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Reviews For: Diamond BB-7V 80-10 vertical

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Diamond BB-7V 80-10 vertical
Reviews: 24MSRP: 499.00 (Au$)
Description:
Multi band hf vertical antenna
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00243.7
NN5O Rating: 2009-11-04
BB-7V on Saltwater Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is the second year I have taked the BB-7V to Ireland to work CQWWSSB from the Ring of Kerry. Every trip I get a terrible gale and this year, it lasted 14 hours with winds 30 to 60 mph sustained. Several other vertical and beam antenna systems have been destroyed by the winds, but the Diamond keeps on ticking. This year, it ticked to 165,000 total points with 65 countries and 18 zones on 15 meters and was nearly as good on 20. I used aligator clips to add a 32' and a 22' radial to the base of the antenna which was usually between 8 to 20 feet from saltwater with a clear shot in all directions. For a quick and dirty bullet proof all band antenna which is very portable, you would be hard pressed to beat the BB-7V.
Jim, EI2VNO and NN5O
KG4RUL Rating: 2009-03-25
Not good at all! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had none of the mechanical problems others have had. In fact, the telescoping and locking mechanism is an excellent piece of engineering and manufacturing.

However, installing this antenna in place of my 23', Force12, flagpole antenna proved just how badly it performs.

I finally ended up re-installing the flagpole, removing the 'matching network' from the the BB-7V and clamping it to the top of the flagpole. I connected the lead from the the antenna that formerly went to the 'matching network' to the top of the flagpole and - EUREKA!!! Now I have a great performing antenna!

What I have ended up with is the classic 43' foot vertical. I have minimal radials and no matching transformer. It tunes up easily with my MFJ autotuner and performs well.

Unless you have NO OTHER choice, I would not recommend this or the equivalent Comet product.
W0TBX Rating: 2009-02-28
Useless Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Purchased the First BB-7V 9/08, D.O.A. Returned
to Diamond. Received the replacement with advent
of bad weather. First opportunity to erect 2/09
with a break in the weather. Following the paper
work to move the antenna to different location(s)
due to noise etc. A number of locations proved to
solve nothing. The antenna will not tune on 10m
however it tunes on 6m, high SWR on 12,15,17,20
40,&80m. Await a break in weather to lower and
return with instructions not send another BB-7V
as replacement. In my opinion this is a $400.00
mistake.

Bob W0tbx
AF6DE Rating: 2008-12-05
Pretty good antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have owned the BB-7V for about 8 months now and it has performed reasonalby well. Just last week, I purchased a Yaesu FT-950 and it works very well with the bb-7V. I did change the location of the antenna to a balcony with a fiberglass military mast section for a total of about 22-26 feet (top of antenna) I also took a long section of 4" coated chicken wire type of mesh 4' x 12' and laid it on the ground and hooked one end to a ground break out box (tapped the shield of the coax) and hooked the grid to it. Last This week, I talked to W. Virginia and Pennsylvania and JAPAN from a 100W XMTR from California and the BB-7V, so It all depends on HOW you have it oriented and connected. Experiment a little, try a ground mesh, it couldnt hurt and you may find that this really is a pretty good antenna! Just as an educational point, the grey thing on the bottom is a impedance matching transformer, not a balun. it covers 40-6M (yes 6 meteers with a tuner)
KA1PPV Rating: 2008-09-23
Works great for me! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have only been using the BB7V for about 3 months but so far no complaints. It's mounted 25 ft AGL into a good ground. I operate mostly PSK on 20 meters and have regularly made contacts in Europe,Central America and USA all with 1.5 watts or less. When 'ol Sol decides to throw a bit more radiation this way things should get very interesting indeed.
W2JLB Rating: 2008-09-14
Works For Me! II Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is an update to my previous review. I’ve now had this antenna for about 8 months.

Since my first review, I’ve reduced my coax run from 50 to 25 feet of RG-8X. I have nothing in the coax feed line. I have replaced the Yaesu FT-1000MP Mark V with the Yaesu FT-2000D. This radio adds 60 and 6 meters to the bands it operates on. I’ve also discovered that with the internal antenna tuner, I can easily tune both 160 and 6 meters with this antenna although it’s not designed for these bands. I can operate 80, 40, 30 and 20 meter bands WITHOUT using the internal tuner. All of this with full power of 200 watts using a CW signal.

I did encounter some RF “in the shack” coming down the coax. Also my computer is right next to the rig and there is a 26” CRT TV on the other side of the rig. They both received a small bit of RFI. A few strategically placed chokes solved all these issues.

I continue to be impressed with the performance on all bands especially 40 and 80 meters.

The caveat here is this is how it WORKS FOR ME. Take into account my high-end transceiver, the location of the antenna on top of a 7 story building and the fact that there is nothing (no external tuner) in the coax feed line. So your mileage may vary.

Other than these changes everything in my first review still applies.
W4KG Rating: 2008-04-27
It Works Fine For Me! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The reason I give it a 4 is the price is a bit high for what you get.
This is a good mobile set up antenna.
I use it for QRP and it comes through as Diamond
has said it would, Granted ground radials make it work better but what vertical antenna doesn't. I use it for a fast setup and use antenna that gets the job done. I mount it 10 foot off the ground
from the side of my small trailer running an
Icom 703+. I have used a dry lube on the sections so they will slide better, And I drilled two small holes at the bottom to drain rain water that finds it's way in. the only other antenna that I looked at was the buddy pole at about the same price range but set up was an issue with my use on the trailer and to many parts to loose.
KG4GZW Rating: 2008-03-25
change of heart Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Upon the time of purchase until now things have changed. The tuning coil attached to the bottom is useless. You are better to ground mount it without the coil,use maybe a 1.1 balun for antenna & radial attachment.Well heck ,i could have bought myself a piece of aluminum tube to do that and save $$$$. My coil became damaged and i sent numerous emails to RF Parts requesting info to purchase another coil, but to no avail. If you need replacement parts forget contacting RF Parts, their customer service sucks. Even tried contacting Japan- nothing. I give low score on performance & customer service followup. SAVE YOUR MONEY,BUY A PIECE OF TUBE INSTEAD,OR CUT A DIPOLE,CONSTRUCT NON-CONDUCTIVE BRACKETS TO SECURE THE WIRE ALONG SIDE THE MAST AND FINISH IT OUT WITH EQUAL LENGHT OF RADIALS OR LONGER.
KA4AIY Rating: 2007-12-16
Good in wind Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Bought one 6 months ago... any all-band vertical is noted as a compromise, but this one works well. All the complaints seem to be focused on it's portable utility.. IE the screws and the tight fit of the the telescoping sections... I bought one to be used as base vertical up on the roof here in the windy region of New Mexico. I replaced the section clips with stainless steel sheet metal screws as I have no reason to take it on the road. I have had many contacts and find it withstanding gale force winds routinely. It does not use radials and I find it operates all bands less than 2:1 SWR. As I said, it's a good compromise as it doesn't require radials and I get a lot of 599 reports operating on 20 M in PSK31 mode. One should keep in mind Hams are a cranky bunch... me for sure... but I find the negatives here are off my radar, as it works for me mounted up 15 feet over the roof of home. All bands, I even find that it tunes to a 1.5:1 SWR on 160 Meters through my LDG AT-7000. So while no WAS bragging rights come with this "stick" I find it a good no-radial compromise that stands up to strong winds.
WA4CYP Rating: 2007-11-04
Meets MY needs FB. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have an urban QTH and need a compact antenna with a low visual profile. I wanted multi-band capability. You can read about my experience with this little antenna in detail at http://web.tampaby.rr.com/bushman/Diamond.htm but in summary it has allowed me to make contacts anytime that I fire up the rig. My prior experiences with more effiecent mono-band antennas were less satisfactory (as the ionosphere does not always cooperate). The ability to instantly go where the action is more than compensates for the inefficency of such a compact design.