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Reviews For: Comet CHA250B

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Comet CHA250B
Reviews: 138MSRP: 449.
Description:
The Comet CHA250B broadband vertical antenna will amazingly cover 75/80 meters through 6 meters with no gaps! Transmit range is 3.5-57 MHz and receive range is 2-90 MHz. SWR <1.5:1. This 23.5 foot vertical requires no radials and weighs only 7.1 lbs. The antenna consists of five sections of aluminum tubing that slide into each other. The bottom section has the matching network built-in. Only two simple measurements are required during the easy assembly. It can handle 250 watts SSB and 125 watts FM. SO-239 input. Mounts on a 1 to 2 inch mast (not supplied). Rated for 67 MPH wind survival.

Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cometantenna.com/amateur-radio/base-antennas/multi-band-hfvhfuhf-2/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
24.51383.7
N1IZE Rating: 2006-11-15
Just a few words Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I think many are thinking this antenna is like an r5 or some other vertical. Look at the band coverage with the comet, for the money its a great antenna. It is not a beam, nor does it have 120 radials placed around its bottom going a couple hundred feet out. Its a basic antenna. Everyone has a comment, where ever there is a postive there will always be a negative, no one agrees with anyone and thus we have WARS.. I have made various contacts thus far to Canada, the mid west and southern states all giving me good reports.. Remember too we have all been waiting the return of the "Solar-cycle". I remember back in 1992, hanging a 17' piece of copper wire on to a clothes line on the second floor of my apartment in Bridgeport connecticut and contacting a ham in FLA,and one in England and other dx areas, the wire was held by clothespins and not even 12 feet off the ground. I also made an inverted "V" that was about 11 feet off the ground and I had QSO's down to Australia and New Zealand. Let's face facts with conditions the way they have been these past couple years a nice 3 element beam with a KW behind you would be the only feasible way to make a contact. Don't sell this item short until we all can appreciate the next solar cycle. The bands have been real crappy.. I am sure most agree with this comment. Those that want to write me since it is a rarity that I come onto eham- can do so at actman81@yahoo.com

73's
G4HUN Rating: 2006-10-29
Good, but some drawbacks Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been using a ground-mounted HyGain 12AVQ for the past four years and have worked DXCC with it. I bought the CHA250B as I wanted more bands, in particular 7MHz, 18MHz and 24MHz, which the 12AVQ doesn't cover. I also do a bit on 6m when the band is open, and I have used the 12AVQ for that band, but wanted something designed for the job. So I've got the Comet mounted in exactly the same way as the 12AVQ - ground mounted with a good spread of chicken wire underneath - not exactly the 20m high pole that the handbook says to use. With the 12AVQ, if you could hear it you could work it; with the Comet I can hear stuff that I can't hear on the 12AVQ, but I then struggle to work it. During the 2006 CQWW Phone Contest I ran up and down the stairs switching aerials like a madman! My final view is that the Comet is better on receive than the 12AVQ; but that means you may now hear a weak QRO station where you wouldn't have heard him before. The problem lies in not having QRO to reply with - he's unlikely to hear you if you're only running 100w. So unless you've got a decent amp you're going to suffer the same fate as me. On the other hand, if you've got a decent amp you should have a decent beam as well!
M3NOC Rating: 2006-10-09
Still unsure Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
HAVING USED THIS ANTENNA FOR SOME SIX MONTHS NOW AND NEW TO THE HOBBY ALL I CAN SAY IS THE FOLLOWING.
THE ANTENNA IS MOUNTED ON THE SIDE OF MY HOUSE WITH THE TIP SOME 17M FROM THE GROUND.
TRANSEIVER IS A YAESU FT-840
TUNNER IS A LDG Z100 AUTO TUNNER
POWER ALLOWED TO MYSELF IS 10 WATTS
I HEAR ALOT,NOT ALOT HEARS ME
I PUT IN HOURS AND HOURS OF EFFORT BEING SO NEW AND ENTHUSIASTIC BUT CONTACTS ARE LIMITED.
ASSUMING MY STATION IS SET UP CORRECT AND ALLOWING FOR BAND CONDITIONS NOT ALL THAT GOOD AT PRESENT I DONT SEEM TO BE DOING AS WELL AS I HAD HOPED.
I SPENT A LOT OF MONEY AND MOST PEOPLE I SPEAK TO SUGGEST A CHEAP HOMEBREW WOULD DO BETTER.
YES IT WAS EASY TO ASSEMBLE,LOOKS GOOD AND HAS GOOD SWR,BUT THE OBJECT OF THE GAME IS TO MAKE CONTACT,NOT JUST TO LISTERN TO EVERYBODY ELSES CONVERSATIONS
IN HIND SITE I SHOULD HAVE LISTERNED TO WHAT MORE EXPERIENCED CAMPAIGNERS HAD TO SAY.
GW4DVB Rating: 2006-10-01
Don't Do It !!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am sorry for two reasons...

1. That I didn't take the negative comments seriously.

2. I waisted my money!!

Seriously this antenna is awefull... I can even get better received signals on a coat Hanger dangling out of the window!!

For those who would suggest that it is not mounted properly ... it is at 10m above the ground and away from any buildings and fed with the best low loss cable I could afford..

It is the highest 'Land Mark' for miles..

Not sure what is wrong but this antenna will be sold asap and replaced.... I had a smaller 80m vertical that worked better than this and tuned with a separte ATU on all bands..

On the bright side the SWR is as advertised and RFI and TVI has gone.... but then again so has all the transmit and receive!!

At the moment I have it has been relegated to the Dummy Load position on my antenna switch

Absolutely Ideal !!!
K0BG Rating: 2006-09-20
Antenna for suckers Time Owned: N.A.
Like the Diamond BB7, this antenna is nothing more than a 50 ohm dummy load with a radiating element attached to the hot side of the coax. Depending on the frequency in question, the transmitted signals are from 30 dB to 50 dB down from a standard dipole. A recent review in QST confirms this.

In my honest opinion, even as an emergency antenna, this one isn't worth the effort.

Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
KC9GOP Rating: 2006-06-26
Works as expected! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have used this antenna for over 6 months now and have nothing bad to say about it. For all those posting bad reviews I will say one thing, "This is not a mono-band beam on a 100 ft. tower so don't expect it to perform so!” It works great on all bands keeping SWR low as it should. Made lot of contacts on 40, 20, 17 and 15 meters all around the world! Looks great, definitely not an attention getter if you live in a “not ham friendly” neighborhood! Goes up in 20 minutes, one man job! Have it on a 15 foot mast on back of my deck. Could not be happier considering the performance, easy of assembly and price against the bad looks form noisy neighbors! Compromise, yes, bad antenna no!
M0NBY Rating: 2006-05-04
Great performance for a comprise antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Having looked around for a multiband vertical for a long time found the Comet CHA250bx.

It is well manufactured,easy to errect (2 people in under an hour). Performance is great. first contact was the canaries isle.

The comparison to my G5RV is great maybe a single S point. This is a DX antenna due to it's angle of radiation. This is almost useless for local groundwave operating on all but 80m.

Only real problem is that is doesn't handle enough power. how about a 1kw pep model..

Works with out a tuner on from 6m to 80m and will tune up on 160m with an ATU.
N8FQY Rating: 2006-04-13
Worth the money Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have owned the CHA-250BX for 3-6 months now, and have had outstanding results with it. From reading some of the other reviews I almost didnt buy it, but am glad that I did. It takes about 5- 10 mins. max to assemble. I have the ant. mounted at about 20 feet off the ground, Comet says you should have it around 30 ft to best performance. I have worked several dx stations with this ant. Portugal,Cuba,Ireland, South Africa. If I hear it I can work it. I think that it was worth the money, and I would buy it again.
G0SCX Rating: 2006-04-09
Dont expect too much Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
A lot of hype about this vertical - I have tried it for just over two weeks and found it not particularly good. OK what can you expect from a design like this, not a lot. If you are only able to put this sort of thing up at least it will get you on HF but do not expect to do much under 14mhz. I have found that 18mhz and above it does work quite well but in comparison to a random wire with a tuner on it, at frequencies below 14 it is poor - the difference is from S4 on the Comet to S9+10 on the random wire both on 40m and 80m.
I am not saying this is a garbage vertical but I would say that unless it is a last resort give it a miss
PERFECTSWITCH Rating: 2006-03-27
Works as advertised Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I used a G5RV until a neighbor got pissy about the wire so I decided I would install a vertical on the opposite side of the house. I live in a planned community with CCR's and lots of geezers with nothing but time and a passion for enforcing the "rules." Anywy, this antenna has a real narrow profile which I hope will allow me to stay off the neighbors' radar. I was worried about choosing this antenna after reading the ealier review on eham about how this technology is a scam and that the Brits had been suckered by similar units using identical methods. I called Comet and spoke to their sales guys and after a five-minute chat, I felt comfortable about the unit and ordered one up. It arrived a couple days later and true to earlier reviews, it assembles in about ten or fifteen minutes....it's an absolute piece of cake. Went to Lowes and bought some antenna masting and brackets for mounting. With the help of a buddy, I erected it and ran the cabling over the roof, connected it to my Kenwood TS-480 and checked out the SWR. Crap....everything is 3+. Went back and reworked my PL-259's and realized I didn't install them correctly. I cut them off and reinstalled. Wala! I now have VSWR of 1.5 or less across ALL bands as stipulated by the literature, and that's without the use of the antenna tuner. If I use the antenna tuner, it brings most bands to, or under one VSWR. That British guy who provides that crappy review of this antenna is either ill-informed, or a competitor because my experience with this unit has been nothing but positive. I'm relatively new to HF and this is my first antenna, and hopefully my last for a while.