I put my A-99 with radial kit up 20 years ago. The SWR was flat, so I did not play with the tuning rings. Three years ago I took it down to run a new coax to it. The fiberglass was starting to break down and I had to wear heavy duty gloves to handle it or otherwise get glass splinters in my hands. Installed the new coax, put it back up and still the SWR is flat as a board. The fiberglass breaking down was only on the surface. The rest of the antenna is structurally sound. I live on a hilltop subject to very high winds and brutal winters, yet this antenna keeps on performing. Great unit, really.
Hahaha,i have a friend whos has one for over 30 years still goin strong and flat lol.Best antenna for the $$ IMO. I need to get up to mine and clean the connector add some di electric grease.Im high on channel one so Im gunna try to balance out 1 and 40 hopefully channel 20 drops to nothing. Bump bump!
Nice video, just a couple of points. The receive audio is dependent on the quality of the receiver/speaker not the antenna so much. The received signal ("S" meter reading) is more dependent on the antenna/feedline/radio combination. The best thing to do to improve the receive audio is to use a full range music speaker in a cabinet. Even an inexpensive speaker from an old bookshelf stereo is higher quality that the speakers installed in most radios. If each of your guy wires from the antenna mount (top bracket) to the insulators are all 104" long and at a 45 degree angle, they will serve as a counterpoise/ground plane for your antenna and lower the angle of radiation for better DX operation without degrading the local comms. They will also serve to decouple the antenna from the coax shield helping to eliminate common mode currents from moving down the outside of the cable's shield back into the shack causing problems (RFI/TVI) with consumer electronics in your home (and the neighbors) and other radios and equipment in your shack. That is the main reason Solarcon sells the GPK1 ground plane kit for the A99. The lock washers between the antenna sections are the weak point of this and the IMAX 2000 antennas. They create stress points that will fatigue over time, especially in windy areas, causing the antenna to snap at one or both of the joints. Installing the sections with a bit of conductive thread lock is a better option as you will now have a full contact area joint instead of a partial contact joint. Sorry for being so long winded. 73
You brought up good points I do well because Interceptor I-10K ( 62 ft at base ) Andrew's Heliax LDF5-50A ( 125 FT run ) Icom 706 MKIIG & IC- 7000 Desk power Mike Icom SM-20 & Turner plus 2 Exturnal speaker Icom SP-23 is it Over Kill Perhaps ? Yet this Combination works Very well indeed Both locally and for skip 73's
Perfect video... I just got one and now I know I need to climb up on the roof and do a series of clockwise 1/4 turn adjustments... the manual isnt too clear and you helped me understand what needs to be done. Much appeciated! (love the Galaxy radio... I miss mine that I had in my teen years.)
Interesting that your homemade antenna works just as well as the new commercially made one. I have a homemade antenna and I’ll continue to use that after seeing this video. It’s tuned perfectly and flat across the band. Thanks for sharing.
@@mancavestudiosncI bought a Antron-99 in the year 1995. I was AMAZED how much further distance I can talk on that home base CB antenna compared to my Wilson 1000 mobile CB antenna ! I was hearing people in every direction using the Antron-99 antenna on my Cobra 148GTL made in the Philippines CB radio. CB (11 meter) radio the orginal 'social media'
This antenna is so great for how simple it is.One solid piece of copper wire with fiberglass sheath.Cant beat it for the $$ really. Some dielectric grease on all the connections is a great idea for all antennas. Some of that sealing tape or liquid tape on the pl-259 as well.
cb radio is an excellent hobby to gain good contacts, friends and have fun, plus it’s good backup communication if anything happens. thanks for watching . hope to here you on the air. 73s 406 caveman.
I been using the Antron 99 since it came out, I got a New one last year (old one was used up, 30 years old) and the New ones are not as good as the Old ones, they pick up more static, made cheaper, But works well enough for local traffic and some AM skip. It does look great sitting above my Sirio 4 el. Yagi. 73's ~DX189
Digger. Check out the Tram 1498 antennae that is currently sold. Many have been sold. The antennae performs as well as the old Antron 99. Plus the antennae is inside a PVC type plastic water pipe material. That will last for many years with no more fiberglass splitting or fiberglass splinters in your hands when you handle it without gloves.
I have the European brother of this antenna the antron A99 since 1972 here on my mast is exactly the same as the solarcon A99, but I made the clamps with which the antenna is mounted on the mast made of stainless steel and had also mounted the ground play kit the swr was no longer necessary to adjust was very good I also use this antenna on the radio amateur bands 40 m, 10 m, (ON6UD) I have never had any problems with this antenna
You wont be disappointed, the A99 works like a charm. There are those that disagree but they are wrong. Mine is on a tower about 65' to the tip ive talked all over the world with it.
Well lots of people use them. I’m not a fan of fiberglass base antennas myself. Then there’s that matching capacitor in the middle. Mine is laying on the ground. Sirio 827 in the air. Nice collection you got there.
Used the A99 for two years with no problems. But 3 recent storms one after the other. Up too 80 mph winds losened the top section and sent the SWR sky high.So i bought the fire stick up grade by thunder pole to replace the whip and wow what a massive difference to the standard whip.. 1 to 2 signal points on recive and the same on transmit. And less static.. The standard whip in my opinion is the weak link... Check out the fire up stick💯
Wow....Nice to hear that the upgrade worked as I seemed to have purchased the last one from Walcott Radio back in November 2023...it's still waiting for me to pair it up with the new A99 as soon as I can drive a grounding rod into the ground....👍
i have used and owned same antron 99 with groundplane kit and fire up top section one of best durable aerials ever made i also have a 33ft original AVANTI sigma 4 from 70s one with big basket at bottom pity didnt make fibreglass sigma 4 as that was ultimate dx aerial in my view compared too silver rods thunderpoles etc only thing i will say is the antron is better when using decent preamp to bring low signals in as you can get further than you can hear without one bremi preamp and bremi bv131 linear amplifier or burner i use
Great Vid, subscribing from Ireland. I would recommend adding a dirty choke under the A99. Help keep the RF coming back down through the feedpoint. Couldn't help but notice the abundance of tall structures & trees away from your property, ever thought about a horizontal delta loop for 11m? and deffs get a good antenna switch, great for DX when shooting skip horizontal or vert. Best 73 from the Emerald Isle.
An RF choke is an excellent idea, and I do have some horizontal antennas but not a delta loop, I might need to get or make one ,so thank you and thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
Was my first base antenna think it was 52 dollars not now but it's been 25 years ago now have 3 element and imax 2000 and dipole still have a 99 it's good antenna
Great info, thanks. I live in a community where I need to be a little stealthy. I have an outside patio with a brick fire place and want to run the antenna up through the brick chimney with at least half the antenna sticking out the top. Will this work? Or will the chimney interfere with rx/tx and mess up swr's? Thanks.
yes that will work. just make sure there is NO metal in or around the chimney. metal will cause interference, wood and brick will not. hope this helps. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman .
I just put my A 99 up few weeks ago unfortunately not as high as I wanted it but that's ok TN waving a hand at ya I'll try to give you a shout when big Bertha arrives new radio that is I assume ssb is what you run have a nice day my handle is Bearfoot as in barefoot radio lol
hello Bearfoot , congrats on the A99 , my antenna is at 32feet to the base, not very high but I can reach Hawaii , Canada, Jamaica and once I got UK. yes SSB is what you want, it travels farther than AM in most cases with more clarity and takes less power. you can skip a signal with only 12 watts but you call all day and only get one or two contacts , now if you throw 150 watts at it you will get contacts as soon as you key up. I hope this helps and I hope to hear you on the air soon. 73s 406 caveman.
I’m preparing to set up one of these about 200 ft up a WV mountain slope. My plan is to connect a balun directly to the A99, connect 450 ladder line, run the 200 ft into the tuner. And I’m 65. Pray for me. 😂 😂 😂
A better antenna, if you have the room for it, is the Hygain SPT-500 "Super Penetrator". It does cost a bit more (in the same ballpark if you compare the price to the A99 w/GPK1) than the A99 by itself but a much better antenna (true 5/8 wave) compared to the A99.
Hi there and Thanks for the Video....Just wondering if leaving off the washers in-between the antenna sections is advisable as I've read that they tend to allow water to seep into the connections and mess up the SWR?.....Please advise & thanks....73's from West Palm Beach, Florida, where the lightning doesn't play.
no ! not advisable. without the lock washers it will most definitely vibrate loose and fall apart. the only time you got to worry about water intrusion is when it’s covered in ICE, it will rise the SWR , just key up a few short times and the antenna will worm up and the ice will melt off . contrary to belief antennas do get worm or even hot depending on duty cycle and wattage .Hope this helps . 73s 406 caveman.
Great video I just ordered me the A99 can't wait to get it I been watching a lot of different UA-camrs some say ground plain is good to have others say don't waste your money. I'm leaning towards putting it on because I want to be sure everything works as it should what do you think?
A ground plan antenna is an excellent starting antenna . Ground plan sets the bar for all the rest. If your radio doesn’t work on ground plan it won’t work on anything plus every antenna receives and transmits deferentially so is it’s always good to have deferent kinds of antennas . Every respectful cb owner has or at one time owned a ground plan antenna. Thanks for watching 73s 406 caveman
If you ever decide to become a ham operator the Solarcon A99 with antenna tuner will load up on 10,11,12,15,20 meters. 73 AE4OY WILLIAM A.PEACOCK, Sr.EM-81UF Blackshear, Georgia 😂
I'm just getting set up.with my solarcon max 2000 connected to a Galaxy DX 959. It looks to me like you have one also. I'm curious where you had the RF power and RF gain knobs set as you worked your SWR tuning rings? Great looking shack! 🤙
yes , the RF gain - 100% the RF power -100% . you want full range of both to achieve optimal performance. once the rings have been locked you can set RF power and gain to desired settings . hope this helps. 73s 406 caveman.
Nice video. Check out the Tram 1498 antennae. Performs as well as the old Antron 99. Plus antennae is inside a PVC type water pipe material. No more fiberglass splits or splinters in your hands..
yes, the Tram 1498 is an excellent antenna. a buddy of mine has one . it’s very similar to the A-99 and yes the PVC is much more friendlier to your hands . thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
I had an Antron 99 that's what you have and I loved it you'll be surprised how far you can transmit with it I'm hoping to get another one on a 4 watt mobile CB when I lived in Illinois I was able to talk to Canada,California all different places I couldn't talk to on any other antenna.
yes, I use ground wire and rod for better RX-TX and lighting protection. I did not need a ground plane kit for my application.hope this helps. thanks for watching. 73s, 406 caveman.
@@mancavestudiosnc quite a debatable subject that apparently, currently no ground plane on mine but am thinking of trying it to find out if any difference is made.
I just ordered the solarcon kit with the ground plain , they say it can be used for both ham and cb base stations can one antenna be used this way for both ,and how do you tune it if doing so
yes it can be used for 10 meter ham or 11 meter CB the tuning is the same just make sure ch40 is 1.1.5 and it will be set for 10m ham . hope this helps. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
@@mancavestudiosnc SOME SAY. you should use thread lock when putting the sections together rather than. the supplied lock washers. what do you think. the SOLARCON comp should know what is best
For all you home base CB'ers out there that have installed this antenna....What size is the piping that you've used for the mast. 1.5", 2" . I've watched many of these A99 install videos, all decent, but no one ever mentions the diameter needed for the mast pole to fit the brackets properly. Suggestions???
good question. the U- bolt kit provided with this antenna requires an 1”3/8. no bigger than 1”1/2. diameter mast pole . i used a chain link fence top rail . hope this helps. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
I’m new to cb radios , I have the same Galaxy 959 radio and was thinking of getting a Antron 99 , I’m buying the antenna from the same website I bought my galaxy, I see they have an option for a ground plane, it’s hard to tell from the picture but does the optional ground plane mount the mast or does the antenna screw into it, I’m setting this radio up mainly for emergency situations, I have a smaller solar generator I can plug the radio into if there should be a power blackout Thanks
congrats on the new radio and antenna. the ground plane kit for the A99 mounts on the antenna just under the tuning rings, you will have more input RX gain and more upward radiation emission on TX (it will skip better) . when conditions are just right I have no problem taking to UK , CAN,Hawaii, south Am, I hope you have fun with the radio hobby , have any questions about anything just ask . hope this helps, 73s 406 caveman.
@@mancavestudiosnc , thanks , is there set screws on the ground plane, also I’m from Michigan, maybe you can give me a radio check when I the antenna, I have the radio, I’m using a 102” whip on my car , I want to make it a base , what’s your 20? and what channel do you mostly hang out on , I use to have cbs what it was popular in the late 70” early 80’s so I do remember some of the lingo , I use to yack all night long with friends as a kid , I forget all the setup stuff, I had to relearn how to adjust swr , the tuning rings make it easy . I’ll notate your handle , I may just comment on your channel to set up a radio check time , thanks bro , 73’s back at ya
Roger that , yes the ground plane kit has two or three set screws, you want it one inch below the tuning rings. I’m in North Carolina so conditions will have to be moderate for radio check, I hang out on ch-28 AM and ch-38 LSB . hope to hear you on the air , 73s 406 caveman.
Great video. I will be putting mine up soon. I did not purchase a ground kit. Would you mine explaining the grounding? I was just going to run some number 6 bare Cu. Do you think that would work. Been out of the cb game for 30 plus years now. Thank you for your time
yes. the ground plan kit will add more input RX gain and more deflation on TX. or you can add minimum four copper 8 foot wires at a 42-45 degree angle for a counterpoise will do the same thing . be sure to insulate between the end of 8 foot and to your ground anchor will look like guy wires at this point and act as much to . hope this helps. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman
@@mancavestudiosnc I have another question. I'm running rg8x coax. I don't think it's going to be long enough 75'. Can I use a barrel connector with another length of cable without affecting my swr etc. Or should I just purchase a new piece of coax? Thanks for your time
yes you can use the barrel connector should not effect the SWR much more than 1 point or at all . just be sure you weather proof that connection either with shrink wrap or spray sealant something that doesn’t effect the connection. make sure both cables are the same type of coax. if you have to buy a longer cable try to get RG58U or LMR 400 has a much lower power loss and better RF interference shielding after 60feet . yes one solid run of coax is always better but that stuff is expensive so we work with what we got. I have a barrel connector on one of my feed lines and it works good . questions are always welcome and encouraged . hope this helps . thanks for watching 73s 406 caveman
@@mancavestudiosnc thank you so much sir I really appreciate your time. I try to do a lot of research so I don't have to bother people with silly questions but there just seems to be an overabundance amount of information out there and I'm just not sure how to win through it and figure out what's best it sounds like solid info coming from you
they have lasted for multiple years now. all I did was lifted the shingle up and attached the bracket to a rafter using three inch screws, then covered it all with roofing patch, then lay the shingle back in place, this way it’s all water tight and hidden. Hope this helps. 73s 406 caveman.
that’s right , no ground plane required to operate this antenna. even on the galaxy radio. but a ground plane kit will give you at least 2db more RX receive and more upward radial projection on transmit. hope this helps. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
Channel one is the bottom ch1-26.965.MHz ch40- 27.405.MHz Ch1 is a higher frequency so therefore it is at the bottom of the band . Yea…. It works opposite of what you think. It confused me too in the beginning. Hope this helps. 73s 406 caveman.
that’s right , no ground plane required to operate this antenna. but a ground plane kit will give you at least 2db more RX receive and more upward radial projection on transmit. hope this helps. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
Very interesting. The only time I’ve had to adjust to that extreme I was using a triband radio 10,11,12meter ham radio, which is understandable. So you could have a factory defect or the radio is out of adjustment. Or the feed cable is too long. Probably not what you wanted to hear but.. hope this helps.73s 406 caveman
Probably the most overated antenna on the market with wild claims of db gain . The original ones were good. But today's are cheap rubbish. Not all sections are made in the same factory so there's a colour variation quite often. Quite often the middle section is bent. You can hear the bit of wire rattling around in the cheapest of fibreglass tubing which looks and feels awful. The lack of decent mounting bracket isn't good either. The president himalaya wb is a far superior antenna
I put my A-99 with radial kit up 20 years ago. The SWR was flat, so I did not play with the tuning rings. Three years ago I took it down to run a new coax to it. The fiberglass was starting to break down and I had to wear heavy duty gloves to handle it or otherwise get glass splinters in my hands. Installed the new coax, put it back up and still the SWR is flat as a board. The fiberglass breaking down was only on the surface. The rest of the antenna is structurally sound. I live on a hilltop subject to very high winds and brutal winters, yet this antenna keeps on performing. Great unit, really.
thank you for watching. 73s 406 caveman
Hahaha,i have a friend whos has one for over 30 years still goin strong and flat lol.Best antenna for the $$ IMO.
I need to get up to mine and clean the connector add some di electric grease.Im high on channel one so Im gunna try to balance out 1 and 40 hopefully channel 20 drops to nothing. Bump bump!
I was told to paint it with a non-metallic paint to preserve the antenna... might help a future replacement.
i highly recommend the radial kit it really helps with skip and a good 12 gauge ground wire going to a 4 foot ground rod. it makes it so much quieter
Nice video, just a couple of points.
The receive audio is dependent on the quality of the receiver/speaker not the antenna so much. The received signal ("S" meter reading) is more dependent on the antenna/feedline/radio combination. The best thing to do to improve the receive audio is to use a full range music speaker in a cabinet. Even an inexpensive speaker from an old bookshelf stereo is higher quality that the speakers installed in most radios.
If each of your guy wires from the antenna mount (top bracket) to the insulators are all 104" long and at a 45 degree angle, they will serve as a counterpoise/ground plane for your antenna and lower the angle of radiation for better DX operation without degrading the local comms. They will also serve to decouple the antenna from the coax shield helping to eliminate common mode currents from moving down the outside of the cable's shield back into the shack causing problems (RFI/TVI) with consumer electronics in your home (and the neighbors) and other radios and equipment in your shack. That is the main reason Solarcon sells the GPK1 ground plane kit for the A99.
The lock washers between the antenna sections are the weak point of this and the IMAX 2000 antennas. They create stress points that will fatigue over time, especially in windy areas, causing the antenna to snap at one or both of the joints. Installing the sections with a bit of conductive thread lock is a better option as you will now have a full contact area joint instead of a partial contact joint.
Sorry for being so long winded.
73
This is good information hear. Thanks for watching 73s 406 caveman
You brought up good points
I do well because
Interceptor I-10K ( 62 ft at base )
Andrew's Heliax LDF5-50A ( 125 FT run )
Icom 706 MKIIG & IC- 7000
Desk power Mike Icom SM-20 & Turner plus 2
Exturnal speaker Icom SP-23
is it Over Kill
Perhaps ?
Yet this Combination works Very well indeed
Both locally and for skip
73's
Perfect video... I just got one and now I know I need to climb up on the roof and do a series of clockwise 1/4 turn adjustments... the manual isnt too clear and you helped me understand what needs to be done. Much appeciated! (love the Galaxy radio... I miss mine that I had in my teen years.)
Thank you and thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
I like how you took the time to explain those tuning rings. This is the antenna I am going to be purchasing. Listen for 117 out of Pittsburgh Pa.
I will be listening 117. thanks for watching. hop to hear on the air
73s 406 caveman
Had an A99 for years with the ground plane kit, worked great!
Thanks for watching 73s 406 caveman
Thanks for this, I just ordered one and was curious about the setup. This was perfect!!!!
Interesting that your homemade antenna works just as well as the new commercially made one. I have a homemade antenna and I’ll continue to use that after seeing this video. It’s tuned perfectly and flat across the band. Thanks for sharing.
yea, I still use my homemade to, thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
@@mancavestudiosncI bought a Antron-99 in the year 1995. I was AMAZED how much further distance I can talk on that home base CB antenna compared to my Wilson 1000 mobile CB antenna !
I was hearing people in every direction using the Antron-99 antenna on my Cobra 148GTL made in the Philippines CB radio.
CB (11 meter) radio the orginal 'social media'
This antenna is so great for how simple it is.One solid piece of copper wire with fiberglass sheath.Cant beat it for the $$ really.
Some dielectric grease on all the connections is a great idea for all antennas. Some of that sealing tape or liquid tape on the pl-259 as well.
Glad I found your channel. I have been thinking about getting back into CB Radio.
cb radio is an excellent hobby to gain good contacts, friends and have fun, plus it’s good backup communication if anything happens. thanks for watching . hope to here you on the air.
73s 406 caveman.
I had an Antron 99 back in the 90’s very impressive still to this day
thank you and thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman .
@@mancavestudiosnc 10-4
Just what I needed thanks! Neighbor gave me an A-99
that’s a good neighbor ! thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
I been using the Antron 99 since it came out, I got a New one last year (old one was used up, 30 years old) and the New ones are not as good as the Old ones, they pick up more static, made cheaper, But works well enough for local traffic and some AM skip. It does look great sitting above my Sirio 4 el. Yagi. 73's ~DX189
Digger. Check out the Tram 1498 antennae that is currently sold. Many have been sold. The antennae performs as well as the old Antron 99. Plus the antennae is inside a PVC type plastic water pipe material. That will last for many years with no more fiberglass splitting or fiberglass splinters in your hands when you handle it without gloves.
I have the European brother of this antenna the antron A99 since 1972 here on my mast is exactly the same as the solarcon A99, but I made the clamps with which the antenna is mounted on the mast made of stainless steel and had also mounted the ground play kit the swr was no longer necessary to adjust was very good I also use this antenna on the radio amateur bands 40 m, 10 m, (ON6UD) I have never had any problems with this antenna
I currently run a solarcon A 99 as my base antenna, i have talked to several countries on skip with it.
Good video....my antron still going strong.
Thank you and thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman
You wont be disappointed, the A99 works like a charm. There are those that disagree but they are wrong. Mine is on a tower about 65' to the tip ive talked all over the world with it.
good comment . could not have said it better my self, thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman
@@mancavestudiosnc What are your numbers
514 Ontario Canada
406 North Carolina
With Ham , or cb what kind of range do you think cb would get with your setup
Nice video- thanks for the info
Well lots of people use them. I’m not a fan of fiberglass base antennas myself. Then there’s that matching capacitor in the middle. Mine is laying on the ground. Sirio 827 in the air. Nice collection you got there.
thanks for watching 73s 406 caveman
Used the A99 for two years with no problems. But 3 recent storms one after the other. Up too 80 mph winds losened the top section and sent the SWR sky high.So i bought the fire stick up grade by thunder pole to replace the whip and wow what a massive difference to the standard whip.. 1 to 2 signal points on recive and the same on transmit. And less static.. The standard whip in my opinion is the weak link... Check out the fire up stick💯
wow ! An excellent way to fix that problem. thanks for the info.
73s 406 caveman
Wow....Nice to hear that the upgrade worked as I seemed to have purchased the last one from Walcott Radio back in November 2023...it's still waiting for me to pair it up with the new A99 as soon as I can drive a grounding rod into the ground....👍
Got the A99 to and works fine for me 🍺🍺
thanks for watching. 73 406 caveman
i have used and owned same antron 99 with groundplane kit and fire up top section one of best durable aerials ever made i also have a 33ft original AVANTI sigma 4 from 70s one with big basket at bottom pity didnt make fibreglass sigma 4 as that was ultimate dx aerial in my view compared too silver rods thunderpoles etc only thing i will say is the antron is better when using decent preamp to bring low signals in as you can get further than you can hear without one bremi preamp and bremi bv131 linear amplifier or burner i use
Great Vid, subscribing from Ireland. I would recommend adding a dirty choke under the A99. Help keep the RF coming back down through the feedpoint. Couldn't help but notice the abundance of tall structures & trees away from your property, ever thought about a horizontal delta loop for 11m? and deffs get a good antenna switch, great for DX when shooting skip horizontal or vert. Best 73 from the Emerald Isle.
An RF choke is an excellent idea, and I do have some horizontal antennas but not a delta loop, I might need to get or make one ,so thank you and thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
thank you fir the info 406 . nice video.
Glad it was helpful!
The Best antenna 👍👍👍👍
It is 👍🏻 thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman
Was my first base antenna think it was 52 dollars not now but it's been 25 years ago now have 3 element and imax 2000 and dipole still have a 99 it's good antenna
Me too Digger..I think mine works much better with GPK Ground plane..90 feet tall..it does a great job 👍
Great info, thanks. I live in a community where I need to be a little stealthy. I have an outside patio with a brick fire place and want to run the antenna up through the brick chimney with at least half the antenna sticking out the top. Will this work? Or will the chimney interfere with rx/tx and mess up swr's? Thanks.
yes that will work. just make sure there is NO metal in or around the chimney. metal will cause interference, wood and brick will not. hope this helps. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman .
I just put my A 99 up few weeks ago unfortunately not as high as I wanted it but that's ok TN waving a hand at ya I'll try to give you a shout when big Bertha arrives new radio that is I assume ssb is what you run have a nice day my handle is Bearfoot as in barefoot radio lol
hello Bearfoot , congrats on the A99 , my antenna is at 32feet to the base, not very high but I can reach Hawaii , Canada, Jamaica and once I got UK. yes SSB is what you want, it travels farther than AM in most cases with more clarity and takes less power. you can skip a signal with only 12 watts but you call all day and only get one or two contacts , now if you throw 150 watts at it you will get contacts as soon as you key up. I hope this helps and I hope to hear you on the air soon. 73s 406 caveman.
Gonna ask for one for my birthday. 73's from the Parakeet, St. Louis
that sounds like an excellent birthday gift. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
i have a similar set up exception of mast into a fence post and i see that guessingconnection. Here in North Ga near airport.
i had an have same radios but the galaxy went ka put in bad storm
my bad....some typing didn't send . any how my a99 has been up there 15yrs about 58ft to top.
swr was perfect out of the box.
with no radials
yes. the A-99 is built to last with no maintenance needed. thanks for watching. 406 caveman
I’m preparing to set up one of these about 200 ft up a WV mountain slope.
My plan is to connect a balun directly to the A99, connect 450 ladder line, run the 200 ft into the tuner.
And I’m 65. Pray for me. 😂 😂 😂
yes sir. you are definitely in my prayers, thanks for watching. best of luck. 73s 406 caveman.
I loved how well my A99 worked. If a get a base station, I would get an A99 with ground plane kit.
yes the ground plane kit is an excellent addition to the A-99 . hope to hear you on the air. thanks for watching 73s 406 caveman
A better antenna, if you have the room for it, is the Hygain SPT-500 "Super Penetrator". It does cost a bit more (in the same ballpark if you compare the price to the A99 w/GPK1) than the A99 by itself but a much better antenna (true 5/8 wave) compared to the A99.
the old antenna was a 1/4 wave , the A99 is a 1/2 wave. I believe you will see better performance.
Thanks for sharing this! Did you create a video for the home made antenna?
unfortunately I didn’t, but I will be making some custom antenna builds in the future and I will post them . thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
Hi there and Thanks for the Video....Just wondering if leaving off the washers in-between the antenna sections is advisable as I've read that they tend to allow water to seep into the connections and mess up the SWR?.....Please advise & thanks....73's from West Palm Beach, Florida, where the lightning doesn't play.
no ! not advisable. without the lock washers it will most definitely vibrate loose and fall apart. the only time you got to worry about water intrusion is when it’s covered in ICE, it will rise the SWR , just key up a few short times and the antenna will worm up and the ice will melt off . contrary to belief antennas do get worm or even hot depending on duty cycle and wattage .Hope this helps . 73s 406 caveman.
Great video I just ordered me the A99 can't wait to get it I been watching a lot of different UA-camrs some say ground plain is good to have others say don't waste your money. I'm leaning towards putting it on because I want to be sure everything works as it should what do you think?
A ground plan antenna is an excellent starting antenna . Ground plan sets the bar for all the rest. If your radio doesn’t work on ground plan it won’t work on anything plus every antenna receives and transmits deferentially so is it’s always good to have deferent kinds of antennas . Every respectful cb owner has or at one time owned a ground plan antenna. Thanks for watching 73s 406 caveman
Whats the SWR on the roof ? Plus you have a counterpoise with the wires at a angle now,nice.
The SWR on the roof is 1.1 the needle on the meter doesn’t even move. ch 1 threw 40 .
Thanks for watching 73s
406 caveman
Perfekt 😉..
thanks for watching . 73s 406 caveman .
If you ever decide to become a ham operator the Solarcon A99 with antenna tuner will load up on 10,11,12,15,20 meters. 73 AE4OY WILLIAM A.PEACOCK, Sr.EM-81UF Blackshear, Georgia 😂
awesome ! very good to know, thanks for the comment. 73 KO4TDQ , 406 caveman.
I'm just getting set up.with my solarcon max 2000 connected to a Galaxy DX 959. It looks to me like you have one also. I'm curious where you had the RF power and RF gain knobs set as you worked your SWR tuning rings? Great looking shack! 🤙
yes , the RF gain - 100% the RF power -100% .
you want full range of both to achieve optimal performance. once the rings have been locked you can set RF power and gain to desired settings . hope this helps. 73s 406 caveman.
@@mancavestudiosnc yes.. thanks very much... I appreciate that.
Nice video. Check out the Tram 1498 antennae. Performs as well as the old Antron 99. Plus antennae is inside a PVC type water pipe material. No more fiberglass splits or splinters in your hands..
yes, the Tram 1498 is an excellent antenna. a buddy of mine has one . it’s very similar to the A-99 and yes the PVC is much more friendlier to your hands . thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
Still want to try 102" ss whip on top.
I had an Antron 99 that's what you have and I loved it you'll be surprised how far you can transmit with it I'm hoping to get another one on a 4 watt mobile CB when I lived in Illinois I was able to talk to Canada,California all different places I couldn't talk to on any other antenna.
Great video! No ground? Thank you.
yes, I use ground wire and rod for better RX-TX and lighting protection. I did not need a ground plane kit for my application.hope this helps. thanks for watching. 73s, 406 caveman.
They sell a ground plane kit for this. Do you think the antenna would pull in more stations with this?
yes. it does increase your input gain and creates upward radiation deflection on tx. thanks for watching 73s 406 caveman.
@@mancavestudiosnc quite a debatable subject that apparently, currently no ground plane on mine but am thinking of trying it to find out if any difference is made.
I just ordered the solarcon kit with the ground plain , they say it can be used for both ham and cb base stations can one antenna be used this way for both ,and how do you tune it if doing so
yes it can be used for 10 meter ham or 11 meter CB
the tuning is the same just make sure ch40 is 1.1.5 and it will be set for 10m ham . hope this helps. thanks for watching.
73s 406 caveman.
@@mancavestudiosnc SOME SAY. you should use thread lock when putting the sections together rather than. the supplied lock washers. what do you think. the SOLARCON comp should know what is best
hey where did you get the antron 99 from?
solarcon bought out Antron a few year’s ago.
I got the solarcon A99 on Amazon . it’s exactly the same antenna Thanks for watching.
73s 406 caveman .
For all you home base CB'ers out there that have installed this antenna....What size is the piping that you've used for the mast. 1.5", 2" . I've watched many of these A99 install videos, all decent, but no one ever mentions the diameter needed for the mast pole to fit the brackets properly. Suggestions???
good question. the U- bolt kit provided with this antenna requires an 1”3/8. no bigger than 1”1/2. diameter mast pole .
i used a chain link fence top rail .
hope this helps. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
Awesome! Thank you sir!!
Do the guywires acts as ground plane radials?
they do ! some times better than factory radials . thanks for watching . 73s 406 caveman
Why didn’t you put a choke on it by winding an 7-10” circle of coax below the antenna?
I’m new to cb radios , I have the same Galaxy 959 radio and was thinking of getting a Antron 99 , I’m buying the antenna from the same website I bought my galaxy, I see they have an option for a ground plane, it’s hard to tell from the picture but does the optional ground plane mount the mast or does the antenna screw into it, I’m setting this radio up mainly for emergency situations, I have a smaller solar generator I can plug the radio into if there should be a power blackout
Thanks
congrats on the new radio and antenna. the ground plane kit for the A99 mounts on the antenna just under the tuning rings, you will have more input RX gain and more upward radiation emission on TX (it will skip better) . when conditions are just right I have no problem taking to UK , CAN,Hawaii, south Am, I hope you have fun with the radio hobby , have any questions about anything just ask . hope this helps, 73s 406 caveman.
@@mancavestudiosnc , thanks , is there set screws on the ground plane, also I’m from Michigan, maybe you can give me a radio check when I the antenna, I have the radio, I’m using a 102” whip on my car , I want to make it a base , what’s your 20? and what channel do you mostly hang out on , I use to have cbs what it was popular in the late 70” early 80’s so I do remember some of the lingo , I use to yack all night long with friends as a kid , I forget all the setup stuff, I had to relearn how to adjust swr , the tuning rings make it easy . I’ll notate your handle , I may just comment on your channel to set up a radio check time , thanks bro , 73’s back at ya
Roger that , yes the ground plane kit has two or three set screws, you want it one inch below the tuning rings. I’m in North Carolina so conditions will have to be moderate for radio check, I hang out on ch-28 AM and ch-38 LSB . hope to hear you on the air , 73s 406 caveman.
Reminder snug is OK but not so snug as to strip the the threads
Great video. I will be putting mine up soon. I did not purchase a ground kit. Would you mine explaining the grounding? I was just going to run some number 6 bare Cu. Do you think that would work. Been out of the cb game for 30 plus years now. Thank you for your time
yes. the ground plan kit will add more input RX gain and more deflation on TX. or you can add minimum four copper 8 foot wires at a 42-45 degree angle for a counterpoise will do the same thing . be sure to insulate between the end of 8 foot and to your ground anchor will look like guy wires at this point and act as much to . hope this helps. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman
@@mancavestudiosnc Thank you. I'll be hollering you way in a couple weeks.
@@mancavestudiosnc I have another question. I'm running rg8x coax. I don't think it's going to be long enough 75'. Can I use a barrel connector with another length of cable without affecting my swr etc. Or should I just purchase a new piece of coax? Thanks for your time
yes you can use the barrel connector should not effect the SWR much more than 1 point or at all . just be sure you weather proof that connection either with shrink wrap or spray sealant something that doesn’t effect the connection. make sure both cables are the same type of coax. if you have to buy a longer cable try to get RG58U or LMR 400 has a much lower power loss and better RF interference shielding after 60feet . yes one solid run of coax is always better but that stuff is expensive so we work with what we got. I have a barrel connector on one of my feed lines and it works good . questions are always welcome and encouraged . hope this helps .
thanks for watching 73s 406 caveman
@@mancavestudiosnc thank you so much sir I really appreciate your time. I try to do a lot of research so I don't have to bother people with silly questions but there just seems to be an overabundance amount of information out there and I'm just not sure how to win through it and figure out what's best it sounds like solid info coming from you
Those 4 metal brackets? They don't come off? From under Neath the shingles
they have lasted for multiple years now. all I did was lifted the shingle up and attached the bracket to a rafter using three inch screws, then covered it all with roofing patch, then lay the shingle back in place, this way it’s all water tight and hidden. Hope this helps. 73s 406 caveman.
@@mancavestudiosnc It looks great,I have a A99 it's leaning back. It's still working great. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
No ground plane needed for that galaxy mobile?
that’s right , no ground plane required to operate this antenna. even on the galaxy radio.
but a ground plane kit will give you at least 2db more RX receive and more upward radial projection on transmit. hope this helps.
thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
Don't that Galaxy go above 27.405 ?
So channel one is considered the top of the band ?
Channel one is the bottom ch1-26.965.MHz ch40- 27.405.MHz
Ch1 is a higher frequency so therefore it is at the bottom of the band . Yea…. It works opposite of what you think. It confused me too in the beginning. Hope this helps. 73s 406 caveman.
@@mancavestudiosnc many thanks for the info 👍🏻
73 from Portugal
thanks for watching. 73
So actually no ground plane aerials required?
that’s right , no ground plane required to operate this antenna.
but a ground plane kit will give you at least 2db more RX receive and more upward radial projection on transmit. hope this helps.
thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
@@mancavestudiosnc Thank you. I am new to this. I guess the term I should have used is radials.
Wouldn't it be much more easy to check your SWR with an antenna analyzer instead of going back and forth to the shack?
They say there tuned center band but for some reason for 11meter I had to turn my.rings all.the.way up to get 1.2-1.3
Very interesting. The only time I’ve had to adjust to that extreme I was using a triband radio 10,11,12meter ham radio, which is understandable.
So you could have a factory defect or the radio is out of adjustment. Or the feed cable is too long. Probably not what you wanted to hear but.. hope this helps.73s 406 caveman
Mine is up and running 2 on channel 1 and 40 don’t know which way to adjust
@@jrpoe9561 turn them up a little
Where in NC are you. I am in Hayesville. Western NC
I’m in Greensboro . Thanks for watching 73s 406 caveman
No insult here, but you kinda sound like Arlo Guthrie sing his song Alice's Restaurant.
lol 😂 that’s funny. thanks for watching. 73s . 406 caveman.
What type of coax are you using? RG8X ?
RG58/U. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman
Is the metal pipe your ground?
Yes and I have a 8 gage ground wire going to a 8 foot ground rod for Lightning protection. Thanks for watching 73s 406 caveman
Do u have a ham radio license?
I do . But I mostly post videos on cb 11 meter it keeps operator identity’s Secure. Thanks for watching 73.
406 caveman. KO4TDQ
Pirates rule the waves🌚
Have you ever talked to mower Junkie??
yes ! only once and it was very brief. I was excited to add 151sc to my logbook . thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
Can you please give me the price off this a 99 atena colarcon I is from Capetown suid africa
At the moment they are $169 usd. May fluctuate up or down by $20. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
That is exactly the same antenna as the Antron 99 .
yes it is. not sure why they changed to solarcon but it’s the same antenna. thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman.
A99 just isn't complete without the ground plane kit.
Roger that . 👍🏻 thanks for watching. 73s 406 caveman
Probably the most overated antenna on the market with wild claims of db gain . The original ones were good. But today's are cheap rubbish. Not all sections are made in the same factory so there's a colour variation quite often. Quite often the middle section is bent. You can hear the bit of wire rattling around in the cheapest of fibreglass tubing which looks and feels awful. The lack of decent mounting bracket isn't good either. The president himalaya wb is a far superior antenna
CB Channel 9 is the EMERGENCY Channel.