| W5MCU |
Rating:  |
2016-11-09 | |
| Wow!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Bought the ZeroFive Multiband Vertical that uses the automatic tuner. I installed it in a day over my guest house. It's quite large, think giant CB base antenna with 6 long radials.
After installation, I was dying to try it out. First contact was Cuba. Second contact was Brazil from North Texas on 100 watts! During daytime on 20 meters with an Icom IC-7300.
Tom is super quick to answer questions. When I say 'super quick', I mean within the hour. I've installed the antenna 6 feet above the roof peek in the center of a 60 foot long roof ridge. The underlayment of the roof has the foil radiant barrier. I was curious if that would affect the radial plane of the antenna and if it has, it has IMPROVED it. |
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| K8UMF |
Rating: |
2016-02-06 | |
| Excellent! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| The antenna was easy to assemble and works very well, even on 80 meters. The only negative issue is that the installer made the hole a bit too deep and the radials are at eye level. |
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| AC8YJ |
Rating: |
2015-05-11 | |
| WOW!!!!! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Were do I start: I have the 10-80 meter 43 foot ground plane. It has 6 aluminum radials that are 130 inches long that sit about 7 feet off the ground.
1- Customer service is 2nd to none, Tom answered all my questions, gave me a ton of advice and helpful hints before I even purchased this. I called him last week about something and he was still as helpful as ever 6 months after I purchased this.
2- Easy to setup and install- Me and 1 other fellow set this up in about 40 minutes, only needed some sawhorses to set it on as we assembled it and a stepladder to put in on the pole per the instructions. It took me longer to dig the hole for the mounting pole than to assemble the antenna. I also followed these Zero Five's instructions as well , I have 150 ft of coax between the antenna and my radio and I also use a external antenna tuner. ( LDG electronic tuner)
3- I do not have room for ground radials to work all the bands I want ----this is a compromise antenna---, this antenna sits in a 30' by 30 ' area ( that's all the room I had to work with) , with the 6 aluminum radials that are 130 inches long, it takes up just about all of that space, the radials do dip to about 6 feet off the ground at the ends of them. I also have it connected to the chain link fence that surrounds the 30 by 30 area.
4- Very, very sturdy, this well built antenna is freestanding. It went down to -15f this winter and a 71 mph gust during one nasty storm. This antenna will bend in the wind, but it always comes back to straight up and down.
5- Wow does this baby work, I used to have a wire about 40 feet in a tree before this. This thing way out preforms it, I made my 1st contact on 15m to Croatia 10 minutes after getting the antenna hooked up, I only run 100 watts but I make a lot of DX on it. SWR is about 1.5 across all bands ( less on 40 and 80) with the autotuner, it creeps up to almost 2 near the top of 10M , I can use my dentron super plus instead of the autotuner to get it to about 1.5 on the upper part of 10 though so no big deal IMHO . If I want an ancillary vertical antenna in the future it will be a Zero Five.
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| N5TF |
Rating: |
2015-03-29 | |
| Best Buy Going on Vertical |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| These antennas are built rugged and you get a superb rotating mount which makes lowering and raising a breeze. For the money you will find no better aluminum 43' vertical anywhere, period! If I were in the market to buy another, I would not hesitate. I have had cushcraft, fiberglass push up verticals, and this beats them all for quality, ease of maintenance, etc. Get one of these and an aluminum radial plate with stainless hardware, radial wire, a piece of 6' galvanized water pipe, a ground rod and you will be in business. |
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| NP4GW |
Rating: |
2015-03-29 | |
| Gan' Ask For a beetter vertical |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have been impressed with Tom's input concerning this antenna. Zer0-Five customer service is superb, the quality of the antenna is impressive and it is very rugged. The design of this antenna is very simple and was very easy to assemble and raise.
Although I've only had the antenna up for a few days, I've noticed that it performs much better than my inverted L. Getting into Europe has been easy even considering the poor propagation. On 40 meters it works incredibly well. I'm running a TT JUPITER barefoot and using a LDG Z-100 Tuner.
I'd recommend this antenna to anyone who needs a reliable, well built, good performing antenna. |
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| KB4BJM |
Rating: |
2015-01-27 | |
| Tom is the best!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I recently had Tom modify the insulator of my Cushcraft R-5 vertical. Quick turn time, great work and excellent value. I still have his first year 43" vertical and it is still working and looking like new. It is by far the oldest antenna that I have kept. Thanks Tom...
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Earlier 5-star review posted by KB4BJM on 2005-05-13
First, I wish there was a 10 rating to select for my review bcause this antenna is a 10!! Tom is there for the whole process. He is prompt with E-mails. Quick with shipping and follows up after the sale. I wanted an antenna that covered all bands,works with a tuner and was easy to assemble and install. This antenna fits the bill. I am running a Icom 718 and a LDG Z-100 autotuner.At present I am using a Spiro PB-4 Balun and am still experimenting with other Baluns. I have about 30 radials at cut and radom lengths. In the past I have had the following Verticals...Cushcraft AP-8,AB5V,R-5,R7.Hustler 6BTV.Butternut HF2V,Hf9V,HF6V.Gap Eagle and Titan.The Zerofive Multiband crushes all the others that I have had. Here is what makes it better that all of them...It's Tom's interest in his product.THis is my only HF antenna and now I'm finally done looking for something that covers all bases. Thanks Tom!!! |
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| KG0DB |
Rating: |
2015-01-04 | |
| Outstanding |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've had the 43 foot vertical up and operating for about 18 months. I know things must be going well when other operators often ask, "What kind of antenna are you using?". I live in Colorado and the winters can be challenging for anything standing 43 feet in the air, with wind blowing at 35 m.p.h. at below zero temperatures. The Zero Five has withstood it all. I have about 45 radials out but have to "re-string" them every so often because the deer like to wander through the hillside where they lay. Not a big deal. I can honestly say that I've never failed to work at least one DX station every evening for the past six months. I'm going to call Tom and ask what this "phased array" is all about. |
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| WI9Z |
Rating: |
2014-12-24 | |
| Outstanding product |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
If you are in the market for a bullet-proof, multi-band vertical antenna, I urge you to consider the Zero-Five ground mounted 43 foot multi-band vertical. I previously used a Zero-Five 23 foot multi-band vertical mounted on a 20 foot mast on a very small city lot in Chicago. The antenna worked great on 80 through 10 meters. Earlier this year we moved to the suburbs of Chicago where I have more room. I telephoned Tom, the owner of Zero-Five. After reviewing my proposed antenna site Tom recommended the 43 foot fold-over ground-mounted vertical. I bought the antenna, installed it, ran radials and hooked the antenna up to my Yaesu FT DX-3000 and AT2K tuner. I now load 160 meters through 6 meters with no trouble. I get FB signal reports and could not be more pleased with the performance. The antenna has been in service for about three to four months so far and I know that with its rugged design, heavy duty construction and quality components that I will get years of reliable service with this set-up. If you are considering a vertical antenna for your station do not settle for lesser iterations of the 43 foot vertical. Get the best. Call Tom, buy the Zero-Five antenna that best suits your situation, and work the world.
Best DX, 73, and thanks Tom! de Joe, WI9Z |
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| K9TWO |
Rating: |
2014-06-25 | |
| Great |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I had previously been using a homebrew 33 foot vertical strapped and insulated with white PVC tubing to a 4x4 post in the ground. It worked well but not enough length for 80 meters. I stay below 3.800 to stay away from the ex-CBers and their bad habits. I made my own base load out of a 20 foot piece of 1/4 inch copper tubing to get a closer match on 80. It now resonates at 3.5 mhz. This keeps the loss out of the feed line and the tuner. Electrically, the antenna is always grounded thru the base load coil to ground which consists of 3 ground rods bussed together and about 15 radials. The 43 foot antenna is built like a tank and easily laid down by one person. I am 68 years old and have no problems at all. I really like this antenna, very well built and can be assembled in 15 minutes without a manual.
Yes I use a homebrew UNUN at the base to keep RF off the coax. Also have 7 or 8 ferrite slugs on the coax right at the base load coil I made. It's all enclosed in a 12x12x6 PVC electrical box from Menards. The taps on the base load coil was easy to set up using my Comet CAA-500 analyzer.
I use 1.5 inch copper strap from the base load coil to the antenna and ground. The copper strapping is treated with anti-oxide compound because you can't connect copper to aluminum without problems. An SO-239 is mounted at the bottom of the box and I have a one inch length of white PVC to shield the SO-239 from rain. Will be glad to send picture of the box and plans if you would like You can get my email on QRZ. Still use my Palstar AT2KD tuner on some frequencies but without so much loss in the tuner and coax since it resonates at 3.5 mhz. Tuner is not in line when near 3.5 mhz.
No, this antenna won't work on 160 without huge losses unless you have a top hat or use it in an inverted L configuration. Your only kidding yourself trying. Of course I knew that before my purchase so am not blaming Zero Five. It's a great antenna.
Note: I recently added the 1:4 Unun and added 45 feet of wire to a nearby tree and converted it to an inverted L configuration. What a huge difference it made for DX And locals both. Worked G0EVY with 100 watts and Dave said I did not need an amp. The local 7160 group were all giving me great reports with the 100 watts. I can tune any frequency from 40 m thru 6m with the FTDX-3000 tuner and can tune 80 and 160 easily with my Palstar tuner smoothly. I use only about 30 feet of feed line and my antenna is only located about 15 feet from my station and my TV with no RF issues. Your mileage may vary. The 45 foot wire I added at the top is about 3 feet from the top under the hose clamp and use a 1/8 inch nylon
Line on the opposite side with a bungy cord to keep the antenna vertical. Can't even see the wire or nylon cord.
73 K9TWO Don Since 1959
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Earlier 5-star review posted by K9TWO on 2013-05-25
I had previously been using a homebrew 33 foot vertical strapped and insulated with white PVC tubing to a 4x4 post in the ground. It worked well but not enough length for 80 meters. I stay below 3.800 to stay away from the ex-CBers and their bad habits. I made my own base load out of a 20 foot piece of 1/4 inch copper tubing to get a closer match on 80. It now resonates at 3.5 mhz. This keeps the loss out of the feed line and the tuner. Electrically, the antenna is always grounded thru the base load coil to ground which consists of 3 ground rods bussed together and about 15 radials. The 43 foot antenna is built like a tank and easily laid down by one person. I am 68 years old and have no problems at all. I really like this antenna, very well built and can be assembled in 15 minutes without a manual.
Yes I use a homebrew UNUN at the base to keep RF off the coax. Also have 7 or 8 ferrite slugs on the coax right at the base load coil I made. It's all enclosed in a 12x12x6 PVC electrical box from Menards. The taps on the base load coil was easy to set up using my Comet CAA-500 analyzer.
I use 1.5 inch copper strap from the base load coil to the antenna and ground. The copper strapping is treated with anti-oxide compound because you can't connect copper to aluminum without problems. An SO-239 is mounted at the bottom of the box and I have a one inch length of white PVC to shield the SO-239 from rain. Will be glad to send picture of the box and plans if you would like You can get my email on QRZ. Still use my Palstar AT2KD tuner on some frequencies but without so much loss in the tuner and coax since it resonates at 3.5 mhz. Tuner is not in line when near 3.5 mhz.
No, this antenna won't work on 160 without huge losses unless you have a top hat or use it in an inverted L configuration. Your only kidding yourself trying. Of course I knew that before my purchase so am not blaming Zero Five. It's a great antenna.
73 K9TWO Don Since 1959 |
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| KX2T |
Rating: |
2014-05-03 | |
| Outstanding |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I purchased the Zero Five 43' vertical about 3 week ago, Tom had the antenna at my door three days later and man alive this antenna is built. Yes you need radials, a good Unun (use the Balun Design 4:1) plus a 8' ground rod and your set to go. Very easy to build and install and now that I have down 26 radials man this thing plays. I use it with a Palstar AT2KD and it makes for one sweet system, SWR on 20 is very close to 1.4 to 1, almost the same on 15&17 but 75,40 and 10 I use the tuner but its so broad banded that once tuned you can qsy over +-100Khz. One thing is for sure this antenna works the longer haul DX, its not the antenna for local rag chews but even on 75m it does a good job of working EU early and late during a band openings. I have up two loops at 70' which work well but this vertical does better on the longer haul contacts. Recommended for lots of fun working DX. |
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