I had a radio shack Navajo and there base station antenna, I think mine was a light blue. At first I had a Navajo that was all dials and a meter then for my bday I was given a digital Navajo. It was on top of a 3 story home in Brooklyn. My dad worked for a major news outlet this was the early 90’s last 80’s. I was talking to people so far. Then his buddy did something to the radio and bought me a swr meter and power mic from some huge store that just Cb/ham stuff. They send paper catalogs. It went so far it was amazing after he “tuned” it. I recently rehooked the Navajo up in my lake house in mi. Torch lake. The antena I believe was taken down when new chimney was built so I bought a used Antron 99 and my son is now loving it. He talks to people in Canada. He currently taking Ham lessons. What a great post. Radio Shack another great store gone
Around 45 years ago I discovered that the old Radio Shack 5/8 wave antenna's (Hygain CLR-2 copy) would fry at around 250 watts carrier. They used a funky little coil wound on a round circuit board and the foils would burn from high power. The Hygain version of these had a real wire wound inductor at the base and they would take high power all day long.
The small town I lived in back in the 80's and 90's the radio shack had one on the roof. the store manager let us talk on the radio from time to time in the store. When we went to get our free battery from the battery club of course. I miss my old radio shack.
Glad that one worked out good for you. I'm surprised you had to even move the rings. I figured most of these are preset. Maybe the rings got moved in the box over the years..
That’s a very broadbanded antenna and very impressive to have that low of an SWR across that wide of bandwidth . I wish I could find these deals !! Great video John 👍
For the love of gravity, you should strap your ladder to the pole so it doesn't step out on you. After all, we don't heal as fast as we once did. :^) 73's!
Nice video 151 as always and this was interesting. I was surprise the bandwidth range you got out of it once tuned. You could use it for local contacts and the beam for skip etc.
These are great antennas for as simple as they are. Granted, it won't outperform the old Super Penetrator 500, but A-99s can hold their own. As I told you before, I have one in storage that I bought new for $7.99 in 2006. 90% off @ Radio Shack store closing clearance sale! Never used. Someday...
I had an Antron 99 with the ground plane kit back in the early 1990s through to around 2006. During that time I swapped out the fiberglass top whip for a 102 inch stainless steel whip because there was some stuff going around back then at the time that a stainless stell whip performed better. I never noticed any improvements over the fiberglass whip. There was also a local CB'er I knew back then that also had an Antron 99 with the ground plane kit and he swapped the four fiberglass ground plane radials for four 102" stainless steel whips. That swap was another thing floating around back then too.
I had the baby blue one from Radio Shack back in the 80s when Hurricane Gloria hit NYC area I lost it from the wind That thing worked amazing with swr flat on channel 1 40 and 24 amazing
great video had one of these antennas 30 years ago paid 99.99 for it was a awesome antenna had it hooked up to a SBE radio 73s john mini bike junkie 714 in the buckeye state click click
I was just given a free Super Big Stick. I think SU-76 is the model on it. This was the conventional two-section Big Stick with greater power handling capability than the standard model. Came home and used Dawn Dish soap to clean the dirt and bird shit off of it, clear coated and and she's ready to go up somewhere.
A lot of people say these antennas are junk,to each his own .Ive had a few antennas over the years and for all around ,ease of installation, durability and just being able to talk,they may not be the best but they are pretty darn close. 73's Take Care. 514 Ontario Canada
@@MowerJunkie The A-99 and the original Radio Shack Archer 1/4 wave ground plane. How many of us started out with one of those? (Me!) At $12.95, it was affordable for a 12-year-old kid. Which I was when I bought it in 1976.
I was gonna mention that Radio Shack branded products were made under contract by big name manufacturers. I don't know if they actually ever made anything in a factory owned by them. I have a handheld scanner I bought years ago that was identical to another brand (GRE I think) except for the brand logo. Their older CB radios tended to look a bit less like clones or knock offs. Styling was more important back in the 70s and 80s to help maintain their brand identity. Internally they probably were identical to other models in the market made by the same manufacturers. Just slap a different cabinet on a standard chassis and you have a different brand. Had an old HAM tell me back in the 80s there wasn't much if any difference between brands really. All made the same way. I'm sure he wasn't too far off on that. I've got a cheap Catron brand SW radio made in China that actually has Sony branded components in it.
For skip, the height may surprise you at how well it works? Just for fun, add a couple of 1/4 wave wires to the bottom and see if it drops on the lower frequencies, remember in New Zealand their channel 1 is 26, 330 using 0's not 5's so be ready to talk around the world just before dark or daylight during the gray line!
EXCELLENT video Mower Junkie :) with all Fibreglass in 1/4 to 1/2 to 5/8 if can get match on 26.000 to 1.1 to 1.5 and 27.995 same and rest is Flat match your doing well too ! Plus ground rod off pipe or tower section for antenna installation helps keep match down to and noise too plus inferior with neighbors to! Plus on Antron 99 also I- Max 2000 you have both tune rings together and screw from top to 4 turns to middle going to bottom match be equal both in 26 to 28 mhz to also 1 to 40 be flat match ! Happy Impendence Day July 4 2021 from Andrew 396WT90 in Ontario Canada 73 !
Interesting vid there Mower Junkie but curious abt 2 things: #1) I cudn't tell if u did this or not, but like I do when using a stepladder, I ALWAYS strap it to whatever it's up against for obvious reasons & #2) as I'm sure u know, wud that ole RS antenna work better w/ a few radials at the base (unless it wasn't designed to have any)?
Sometimes I will strap the ladder in place, But not this time. Some ground radials ground radials would definitely improve DX. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
I did have an a-99 along with an RS aqua blue crossbow back in the 1990s-2019 in use. The Crossbow still exists but rough, Not for use. Nice antenna and video as always friend. Seems that you find some darn good deals. Glad to see that you have a Video up. Hope to catch you on the bounce best wishes to you and yours. 73s from NY202 Ghost Radio.
As far as 5/8 wave ground plane antennas are concerned. Make them from aluminum conduct and for 11 meter about 22 feet or so. even a wire of proper length is fine. To match a Coil of about 1.25 to 1.5 inches in dia. tapped at around 2 turns and one end to the drive element the other to the shield and 3 or 4 ground elements which are 1/4 wave in length and 90% to the driven or horizontal. The Coil turns will vary and the tap is how you tune the antenna. Also the length of the driven element will tune it. It will handle a kw with # 10 coil and proper tuning. Also elevation above ground and interference objects like trees building wires etc.
are leaving details out ,i1m lost "To match a Coil of about 1.25 to 1.5 inches in dia. tapped at around 2 turns " how many in total? and tapped around 2 turns? where at the top or bottom,,, "one end to the drive element" watch end ground or center signal? i like to learn :) got any links to plan`s
The 5/8 has the inductor tapped at if I remember 3 turn from the cold or ground end. The coil is in the base of a hygain type antenna. One end of the coil is to ground the other is the 22 foot vertical. There are 3 or 4 9 foot or 8'6" elements at the bottom and they are 90% off vertical or horizontal. There should be small 1 foot long elements radiating from the top. I understood them to be for static elimination. Though I figure they help lower the angle of radiation a bit or compress the wave and that increases the db gain over a dipole a bit. 22foot to 23'6". Tap the coil and move it around day a half turn one way or the other. Even add turns if required. The antenna must be high as possible and at least a wavelenth above ground and or metal objects except tower or mast. Here is a simple antenna for you to try. You just need wire. AND a 75 ohm coax as a feed line coax instead of 50 ohm. Very broad banded and shoot signal upward. Divide freq. In Mhz. Into 1005. Say 27.2 mhz divided into 1005. Thats 36.94 feet. Cut wire 36.9 feet. Attach one end to the ground or shield the other to the center conductor. Hang the antenna high as possible and horizonal as possible using nylon or non conducting rope from trees or what ever. Keep is as round as you can but square will do. Your 36.9 feet of wire in the trees will do a heck of a good job. Inverted V is similiar to a die pole except with the feed point high the legs are pulled down on each end. THS INVERTED V is feed with 50 ohm coax while if it is a horizontal dipole it is feed with 75 ohm coax. The formula for the V or die pole is freq. (27.2) divided into 468. Cut a piece of wire that length. Cut it in half. Attach one end to tge shield the other to the center lead on the coax. Hang a die pole fromm either end. OR as an inverted V support the center up a tree or tower. Attach the two ends to a nylon string or rope and spread them out into a a V. Remember feed the V with a 50 ohm line and the loop or diepole with 75 ohm line. Dont be confused by a SWR meter. A Dummy load shows a great match but it doesnt transmit worth a darn. 1.5 is fine. Prune and twick as required. One of the smallest beams that has a screwy match system but has a 9-11 db gain vertical js the Astro Plane if you can find one. Short coaxial matching stub 6' or so. Really great beam for the size. The Moon Raker is much bigger and will do horizonal. All antenna are just a wire. At micro-wave a strip of etching on the board or in some cases a 1/4" hair or a round square or rectangular tube is used as a feed line and even a mixer for signals. Never make a hard bend in you coax or feed line a bend creates a capacitive and inductance coupling or an antenna of a length of the fundamental or harmonic of the bends. This is equally true on Xmit or Rec.. I hope this helps. All the antennas here mentioned will handle a kilowatt RMS without fail. Use appropriate coax. KA4WYO telecasterron. FM America CSC TRAM R&D SBIR high energy resonance and UV pulse LASERS.
I have an antenna that absolutely no one knows anything about. It’s an old RadioShack .64 wave crossbow antenna. I’ve scoured the planet for any specs or literature. I just cleaned it all up and put new hardware on but SWR is extremely high. I’ve been told I mean radio should be 22’6”. I’m beginning to wonder if I have a load issue?
Nice! I found an awesome website, it has all the old Radio Shack catalogs. www.radioshackcatalogs.com/index.htm#main_catalogs You should be able to find your antenna in one of them.
@@MowerJunkie I found it in the 1978 catalog page 83. Thank you for sending that. I wish it had dimensions better or I could find the manual for this Jewel. I’ll keep tinkering. Thanks mower junkie
That very well could have been made by the same company that made the Amtron 99. Radio Shack contracted out to other companies to make their products. Just like you local supermarket chain does with their private label brands. Lafayette Electronics did the same thing. The major difference was the price.
I still have one from the late nineties, only used it a few times (Great antenna!). No where to put the A99 at the home QTH anymore due to a refurb to the building where I reside! So the antenna is just lying in the cupboard, unfortunately.
Correct. I knew a guy who worked for RS corporate back in the day. He verified it was a rebadged A-99. RS did quite a bit of this: Koss headphones, Sangean portable radios, etc.
I looked up this antenna, It was manufactured by Samsung for Radio Shack. it looks like an Antron......But it's not. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
@@drewdurigan5672 yep. RCA and Pioneer made their electronics and they were rebadged for Radio Shack. Some of their mid 90s stereo stuff looked about the same as Pioneer's stuff.
These are much better than the Crossbows. The Crossbow cannot be tuned. Can only handle about 200 watts. Also, aren't the threads backwards in those? I remember people trying to substitute a Francis Amazer for the top half but couldn't because the threads were reversed.
@@drewdurigan5672 I had it out in the woods at camp and ran 5 watts or so. It was good for the job, A99 was better and power was not a problem at the house. Still, always prefer a good Metal ground plane 5/8th.
@@cbradioghosttalk1986 The Crossbow was the Shack's first attempt at a fiberglass base antenna. In the early 1980s, the CPSC banned metal omni CB antennas because idiots kept dropping them on power lines and electrocuting themselves. Manufacturers were given a grace period to get rid of their existing stock before the ban went into effect. The deadline was either late in 1983 or early in 1984. RS closed out their 5/8 wave ground plane (Hy-Gain CLR2 knockoff) for $8 at the end. I got 2 of them! The new fiberglass models first appeared in the 1988. There was a 1/4 wave ground plane for $60 and the Crossbow 1/2 wave for $80. Considering that RS had to hurry up and develop a completely new antenna to meet government regulations, they did okay. The A-99 was a later refinement of that original design.
I had an antron on a rci 2995 and the swr from 12 meter to 10 meter was just amazinng and perfect on 11meter i never had to adjust it thats about the only antenna that will stand up allng the shore of st marys bay nova scotia anything bigger either blows over or the salt corrosion destroys it
Got to love that $20 investment can't beat it took you all of what 10 minutes to get it thing tuned up and a 1.1 match were you need it.. awesome how things work out keep it up. 595 ma...🔊🎙
Great info video 151. Your accent reminds me of click and clack the tapped brothers. Car Talk. Waiting with bells for more radio contact and video. Lol. 653 Hamilton Ontario Canada. 73s
Eh mower junkie. I was talking to guys in yer neighborhood today from northern ontario Canada!!!! Stock yaesu ft990,decent coax and a maco 5/8 20 feet high!!!!!! Getting summore tower and summore amperages soon!!!! I hope we can chat on the air sometime!!!!
That’s kind of antenna that I had I had just my rings there one point actually the noodles in it and move it all on 40 or one now went to the lower channel it went 1.1 that was 26 .685
4 feet down. I used a block of wood on top of the mast, and hit it with a sledge hammer. Good luck with Your new antenna, I hope to hear You on the air.
Try 3 to 5 hundred watts. It looks like one I tried years ago and blew 3 of them. Radio shack in my town ran out so they gave me my money back. It looked like an A99 but had a thin wire in the bottom going to the copper rod in the center. The wire would burn in half. Not saying that's what you have.
I believe they were actually manufactured by Antron for Radio Shack. In my opinion, Anrton antennas were made far better before they were sold to Solarcon. . Good luck with it!! I've had an IMAX 2000 in my garage, still in the box for 10 year now. I don't like the IMAX at all, it's a lossy, poor radiating, piece of junk!
@@MowerJunkie That's a really interesting find!! I knew that Samsung (an others) made some of their CB radios, but I never knew Samsung made any antennas! Good luck with it! Half-wave antennas are the best for sporadic E skip, with max gain at 20 degrees, the most common on 27 MHz. We're heading into the next cycle and we should start having "skip" in the next few years.
@@MowerJunkie Because it will make ABSOLUTELY NO difference on the receiving side of the conversation aka absolutely none at all. Remember that it takes 6 db gain in power output to get a single S Unit reading on the other side. 6 db is 2 x 3 db and 3 db is a complete doubling of base power.Thus ... if you transmit at 100 watts standard power out of an Amateur radio you will need to stack 3 db power output or aka (100 x 2) for the first 3 db and then DOUBLE that power to get the other half of the single db for a total power requirement of 400 watts or 400% more power over the base power. THUS a 1.5 SWR power loss is an completely insignificant waste of power other than pure and absolute fiction as a pure face.May I suggest you acquire two books and study them in re to antennas and Antenna Theory: The ARRL Handbook and the ARRL Antenna Handbook. They also have some very nice antenna designs that can be scaled down to the CB Band. N5LRZ Ray
I had a radio shack Navajo and there base station antenna, I think mine was a light blue. At first I had a Navajo that was all dials and a meter then for my bday I was given a digital Navajo. It was on top of a 3 story home in Brooklyn. My dad worked for a major news outlet this was the early 90’s last 80’s. I was talking to people so far. Then his buddy did something to the radio and bought me a swr meter and power mic from some huge store that just Cb/ham stuff. They send paper catalogs. It went so far it was amazing after he “tuned” it. I recently rehooked the Navajo up in my lake house in mi. Torch lake. The antena I believe was taken down when new chimney was built so I bought a used Antron 99 and my son is now loving it. He talks to people in Canada. He currently taking Ham lessons. What a great post. Radio Shack another great store gone
When I was a kid, I purchased my antenna's from Radio Shack. That was the days.
Around 45 years ago I discovered that the old Radio Shack 5/8 wave antenna's (Hygain CLR-2 copy) would fry at around 250 watts carrier. They used a funky little coil wound on a round circuit board and the foils would burn from high power. The Hygain version of these had a real wire wound inductor at the base and they would take high power all day long.
That RS antenna came along well before Antron. Most likely was a relabled Shakespeare.
I looked it up, it was actually made by Samsung.
I miss the old Radio Shack and I don’t have much use for the new.
The small town I lived in back in the 80's and 90's the radio shack had one on the roof. the store manager let us talk on the radio from time to time in the store. When we went to get our free battery from the battery club of course. I miss my old radio shack.
Nice! I really miss Radio Shack.
Glad that one worked out good for you. I'm surprised you had to even move the rings. I figured most of these are preset. Maybe the rings got moved in the box over the years..
You have some great yard sales in you area for equipment. Thanks for the great videos, keep them coming! 73s from 595 Northern Nevada.
That’s a very broadbanded antenna and very impressive to have that low of an SWR across that wide of bandwidth . I wish I could find these deals !! Great video John 👍
Thanks Dallas, Happy 4th to You and Yours.
@@MowerJunkie you did real good work !
For the love of gravity, you should strap your ladder to the pole so it doesn't step out on you.
After all, we don't heal as fast as we once did. :^) 73's!
Lol....true words right there!!!!
Nice video 151 as always and this was interesting. I was surprise the bandwidth range you got out of it once tuned. You could use it for local contacts and the beam for skip etc.
These are great antennas for as simple as they are. Granted, it won't outperform the old Super Penetrator 500, but A-99s can hold their own. As I told you before, I have one in storage that I bought new for $7.99 in 2006. 90% off @ Radio Shack store closing clearance sale! Never used. Someday...
I had an Antron 99 with the ground plane kit back in the early 1990s through to around 2006. During that time I swapped out the fiberglass top whip for a 102 inch stainless steel whip because there was some stuff going around back then at the time that a stainless stell whip performed better. I never noticed any improvements over the fiberglass whip. There was also a local CB'er I knew back then that also had an Antron 99 with the ground plane kit and he swapped the four fiberglass ground plane radials for four 102" stainless steel whips. That swap was another thing floating around back then too.
I had the baby blue one from Radio Shack back in the 80s when Hurricane Gloria hit NYC area I lost it from the wind That thing worked amazing with swr flat on channel 1 40 and 24 amazing
great video had one of these antennas 30 years ago paid 99.99 for it was a awesome antenna had it hooked up to a SBE radio 73s john mini bike junkie 714 in the buckeye state click click
Thanks 714, Have a happy 4th. 73's from 151 SC.
I purchased a Radio Shack base antenna back in the 90's and it definitely was a repackaged Antron A99 base antenna.
I was just given a free Super Big Stick. I think SU-76 is the model on it. This was the conventional two-section Big Stick with greater power handling capability than the standard model. Came home and used Dawn Dish soap to clean the dirt and bird shit off of it, clear coated and and she's ready to go up somewhere.
I use to run one back in the mid 80’s they were great, the only thing when I turned on my linear it gave off some TVI
A lot of people say these antennas are junk,to each his own .Ive had a few antennas over the years and for all around ,ease of installation, durability and just being able to talk,they may not be the best but they are pretty darn close.
73's Take Care.
514 Ontario Canada
It's probably the most popular antenna ever built, That has to say something about it.
Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
@@MowerJunkie The A-99 and the original Radio Shack Archer 1/4 wave ground plane. How many of us started out with one of those? (Me!) At $12.95, it was affordable for a 12-year-old kid. Which I was when I bought it in 1976.
That was beautiful beautiful you’re the man 73’s shep out
I was gonna mention that Radio Shack branded products were made under contract by big name manufacturers. I don't know if they actually ever made anything in a factory owned by them. I have a handheld scanner I bought years ago that was identical to another brand (GRE I think) except for the brand logo. Their older CB radios tended to look a bit less like clones or knock offs. Styling was more important back in the 70s and 80s to help maintain their brand identity. Internally they probably were identical to other models in the market made by the same manufacturers. Just slap a different cabinet on a standard chassis and you have a different brand. Had an old HAM tell me back in the 80s there wasn't much if any difference between brands really. All made the same way. I'm sure he wasn't too far off on that. I've got a cheap Catron brand SW radio made in China that actually has Sony branded components in it.
Ive had 2 of them over the yrs. Loved them
I'm jelous that you guys still have " radio shack". All of ours closed up a long time ago.
Cheers
Is that EMT/conduit that you're using for your mast? Just curious. Trying to set an antenna up in my back yard.
Again great video, always so interesting. You are brilliant. Best wishes from North Wales in the United Kingdom
Thank you very much! 73's from 151 SC.
A couple of guys used to run those around here back in the day and they seemed to work pretty good. I'm betting yours will work good too.
For skip, the height may surprise you at how well it works? Just for fun, add a couple of 1/4 wave wires to the bottom and see if it drops on the lower frequencies, remember in New Zealand their channel 1 is 26, 330 using 0's not 5's so be ready to talk around the world just before dark or daylight during the gray line!
I'm buying that same antenna is the SWR pretty close when you put it together and then you just fine-tune it with the Rings? Appreciate any info
The first base antenna I owned. It worked ok for local contacts but I moved onto aluminum antennas since then.
The huge amount of loss in the coax, RG213, RG214 or LMR400 would double the range and the receive over the RG58.
Which coax is the best?
I need to get what little power I have to the antenna.
Thx in advance 👍
EXCELLENT video Mower Junkie :) with all Fibreglass in 1/4 to 1/2 to 5/8 if can get match on 26.000 to 1.1 to 1.5 and 27.995 same and rest is Flat match your doing well too ! Plus ground rod off pipe or tower section for antenna installation helps keep match down to and noise too plus inferior with neighbors to! Plus on Antron 99 also I- Max 2000 you have both tune rings together and screw from top to 4 turns to middle going to bottom match be equal both in 26 to 28 mhz to also 1 to 40 be flat match ! Happy Impendence Day July 4 2021 from Andrew 396WT90 in Ontario Canada 73 !
Actually, the original Antron was a 2-piece antenna.
That RS antenna was not a copy of the Antron.
Interesting vid there Mower Junkie but curious abt 2 things: #1) I cudn't tell if u did this or not, but like I do when using a stepladder, I ALWAYS strap it to whatever it's up against for obvious reasons & #2) as I'm sure u know, wud that ole RS antenna work better w/ a few radials at the base (unless it wasn't designed to have any)?
Sometimes I will strap the ladder in place, But not this time. Some ground radials ground radials would definitely improve DX. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
I did have an a-99 along with an RS aqua blue crossbow back in the 1990s-2019 in use. The Crossbow still exists but rough, Not for use. Nice antenna and video as always friend. Seems that you find some darn good deals. Glad to see that you have a Video up. Hope to catch you on the bounce best wishes to you and yours. 73s from NY202 Ghost Radio.
Happy 4th NY202. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
I'am Your Newest Subscriber Great Videos. Mail It To Me In Florida I Will Use It
That tunes nice and easy! I have an Antron but never got round to doing anything with it atm... Good video John & thanks.......
As far as 5/8 wave ground plane antennas are concerned. Make them from aluminum conduct and for 11 meter about 22 feet or so. even a wire of proper length is fine. To match a Coil of about 1.25 to 1.5 inches in dia. tapped at around 2 turns and one end to the drive element the other to the shield and 3 or 4 ground elements which are 1/4 wave in length and 90% to the driven or horizontal. The Coil turns will vary and the tap is how you tune the antenna. Also the length of the driven element will tune it. It will handle a kw with # 10 coil and proper tuning. Also elevation above ground and interference objects like trees building wires etc.
are leaving details out ,i1m lost "To match a Coil of about 1.25 to 1.5 inches in dia. tapped at around 2 turns " how many in total? and tapped around 2 turns? where at the top or bottom,,, "one end to the drive element" watch end ground or center signal? i like to learn :) got any links to plan`s
The 5/8 has the inductor tapped at if I remember 3 turn from the cold or ground end. The coil is in the base of a hygain type antenna. One end of the coil is to ground the other is the 22 foot vertical. There are 3 or 4 9 foot or 8'6" elements at the bottom and they are 90% off vertical or horizontal. There should be small 1 foot long elements radiating from the top. I understood them to be for static elimination. Though I figure they help lower the angle of radiation a bit or compress the wave and that increases the db gain over a dipole a bit. 22foot to 23'6". Tap the coil and move it around day a half turn one way or the other. Even add turns if required. The antenna must be high as possible and at least a wavelenth above ground and or metal objects except tower or mast. Here is a simple antenna for you to try. You just need wire. AND a 75 ohm coax as a feed line coax instead of 50 ohm. Very broad banded and shoot signal upward. Divide freq. In Mhz. Into 1005. Say 27.2 mhz divided into 1005. Thats 36.94 feet. Cut wire 36.9 feet. Attach one end to the ground or shield the other to the center conductor. Hang the antenna high as possible and horizonal as possible using nylon or non conducting rope from trees or what ever. Keep is as round as you can but square will do. Your 36.9 feet of wire in the trees will do a heck of a good job. Inverted V is similiar to a die pole except with the feed point high the legs are pulled down on each end. THS INVERTED V is feed with 50 ohm coax while if it is a horizontal dipole it is feed with 75 ohm coax. The formula for the V or die pole is freq. (27.2) divided into 468. Cut a piece of wire that length. Cut it in half. Attach one end to tge shield the other to the center lead on the coax. Hang a die pole fromm either end. OR as an inverted V support the center up a tree or tower. Attach the two ends to a nylon string or rope and spread them out into a a V. Remember feed the V with a 50 ohm line and the loop or diepole with 75 ohm line. Dont be confused by a SWR meter. A Dummy load shows a great match but it doesnt transmit worth a darn. 1.5 is fine. Prune and twick as required. One of the smallest beams that has a screwy match system but has a 9-11 db gain vertical js the Astro Plane if you can find one. Short coaxial matching stub 6' or so. Really great beam for the size. The Moon Raker is much bigger and will do horizonal. All antenna are just a wire. At micro-wave a strip of etching on the board or in some cases a 1/4" hair or a round square or rectangular tube is used as a feed line and even a mixer for signals. Never make a hard bend in you coax or feed line a bend creates a capacitive and inductance coupling or an antenna of a length of the fundamental or harmonic of the bends. This is equally true on Xmit or Rec.. I hope this helps. All the antennas here mentioned will handle a kilowatt RMS without fail. Use appropriate coax. KA4WYO
telecasterron. FM America CSC
TRAM R&D SBIR high energy resonance and UV pulse LASERS.
I have an antenna that absolutely no one knows anything about. It’s an old RadioShack .64 wave crossbow antenna. I’ve scoured the planet for any specs or literature. I just cleaned it all up and put new hardware on but SWR is extremely high. I’ve been told I mean radio should be 22’6”. I’m beginning to wonder if I have a load issue?
Nice! I found an awesome website, it has all the old Radio Shack catalogs. www.radioshackcatalogs.com/index.htm#main_catalogs
You should be able to find your antenna in one of them.
@@MowerJunkie I found it in the 1978 catalog page 83. Thank you for sending that. I wish it had dimensions better or I could find the manual for this Jewel. I’ll keep tinkering. Thanks mower junkie
What type of clamps I'm getting anxious to set mine up. Soon I'll be trying to holler for u from TN
I used the clamps that came with the antenna.
That very well could have been made by the same company that made the Amtron 99. Radio Shack contracted out to other companies to make their products. Just like you local supermarket chain does with their private label brands. Lafayette Electronics did the same thing. The major difference was the price.
This antenna was manufactured by Samsung, for Radio Shack. Thanks for watching, Take care.
Nice!!!! Have a Happy 4th Mower Junkie!!!!!
What a great find! Super good SWR. Let us know how it talks and if the ears are good.
Will do! Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Cool, but how well dose it work? Get the vibes going through it :-))
check out the video I have coming out Saturday morning, it will answer this question. Take care, 73's from 151 SC.
I still have one from the late nineties, only used it a few times (Great antenna!). No where to put the A99 at the home QTH anymore due to a refurb to the building where I reside!
So the antenna is just lying in the cupboard, unfortunately.
That's sad, I hope You get to put that A99 up again. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
solarcon who builds antron and the imax built this your antenna labled for radio shack stores.
Correct. I knew a guy who worked for RS corporate back in the day. He verified it was a rebadged A-99. RS did quite a bit of this: Koss headphones, Sangean portable radios, etc.
I looked up this antenna, It was manufactured by Samsung for Radio Shack. it looks like an Antron......But it's not. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
@@MowerJunkie Very interesting! I never knew Samsung made CB antennas.
@@drewdurigan5672 I was very surprised too, I had no idea Samsung ever made antennas.
@@drewdurigan5672 yep. RCA and Pioneer made their electronics and they were rebadged for Radio Shack. Some of their mid 90s stereo stuff looked about the same as Pioneer's stuff.
Hoping to find an A-99 (or clone) at the next HamFest I get to.
I guest they started selling that antenna to replace the Blue crossbow antenna...by the way I still have my Crossbow...73...556 NJ.
Still got mine bought back in 1992 it is kinda rough but in the day it worked well, 73 NY202
These are much better than the Crossbows. The Crossbow cannot be tuned. Can only handle about 200 watts. Also, aren't the threads backwards in those? I remember people trying to substitute a Francis Amazer for the top half but couldn't because the threads were reversed.
@@drewdurigan5672 I had it out in the woods at camp and ran 5 watts or so. It was good for the job, A99 was better and power was not a problem at the house. Still, always prefer a good Metal ground plane 5/8th.
@@cbradioghosttalk1986 The Crossbow was the Shack's first attempt at a fiberglass base antenna. In the early 1980s, the CPSC banned metal omni CB antennas because idiots kept dropping them on power lines and electrocuting themselves. Manufacturers were given a grace period to get rid of their existing stock before the ban went into effect. The deadline was either late in 1983 or early in 1984. RS closed out their 5/8 wave ground plane (Hy-Gain CLR2 knockoff) for $8 at the end. I got 2 of them!
The new fiberglass models first appeared in the 1988. There was a 1/4 wave ground plane for $60 and the Crossbow 1/2 wave for $80. Considering that RS had to hurry up and develop a completely new antenna to meet government regulations, they did okay. The A-99 was a later refinement of that original design.
@@drewdurigan5672 yes you are right.
I'm an old-time CBer from the 1970's ! What are the frequencies for each channel from 1 to 40?
Look online.
I had an antron on a rci 2995 and the swr from 12 meter to 10 meter was just amazinng and perfect on 11meter i never had to adjust it thats about the only antenna that will stand up allng the shore of st marys bay nova scotia anything bigger either blows over or the salt corrosion destroys it
I have one thats sky blue and a 2 section that still works. They were sold in the 1980s.
Got to love that $20 investment can't beat it took you all of what 10 minutes to get it thing tuned up and a 1.1 match were you need it.. awesome how things work out keep it up. 595 ma...🔊🎙
Thanks 595, Have a happy 4th. 73's from 151 SC.
Great info video 151. Your accent reminds me of click and clack the tapped brothers. Car Talk. Waiting with bells for more radio contact and video. Lol. 653 Hamilton Ontario Canada. 73s
Take care 653. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Sirio makes real good quality stuff.. The antenna is tuned for mid band 27.205.. A 1.5 is acceptable SWR..
why settle for 1.5, when it was so easy to get it to 1.1
You should try to find a nice used antenna analyzer. That way you can tune the rings and read the results at the same time.
I'm hoping Santa brings Me one. Take care Chris, Have a happy 4th.
Eh mower junkie. I was talking to guys in yer neighborhood today from northern ontario Canada!!!! Stock yaesu ft990,decent coax and a maco 5/8 20 feet high!!!!!! Getting summore tower and summore amperages soon!!!! I hope we can chat on the air sometime!!!!
That’s kind of antenna that I had I had just my rings there one point actually the noodles in it and move it all on 40 or one now went to the lower channel it went 1.1 that was 26 .685
ProComm/Antron/Solorcon they're all the same ½w antenna under diffraction branded names
How long is the pole that u put in the ground and how deep did u pound it down???
4 feet down. I used a block of wood on top of the mast, and hit it with a sledge hammer. Good luck with Your new antenna, I hope to hear You on the air.
@@MowerJunkie thanks for reply my handle is barefoot as in barefoot radio I'll use 434 as my numbers I've never tried sideband yet
@@chrisbennett8538 Copy that 434, You're gonna love Sideband. Take care, 73's from 151 SC.
I miss my A-99.
Open it up to see if its the same to!
Nice video MJ. From 26DR190.
Put it at ground level and place 60 ground wires for test to see how that works.
Do u need to ground it if u leave it as is ??
My temporary mast is about 4 feet in the ground, I don't think it needs any other grounding.
Is you at the Barnyard?
I'm not at the Barnyard, But Cuz Customs CB shop is.
@@MowerJunkie where is your shop, im in Pelion looking for a good shop.
@@jimbrown558 I'm sorry, I only do this as a hobby. Take care, 73's from 151 SC.
You need to calibrate the SWR every time.
Still Use AM in the Usa here in Europe most common is FM
Try 3 to 5 hundred watts. It looks like one I tried years ago and blew 3 of them. Radio shack in my town ran out so they gave me my money back. It looked like an A99 but had a thin wire in the bottom going to the copper rod in the center. The wire would burn in half. Not saying that's what you have.
would you consider selling it to me could use an affordable antenna just asking
Sorry, I have a plan for this antenna. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
Oh, the RadioShack part number is 21-964
the antenna in this video is a 21-869. they only sold this one for 2 years, around 2000 - 2001 I believe.
Antron probably made it for radio shack.
It looks like an Antron, But it was manufactured by Samsung. Thanks for watching, Have a happy 4th.
Hello to you, good video, fun to watch.
56CT004
GLENN
Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
They had a Big Stick clone years ago too.
I believe they were actually manufactured by Antron for Radio Shack. In my opinion, Anrton antennas were made far better before they were sold to Solarcon. . Good luck with it!!
I've had an IMAX 2000 in my garage, still in the box for 10 year now. I don't like the IMAX at all, it's a lossy, poor radiating, piece of junk!
I looked it up, it was actually made by Samsung.
@@MowerJunkie That's a really interesting find!! I knew that Samsung (an others) made some of their CB radios, but I never knew Samsung made any antennas!
Good luck with it! Half-wave antennas are the best for sporadic E skip, with max gain at 20 degrees, the most common on 27 MHz. We're heading into the next cycle and we should start having "skip" in the next few years.
Well if you don't know what to do with it sell it to me!! I'm waving at you from the city of Wichita Kansas !!!!🏍️
🙂🍀👋💪🌻💎💎
If you live in Gainesville Florida And you looking for A CB By linear Please Let me know Bring Medium Pizza Hut pizza and you can have the linear
Would you like chips and a drink with that pizza? Thanks for watching, Take care.
Does it need a ground plane
it doesn't need a ground plane, But it is going to get one.
@@MowerJunkie can't wait to see that, keep on skippin , 73's
Guy 1.5 is not higb.
why settle for 1.5, when it was so easy to get it to 1.1
@@MowerJunkie Because it will make ABSOLUTELY NO difference on the receiving side of the conversation aka absolutely none at all. Remember that it takes 6 db gain in power output to get a single S Unit reading on the other side. 6 db is 2 x 3 db and 3 db is a complete doubling of base power.Thus ... if you transmit at 100 watts standard power out of an Amateur radio you will need to stack 3 db power output or aka (100 x 2) for the first 3 db and then DOUBLE that power to get the other half of the single db for a total power requirement of 400 watts or 400% more power over the base power.
THUS a 1.5 SWR power loss is an completely insignificant waste of power other than pure and absolute fiction as a pure face.May I suggest you acquire two books and study them in re to antennas and Antenna Theory: The ARRL Handbook and the ARRL Antenna Handbook. They also have some very nice antenna designs that can be scaled down to the CB Band.
N5LRZ
Ray
Cant get any better than 1.1
I know it! It tuned great. Thanks for watching, 73's from 151 SC.
📡🔊☕😤👌💨💨💨 #1122wingnut radio
Have a happy 4th Wingnut. 73's
We talk local up here in NWPA on 825 lsb
feed point impedance that's all
works better fhan this procom 12 ft pateriot antenna i wasted my money for
I'm sorry to hear that. I also tried one of the Procom Pat12's, and I was not impressed either. Thanks for watching, Take care.