| K1GUY |
Rating:  |
2010-04-18 | |
| Let The Truth Be Told, WOW |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
i just hung my buckmaster antenna per directions...It is, in a word, ASTOUNDING !
after owning many wire antennas, a Cobra, G5RV, Carolina Windom, and an 80 meter dipole, THIS IS THE ONE !
All my SWR readings are just a bit better than what is published on the Buckmaster antenna web site.
75/80, 40m, 20m, 17m 12m, and 10m all measure
1.5/1 SWR across the entire band !
my feedline is about 140 feet (LMR 400), i have about 35 feet of extra feedline that i put in a coil of about 10 inches. I also placed a choke balun at the bottom of the antenna mast of 32 ft.
It receives magnificently, infact the noise is mostly gone...like getting a new receiver. Transmit reports are all great.
I have put 1000 watts thru all bands with abosolutely NO RFI. NON, nada.
also, i can tune 160 with my tuner. I keep it to
100 watts there, as to not damage the balun.
thank you for a U.S. made, product that is built like a battleship, and plays like a
stradivarius violin .
I dont know what to do with my tuner now ;-))
If you are thinking of a wire antenna, this is as close to the holy grail as you can get.
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| K5DHE |
Rating: |
2010-04-03 | |
| perfect |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
my antenna is 35ft off the ground. it works as advertised... max. swr is 1.2 also its flat on some bands... no tuner necessary... this antenna is heavy and very well built... the co. support is good.. i expect this to be my last store bought wire antenna.. its expensive but worth it... mine is 135ft long and the 3kw model...i also have a nice g5rv but this works better in receive. i also have a bux com 80 through 10. its nice and affordable but the co. owner is a condesending ass. his web site is very informative.
k5dhe |
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| N0YXE |
Rating: |
2010-03-08 | |
| Great build quality... |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Notice how I gave a a positive response in the Summary! I try to be an optimist. I have reviewed the Buckmaster several times and it is still, ok. It had it up at around 35 feet and the SWR was usable, but I still needed a tuner. Better have one. I left my Buckmaster at my last QTH, as I just moved into another house and it has a small, postage sized, fenced-in backyard. I put a small antenna up and after dealing with a rabid, communist laden homes association and an unethical ARRL volunteer attorney (I'm filing a Kansas Bar complaint) I had to remove it. The federal and new Kansas antenna laws do no protect against any rules found in homes associations. These laws ask the vicious soviet inspired organizations to give Reasonable Accommodation for our antennas so that we may provide assistance for homeland security, disasters, military, ect. Forget it. The OCF will be detected. I ended up purchasing a Transworld vertical dipole systems and it has worked well beyond my my expectation! Check one out. I have a great article on the OCF antenna that I can send to you. If you want to build one it doesn't appear to be that hard. You want to purchase a cheap version to try out for the fun of it, look up Falcon antenna on the internet, as I purchased a short version (66') and it's still in the bag. It appears to be built like a tank, and the balum has a 4:1 ratio, which may be even better for heights below 40'! My e-mail for the article is: tbgspaceship@yahoo.com Good luck and enjoy your Buckmaster if you have one or are hellbent on getting one.
Terry, N0YXE |
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| PA3GPP |
Rating: |
2010-01-23 | |
| Super rugged antenna,but.... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Hello,i bought the 8 band 3 kW OCF in dec 2009 and installed it as told in the manual(height approx 40 ft)and WOW!!what a very long antenna it is!!and what a reception of the signals!!it receives great ,but....transmits also ok,except that i had a very HIGH SWR on 160,80,20 meter band,i experiment with several antenna positions,inverted v,l-mounted,and flattop(best results)finally i add a coax RF choke(12 turns RG 213UBX diameter 7"abt 1 ft below the 1:6 balun)and that gives a lot better SWR results!!but still the coax cable(new rg 213 ubx military grade)is very sensitive for surroundings(metal tower,fences,buildings)when you reroute the coax the swr is then ok(better than 1:1.8 over entire bands except 160 meters,you still have to use a ext ant.tuner.)anyway this antenna works great if your area conditions are metal free!!(at least 20ft away from the antenna) |
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| W6LOL |
Rating: |
2010-01-16 | |
| Remember to use your review filter... |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I find the price reasonable, for a high-quality 135' antenna AND a high power balun. YMMV.
I love my 3kW OCF; and it would be a strong contender if I could have only ONE antenna, regardless of price.
My small criticisms:
1. VSWR expectations and the potential need for a tuner could be explained better, and with a bit less optimism.
2. Instructions should include a discussion of the (unbalanced) feedline, the need for choke balun(s), and how to place them correctly.
3. An ability to tune element lengths, a least a little, would be very welcome.
4. One of the knock-off designs includes a fan OCF element to cover 30m and 15m. How about a deluxe model with this feature, Buckmaster?
I'll weigh in with a more detailed review, if and when I can find the time. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying my OCF... a lot!
Good DX and 73, Ed, W6LOL
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| KE4EX |
Rating: |
2010-01-16 | |
| save your money |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Over two years in operation, good multiband.
If you don't have the real-estate for a multi dipole or inverted Vee's then yes buy one HOWEVER, there are cheaper ones around.
I would build a fan dipole before buying another.
Buckmaster is built well but over prices.
I have ran a dipole and inverted Vee on 80 and 40
A basic wire antenna will give you a stronger signal but you'll need the room. My test antennas were separated by 50 yards running at 35 feet, running RG 213 (RG8).
73 ke4ex |
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| K3YX |
Rating: |
2009-11-15 | |
| Great Multi-Band Antenna! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This antenna has proven to be a great multi-band wire. I have no need for a tuner except on 15 and 160 meters along with the far upper portion of 10 meters. Will load up fine on 160 meters with a good tuner like the Palstar AT2K. All other bands are 1.7 to 1 or better. As stated by many, the build quality is excellent in the 3kw model. The tech support is also excellent. They were more than willing to spend time on the phone to answer all of my install questions. |
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| N6LY |
Rating: |
2009-10-05 | |
| Works great! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I threw up this antenna into a tree at my family cabin up in Arnold, CA last weekend for the CQP contest (Oct 3,4 2009). I got it about 30 feet up and was able to reach all across the U.S., Germany, Slovenia, Australia running only 100W with no effort even in this horrible sunspot lul.
The internal tuner on my TS-2000 handled every band advertised with ease. I added a Unadilla W2DU Current choke about six feet below the balun just for good measure.
The MFJ analyzer closely matched what was advertised on the hamcall website.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! |
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| N2DY |
Rating: |
2009-07-06 | |
| Works Great |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is my second review, having owned the 7 band antenna for a couple of years now. I have put the full legal limit through the antenna for extended periods of time and it just takes it. I do not use a tuner with it and it works perfectly on all advertised bands. I have mine mounted roughly as a flat top around 45 feet up.
I am confused by the previous reviewer who noted that his 6-bander does not tune on 75M. The 6 band model is not designed to work on 75M. Perhaps I am misunderstanding his complaint.
Anyway, I cannot be any happier with this antenna. It gets me on all the HF bands that I like with a relatively low profile and good performance. |
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| TODD5251 |
Rating: |
2009-06-12 | |
| Great antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Put the antenna up about ten feet off the ground for a trial run before I permanently mount it.Hit Austria second call 20 meters.Vswr not bad at all at 10 feet.All reports stateside were 5/9.I cant wait to get it installed according to the directions. |
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