| K6VK |
Rating:  |
2018-04-26 | |
| Great for VLF / MF receiving |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I am a happy user of the Alpha S9v43 -- but more for radio research than ham radio, until the opening of 2200 meters and 630 meters — this is the only antenna with which I have logged 2200 m band WSPR signals; on 630 m, some WSPR signals come booming in (more or less). This antenna has been up for a couple of years. The California Historical Radio Society sponsors as one of its programs, the VLF Interest Group. We're looking at 11 KHz to 137+ KHz. The main receiver here at K6VK is a WinRadio G33 SDR. We all make loops, of course but at these frequencies the loops are full of the magnetic components of 60 cycle harmonics. The S9v43 is immune to these pests, and K6VK is surrounded by power lines. It is the quietest VLF antenna I have. With it I have logged the Russian Alpha stations (e.g., 11.9 KHz), France, Germany, Japan, Russian Military World-wide (22 KHz +-), and the high power US Navy stations (25 KHz +-) all over the world. It is just an e-field probe at these frequencies, but the best antenna nonetheless. It connects to the SDR by solid copper conductor IBM RG-11 coax. There is very little vertically polarized noise at these low frequencies. Almost all the transmitters are vertically polarized. I'd like to put up an array of S9v43s. Even a couple could handle some kind of light wire capacity hat for transmitting, although I am not there yet. K6VK does enjoy about hundred square meters of ground screen and a world of ground radials and five ground rods. And for safety, it’s a good idea to make installation (and repair) a two man project. When the sunspots come back, I look forward to trying this antenna out on HF, where it certainly receives pretty well. 73 de K6VK ## |
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| AE5JH |
Rating: |
2015-03-17 | |
| Great antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I am running this antenna with about 20 20' buried ground radials, and two radials above ground attached to fence running up both sides of my lot, about 75' each.
This is a great performing antenna. With 100 watt kenwood 2000 I am able to make most contacts with no problems. I Have a mfj 300 watt remote tuner mounted at the base. I am able to tune 160, 80, 40, and so on.
I am very disappointed that this antenna has been discoutinued. If you can find one buy it. |
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| MM0OVV |
Rating: |
2015-01-05 | |
| Radials Radials Radials |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Like all vertical antennas you must have a good radial system and a good earth system for the antenna to hear and put out good signals.
Placing a couple of 8" earth rods in the ground and getting a 1.1 SWR doesn't give you an efficient antenna system.
With the shape of my Garden I couldn't get the best effective radial system but put down 32, 10 cm copper pipe of various lengths at 180 degrees around the antenna the longest being about 30"
For my earth I have 4 8" rods and 5 5" copper rods in the ground.
I should say that I only use this antenna for 40 & 80 meters.
You must include for the budget for this project a 4-1 balun or a remote tuner.
I decided on a remote tuner as there is less loss of signal with this method.
In high winds the antenna bends like a fishing rod. This is a good thing as the energy of the wind has to go somewhere and I can tell you this antenna can withstand very high winds.
One caveat to that and the resone i'v given it a 4 is with it bending like a fishing rod the screws all the way up the antenna tend to unscrew them selves.
I solved this problem by using a hot glue gun where the screws go into and fixing the screws whilst the glue was still hot, and then taping around the screws with coax sealant tape.
Haven't had a problem since.
I don't have an amp just use my 100 watts and i'v had contacts all over Europe, Russia, Middle East, North America on both bands.
The one that surprised me the most was on 80 meters not very late for me about 10:30 was a VK Australian station both sent and received S3.
I'm a Scottish station.
Would love to see what this antenna can do with an optimal 80" 360 degrees all the way round radial system on 40&80 meters.
I should also say that it works best 400 miles +
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| K5RHD |
Rating: |
2013-04-19 | |
| Great but you MUST have radials |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
S9-43' Vertical
As a new ham, we are bombarded by a lot of new information, brands, technologies, etc. My advice to a newly licensed Ham is to do two things: 1. Get an Elmer, listen to him/her. Ask questions-LOTS of questions!. 2. READ, READ, READ! With the advent of the Internet, we have more information at our finger tips than any other time in history.
I live on a small city lot with a backyard that measures about 60x28 and part of that has a concrete pad on it(hard to bury radials on it). I purchased the recommended radial plate, 1,000 of DX Engineering radial wire with steel staple kit. I could not get a dipole for 40 or 80 and still maintain neighbor/wife approval so it was suggested that I look into verticals. While verticals have a somewhat bad reputation for being noisy and poor performers, I am here to say that if you put in the effort up front you can build a vertical system that will get you DX, and contacts all around the US. You can see pictures of my S9-43' on my QRZ page along with my log (updated once a month). Some of the first contacts were made with an Elecraft KX3 @ 10 watts QRP-later I added a K3 with a full K-line.
New Mexico is plagued with very high winds in the winter/spring time. So far, the antenna has survived wind gusts in excess of 55MPH! So far it is holding up. If it survives the rest of this spring, I will be a happy camper. So far so good-this antenna will work for you if you put in the time to put down a lot of radials and provide good feed line and drive a 2" pipe into the ground as directed.
Bottom Line: If you have a small lot and want to get on the air and work some DX or rag chew with the US, this antenna will work. I imagine the 31 and 18 feet versions perform just as well. I have given some thought to a pair of phased 31 footers. |
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| WD4DC |
Rating: |
2013-04-11 | |
| Radials, Radials, Radials |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
If you're willing to take the time and energy to put out a good amount of radials (I have about 40 of varying lengths, some resonant, some not), then you won't be disappointed one bit by this easy to used antenna. When I first installed it (by myself, which was EASY, by the way), I only put out about 12 radials, resonant on 80 and 40 meters, in particular. At that point I was fairly happy with it's performance vs my G5RV inverted V. But the more radials I laid down, the better it got. This afternoon I nailed some DX that I had not even HEARD before. Japan, Samoa, among others. Granted, they are only half-way around the world from me, but who's counting? Keep in mind also...I'm running barefoot from an Icom IC746-Pro, about three miles from the west coast of Florida, so the ground plane here is already somewhat good. You gotta help it along, though...no matter where you are...unless you live right on the salt water, I suppose.
The antenna went together and was erected (make your own jokes) in the space of one hour. With a couple logical steps, it's quite easy for nearly anyone to install without help, although it might be fun to see some of my ham buddies be jealous of how simply EASY this antenna is to put up.
It tunes up easily on my rig using just the internal tuner...but again, I attribute this to the amount of radials I have.
I'm very happy with this antenna. I'm looking forward to finally confirming some DXCC's...it should be quite easy now!! |
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| KF7DS |
Rating: |
2012-06-18 | |
| Just OK - especially for portable use |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I decided on the S9 43' vertical based on the reviews on eHam. I had the S9/43' for a little more than a year , and it performed "ok" but not as well as some reviews would lead you to believe. I replaced it with a Hustler 6BTV, which performs much better.
The S9 definitely can get you out - I had contacts with Argentina and Asiatic Russia from Portland, OR on CW at 100 watts - but it is relatively noisy, inefficient, and has some construction issues that could lead to eventual failure.
I ran the S9 through an SGC remote tuner, and I never thought my signal coming out was overly strong. I had a choke at both ends of the coax run, as well as buried coax and still had more RFI than I thought should be present. Performance on the higher bands was not stellar.
When I disassembled the S9, I noticed that the screws that hold the telescoping sections together actually protrude inside the tubing itself, rather than ending flush. As a result, when the vertical sways and bends in the wind, the internal wire (the antenna) rubs against the screw tip and could may eventually cause a problem. I had quite a bit of abrasion on the exterior of the wire.
As I noted, I replaced the S9 with a ground mounted 6BTV over the exact same radial field in the same location. After having used the 6BTV for close to a year, I have come to the conclusion that the Hustler gets more power out as it is "tuned", little to no RFI issues, and is quieter.
Best,
Don KF7DS |
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| W9CAC |
Rating: |
2012-04-29 | |
| Good Quality |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I bought the 43'. Will also use it as a 31'. Have very limited space, only have 4 radials out, but built a Petlowany coil (acts as a counterpoise) for it and have blended it all into the landscape. I will be taking the full version 43' with me on vacation for use on the summer property. |
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| N8ZEE |
Rating: |
2011-07-16 | |
| Best Antenna I have ever had. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I do not understand the comments about the worry when LDG bought S9 Antennas.
The cost is cheaper, the same antenna, free balun or unum, and the great service of LDG. I
have 5 LDG tuners, and have had nothing but a great experence when ever I had to deal with LDG.
If you have any questions, or doubts, E-mail me and I will share my experences with you.
You buy this antenna or any antenna from LDG, you will not regret it.
I travel in an RV, and have had nothing but great contacts with this Antenna, easy to set up and take down.
Bill
N8ZEE
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| K6RJP |
Rating: |
2011-03-26 | |
| Great at John's Price Point |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Had one for a couple months - configured as a 160 inverted L, 80 Meter inverted L and multiband with 4-1 UNUN. All worked great. Stand up to 80 mph gusts here in the high desert of NV. Ready to buy 4 more when LDG bought S9 and jacked up the price grossly. (27%) Now one has to consider the DX Engineering MBVE-1. On top of that they dropped the 31 foot -KIT- that was great for four squares. A sad day for hams when LDG got involved.
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| N5VEG |
Rating: |
2011-03-09 | |
| Withstands High Wind |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Just another high wind testimonial for the S-9 43 foot. Early this morning a huge and powerful thunderstorm system with tornadoes and hail moved through my area. The wind was gusting to 75mph! I thought the s-9 was a gonner! After the storm passed enough, I went outsie behold the S-9 was standing straight and tall! I did lose a big piece of aluminum facia off my house. Some neighbors has fences down. But not a scratch on the long green pole!
John makes an outstanding/strong product, that's for SURE!
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N5VEG on 2010-12-12
Just an addendum to my original review. For the past 24 hours we have had extremely high winds with some gusts near 60 MPH. I was afraid my new S-9 43' was a gonner! I went out after a while to look it over and it was still there! It was bending like it had a tarpon on the end of it in the strong gusts but held it's stance with no noticed damage or other problems.
One thing I will comment on is the fact that when I assembled it I wrapped tape around the top most section where it is friction fit (there is no screw for this top section) and it did not collapse. Without the tape it may have collapsed. I would like to recommend that John include some really small tie wraps to prevent the friction fit working lose and falling inside the adjoining tube.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N5VEG on 2010-12-08
I received my new S-9V 43 foot vertical antenna yesterday.
It was well packaged and contained all the assembly parts plus spares. It only took me about 30 minutes to assemble the antenna on the ground as per John's instructions. The antenna is between two houses that are only 12 feet apart. I am an old codger and didn't want to risk falling with the antenna so a local ham club member came over to help. We actually mounted the antenna on the ground stub "in the dark!" It's that easy to plant!
A quick tune up without a UNUN exhibited a full 100 watts out with a 1.3/1 SWR. Not bad considering it's a long vertical. It may tune up a little better with the 4-1 UNUN. I will experiment later with that. Signal reports late last night on 80 meters were, you guessed it, "S-9"! Some distant locations,400-800 miles, noticed 10 over in peaks. It must have a very low take-off angle.
I am truly satisfied with the S-9 concept and kudos to John Martindale for turning out such a quality antenna for so little cost.
Just remember, put down at least 16 radials and you are going to be S-9! |
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