Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: ULTIMAX 100 End Fed HF Antenna

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : ULTIMAX 100 End Fed HF Antenna
Reviews: 78MSRP: 85.00
Description:
SPECS:
Configuration - End Fed
Power - 1500 Watts PEP rating
Length - 24 feet
Weight - 3.5 pounds
Polarization – Vertical, Horizontal, Sloped
Connector – SO-239-50 ohm
SWR < 2.5:1 – (3:1 tuner required all radio tuners work)
Bands – from 3.0 MHz to 54 MHz (80 to 6 meters)
Radials - none required
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ultimax-antennas.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
35784.5
W1LWT Rating: 2017-02-20
great antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought 2 of these antenna's 5 years ago. one for the house as a back up.The second one is a portable i use with a 31'foot fibre pole. The both is great i have many contacts on either that makes this antenna my work horse with continued success.Never fails to not perform as it is advertised. comes very close to my other 21 antennas I have .Hanging in the air at my farm in Maine. Well worth every dollar you never be let down......
KE8BPC Rating: 2016-12-13
Recieve Only update Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I had the balun opened up and this is what was found ", I opened up the balun. First, it is not a 9:1 unun transformer. It is wound like one.. but, only has 8 turns. Not sure what they were trying to accomplish there but it makes the wire length more critical. Second, they had not secured the toroid and it was loose and was against the side of the box against one of the contacts. Not sure how that would effect it but it might disturb the resonance saturation of the toroid " I hope this helps some one with the same issue.
WU3U Rating: 2016-09-27
Instant DX! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
About 3 weeks after getting my Technician license I was hooked on amateur radio and wanted to get onto HF so I got my General but didn't have an HF antenna. With no antenna I needed to get busy. I had never been on HF before and was looking for something that only required a reasonable amount of space to install. After looking at many options the Utimax 100 seemed to be a good option after reading many reviews.

When I ordered the Utimax 100 I hadn't thought all of my installation options through and eventually realized while the antenna was in transit that I had an additional mounting option that would permit an antenna longer than 24'. I contacted Albert at Utimax and explained my situation and he said although it is shipped as a 24' antenna wire the matching network inside of the box could handle a 36', 44' or 66' wire. I went to my local electrical supply house and purchased 50' of 14 gauge wire. I cut the original wire off of the insulator and wrapped the new wire around it and crimped it with a similar style crimp just like it came from Utimax. I then measured 44' out from where the wire went through the insulator hole and cut the wire and soldered it onto a new yellow wire connector.

Our property is flat at the bottom for about 30' and then quickly slopes up a hill. I installed the antenna 9' off the ground in the lower yard on an existing 4x4 post with the wire sloping up at about a 30 degree angle and then its attached on top of the hill to a light pole also at about 9' off the ground. I used about 5' of parachute cord through the insulator and then through two pulleys with a 10lb weight holding the wire fairly tight. Mid-way between the bottom of the yard and the top of the yard I would have to say that the antenna wire is about 12-15' off the ground.

I also purchased a Utimax Line Isolator and that's connected to the antenna box with a 2' piece of coax. The line isolator has a 75' piece of coax getting the whole setup connected into the shack.

Once I got everything hooked up I went into the shack, turned on my IC-7100 and set it for 75 watts. I tuned it up on 20 meters and listened to a guy contesting in France. I pressed the PTT and gave out my call and I instantly got a reply! I wasn't sure what I needed to do next, I was shocked! A short time later I got into Croatia and then Ireland. It was all I could do to go back outside and seal up my coax connectors with some coax seal and electrical tape. I wanted to stay in the shack and play.

Since that time I've made many contacts both domestically and internationally. My furthest QSO so far has been to Uzice, Serbia which is 4783 miles from my QTH. I couldn't be happier with this antenna. I have a feeling that If I had an additional mounting option and could get the antenna wire even higher off of the ground it would probably do even better. I'm thinking about buying another one just to have around for field days and other portable use.

Oh by the way, lengthening the wire is only supposed to improve the reception and transmission abilities of the antenna and not widen the bands that it was originally designed for.
WC2F Rating: 2016-08-03
Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Love it this is a great dipole antenna and great reports too
KD2JF Rating: 2016-04-25
Seems vertical is best Time Owned: more than 12 months.
A follow up to my previous review. I have tried all three configurations and have settled on vertical. The balun box is connected to a 3 foot mast in the ground with the 24' radiating wire straight up to a branch. At the input connector I have 6 - 26' wires laying on the ground connected to the shell of the connector. Excellent low band operation and perfect SWL antenna. Over a year now and still going strong.
N0ANT Rating: 2016-03-16
Good Multi-band Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Have had this antenna for about 3 mo and it has performed very good with just 100 watts and the tuner in the rig. If you don't have a lot of space, this a good antenna for the money. After I had it about a month, I sent back and bought the 66' piece of wire and replaced the 24' one. I get a little more bandwidth and it's a little quieter. Would buy another if something happens to this one.
W2WCG Rating: 2016-03-01
Excellent Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I would have to say I bought this antenna last year as a compromise hoping it would work based on decent reviews. I have it mounted 20 feet in the air on a slight slope across my yard. With a 50 foot run of coax and RF choke I have a very workable system. I have made many contacts from QRP to 100 Watts, some DX and most states. With a MFJ Versa tuner on my 857 or the LDX auto tuner on my 817 SWRS tune almost flat on all bands up to 40 meters. Understanding the limitations of a 24' wire I can say it has exceeded my expectations. Anyone looking for a quick, compact, durable and almost invisible way to work HF you could do a whole lot worse. I would buy it again and have recommended it to others. Bill W2WCG
KG4UHV Rating: 2015-03-09
Excellent antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This antenna is the best of the best. I contacted Bosnia,virgin islands, Sudan,lithuanua,Madeira islands and Curacao with excellent signal reports. The customer service is A+.if you are looking for a good antenna get an Ultimaxx antenna. Thank you Albert. 73.
K7SQD Rating: 2015-01-05
Works just as advertised! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've owned one of these antennas for almost a year now and it does exactly what it is advertised to do!
Running QRP (Phone), I've made QSO's with Guam, Brazil, Argentina, Eastern Canada, Alaska and the Eastern U.S. - and other points within the lower 48 (I'm in the Pacific Northwest).
Works great! Just remember, this is not going to compete with a directional beam on a tower @ 150'.
I have it mounted at about 45degrees into a tree from a 4X4 fence post on my backyard fence about 6' off the ground.
Shipped quickly and arrived well packaged.
Can't beat the price or quality!
K6SNP Rating: 2014-09-08
Great Antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased the Ultimax 100 because I live in a condo that doesn't allow antenna's. It's a tri-level condo with no units above or below ours. The roof is flat, and about 30' high. I installed the antenna between two 10" vent pipes, putting the antenna only 8" above the roof. The antenna is below 3:1 on all bands and tunes flawlessly with the inboard tuner on my Yaesu FTDX 3000D. I have made contacts in over 30 states, many on east coast. Seven countries, including two DX-peditions. Many contacts with Hawaii and Japan. Every station that I could hear, answered my call, sometimes after repeated tries, but always got thru. I think it works great for what it is, and has given me a lot of fun on HF again.