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Reviews For: UniHat CTSVR (short low-band vertical)

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : UniHat CTSVR (short low-band vertical)
Reviews: 4MSRP: 579
Description:
Rugged 31' Tall Vertical Antenna covering 160,80, 40 & 17m. email: sales@unihat.com Telephone: Ed Goodman 214-352-4623
Product is in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0045
KC4MOP Rating: 2016-11-06
CAN'T BE BEAT! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am a former owner of the Unihat CTSVR. I'd like to build one or buy one and renew the experience once again. The most effective design, ever conceived. Weak points were the coax capacitors braking down. Ed Goodman told me to incorporate a vacuum variable to handle the high voltages. Worked perfectly. The antenna was designated to be a MAGNETIC radiator, which was the secret to its success and effectiveness. That short design and top hat was has been used and authorized by the FCC for commercial AM's to use as an effective radiator. Built to last and guyed to stay up no matter what mother nature tried to do.
Ed is pretty smart guy and came up with a great design. Hopefully I can buy another one or get a sweet deal from Ed Goodman.
K4CKD Rating: 2003-02-19
7 years testing and RESULTS Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My experience goes back to August of 1996 when I purchased the Uni-Hat CTSVR antenna. I met all the manufacture statements and then some with the exception of one area. That area was in handling power. The antenna upon inception was designed to handle 1.5KW but due to the small amount of inductance arc-over occured on 80 and 160 meters during high power use. Replacement of the coaxial stub capacitors was frequent and time consuming. A retro-fit modification of the coil was developed and replaced the original coil. In ordeer to replace the coil and install the retro-fit new coil, the antenna had to be lowered and the bottom insulator assembly removed and replaced with the newer assembly containing the new COIL which now has 14.3 µH of inductance and approximately 21 turns with 11 pre-configured tap points for resonance selection in the desired portion of the band. This is far superior to the original 10 turn coil and two (2) tap points for hi and low adjustment. This too caused a few problems but ONLY because of using the antenna on a city lot where space was restricted and surounding obstacles presented various scenarios towards the tuning and detuning of the antenna. Some of these were overcome and I was able to work around them but others seemed like an IMPOSSIBILITY. Perserverance does pay off though. Being unable to overcome the arching and stub capacitor problems, I modified the antenna without changing its esthetic appearance too much. The coaxial stub capacitors were removed and replaced with HIGH VOLTAGE CAPACITORS and CONFIGURED FOR RESONANCE ON EACH OF THE THREE BANDS i.e. 40-80 and 160. I won't go into detail here on the modification but if you are interested in knowing more or seeing more go to my web page at
http://topbandradio.mainpage.net
There you will find text files of same and digital photos of the before and after effect. or you can email me at dennis.peterson@machlink.com

The antenna has passed several test before and after the mod running ONLY 50 watts of poer output. Consistently I have been 10-20 over S9 into the New England States and have worked the West Coast into Washington State and California as well as Arizona and have received reports that I am stronger now tih a 32' vertical than I was with an 85' vertical when I lived in Auburn, WA.
Several times I have worked the region of the Caribbean with only 50 Watts just to see how well the antenna was performing. Personally, I think it performs as well as a full size Quarter Wave Vertical that MOST OF US can't put up on a city lot. I give it 5 Stars * * * * * KØCKD-----Dennis

I think 7 years of experimenting and experience qualifies me with these observations and modifications.
W0VC Rating: 2000-04-14
Sturdy, Effective, Limited Space, Low-band Antenna Time Owned: unknown months.
Let's be clear, this is not the low-band Holy Grail of vertical antennas. But for us little pistols with very limited space who love low-band DXing, the CTSVR is an excellent compromise. Contrary to some reports I've seen in the antenna newsgroups, this antenna is well built. I have photographs of my UniHat coated with over one inch of ice from a rain storm followed by a temperature plunge to 40 below zero, ushered in by 50mph winds. The CTSVR really took a beating and survived with no damage. I had to go outside to chip the ice off the matching coil to operate. But that's life here in Minnesota. It's very well built and sturdy if, installed as per the detailed instructions. How well does it work? There is no magic to this antenna, it is short, only 31ft tall. There were some initial claims, but they came back down to earth following newsgroup discussions. Yes, an inverted L will give it a run for the money, but I don't have the space or trees for multiple "L"s for 160, 80 and 40 meters. The CTSVR resembles a huge capacitor with its large top hat and "unipole" wire skirts. I worked my first 160 meter DX into South America and the Caribbean with it. Very exciting to me! It played well during the DX contests on 80 and 40 CW. Nothing drop dead in signal reports, but my 100 watts were heard by the contest stations. My only complaint is about the tuning stubs. I found it very easy to trim the coaxial stubs too short, especially on 160 meters. Had to replace that one with coax from my surplus supply. Customer support from Ed was outstanding. While I had to sell the antenna due to a fiscal sea change, I plan to purchase another one to finish up my five-band DXCC. It's great to see a well-engineered product like this, but it isn't inexpensive. That quality costs, but I found it worth the price in DX enjoyment.
N4PT Rating: 2000-02-24
30 Foot Wonder Time Owned: unknown months.
These are my impressions of the Uni-Hat vertical. I have no other antennas for comparison.
I have been using the Uni-Hat CTSVR for about 8 months on 160,80 and 40 meters. It is ground mounted in my back yard in Tucson, AZ. The back yard is sand, rocks, rocks and cactus. Probably the worst type of ground for a vertical. I currently have 42 133’ radials laying on top of the ground or run over the cactus. The radials are 17-ga electric fence wire. I run 1 kW mostly CW.
I would give the antenna a 5 star rating. The performance of the antenna exceeded all my expectations.
It is difficult for me to explain how shocked I was that I can consistently work DX on 160 with a 30 foot antenna. This antenna is used for both transmit and receive on all bands. The only criterion I have for evaluation is my log. I operate sporadically and in 8 months I have managed to work the following:
Band/countries/zones 160/52/24 80/52/24 40/88/31
The antenna is very well constructed and sturdy. With the recommended guying, it has survived 50+ MPH winds at my QTH.
I found the antenna easy to erect but difficult to tune. Tuning is accomplished by cutting coax (used as capacitors). There are three capacitors to adjust and there is a good deal of band to band interaction so it is quite easy to cut off too much and end up in the wrong part of the band. I had difficulty with the tuning because a local AM broadcast station rendered my Autek useless.
If you have CC&R’s or limited space then I would highly recommend this antenna.
Any questions send me an email.