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Reviews For: TransWorld Antennas TW2010 Traveler HF Portable Vertical Antenna

Category: Antennas: HF Portable (not mobile)

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Review Summary For : TransWorld Antennas TW2010 Traveler HF Portable Vertical Antenna
Reviews: 81MSRP: 399
Description:
The TW2010 Traveler® is the perfect antenna if you are searching for high performance DX communications in a portable package.

Traveler® provides five-band, omni-directional communications in an easy-to-assemble package that requires no radial ground system or towers and is designed for operators requiring stealth performance.

The black powder coating assures stealth performance for Hams who operate in areas with deed restrictions or other areas prohibiting permanently installed antennas and towers.

A low take-off angle — an outcome of the modified-H design — produces maximum skip for successful DX transmissions and contact.

Traveler® can be assembled in minutes for either permanent installation on a mounting rod or temporary setup using a sturdy, optional quadrapod.

Product is in production
More Info: http://www.transworldantennas.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00814.9
NS3L Rating: 2011-11-17
Top Notch, Top Quality, Top performance.. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Unlike many hams who are fortunate enough to live in much more favorable locations, I am not one of them. Plain outright I have always ended up in a location that was either "No any..tenna or if I was lucky to erect something to get by.." After looking, and pondering about how I could get on the air on the higher bands from an apartment complex I came upon the TransWorld Antennas TW2010 (Complete) Traveler HF Portable Vertical Antenna Package...After a little more research, I made the purchase..and I'm glad I did, very stealthy and great for compromised locations with restrictions on external antennas.

As said before me in the previous review "Why is this the best portable/base HF antenna on the market?" Simply put.."It Is..!!!" When this package arrived (Three large shipping boxes) I was greeted by the most simplistic of systems I've ever handled. High Quality is an understatement to say the least. The TW2010 is well thought-out and rugged!! Just the look of the aluminum frame combined with and incorporating carbon fiber sleeves & sections then painted "SR-71 Jet Black" says stealth..

I can safely say that it took more time to unpack the system then it took to deploy. Mear minutes to deploy the complete antenna on the quadrapod with cables rolled out... Control box setup was easy. Transworld supplies a 12v cable and I kept that for my Portable/Mobile operation. There are many 110v - 12v adapters, I happened to have one laying around that supplied the relay box. The power plug was the same size and powers the relay/control box just fine.

Placement of the TW2010 and tuning was very easy & extremely simple. I was able to locate the TW2010 along side my building at ground level. I set it up perpendicular and about 8 feet from the side of the building with the landlords blessing. Minor interaction with the building was evident but that placement gave me full east, west, and south exposure resulting in great performance right out of the box. I used my RigExpert AA-54 to get some SWR readings and found only minor adjustments were needed to get centered on the sections of the bands I would be working. Result: 1.1 to 1.5 SWR max from either end of any selected band. Centers were all 1.1 SWR...!!

Performance has exceeded any skepticism I might've had about this antenna being used in a compromised situation such as mine. If it can work this well for me at ground level, just think how it might perform when elevated and totally in the clear!!!

I can tell you that is the most professionally made antenna I've ever seen.. If you are turned off by the price, well then go and buy something cheaper... But understand this, You will loose the following.. Absolute stellar performance... Durability, Stealthiness, Ease of setup and operation, and finally.. You will loose out on DX !! Because this antenna, with your help works DX!!..

Because of the proven performance of the TransWorld Antenna Systems, I plan to purchase a TW4040 in the very near future.. Great company and great support..

Steve NS3L,
Bethlehem, Pa.
KV6C Rating: 2011-10-25
Outstanding Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Outstanding antenna. I bought it for mobile use, but found that it outperforms my Butternut HF6V vertical on 20 - 10 meters. Easy to set up, very flat SWR curve, don't even need to use an antenna tuner!

Although it's a bit pricey, you get what you pay for with this antenna - extremely well constructed. Check on Ebay as you can often find one there new at a price much lower than retail. I picked up mine for $438 inc shipping.
K0IWI Rating: 2011-10-12
Perfect HOA Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have looked long and hard for an antenna that would work in an HOA (Home Owners Association) environment. The 2010 beats them all. Great reception and transmit, low noise, and basically plug and play.

Had a problem tuning 10 meters but worked with Roger at Transworld Antennas. Problem was resolved. Roger, your the man.

The company stands by their product which makes it even better.

Would I recommend the antenna, YES without a doubt.

Nice job Transworld.




WA7DET Rating: 2011-09-11
Great antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I used one for most of 3 years in a 2 story apartment building with great results. Yes it's not a yagi, but I talked to most of the world as ZC4TS. It was mounted about 15 feet from the solar water heater array and tanks. I also had a multi-band vertical mounted on the water heater and the TW2010 tuned up perfectly every time. No bad interaction with the water heater or other antenna close by. Regretfully I left it in Cyprus when I returned to the States. I wish I still had it as my wife doesn't like big antennas in her yard.
KF4EOM Rating: 2011-08-07
Not for apartment use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm sure in an open field, this antenna is great but it simply interracts with too much to be used in an apartment setting. Portable, therefore is questionable. A full length dipole is portable in the sense that you simply roll it up and carry it with you but this antenna should be classified as a low profile antenna rather than portable.

In short, despite everything, it simply will not tune. Yes, coax is 45 degrees and yes, I opened the case to tray and stretch the coils. Simply interracts with to much of it's surroundings.

I'll put this in the closet and maybe get some use out of it on field day. For $1,000, I bought the 2010, 4040, the stand and the travelling case. It is now going to just collect dust. The company is so hard to deal with I am simply better off putting it in the closet.

Not an apartment antenna.
KK7AAA Rating: 2011-07-17
Astonishing Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am a new ham and live in an area with a Home Owners Association which restricts transmitting antennas. I saw the reviews for this antenna and asked my two Elmer's what they thought. Both were skeptical, but one of them read the reviews and suggested I try it, but to first check with actual owners of the antenna. Both owners that I contacted loved the antenna and said I would not go wrong with it

I set it up yesterday and finished putting my shack together. Within three hours I had contacted Poland and the Netherlands from Phoenix, AZ. Today I contacted W1AW in Connecticut and quite a few states in the middle of the country.

Today the skeptical Elmer stopped by and was amazed at the performance. He didn't believe it would work as well as it does.

Mark me down as a big fan of this antenna. It is definitely a keeper.
W8PWP Rating: 2011-06-05
Great marine mobile antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased the "backpacker" version for use on a pleasure boat cruise in 2010 around the eastern half of the US, a trip of about 6000 miles.

The boat is a 37 foot express cruiser and I found I could permanently attach the pole that came with the quadrapod to the bow rail with "D" rings and stainless steel screw type hose clamps which enabled me to put the antenna in place when at the dock or anchored and have it removed when under way.

The construction and the electrical design of this antenna is superb! We made contacts all over the US and Europe without problem. We also had a bit of fun during the 2010 ARRL field day while on this trip. It also seemed impervious to the salt air that we were in for roughly one third of the trip.

Great antenna for almost any use. They work great. I also purchased the TW4040 center section and had the same results.
W2MSK Rating: 2011-05-06
Terrific! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Do not be skeptical of this antenna, it works great and the quality build is like no other. Sets up in about 5 minutes and performs well beyond expectations. The care in design and build is obvious right down to the best shipping packaging I've seen in a product. If your in the market for a portable HF antenna this is the ONE! Oh yes, make sure you order the stand and carrying case which completes the package and is icing on the cake.
5B4AIY Rating: 2011-05-05
Excellent Portable/Fixed Station Antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The TransWorld compact vertical antenna is a multi-band dipole with capacity end loading and inductive loading. It does not require any radials or ground system, and is very suitable for a restricted space or stealth antenna system.

It is also very useful for portable operation, and is supplied with a convenient base and carrying bag suitable for commercial aircraft baggage holds.

It is supplied in two possible configurations, the BackPacker is a manually switched antenna covering 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 metres, band switching being effected by the user plugging in two U-links into the appropriate frequency selection slots.

The Traveller, on the other hand, whilst electrically identical to the Backpacker, and covering the same bands, has its frequency selection performed by relays selected remotely via a control box. Since the radio frequency aspects are identical, their communications performance is similarly identical.

The mechanical and electrical construction is to a very high order.

The BackPacker is probably more suitable for portable operations, as it does not require any power, whereas the Traveller requires a source of 12V to operate on any band other than 20 metres, which is its default state.

TransWorld have recently changed the design of the Traveller. In the previous version, the relay controller was a micro-processor controlled switching unit with momentary action pushbuttons for band selection, or, via an accessory interface cable, a Yaesu or Icom transceiver could control the antenna and switch its frequency of operation depending upon the band selected on the transceiver itself, giving completely automatic band selection.

The present version is simply a rotary switch for band selection, the chosen band being indicated by a LED, there is no capability for a transceiver to control the antenna as before. In addition, the previous micro-processor equipped controller also offered the option of a user-supplied 5-wire control cable being connected by means of terminal blocks at both the antenna and controller end, unfortunately this option has also disappeared, so that the custom control cable and its special plugs are the only means by which the connections can be made.

I had originally ordered a Traveller for use as both a base station antenna as well as for portable operation, but because of some production difficulties this version was temporarily unavailable, and so I settled for the BackPacker. Some months later TransWorld resumed shipments of the Traveller, and also offered the centre section, with its controller and control cable, for those wishing to convert a BackPacker to the remote control version, and I availed myself of this option.

I had made quite some use of the BackPacker for both fixed station and portable operation, and so was quite familiar with its setup and tuning procedure by the time I received the Traveller centre section. When its tuning was checked, it was found that although not resonant at exactly the centre of the various bands, its SWR was sufficiently low that it could be operated from almost any modern transceiver capable of tolerating a 2:1 SWR.

I decided to improve its tuning and it was when I removed the cover that I discovered what to me seemed to be an unfortunate design choice.

The relays used for the band switching were 24V, whereas most amateur radio equipment operates from a nominal 12V supply, typically 13.8V. I checked the relay manufacturer's data sheet, and the worst-case pull-in voltage is specified as 70% of the nominal supply voltage, or, in this case, 16.8V. Worse, as there was a diode and a 10 ohm resistor in series with the relay coil, in fact to ensure that there is at least 16.8V across the coil meant that the actual worst-case supply voltage was now 17.7V to allow for a 700mV drop across the diode as well as that across the 10 ohm resistor.

It has to be admitted that this is a worst-case scenario, and in practice many 24V production relays will actually close with only 12V applied. I measured a few 24V relays of this type, and found that most would close with as little as 10.7V applied, but this is taking unreasonable liberties with the manufacturer's design tolerances, and it means that unless production relays are specially selected for low voltage closure characteristics, there may be some that will simply not close under the worst case conditions.

Bear in mind that the nominal supply voltage of a modern Yaesu, Kenwood, or Icom transceiver is specified as 13.8V +/-15%, meaning that the lowest guaranteed operating voltage is 11.73V, and you will appreciate that as this is significantly below the guaranteed operating voltage of the worst-case relays, then unreliable operation can result. I queried the manufacturer's, but they did not respond.

For fixed station use, a typical nominal 12V unregulated plug-in AC adapter often provides as much as 18V open circuit, and, having a large filter capacitor, this means that it can supply more than enough voltage to positively close even a worst-case relay, especially as the band selection switch has a positive break before make action.

For portable operation from a 12V lead-acid battery the situation is more problematic as the voltage is now definitely below the worst-case threshold.

In my case, I ordered a replacement set of nominal 12V relays from mouser.com and changed them. This certainly increased the total current drain, from approximately 43mA at 13.8V to approximately 110mA. (The LEDs used to indicate the band draw 17mA.) This increase is hardly of significance when one considers that the transceiver draws about 850mA - 1.2A in receive, and up to 20A in transmit. I am quite happy with this, as the increased reliability is worth the trouble.

For others wishing to change their relays, the actual replacement type is: JW1aFSN-DC12V, and is a form-A single contact closure relay. Note that this is the high capacity relay, there is another with the part number: JW1aSN-DC12V which is a lower rated relay and should not be used. The high-capacity relay is rated at 10A, the low capacity at 5A. Make sure you specify the JW1aFSN-DC12V, the F in the part number indicating the high-current option.

Removing the relays is not particularly difficult using a 48W soldering iron and solder-wick. With all the solder wicked up, using a thin bladed screwdriver, gently prise the relay from the board at the contact end of the relay whilst heating the pads with a soldering iron. The relay should lift off its pads quite easily, and then by alternately heating the coil contacts and wriggling the body the other end can be released. Gently clean the pads and holes with solder wick, then remove the flux residue with denatured alcohol prior to inserting the replacement relays and soldering them in.

So much for its design, what about its performance? It is a quite remarkable omnidirectional antenna system, especially considering its size. I had originally intended for fixed-station use to mount it about 2 - 3m off the ground, but when its SWR was checked, it was very high. In fact, the lower element should be no more than 1metre off the ground for optimum SWR.

The antenna is somewhat affected by nearby objects, as one might expect, but provided it is at least 3 - 4 metres clear of any sizable metallic objects, then its performance seems to be relatively unaffected.

The manufacturer's give a complete description of how to adjust the antenna, but it must be emphasised that an antenna analyser is essential. Ad-hoc adjustments without such test equipment will almost invariably degrade its performance. I used a RigExpert AA-230 Pro analyser, which made the job very easy and straightforward.

Once optimised, in my case I can achieve an SWR of 2:1 at the band edges of 20m, falling to 1.25:1 at the centre. The bandwidth between the 1.5:1 points is 180KHz. All the other bands have similar centre-band SWR, on 15m the SWR is 1.4:1 at the band edges. The 17m and 12m bands, being so narrow are 1.2:1 across the entire band. On 10m, it is 1.0:1 in the centre of the band, and 1.4:1 at the band edges. In my case, I have no need of an antenna matching unit when using either my Yaesu FT-857D, or my Kenwood TS-140S.

The manufacturer's recommend that the co-ax feeder should be "at least 65 feet". I have experimented with a variety of feeder lengths, and can find no real difference in performance or SWR with a feeder as short as 4m (12 foot) or as long as 30m (100 foot). Indeed, as the antenna has an internal balun, the coaxial cable should not be part of the radiating system.

The manufacturer's also recommend that the feeder be positioned so that it makes at least a 45 degree angle from the antenna to avoid parasitic coupling. In practice the SWR does not appreciably alter even when the angle is as little as 30 degrees, but the best results are certainly obtained when the angle approaches 90 degrees.

The contacts obtained, mostly on 20m SSB, using 100W, show that 5-7 to 5-9 signals can be obtained for stations within a radius of about 3,500km, 2,174 miles. Basically, if you can hear them, then they can hear you.

I took the antenna to a friend's QTH to compare it with his setup. On 20m he uses a 3-element beam on a 60' tower, but despite the gain of this antenna, the receive signals were only about an S-point lower on the TransWorld antenna. Obviously the directivity of the beam will also help, and of course the omni-directional characteristics of the TransWorld make it somewhat noisier, but even so, given the wide disparity in size the difference in signal strengths means that for a restricted environment the TransWorld is still quite capable of giving an excellent account of itself, and is certainly one of the better compact antennas available.

Overall, I am very impressed with the quality of construction of this antenna, and its overall performance both as a fixed-station and a portable antenna. I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a compact, reasonably efficient antenna that is very easy to set up; does not need radials or a good ground; does not need nor requires a high elevation; readily matches to almost any modern transceiver; and is highly effective from a communications standpoint. My only criticism is the choice of 24V relays rather than 12V. Those relays having closure voltages towards the upper end of the tolerance range may not work properly on a typical 12V supply.
K8LEE Rating: 2011-03-15
you must try one Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Joe W8GEX loaned me his TW2010 with the 30 @ 40 units to take with me to Sable Island, k8lee/cy0.
This was my 3rd trip to Sable.
The other two trips I had the old standard tri-banders and hex-beams, and verticals.
Of course these all worked fine.
But times have changed, weight limits down to 50lbs on the airlines, it was time to try something new.
To make a long story short, the antenna is short of amazing. 6 minutes and it is up, swr perfect, whats even better it WORKS real well
Job well done. You have to try one yourself to see just what I mean.