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Reviews For: Shakespeare AT-1011 Tactical HF Vertical

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Shakespeare AT-1011 Tactical HF Vertical
Reviews: 7MSRP: 1000.00
Description:
Fiberglass Military Grade 32' HF Vertical
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.shakespeare-military.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0075
W7ASY Rating: 2014-11-18
ya iz good! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
K.I.S.S
Easy to put up and down...
well constucted. (yes tax dallors at work..)
Have used with 4:1 Unun and SGC-230..
with analyzer and 4:1 Unun no swr over 3.8:1 on ham bands
but definitely works better with SGC-230
works best 15m to 40m 10m ok 80m so so, but what can you expect from a non-resonant antenna
radials a must. I use 20 of them, 4 for each band, longest 32ft. Shortest 8.6ft
wish I had an other one for a 60ft+- rotatible vee!
I built a tilt up base for under the car tire from 1in plywood and heavy duty door hinges. works good for fieid deployment..have also owned s9 verts and liked them as well but the AT-1011 is way better.. got mine for free, so cant complain there....


--... ...-- de w7asy,Tim
KA4KOE Rating: 2013-07-24
Second Review Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is an addendum to my previous review. Please note that the fiberglass outer layers of the 1011 will degrade over time when exposed to UV solar rays. Consider coating with appropriate RF transparent paint (ie no conductive particles in the suspension) to protect this antenna.

I recently deployed the aerial at our first field operation held at the new Effingham County, GA EOC. My SEA1612C tuna did a fine job matching the aerial on bands.

Check Ebay and Murphy's Surplus as complete kits come available from time to time.

As with any vertical, radials are an absolute must.

Reference my October 2012 article on the AT-1011.

Enjoy!

Philip KA4KOE

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KA4KOE on 2010-01-19

Have done a lot more field testing. This antenna, when coupled with a good ground radial system, is outstanding. Shakespeare designed the sections to be super strong. In fact, my research source states the verticals were part of some above ground atomic tests in the overpressure areas. The whips bent over, but survived....now whether or not the fiberglass was radioactive, thats another thing altogether.

The antenna continues to be the aerial of choice for DOD. The usual green ones have been painted desert tan for Middle East use, per my sources.

This antenna simply does the job and does it very well indeed.
KU0Y Rating: 2012-04-12
Works! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this antenna for about four years, mounted on a Penninger mast with an SGC-230. the combination works fantastic. I snapped a segment on my last reconfigure of the antenna, nice to be able to buy replacement segments from Shakespeare. At 32 feet, the antenna is rock solid.
W3JY Rating: 2010-12-08
Army Tough Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had one of these since the early 2000s. I had a custom bracket adapter made for my VW Westfalia and run it both as ground mounted vertical and 16' mobile whip through an SG-231. Works beautifully in both configurations. In fact, for Field Day the 16' whip even yields good QSO counts on 160m!

This system is expensive, no doubt, but it's rugged and you can abuse it pretty well without fear of failure. I went and bought all the little adapters and pieces and don't regret a penny of it.
N9AOP Rating: 2010-11-06
simple/effective Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Very easy and quick to deploy. I usually mount mine on a travel trailer hitch when camping. The frame provides an adequate ground plane. For more effective use, when ground mounted I use 16 12-15 foot flexweave radials. This is just as effective as fewer and longer radials. It is built military tough and can be deployed in a number of different configurations for distance or NVIS. If you were to buy the base and 8 sections as shown in the header above the cost would be $540.
Art
KE5CVT Rating: 2010-05-20
Awesome! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I run the 16' tilted while mobile on the and get fantastic result on my Jeep. The Icom AH-4 tuner gives me 1:1 SWR on 80M-6M. 1.2:1 on 160M but still have yet to experiment with adding radials for counterpoise. Tryed running the 12' version at it worked well from 40M-6M. 80M was not as good so I went back to 16'. I use the full 32' on the 4255 mount when I'm stationary and have excellent reports on 80M-6M with most stations amazed that I'm not a fixed station with a more complex antenna. Rugged simple, proven, versatile---but hard to find.
KQ6EA Rating: 2009-06-29
VERY Good! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been running one of these for about 5 years now, and I have to agree it's a marvel. I added three 12' long sections of angle iron to the rigid "base" for the antenna elements so it will sit on my roof. With 4 counterpoise radials for each band I work, and my SGC-230 autotuner, it matches on each band and puts out a great signal. I've had people ask me what kind of beam I'm using, and when I tell them it's a vertical, they almost don't believe me. I'm sure it helps that it's on the roof of a large two story commercial building, but man, does this thing work well. It's incredibly rugged, and I've seen it bent over 30* in high winds, and it just springs back when the wind dies down.
A VERY good example of "Your Tax Dollar At Work"!