Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: CHAMELEON V2L HF/VHF/UHF Multiband Antenna™

Category: Antennas: HF Mobile & Accessories

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : CHAMELEON V2L HF/VHF/UHF Multiband Antenna™
Reviews: 14MSRP: 99
Description:
The Chameleon V2L HF/VHF/UHF Multiband Antenna is a hybrid antenna between the Chameleon V1 and the Chameleon V2. Like the V1 the V2L is composed of two individual screw together elements that can be assembled and disassembled in matter of minutes for fast and easy deployment and offers about 50% less wind resistance than the V1 and the V2.

The lower antenna part is 2’ long and it’s made with 3/8” of premium fiberglass tubing while the upper part is made of a 56” long stainless steel whip.

The Chameleon V2L silhouette is slimmer and stealthier than its cousins the V1 and the V2. At 6’6” long the V2L is ideal for smaller vehicles & boats.

An adequate ground-plane system and DC grounding are required for proper antenna performance. The ground plane quality will directly influence the antenna performance especially on 80M and 40M.

An external tuner is required to operate the Chameleon V2L.

Two Chameleon V2L can be added together to create a portable stealth dipole antenna.
Product is in production
More Info: http://chameleonantenna.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00144.6
KG4UHV Rating: 2016-09-16
Great Antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Excellent antenna and customer assistance. I got contacts in NY, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico with excellent reports. The V2L is a great antenna for mobile and portable operations, thank you again Carl.
N1BSB Rating: 2016-07-10
great Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Hi here is an update on the Chameleon V2L. I tried the built in antenna tuner on my Kenwood TS 480sat works fine tunes all bands don't ask me how poss. the grounding system I got its on a big rig rig so that may have a lot to do with it.
KJ4YLP Rating: 2015-10-24
Great mobile or portable antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my V2L for 4 years mounted on a van. I easily make contacts to the European and Middle east countries. I like it so much that I purchased the V22L version for my go bag which ought to say a lot!
ROBMA Rating: 2015-09-15
Well made Time Owned: more than 12 months.
First thing noticed out of the box was that the antenna is well made. Heavy duty and should last many years. Made a number of QRP contacts with it (requires a tuner) and did very well. I can recommend this antenna to others without hesitation.
RYAN Rating: 2015-04-08
Great performance in a small package Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I had long been looking for an HF antenna with reasonable performance but in a small package to bolt onto my small work SUV. I have mulled around with some of the smaller commercial options from Codan or Icom but nothing fit the bill. I tried tapped whips and a raft of other options.

Then I stumbled across Chameleon and it was spectacular! I matched the V2L with a Hybrid Mini and the performance from such a compact package is just brilliant. The antenna breaks down so it fits in the trunk and screws together easily and reliably. I have used it at freeway speeds and off road and it is still going strong.

I would highly recommend the V2L/Hybrid Mini combination to anyone looking for a discreet but high performance mobile HF set up.
V63LP Rating: 2014-02-10
Frustrated! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Never got to use it. The base got stuck with the chrome spring. I am very very carefull on my install, but this thing happened.

Contacted manufacturer, but senseless.

I am out over $200.
IZ2XDJ Rating: 2013-02-13
V2L with hybrid base: great combination Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Being a newbie in HAM all I wanted was a simple to install mobile antenna on my boat, mostly for WInlink and grib files, next to contact possibilities on HAMnet. I don't want to cut my rigging for isolators. So I decided to try the Chameleon Hybrid with the stealthy V2L, coupled to an SGC-235 and Icom 706MKIIG. I mounted the antenna set on my stainless crossbar-davits-windgen support and hooked a KISS-SSB counterpoise to the tuner. No other grounding connections to engine or any other (nor electrical) part. Ferrites and loops of wire under the antenna and all across the lines. To my own astonishment everything worked right from the start, getting SWR steadily around 1.5 and contacting WINLINK stations up to 900 km distance (after the tuner rumbled for a second) and even contacts across the Alps from Netherlands to Italy, amidst a load of ship masts. Unfortunately I haven't since been able to further test the set with more 'scientific' precision, but here's a happy user so far. I like the stealth aspect very much as my boat is a sailing catamaran. Of course the results will be even better if I use the HYBRID with the supplied long-wire, but that will not be my permanent install, which would be the V2L.
AE7NM Rating: 2012-11-19
Compact Mobile HF Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have my Chameleon V2L mounted on my MINI Cooper. I wanted an antenna that was shorter than the car. I do not use any of the Chameleon matching networks. Instead, the antenna is connected directly to an ICOM AH-4 antenna tuner. The antenna tunes on 80m through 10m with an SWR less than 1.5. The SWR on 6m with just the top section connected is about 2.5. I have made contacts on all bands 80m through 10m except 30m. I have worked DX on 20m, 18m, 12m and 10m. Not bad for a short antenna on a little car.
KB3WVB Rating: 2012-09-17
A great antenna for (almost) everything Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The Chameleon V2L was actually only the second HF antenna that I purchased. I became a HAM operator in December 2011 and quickly upgraded to my General license. I've read as many books as I can find on antennas and have built a few of my own.

My main reason for buying the V2L was that I wanted to operate mobile. I have an hour-long commute every morning and evening and wanted to hit the HF bands. However, I drive a 2009 Honda Accord and that does not lend itself to most of the mobile HF antennas on the market. Many are either too big or too heavy. Enter the V2L!

After buying the V2L, I set about installing it on my car. I found a good mounting point on the rear frame of the driver's side backseat passenger door. I couldn't mount the antenna on a 90-degree angle with the ground due to the way the door frame was molded so the antenna sloped towards the middle of the car by about 25 degrees. Not the optimum setup but "good-enuf" to get on the air.

Radio setup:

-Yaesu 857d
-LDG Z100 Pro II Tuner
-25' RG-8X coax
-One water bottle about 2-inches in diameter

I had many great contacts and learned a lot about optimizing my setup for the antenna. A few things I learned:

- Bond *everything*. k0bg.com has a great article on bonding and it reduces a lot of the RFI.

- Add an "ugly" balun as close to where your coax exits the vehicle as possible. I took a "Smart-Water" water bottle and wrapped about 10 turns of the coax around the bottle and secured it with duct-tape. Having this right at the exit of the vehicle keeps the transmissions from the antenna outside the vehicle and any RFI generated from the vehicle inside the vehicle. This resulted in clearer contact reports and also seemed to reduce the background static by quite a bit. This is in addition to the 9:1 UNUN included with the antenna. (Antenna -> UNUN -> "Ugly-Balun" -> Tuner)


In addition to the mobile setup, I also purchased a tripod and used this antenna with great success during Field Day this year. When portable, you need to make sure that you add a few ground radials below the antenna. I ran Field Day using only 3 radials and was making contacts with no problem. You won't be breaking any pileups but you will be heard and that's what matters!



I have also recently ordered the Mil-Whip from Chameleon which can replace the upper section of the V2L to increase performance on the lower bands. This is a really cool feature that I haven't seen on other antennas and I'm really excited to try it out!

K6NJ Rating: 2012-04-05
Overall, a good antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my third HF mobile antenna I have used on my Nissan Frontier truck. I went from the ATAS-120A to a Hamstick and now to this antenna. I have it mounted in the worst place, but only available spot for my use which is mounted to the rear bumper. I've grounded the heck out of everything and that definitely makes a positive difference. I'm running a Yaesu FT-857D rig at 100 watts with a LDG Z11ProII tuner. Overall, I would have to say that this antenna has given me the best performance compared to the other three antennas. I've worked multiple provinces in Canada, Hawaii, Mexico, Martinique, Cuba, Japan and multiple Eastern states from California while mobile mostly on 17 and 20 meters. Most of the signal reports are not super strong, but I am getting in there! The antenna appears very robust and is low profile compared to other HF mobile antennas. I'm sure there are better antennas for more $$$, but overall I am happy with this antenna and would recommend it.