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Reviews For: S9 Antennas S9v.43 HF vertical Multi-band 80-10m

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : S9 Antennas S9v.43 HF vertical Multi-band 80-10m
Reviews: 22MSRP: 299.
Description:

We read your reviews and refined our 5 Star product based upon your feedback. Introducing the complete 10-80 meter S9v.43 antenna system that includes a ground to complete the circuit. This complete 10-80 meter HF antenna solution requires no antenna tuner and includes:

  • Heavy duty mount and hardware;
  • Matching network with SO239 connector;
  • Stainless steel clamps;
  • Ground wire & Ground stake;
  • Rugged structural grade type 6063-T832 drawn, 6 section, 18 foot aluminum vertical element

    General Specifications:

  • Frequency Coverage - 10-80 meters,
  • SWRs - As low as 1.2:1 on 10 Meters, 1.15:1 on 15, 1.5:1 on 20, 1.4:1 on 40, and 1.9:1 on 80 when installed correctly,
  • Power - 500W PEP SSB,
  • Weight - 9 Pounds
  • Product is in production
    More Info: http://www.s9antennas.com
    # last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
    00224.9
    K8JTD Rating: 2011-02-25
    A great investment Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    I purchased this antenna based on all of the previous reviews. To say the least I have not been disappointed, I have received very good signal reports from all contacts, most 58 or 59 reports. Working only 100 watts I have been able to break pile ups with others running several hundred watts. Customer service is nothing short of perfect. John has answered any question that I had with many of the responses coming back within an hour or less, even late in the evening.
    NI4Z Rating: 2011-01-29
    Great Performer Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    I installed this antenna with 30 radials. Got finished with the installation about 3:00 p.m. Central time today. I made contacts on 75 meters and worked Europe on 40 meters with no difficulty. I am running 100W from a Yaesu FT-897D and I have an LDG RT-11 remote tuner at the feed point. For the investment this is a great antenna. The quality is super, the instructions are precise with pictures, and the hardware provided is excellent quality stainless. For the price you cannot go wrong. John Martindale is very customer oriented and always responds promptly to all communication. Had a few verticals before, but none that performed this well.

    Thanks John for a great product.

    KK7YC Rating: 2011-01-26
    Great Deal for the Price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    Put mine up just before the snow hit, I was only able to put down 20 radials (early snow that stuck around) So far I am very pleased, easy to install has held up well to our frigid Central Oregon winter. I am working DX V5 on 80m and 40m SSB with just a couple of calls England and Italy LP on 40 CW. Can't wait to put down some more radials. Strong performer on 40m and 30m, OK on 80m.
    WX4O Rating: 2010-11-18
    Excellent Antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
    My 'better half' helped me put it up. Used the radial plate and radials from my (now for sale) 4BTV. My 993B MFJ autotuner works great with it.
    Stealthy... hard to see unless you are in the backyard with it. I love it.
    ND0CW Rating: 2010-11-18
    HAPPY CAMPER Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    HAPPY CAMPER –ordered S9 43ft vertical, a mounting pipe, radial plate and extra bag of hardware and the recommended low power unun. Buried RF Davis bury-flex coax from garage to middle of lot - about 75 feet of coax... Drove ground rod. Drove mount, extended antenna and up easily. I put a Spiderbeam guy ring for their 40ft collapsible mast on and used light weight kevlar rope.

    Started to cut radials and we had a 3 day blizzard - I’m only 20 miles from Canada and fence posts don’t keep out the north wind. We had 60 mph winds, 5 inches of snow - antenna handled it, no problem. Got bunch radials cut, soldered, total of 32: 10 at 62 feet, 22 at 33 feet.

    After blizzard over and few days for snow to melt.... started installing radials. It’s work!! but worth it. Longest run for radials was about 45 feet, so I doubled them back on themselves.
    Used lawn staples from Ross Radio - maybe overkill, given my ground and my wife’s oversight and complaint “How will we mow and rake?” I put staples in at 1 ft intervals.
    Used a flat screwdriver to drag through the grass to make sure I was down to the dirt. Took about an hour for 3-4 radials.

    Excellent swr, using MFJ Differential T tuner in shack - initial contacts revealed what I expected: verticals are not for close in stuff - 300 miles or less. The further out, the better... For the first time in 48 years of ham radio, I heard Europe on 80m cw.!!!! YEA. Couldn’t break the pile up though.

    I had ordered Balun Designs 4:1 5kw balun for other uses, 4124x - Installation notes gave me clue it could be used instead of the unun. So I switched. I’ve been running 500w on cw, 1200 pep on ssb - fantastic results around the country. Been heard in South Africa, Alaska on 40m. Need to stay up late on 80m and find when dx rolls in. So far, I’ve only used it on 80 and 40m.

    I’m thrilled. Gotta wait for Spring to double number of radials. Remember, radials take work and are worth it! Also, don’t expect good reports within your own state. Use something else for close in nets/ragchews.

    Dave ND0CW
    W1PO Rating: 2010-11-18
    Excellent Performance Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    I replaced a Cushcraft AP8V with the 43 foot S9V and I must say that it is worth every penny. I used the existing radials (18) that I had cut for the AP8V without the radial plate and did use the 4:1 UNUN as suggested. This is my 80/40 receive antenna but it works so well on all the bands that I find myself using it mostly on the WARC bands (30, 17 and 12)for transmit as well! Breaks pile ups on long haul stuff with only 150 watts. The low angle rx/tx seems really good. My LDG autotuner matches it on all bands within seconds. Easy install and great portability. You won't be disappointed with the performance. If I dedicated more time to cutting proper length radials and used more of them, I can easily see that this can be a killer performer for low bucks.
    WD0CNZ Rating: 2010-11-15
    Excellent and it Delivers Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    I installed this antenna recently in advance of the winter months. I could not live without radio for the whole winter and my excellent working MP-1 Super Antenna would not handle the snow. This antenna rocks!! I put down 20, 33 ft radials with the S9 radial plate and installed the recommended Balun Designs 4:1 unun. Ant tunes great. First test drive netted a 59 in ND and a 59 in Slovenia. I also worked Puerto Rico at 58 on 10m the next day. This Antenna is a bargain and is so easy to install. You will spend 2X the time pounding the pipe into the ground than putting the antenna together and raising it. My winter is going to be the best ever from Missouri. It also delivers the goods when I am running 5W QRP (my usual mode). I have no amps and the highest power i would run is 100w. This ant takes 1500W. Thanks again S9 Antennas.
    KB3Z Rating: 2010-09-19
    Easy Antenna to Install Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    The antenna comes in one box but getting all the plastic wrapping off can be a challenge. But I understand why they pack it that way to protect the product. I unraveled the wire and installed the set screws in each section. The only problem was when I tried to pull the wire with the hook through the hole in the botton section. The top section collapsed and I had to push on the wire to get it back through again. I would suggest that for the top section which does not require a screw that maybe S9 could drill a little hole taht a small screw could go in to avoid the top section from going back in. Also the wire is not that flexible so be prepared to pull a little bit with the hooking tool to get it through the hole. Other then that it took one hour to build the antenna and with the help of a friend it took about 20 to 30 minutes to put it on my ground pipe. I will write further reviews on the performance of the antenna. Mark KB3Z
    W9PXZ Rating: 2010-09-06
    Great 80 and 40m DX antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    I've had mine up a couple weeks now and am very pleased with the results. It is simple, easy to put up, and if necessary, take down. My past experience with HF antennas has been a Gap Titan and a commercial OCF dipole. To compare the three, the S9 wins hands down on 80 and 40 meters. And thats with just 12 radials. I plan to add more before the winter sets in. The first weekend I had it up I was making contacts into Europe that I could never do before. My best catch so far has been a station in Cyprus. I was even able to get it to load up on 160m. Not well, but enough that I could make the transceiver happy. It takes A LOT of coil on the MFJ989 and the tuning is very sharp, but you can do it.

    Now the down side, it due to its height is not quite as effective on 20 m and up. But that does make sense if one thinks about it. The take off angle is going to be rather odd at the higher frequencies. I will be adding the S9jr to my antenna farm for the upper frequencies. Its 18' height should be more amenable to those bands.
    W5DMT Rating: 2010-07-24
    Excellent low cost alternative! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    I've had this antenna up for about a month now, and used it off and on. I put down 32 radials underneath it and used a DX Engineering UNUN so that I could remote tune it from the shack. It's fed with 75 feet of LMR-400.

    Tonight I sat down and checked into the 3905 Century Club 40M late net and couldn't believe how well I was being heard. I do own a few amplifiers, however, tonight I just thought I would run barefoot and see what happened. 57 signal report out of Hawaii. Also worked 6 other states, and was able to easily work everything I heard.

    I added it all up, and I have right at about $400 tied up in this antenna. To me, that's a bargain. 3800 miles, 100 watts... That's real DX on 40 Meters.

    I've also worked into the Baltic states, Italy, and a few other interesting places on 20M. It's a good performer, as long as you set it up right. At least 20 feet from any buildings, at least 16 radials (though 32 is better), run the UNUN (whether you go with their recommendation or DX ENgineering) and realize that this is a vertical. It's not a 3 element yagi at 120 feet. But in lieu of bankrupting yourself creating that scenario, give this one a try!