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Reviews For: Alpha Antenna S9v31

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Alpha Antenna S9v31
Reviews: 68MSRP: 199 to 399.
Description:
The Alpha Antenna 10-80 meter S9v31 is a HF Vertical Antenna that can be deployed as a single band system or as a multiband system when the optional Alpha Match is installed.
Latest version of predecessor: S9 Antenna S9v
Product is in production
More Info: https://AlphaAntenna.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15684.9
K5DZE Rating: 2009-05-27
Great Value! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The S9V hit the market about the same time I moved to a new QTH, so I ordered the S9V in green color (comes in green and black) along with the S9V radial plate. John, K9EX, shipped these items the same day I placed my order and it arrived in 2 days. I also ordered the Balun Designs (another company) 4130SV Unun designed just for the S9V and got it the day after the antenna arrived.

The antenna is very sturdy while being very light weight. No tilt over base is needed with the S9V. For ground mounting, the antenna simply slips over a 1.25” pipe in the ground which makes it easy to handle and very easy to lift and layover in high winds (<40 mph) or heavy icing conditions.

Although not required, the S9V radial plate makes installation of the radial system much easier. It is one of the least inexpensive radial plates I have seen offered. For my radials, I chose to use aluminum fence wire (500’ spool ~$23 at Tractor Supply). It is much easier to work with than steel fence wire (~ $15). It is also cheaper than copper (~$40). I put down a 360 degree pattern of 16 radials 27’ to 15’ long. (NOTE: Radials are critical for good performance and I noted a marked improvement when I went from 8 to 16 radials!)

You will need to use an outboard antenna tuner with this antenna. My FT-920 cannot tune this antenna with its internal tuner and most other rig’s probably won’t tune it either, but a little MFJ-901B tunes it nicely. I fed the antenna with RG-213 direct bury coax.

I recommend that you print out the instructions posted on the S9 Antenna website (none come with the antenna). The very detailed instructions are well done and will let you insure the S9V will meet your needs before you purchase it. This will also let you become familiar with the antenna installation before it arrives.

I spend much of my operating time on QRP, and have noted the antenna is an excellent performer when using low power as well doing well with my 100 watt rig. Like another reviewer, I have found the antenna not only performs well for 40-10 meters, it does a very nice job as a receiving antenna for general HF listening and for LF as well (I also like to listen/log aviation NDBs on LF).

Another use at my station for the S9V is as a 10 meter beacon antenna for my 5 watt propagation beacon on 28.2415 MHz. It has worked well for this use. Bottom line…the S9V is getting a lot of use at my station and I am very pleased with it. For more details, see www.K5DZE.net.

If you want a tall vertical with all of its advantages and you have the room for a good radial system, the S9V is an antenna worth a serious look. Its price, quality and S9’s service make this antenna a real contender.
K4LVR Rating: 2009-05-19
Works well, Excellent service, easy to use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was looking for an inexpensive way to create a portable 2 element phased array. Found these when they were first being brought to market, and purchased one to experiment with. They are just super and priced fairly, which is more than can be said for other amateur equipment.

I have recently purchased a second one and have recommended it to other fellow hams, two of which have recently purchased them. One, an EmCom specialist that needed a quick to assemble 40-10m antenna, the other, a Deed Restricted Community resident single YL who needed something simple to set up and take down by herself. With a 4 to 1 balun and a tuner, the S9v will function as a trap-less multiband vertical (MUST be ground mounted and have ground radials for this configuration, by the way!)

To explain what you get in the package is very simple… Think of it as a 31 foot long fiberglass telescopic pole with a wire inside. Its well thought out and has a richly detailed assembly and operations manual. It comes with all hardware needed to make a permanent or portable installation, a bracket to store the wire when collapsed and even a tool to extract the wire from inside the pole case during assembly.

The S9v is rugged yet lightweight… The whole thing weighs around 4 pounds, so its easy to assemble and erect. You can actually raise the entire antenna with one hand! Takes about 10 minutes total from completely collapsed to fully extended and rigged for use, when you use the optional portable ground mount. Adding radials laid on the ground with the optional S9 Ground plate is another 20 minutes or so, and then you are set for portable operation!

John at S9 is a pleasure to deal with. Nothing is a problem, everything has a solution. My use for this antenna was as elements in a two element array, so I really needed a full length 40 meter quarter wave radiator, plus a little extra wire to tweak tuning with. No problem to John, he made both of mine with 34 feet of wire and placed a nifty sticker on the unit personalizing the antennas with my callsign.

My plans are to create a stand with Schedule 40 PVC pipe and mount the feed point of antennas at least 20 feet up on the pipe. The extra wire will drape down the side of the PVC pipe where I will affix either 4 hamsticks or 4 wire guy lines around 33 feet in length to make a pair of elevated ground plane verticals. Feeding two of these with the “simplest” phasing feed arrangement in the Antenna Book and placing them a quarter wave apart should yield a nice portable two element 40 meter directional array for portable/FD use.

This whole system will cost less than a single comparable aluminum vertical and be completely corrosion free to boot, so we can place them in shallow beach areas and use nature’s own amplifier, Salt Water, for a little signal boost!

John at S9 Antennas gives excellent customer service, is very quick to respond, is extremely helpful and takes customer input seriously. The antennas are custom built and shipped securely by USPS. You even get a choice of color; Cammo Green or Flat Black!

This antenna works great, is built solidly, is backed by people who care about your satisfaction and is one of the better values in Amateur Radio today. I dont give 5 ratings easily, and the S9v, coupled with John's service oriented attitude, earns it and more! Highly recommended!

W4LT



N5ACK Rating: 2009-05-09
Wow Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I saw the ad on the banner here on eham I believe, clicked on it, read the info, thought to my self "well I can't afford the other vericals, I'll give this a shot" All I can say is it's amazing how well it's working and I have only have 2 radials hooked to it, because I ran out of daylight and just wanted to give it a quick try just for giggles. My first contact was Slovenia and he was coming in 10+ and I got a 59 signal report from him. Noise level is very low. I'm a very happy customer
KW4N Rating: 2009-04-24
Who needs aluminum? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought mine because:1. It does everything that an aluminum mono will do in rx/tx; 2.It's green so I don't have to paint it to blend in with my trees;3.when a nasty front threatens to come through, I just lift it off and lay it across a low branch; 4.I don't have to fuss with shooting lines over trees; 5. it's easyup and easydown, and 6. I can place it on my lot without a branch telling me what to do :)

My unit is used as a mono on 40 mounted on telescoping poles with four radials. The feedpoint is at 20 ft. I tried 6,8, and 10 radials and it made no difference, so I took them down. I've been able to work everything that another ham down the street works. He has a multiband vertical, ground mounted, aluminum,with 60 radials. When he receives S9+10, I get S9+8 or S9+9. So what?
The antenna is at the edge of a tree line.
I also experimented with feeding the antenna with 450 ohm OWL and could tune everything from 160 (marinally) up to 10 through my homebrew differential tuner running up to 500 watts. There was just too much feedline radiation, even with a 1:1 DXE current balun at the shack, to warrant keeping it up.
With coax feed you want to have a 1:1 choke balun at the feedpoint. Eighteen to 21 turns on 4" PVC is just as effective as $50 to $120 commercial unit.
Tape a hook on it at X-mas time and use it to mount lights at the top of your trees with precision:)

K4LJA Rating: 2009-04-17
Quite Pleased Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I really like this S9v. I'm a fan of verticals: I use an old no-longer-manufactured 40-through-10 vertical, a 40-meter dipole and G5RV Junior. John makes a quality product, ships quickly and is right there via email if you have questions. It took me about a month to get around to putting it together -- but it was fun and easy. It also went up easily. I'm also using a Balun Designs 4:1 unun and John's radial plate --- one of ham radio's Best Buys. At my age -- it's hard to get back up after getting down to install radials -- but after the 16'th 27-foot long radial -- the S9v really started to come alive. I'll probably get another one for a different location. Comparing antennas by using A-B switching it outperforms my others. It's a bargain and it's a keeper. Thanks John -- Randy K4LJA in Monroe, Louisiana
N3HAM Rating: 2009-03-19
This is gonna work for me Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I deceided to try out this type antenna and didn't want to spend a ton of money (for me anyway) and be disappointed if it didn't work. After having success with my homebrew portable wire vertical in my yard I went for the S9. I'm still not finished burying all my radials and space is limited on two poles of the compass. So far I'm able to have rag chews with left coasters on 40 meters I could barely hear on my low noisey dipoles. I'm also using the Balun Designs 4:1 unun designed for this antenna. I'm quite pleased with my decision to try John's antenna. It rocks!
AD7C Rating: 2009-03-10
Good antenna, great price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I ordered this antenna to replace my G5RV. I live in an HOA restricted community with the G5RV strung atop the house I've had a few close calls from the HOA gestapo.

I had a few questions about the performance and emailed the company. I was promptly sent a response and must say the customer service was excellent. I placed my order on Friday and got antenna on Monday. It arrived well packed and with everything I need. Note: no assembly instructions were packed BUT the website has them available and even instructional how-to-videos.

After laying out my radials, pounding a pole in the ground, I started to extend the antenna. It is decievingly light weight. It's almost impossible to believe it is 31' tall by the weight but it sure is. After 2 minutes I had the antenna all assembled (I didn't screw it together since I wanted to keep it somewhat portable). I attached the coax and went to work.

40 meters was great. With my MFJ tuner I had no problems getting the entire band. 20M also tuned well. On 15M I called SSB and got a couple 59 reports to a few Brazil locations during a brief opening. Radials are a must and directly effect performance.

Compared to my G5RV... it works. Can't speak about all the bands but 40/20/15 worked. I am sure it would work a LOT better if I could put down more radials but my lot size restricts me. For the price and if you set it up correctly it is the best bang for the buck I could find. Just make sure you feed it according to instructions.






N2HUN Rating: 2009-02-25
Great! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Those of you who want a lightweight, inexpensive, and easy to install vertical antenna please check out this S9V 40 - 10m vertical! I recently installed one at my QTH and it took about 1/2 hour to get it installed.

This antenna is a 31 foot telescoping fibreglass antenna with a heavy gauge coated wire running up the center which acts as the radiator. Price is reasonably inexpensive, $79.00, how can you go wrong? Weight is only 5 pounds, you can hold it in one hand! And it is easily collapsible to 44 inches so you can take it to Field Day, the bungalow, or a DXexpidition. In my opinion, nothing comes close to the price and convenience of this S9V vertical.

I ordered this from John's website and received it in 3 days, and it comes with an excellently prepared installation manual along with pictures which make it a snap to erect. And John's customer support is the best, he answered all my questions pronto.

Now, what about this for innovation? The antenna is offered in black and green! Since green is my favorite color and blends with my landscape, that's the one I ordered and it is definitely an XYL and neighbor pleaser. And John even attaches a small metallic label at the base that states it was "custom made for" and puts your callsign on it. Who else does this, I ask you. It's a real nice touch.

Also included in addition to the manual are small pieces of hardware, e.g. small screws and some lugs so that once extended, the small screws keep it at the 31 foot height. But that is another advantage, if you are expectina a tornado, all you have to do is just remove each screw and it collapses down to 44 inches.

Being constructed of fibreglass, there are no problems with maintenance (my old aluminum antenna had to be taken down yearly, dissassembled, and all the mating surfaces cleaned and coated), but there's no oxidation problems with fibreglass! And, being a senior citizen there are no ladders to climb while balancing a heavy antenna, this one is as safe as you can get.

If you want to use this as a multiband vertical John recommeds an unun. I got mine from Balun Designs, LLC, they shipped my to me in about days. You will also need an antenna tuner.

I have had only about a week to do some initial RX and TX so here is what I have found. My Icom 746 internal autotuner was able to get the SWR down to less than 1:4 to 1 for all bands 40 - 10, including the WARC bands. Even 80m SWR was low but I am not sure about how efficient TX would be.

As for RX, from a period of 0000 - 0100 last nite I was able to hear over a dozen LF beacons, some located into Canada. American Forces Radio came in S4, WWV on 5, 10 mHz, Marine SSB comms, CHU, and NY and Shannon Volmet on 8486 were all clearly heard. Now, my point is that this antenna would be suitable for the SWL and Lowfer as well!

I will report at a later date regarding TX on the ham bands.

BTW, I also purchased S9 Antenna's Radial plate and extra bolts kit and have 54 radials buried in the ground. Some are as short as 8' and the longest is around 90 feet. I just ran random lengths to fit the yard.

In the end I can say that I am so far thoroughly satisfied with this antenna. I may be one of the first kids on the block with this product but I think John really has a valuable item for hams and SWLs and even the government to try out.

Pardon the long windedness, just my humble opinion about what I consider a truly reasonably priced and quality product.

Thanks, John for having the foresight to manufacture this great antenna!

N2HUN