| K2SG |
Rating:  |
2013-01-16 | |
| Excellent Customer Svc |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
My ZeroFive full size 80m vertical has been performing far beyond my expectations. I added another round of radials and now have about a total of 42. I recently had a cable clamp failure (ok, I forgot to tighten it properly) and damaged several of the end sections of the antenna as I was tipping it over to avoid another Nor'easter that was coming through. Being so easy to tip over has given me peace of mind when we have these Nor'easters with 70+ mph winds and two Hurricanes in the past two years. Hurricane Sandy came ashore 10 miles to my south and it was great having my antenna's secure. I contacted Tom at ZeroFive to obtain replacement pieces for the several I carelessly bent and several days later I had the parts and hardware I needed at a very reasonable price. He goes above and beyond to keep his customers happy. Great Service and excellent antennas.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by K2SG on 2011-08-21
I can only echo what everyone else has said that Tom's support goes above and beyond what anyone can expect. He answers email in a very timely fashion or will return a call in an extremely quick manner. The antenna is built like a battle ship and performs as advertised. With 36 radials down it covers from 3.8 to 3.5 under 1.8 to 1. The 2 to 1 bandwidth is much greater. I would highly recommend this antenna to anyone looking for a well built great performer. |
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| WR3KI |
Rating: |
2010-08-24 | |
| PERFECT |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have a pair of Tom's 80 meter verticals spaced at 1/4 wave & mounted out on the pier, in the Chesapeak Bay. I have phased the pair, to shoot NE or SW. The system provides great directivity into Europe and into the Pacific. The antennas have withstood 75 mph winds, without any problems. Tom makes heavy duty no-nonsense verticals that really work well. (my location dosen't hurt, with all the salt water, surounding Kent Island) Want a real signal for dx, get one or even better, get two or more of these & enjoy. Keep up the good work TOM.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WR3KI on 2007-07-09
The 80 Meter full size, SELF supporting antenna from Tom at Zero Five, replaces a guided vertical. Order & delivery were via FedExp. Tom advised the tracking numbers, so delivery could be made, without the probable "what's that".
This one is mounted 250 feet out in the Chesapeake Bay, on our pier. Yes, it's mounted right over salt water. The pier extends out 270 feet in the Bay. Bandwidth is 3.750 to 4.0 withOUT a tuner in line. Construction qualtiy is 2nd to none, military quality IMOH. All joints were well marked & "put together" went smooth. No re-drilling or re-tapping here, Tom checks everything, before they go out the door. The antenna tilts up & down with a winch, so adjustment goes off without a hitch. I have 12 1/4 wave radials, all in the Bay, along with 5 sq. feet of copper plate in the bay, directly below the antenna base. The numbers on the analyzer were great & I stopped adding radials at that point. Life is great when your antenna is over a large salt water reflector.
Now for the test, DX, no problem. VK's & ZL's great reports. How can it get any better you ask?, I just ordered the 160 meter remote control inductor from Tom. So, as my Elmer use to tell me time & time again, put your $ into antennas, when all else fails, you'll get thru. Thanks Tom for another great antenna.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WR3KI on 2006-03-26
My initial order to Tom at ZeroFive was for a 40 meter vertical. Before he shipped, I phoned Tom, & asked for something a "little longer". Well, the antenna now is about 62 feet high. The antenna is guyed at 25 & 50 feet, & is mounted on my pier. I have about 5 radials on the antenna, four in the Chesapeake Bay & one raised radial. The antenna is mouted out on the pier about 60 feet out in the Bay. Feeding the antenna with about 130 feet of 213 coax.
Fit & finish of the delivered antenna from Tom is EXCELLENT. I've had several commerical verticals over the years & a couple of my homebrew efforts. The base mount & insulator is far bettter than anything that I could make & is of commercial-military quality. As a matter of fact, NO-ONE, builds a better vertical antenna mount. DX & Stateside contacts have been amazing. I know,I know, it's the salt water under the antenna. We'll, that maybe true, but you have to start with a good basic antenna, that can stand up to the weather we get here on the Island. I can tell alot of tales about high winds. This antenna takes a lickin & keeps on tickin. I just had a good contact on 75 with a German station, & he didn't give me a 5/9, etc, etc, He said, you're a "BOOMER" over here.
For a big vertical, this is the one to buy. The price vs. performance & quality is unequaled by anything on the market. Buy it & put it up, your search for the big rugged vertical is over. All the best from Kent Island, Chesapeke Bay of MD. WR3KI |
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| W9LP |
Rating: |
2009-09-08 | |
| Exceptional Product & Service |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Seems everyone is jumping on the mega-vertical bandwagon these days, thanks in no small part to Tom's (N9ZV) work in pioneering this segment of the amateur antenna market over the last several years. But Tom's Zero-Five antennas are different; superior in physical product design and quality to anything available in the amateur market at a reasonable price. This combined with Tom's expertise and exceptional service makes Zero-Five an unbeatable player.
You have to see the Zero-Five 80m free-standing vertical to appreciate it; photographs don't do it justice. The base section is 6" diameter aluminum mounted in the hinging base. The radiator itself, fixed in place with a high-strength insulating ring, starts at a 4" diameter and tapers to less than an inch at the top of it's nominal 67' height. No guy ropes or other supports make for an extremely clean installation on any size lot... very neighbor-friendly! And there is no fear that a big wind will bring this antenna down... my house will go first.
While Tom provides plenty of adjustment margin for going lower in the band, I've centered mine at 3750 KHz and have a VSWR of no greater than 1.6:1 at the upper and lower band edges... no tuner required.
Installing radials is a perpetual project for most verticals and my situation is no different. But with relatively few down so far, this beast is performing flawlessly as expected. VSWR is rock solid wet or dry and my amplifier loves this antenna. It's a keeper.
Finally, Tom's advice and service have been invaluable throughout this project, without which I may not have taken this on. He has passion for his products and he's truly interested in how his customers want to use them.
With its low radiation angle, a low-band vertical is a great supplement for other antennas you may already have. If you want to take this step, Zero-Five should be your first call. |
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| N5IN |
Rating: |
2007-01-12 | |
| Excellent DX antenna! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| Great DX antenna! It's well constructed. I bought it with the winch which has proven valuable to tilt down to adjust the length. I feed it without an antenna tuner using 400' of 1/2 inch heliax (Andrew LDF4-50). It's 1.6:1 at 3.500, 1.0:1 at 3.725 and 1.8:1 at 4.000. I put down 32 radials of 12 ga insulated wire each ranging from 120 to 150 feet. I am very happy with this self supporting full sized 80 meter vertical. |
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| K9CT |
Rating: |
2006-10-23 | |
| Well constructed and helpful assistance! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I purchased the self supporting 1/2 wave 80 meter vertical from Tom and am very pleased with the quality and performance. Pictures are on my website www.k9ct.us I over built the cement base and dont expect any weather related problems with it. You can crank it up and down for adjustment when tuning it. I am using a tuner from Array Solutions and the bandwidth on 75 and 80 is excellent. The antenna will easily match my Alpha amp anywhere on the band. I am also using the same box and vertical on 160 meters. The 2:1 bandwidth is about 25 Khz. I am using 60 100 foot radials clipped to the ground. This is well worth the money. Tom is very helpful and provides high quality materials. |
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| N9PKI |
Rating: |
2006-04-03 | |
| THE BEST OF THE BEST |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Great vertical for any price.I have had it up for a while now,With ice and snow and winds up near 70 mph,No problems at all.This vertical plays great,If I can hear them I can work them with excellent signal reports.I have it guyed at 10,25 and 50 feet and it stands tall and strait.Right now I installed 60 radials 70 feet long,This summer I plan to add 60 more.This vertical is built well and is worth every penny I paid for it. Tom helped me with any questions I had for my installation.
Thanks Tom
John WK9Z
Ex N9PKI |
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| W9OY |
Rating: |
2005-03-31 | |
| Big antenna, Big signal |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought this antenna to replace my other 80M verticals. I had a 50ft top loaded T vertical wire hanging from a tree, and a 40ft modified Butternut HF-2V.
This antenna is big. Everything about it speaks of quality engineering. The antenna base is made to be mounted to a 4x4 planted in the ground. A massive aluminum L channel is bolted through 2 half inch holes drilled through the 4x4, and the vertical is attached to this L at 2 points with 1/2 inch bolts giving a very strong base. It has a maximum length of 66ft and can be adjusted down actually to what ever height you require, simply by telescoping the tubing. Once the antenna is set up the way you want it, Tom has included some stainless sheet metal screws to lock the sections into place. My suggestion is to drill the outside tube, tap it, deburr it, then insert the inside tube to the correct depth using some Pentrox on the tube and drill the inside tube and tap. Otherwise the burr can become lodged between the tubes and you will not have much fun trying to pry these apart at some future date.
Raising and guying this beast requires some planning. If you guy it 3 ways it helps to have 2 men pulling on 2 sets of the guy lines, while a 3rd walks the vertical up. Alternatively you can use the falling derrick technique described by N6RK. If you choose this method I strongly suggest you set up your guying to be in 4 directions. The advantage of the falling derrick is one man can raise and lower the antenna. I used buried 4x4's for my guy points, but you could easily use screw in anchors as well.
As to performance, the antenna is exactly as expected for a 1/4 wave vertical. There is no compromise with this antenna. I measured the base impedance over 32 x 70ft radials, and an additional 8 120ft radials (I use this same radial field for a 160M inv-L) at 37 ohms. I set up the resonant freq at 3.6mhz and the SWR is 1.4:1 at 3.5mhz, and 1.8:1 at 3.8mhz, covering both ends of the band quite nicely. Before I took the Butternut down, I compared the antenna to the Butternut, and the Zero-Five was clearly a more efficient antenna. There was nothing I couldn’t hear on one antenna vs. the other, but the signal strength on the full size antenna was always better.
Tom (A9KW), from Zero-Five who built the antenna was excellent to work with, immediately responding to every inquiry. His goal is to provide a good product at a good price and he has exceeded on both counts.
I used the guy ropes to support some vertical 1/2 wave end fed wires for 40M and 30M. The feed for these wires is entirely separate from the 80M antenna. I switch between antennas using a remote coax switch. The end result for my 399 bucks is a no compromise highly efficient antenna system for 80, 40, and 30, that is instant band switching and requires no tuner. About the only thing that would make me happier is a 4 square of these antennas.
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