henry 3K Classic-X at a conservative 1KW and the reports I am getting are great.

I'm really looking forward to working DX on 40M and 75M this winter!

Craig W9CLA