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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
MM0TFU Rating: 2010-07-25
Fantastic Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have only had this antenna for a couple of days, but I just had to write a quick review. I bought my antenna from another ham who had bought it new, but had never used it. It looks like it was never taken out of the original packaging. The antenna comes in three boxes, and as others have said, is very well packed. I have the full set up, including the quadrapod stand and the carrying bag.
It arrived about one hour before I was going to set off on a mini DXpedition for the IOTA Contest, so I decided to take it along. I am so glad I did. I am not a serious contester, and was really just giving away a few points, so during the contest I found some time to put this antenna together. It does not take long. About 5 minutes from removing the parts from the bag and you can be on the air. It all goes together so easily, and the quality of the component parts is top notch. I set the antenna up a few meters from some buildings and when I checked the swr, only the 20m band showed a slightly high reading. I re-examined my set up and noticed that the coax feeder was not at the recommended 45 deg angle, so I repositioned that and all was well. No further tuning required from the factory settings. Excellent.
I hooked up the coax and switched on. I was immediately impressed by the strong signals I was receiving, but this was 20m and during the IOTA Contest. I had a listen to 17m, and heard strong signals there too. Looks promising. The other bands were in poor shape, but I could hear signals. I then did some A/B comparisons with my other antenna, a trapped, rotatable dipole at 25 feet. There was very little, if anything between the two, and sometimes the little TW2010 was receiving better than the higher dipole.
I put out some calls and received replies, and I did some search and pounce, and more often than not, could make the contact.
I started using the TW2010 more than the dipole, and I have to say, I was absolutely amazed by the performance.
During and after the contest I worked all over Europe, Russia and North America. Nothing startling there then, just what you might expect. But, I also worked Japan, Indonesia, South America, the Middle East and St Helena, sometimes busting moderate pile-ups, all with 100w. This thing works! Remember, its 8 feet high and you can carry it about in a bag no bigger than a golf bag.
It may seem a bit on the expensive side, but you only ever get what you pay for. I consider it more of an investment and it looks like its built to last with only top quality materials used.
It was dark by the time I finished playing radio, and dismantling this antenna in the dark is so easy. The longest part of the process was coiling up the coax.
This antenna is surely a winner. I have no hesitation in recommending this great product to anyone looking for the answer to the old question of which antenna to take for a portable type operation. No more worrying about how to get wires and ropes into trees etc, the TW2010 can be up and running in minutes and less time spent untangling wires means more time on the air.

NE4IE Rating: 2010-04-10
Incredible! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Like others, I was worried that the ground-mounted TW-2010 would be too close to my house (12 ft north) and metal fence (15 ft south), although it was 40 ft from the fences east and west. But no problem! The only adjustment was to compress the 20m coils a bit to drop the peak frequency; the other coils were fine as delivered from the factory.
I tested the antenna during a 20m contest the day it arrived. The first four QSOs made it a point to say I had a great strong signal (I didn’t even ask them). Using my stealth dipole on the roof, I had NEVER before had anyone say I had a strong sig on 20m! Heck, in the past virtually no-one responded to my daytime SSB calls at all, just my CW calls. The only thing my previous signals on 20m were good for was to tan the birds on the roof. But not anymore.

The TW-2010 is one incredible well-built antenna.
K5JOA Rating: 2010-03-31
Outstanding!!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this antenna after getting my General ticket about a month ago. I am truly amazed with the contacts I have made with this antenna. I have it sitting in my back yard on it's stand about 6 feet from the house and 4 feet from my metal shed. The instructions state to place the antenna at least 30 feet any metal. I just wanted to try it out. With it being in a not so ideal locating I was completely amazed at the contacts I was getting with 5/9 signals. I just worked Poland last night from SW Oklahoma. This is just an outstanding antenna. Thanks TransWorld I love it!!!
W7GO Rating: 2010-03-03
It just works! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
It's amazing how well this little antenna works.
I have had great success working DX & stateside
with 100 watts. I have added the 40 mtr module and
have the 30 mtr on order. The build quality is superb. You will just have to get one and find
out for yourself how well this antenna performs.
WA5ZKO Rating: 2010-03-02
Amazing antenna! Time Owned: N.A.
I was able to borrow this antenna from a ham buddy and use it for the last 3 months. All I can say and echo from many others is "WOW" on the performance.

I installed the antenna about 10 feet from the house and about 10 feet from a large outside metal A/C compressor unit.

The antenna loaded up on all bands 20-10m with no problems. I have been able to work all over the world mostly on cw. For a final test of this antenna I worked the ARRL DX CW contest.

Yes, I had difficulty running with the big boys on 20 and 15, but was still able to work 47 countries on 20, 54 countries on 15 and 16 on 10m.

If you need a low profile, stealthy antenna, wife approved and really works the dx then this is one to strongly consider!
W5PDQ Rating: 2010-02-15
Perfect HOA solution and portable use as well Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
OK, let me get my two cents in on these TransWorld Antennas.
My first purchase was the TW-4040 for 40 Meters. I liked the way the antenna was built, the appearance seemed to be very acceptable in my restricted HOA lot. This antenna had one great feature for being in a HOA complex, I was able to take my TransWorld antenna up or down in virtually minutes, typically less than two. It takes me longer to walk from the garage to by back patio than it takes to set up one of these antennas.
Now enough about how its built any easy setup. These antennas work great and I'm currently running 100 watts max, not to mention I may get an amp in the future; these TransWorld antennas have a 1200 watt rating.
I'm in my 26th year of Amateur Radio, and yes I've made stupid decisions, like buying a home in a HOA restricted subdivision and then on the other hand I've made some great decisions, like my purchase of the TW-4040, TW-3030, TW-2010 and most recently my purchase of the TW-8080 center section. I almost threw up my hand to Ham Radio till I could find a better home location and then the bottom fell out on housing market.... meaning I better stay put for a while.
Many thanks to TransWorld Antennas for giving me a workable solution for Amateur Radio.

Stan
KA8SFP
AB0TX Rating: 2009-09-14
Easy set up. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am going to give this antenna a 5 for ease of set up. Not exactly happy with the transaction.

Fit and finish are good. It is a little big for a back pack antenna. The price stated above is a little misleading. I paid $596.00 for mine when you add in the quad pod stand and the carrying bag. It is a bit pricey. You can buy the 40 meter center section and 75/80 center section and pretty much have and new antenna for that band as all monobaders in the TW line use the same base antenna dimensions. I thought that was a nice feature. The quad pod does not fit in the carrying bag (which still hasn't arrived). I don't think is was designed to fit in the carrying bag, but it was recommened as a more stable stand. It does however support the antenna nicely. Not sure why some are using a tuner with this antenna since the onboard coils do the tuning at the antenna. The tuner shouldn't even be needed. I ordered mine the day after Field Day (JUNE 28th) this year because I wanted a good field portable antenna that I could set up and take down fast. I was told it was on back order due to them having a supplier problems. I called them in the middle of August and asked where the antenna was in reguards to shipping. They could not give me a deffinate date as to when the antenna would ship. I told them I wanted to cancel the order. A week later I called them back again since my bank account was not credited and again told them that I wanted to cancel the order. I really wanted the antenna but I was tired of waiting. They seemed to come up with one at the last minute and they shipped it. I have set it up and did initial tune up and worked Canada and Ukraine on 100 watts CW. That is the only use I have used of it so far. I keep this antenna in the trunk of the car and plan on using it more for JOTA and Field Day. I will add to the review after more use. I am pleased with its performance but they need to get their business practices in order. They seem very unorganized. I would give their handling of the transaction a 3. Still waiting on the carrying bag to arrive. Those were on backorder to.
KA8VMA Rating: 2009-07-13
Excellent value, great performance Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I received my TW2010 in Mid June, just before Field Day 2009. The antenna, portable case and quadrapod stand all arrived in great shape in several well designed boxes. When I opened the boxes, I immediately noticed that the components were well constructed and had an industrial type finish on them.

I read through the assembly instructions and read the 2 articles (ARRL & Gordon West) on their web site making special note of using RG-8X cable off of the center feed and the 45 degree angle needed to keep the antenna in good SWR range.

I quickly set the unit up in my backyard, and yes it does set up in less than 5 minutes! I then ran my cables into the house and connected them to my Flex-3000 rig and the TW2010 controller.

I cycled through the band selector on the controller and the Flex-3000. Holding my breath, I clicked the automatic antenna tuner button and listened to the radio do its click click click tuning routine. After the clicking was done, the button turned green (meaning its well within SWR tolerance). I ran the same test on all of the antenna supported bands (10, 12, 15, 17 and 20 meters)

I reset the controller for 20 meters and I starting hearing signals all over the place! Europe was just as clear as Florida. I really wasn't expecting great performance from the antenna, but I was really surprised just how good it really was. And it's a true portable with great capabilities, I was really happy with the unit.

On Field Day 2009, I took my Flex, computer and the antenna over to the park with my radio club (W8DYY - Miamisburg, OH) and setup using generator power. Most of the club gathered around the antenna in more-or-less amazement and in 5 minutes it was set up and ready to play. We decided early on that I'd be doing digital, so I chose Ham Radio Deluxe/DM780 as the software of choice and the N3FJP logging software. After getting my system logged into the network, zero hour approached quickly.
The antenna performed spectacularly for the 12hours I operated!

3 days later I took the rig and antenna up to East Harbor State Park, Ohio up on the shores of Lake Erie with our 5th wheel. I set the antenna up away from the trailer and my tripod ground mount satellite dish. Then a funny thing happened. 10, 12, 15, and 17 meters all loaded up perfectly, but 20 meters wouldn’t load not matter what I did. Bizarre I thought. Hmmm, did I damage it when I tore it down? Long story short, I had placed the TW2010 antenna a bit too close to the satellite stand and it was trying to couple to TW2010. I moved the TW2010 a few more feet away then worked perfectly on 20 meters. Lesson learned.

I worked a lot of European stations and I left the Flex on when we went out for a bite to eat. When I came back, the DM780 World Map was displaying that it heard 3 different stations in Antarctica! Amazing!

Overall, I rated it as a 5 only because I couldn’t give it higher numbers. The antenna is well constructed and a great performer! I’m now considering buying the 40 meter add-on.

V/R

Joe G
KA8VMA
G1FXE Rating: 2009-03-15
Excellent Quality, No complaints Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Having read the excellent reviews on this site for the TW2010 I took a flyer and ordered one from ebay user 'econogenesys'. Was I disapointed ? Oh no ! Everything I had read, top quality construction, fit & finish, even the packaging was exactly as described.
Best of all by ordering via Ebay I saved circa £200 over the UK retail price (even after paying Customs charges etc.).

I haven't used the aerial a great deal on transmit yet as my primary reason for purchasing was portable operation & the weather is only just getting nice enough for field work, but hastily setup in the garden it sure does receive well. I'll add to this review when I've given it a good going over on transmit.

One tip, I didn't order the Quadrapod (or whatever its called) as with shipping/charges etc. it was too expensive in my opinion, but a Patio Umbrella stand filled with a little sand does the job of supporting the aerial extremely well and all for the princely sum of about £8 !

Cheers all.
Peter.....
N3GTO Rating: 2008-12-30
Easy... Awesome... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
awe-some
Pronunciation [aw-suhm]
–adjective
1. inspiring awe: an awesome antenna.
2. showing or characterized by awe.
3. Slang. very impressive: That new Transworld TW2010 antenna is totally awesome.

My setup at home doesn't allow me to hang any wire over about 20' high, and my two Dobermans make radials for a vertical a little tough to keep in the ground. I did a lot of reading and discovered the TW2010. I bought it based on eHam ratings, planning on using it as a permanent installation. After seeing how easy it was to deploy, I will also use it as portable. The antenna was packaged very well, as described in prior posts. All pieces are of very high quality, from the fit and finish of the antenna itself, to the antenna mounted box housing the coils and relays, to the control cable and connectors, to the controller box. Simple to assemble, it only goes together one way. No tools needed. I didn't need to tune it, as swr was 1.5:1 or less on all bands, ground mounted where my HyGain vertical was. Had the TW2010 set up, plugged in and working within about 5 minutes. I know it's not going to perform like a 10-20m beam, but I am very satisfied with it, and would recommend it to others. Now I am hoping for a TW8040.