| W5ARM |
Rating:  |
2021-02-09 | |
| Antenna OK, Balun is Junk |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I ordered a RadioWavz "Saturn 5-80" multi-band dipole from GigaParts in Late July of 2020. Got it up a couple months later, without any issue. Although it looks like a "rat's nest" in the box, it actually deployed quite easily, as long as you take your time!
I installed it as an Inverted-V configuration, with the apex at about 40', and the ends at about 15' [above the ground]. The antenna itself is about 130' long, but I stretched-out my ground attachment points to almost 200', which allowed the ends to be up higher (at 15').
The antenna was quite long on every band, and needed much trimming to get a reasonable SWR (using an MFJ-259C analyzer). It took awhile, lots of up-and-down, but it got done.
The antenna seemed to work okay for several months, but then around late December/early January I started noticing my SWR was a bit erratic, and would jump upwards during QSO's (on 20, 40, and 80m). I figured maybe I had a bad coax (perhaps moisture in a coax). Then suddenly, one morning in early February, the SWR really went haywire! I discovered I had a dead-short across the antenna coax. Not good! Time to drop it and do some checking...
After disconnecting and checking each coax section, I finally discovered that the center balun (included with the antenna) was shorted. I had a spare "Balun Designs" 5kW, 1:1 unit on the shelf (for a future project), so I did some modification and installed it in place of the factory RadioWavz unit. That cured the problem COMPLETELY! The SWR was great again (actually, better than with the old one)!
I disassembled the RadioWavz balun (destroying it in the process), and found that the unit had [apparently] gotten water in it, as there was evidence of moisture. Also, I found that all of the hardware was quite rusted... obviously NOT stainless-steel. Then (and more importantly), I found all of the windings were completely burned up! The small lacquer-coated conductors were blackened and burned, with several of the turns shorted together... not a good sign. I was also able to determine (by looking at the winding connections) that this balun was a "voltage" type rather than a "current" type. And, it contained no core material; it was simply an "air-core" winding. Very poor design, IMHO.
It was apparent that it had been over-loaded/over driven, even though I had never put more than legal-limit through it (and typically, a maximum of 12-1300 watts), and only SSB (no CW or digital modes). The balun is supposedly rated at "1500w SSB, 200w CW", but apparently, that is a bit of an over-rating. The winding conductors were quite small, definitely not suitable for 1.5kW (even on SSB)!
So, if you plan on running one of these antennas, be aware that the "standard" balun is very light-duty. They do offer a "High power" (5kW) balun as an option, and maybe that one would have been a better-built unit. But in any case, a "real" current balun (i.e., a choke) is a much better option than their cheap air-core unit.
I did email RadioWavz (twice), indicating the issues I had, and what I found, but I've never heard anything back from them. So much for customer support... piss-poor in my opinion.
I'm a couple of weeks into operating with the new balun in place, and so far... no issues. Time will tell.
73's!
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| VE7TJL |
Rating: |
2019-02-03 | |
| Requires Tune, Stands Up to Wind |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I initially put this up as a dipole between a couple of fir trees but found my radio's tuner wouldn't bring it in. A check with an analyzer confirmed that the elements are left a bit long - possibly for an inverted vee installation. Just be aware you'll need to do a bit of trimming.
We get some pretty good wind and rain here on Vancouver Island, quite a few this winter with sustained 80kph winds or so through the night. I was a bit skeptical on the construction but it held together really well. No worries there. They could go to stainless hardware - the salt air eats the nuts and washers used but inland I don't think you would have a problem.
Now with it all trimmed up it seems to be getting out quite well on all of the intended bands. I think it's a pretty good buy. |
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| KG7SNE |
Rating: |
2017-07-28 | |
| Poor workmanship |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I purchased this antenna on the hopes that it would perform great as it came recommended by the sales person at HRO.
Initially, it discovered that the SWR was wrong and determined that it needed to be longer. I confirmed this with radiowavz tech support, who were very nice and helpful.
All was well for the next month, but it rained once and all went haywire. The connections at the center of the antenna were not sealed resulting in a problem. I called radiowavz tech support, who recommended that I return it for repairs (at this time I did not know that the problem was with the connections.)
I ordered from radiowavz (direct from them!) a replacement, and went about troubleshooting. I fixed the problem, but wondered why a manufacturer would ship antennas meant to be hoiseted in the elements without proper sealing of the connections. I waited for my new antenna to arrive, but after 5 weeks called to find out where it was. I was told by the "sales" team, that even though I ordered it over 5 weeks ago, and was billed for it, it had not yet shipped.
I heard a lot of excuses, and they finally agreed to ship it 2nd day.
Now one has to ask, why is it that a NEW antenna lasts less than 4 weeks? and has to be fixed by the user, or pay for shipping in both directions for repairs? (how knows how long the repairs would take)
I still do not have the antenna I ordered from RADIOWAVZ over 5 weeks ago! |
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| KF5IRG |
Rating: |
2015-10-06 | |
| So far so good after a week of use |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
posted pics on QRZ-KF5IRG.
First instance we put it up at oh 65 feet or so at the apex and is performing well in an inverted V
ends are about 12 feet off ground. As time moves on I will update this review. how it acts in wind,
rain, snow, ice ect... But so far it is sweet to have 4 bands cut on 1 coax feed. BTW it does tune on other bands including 60 meters at least in our installation. If for any reason you do have a question...feel free to drop an e-mail to me info on QRZ is gud over. 73
2 instance to follow...drop it and raise to 20 feet in a full horizontal 20 feet all the way across. |
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| VE3BW |
Rating: |
2014-05-29 | |
| Good value |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| Put up the Radiowavz 160-80-40 dipole in Oct 2013. Thought it was going to be a chore to unravel but surprisingly after following the instructions it was a breeze. It survived a very bad ice storm in Jan 2014. My other wire antennas were not so lucky. Bandwidth is acceptable and the antenna allows flexibility. |
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| AB5IE |
Rating: |
2013-08-11 | |
| Nice |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
In my 22 years in the Amateur Radio Service, the Radiowavz Saturn antenna is my very first, factory made, HF antenna purchase. I've constructed many wire antennas, including mono-band dipoles, fanned dipoles, delta loops, wire beams, lazy-H, curtains, end fed zepps, etc. … it’s my belief that beginning Hams should do the same. But there comes a time when some of us lose interest in repeating antenna projects and are willing to outsource construction.
I operate mostly portable nowadays and wanted to pack an efficient, multi-band antenna, with little fuss and possibly without the use of a transmatch. I don’t operate QRP normally, and I like having the extra power that is available with a full-size radio. My radio of choice, for various reasons, is the Alinco DX-SR8. It is inexpensive, well-constructed, sounds good on SSB (with an external speaker and better microphone) and has rugged finals. If it had tighter filters in the IF for CW, the radio would leave little for the Ham on a tight budget to desire. My power source is a lead-acid lawnmower battery, or when near an AC outlet, a regulated supply. I can’t trickle charge the battery as I operate because the circuits in the charger radiate S9+20dB on most bands.
I sent an email on a Sunday night to Radiowavz, inquiring of a special Saturn antenna cut for 40, 30, 20 and 17 meters. At about 1000 the following morning, I received a phone call from Rochelle at Radiowavz, placed my order and paid via PayPal. The antenna was supposed to ship in one week. To my surprise, I actually received the antenna the following Monday, which meant the antenna was constructed and shipped before Friday!
Opening the 12-inch square shipping box, I looked at the tangle of wires, insulators, separators and balun. My immediate response was “OMG! What a mess! I’ll never get this thing untangled! Set up in 15 minutes? RIGHT!” My reaction turned out to be wrong. Despite the apparent bird’s nest of wires in the box, the Saturn antenna neatly unfurled and set up with very little fuss.
The quality is good, the design is clever, durable, lightweight and has little tendency to twist in the wind. The plastic rings used to separate each dipole section are stronger and more compact than normal straight spreaders used in other designs. The antenna is intentionally cut slightly “long” so some pruning is required. The Saturn performs as real resonant dipoles should, and if tuned to your favorite portion of each bands, should allow you to bypass your transmatch, or at worst case the very slight mismatch at band edges can easily be handled by the internal tuners in most radios. A bonus feature is the 40 meter section resonance on 15 meters, giving coverage of 5 bands. In addition, the Saturn antenna is fairly stealthy, and is barely visible against a backdrop of vegetation. When the antenna is actually seen, it looks COOL!
As a portable test, I erected my 16 foot painter’s pole in my yard with the Saturn, configured as an inverted-V, atop. The guy ropes were attached at the 7.5 foot point. The antenna ends were about 6 feet above ground. After tuning the antenna, I made a few contacts and then left it all in place overnight during a moderately severe Arkansas summer storm. I watched it carefully as the gusty wind had its way. The wind load seemed very manageable with this configuration and the electrical load presented to my radio didn't change appreciably.
At $159.00, the Radiowavz Saturn antenna is not really cheap, but is a good value and IMHO, worth more than it’s selling price. You could replicate a similar product at home, but the special parts, tools and time required is not cost-effective. Just give the folks at Radiowavz a call and enjoy!
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| K7LA |
Rating: |
2012-06-26 | |
| Field Day Experience |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I was invited to operate Field Day with a group in Southern California. The station was solar powered into a deep cycle battery to a Ten Tec Eagle 599 transceiver 100 watt output into the Radiowavz Saturn antenna. The antenna was strung as a flat top on a hilltop 1,000 feet elevation near the Pacific Ocean and had a clear exposure to the horizon.
On 20 meters I was getting picked up on the first call all day and received numerous unsolicited great signal reports. My relief operator had similar experiences on 15M. The antenna played very well under field conditions and is worthy of your consideration. |
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| N3UJJ |
Rating: |
2009-02-04 | |
| Radiowavz SATURN 5-80 |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| In reality this is a parallel dipole, and they use a construction technique similar to a cage. They were a pleasure to deal with and worked with me on some shipping issues. My experience with the company was very positive. The antenna did take some time to tune (but this is to be expected with any parallel dipole), and owning an antenna analyzer made the job much easier. The antenna was well built, and performs as advertised. Bandwidth seems to be a little wider than that of a single wire dipole (most likely due to cage design). eMail support was a little slow, but phone support was EXCELLENT. |
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