It starts at about 8:15 into your Amtron 99 installation video. As soon as you see yourself key up for the radio check, take a look at the frequency display.
Hi Fred, I had the original Antron 99 (Not the solarcon version), back in the early 90's and the instructions suggested it was pre-tuned and should be ready out of the box. When testing it the SWR it was very low 1.0 to 1.2 over a few bands and no adjust of the rings was required. However I did have it earth strapped as well. Also I recall in strong winds it would almost look horizontal (approx. 60+ degrees) and give reason for concern as it was on a 21ft pole on top of the house, however it stood up to everything nature could throw at it and never let me down. Thanks, Andy
I don't know what's going on w mine. I get 1.5 on ch 1, 1.3 on ch 19 then little to no movement in the 30-40 ch. My friend 4 miles away cannot hear me. I have the proton99 30 feet in the air, and radio check on ch 17 others could hear me just not my friend. I'm 203' above sea level he is 100' above sea level. If I tune it all the way up, still little to no movement on ch 40.
ON MY A99,I REPLACED THE FIBERGLASS ANTENNA WITH A FULL 102" STAINLESS STEAL WHIP,WITH TUNING RINGS ALMOST AT TOP, PERFECT SWR!,SURPRISING!,GREAT RECEIVE & TRANSMITT,MORE ANTENNA surface,really works well,!
I did the same thing but cut about 10" off the top of the whip.. I have a flat match from channels 10-40 channel 1 has a 1:2 match No matter how much power I put through the A-99 on channel 27.505 the SWR stays completely FLAT!
Go with lmr400 coax and run an 8awg ground wire from the u-bolt mount at the base of the antenna to a stake 4 feet long driven in the ground. That'll fix you right up! Also to get an accurate SWR reading make your coax on 1/2 wave (17 feet) increments. Skip full-wave i.e. 1/2 3/2 5/2 etc. 17 x 3= 51 feet etc. and put the base of the antenna on full-wave increments (34 feet) for the very best results. Changing the length of the coax does not change the SWR but keeping it in 1/2 wave increments results in accurate readings at the radio end. Hope that helps you! Good luck!
Greetings from the states. Great video! I sincerely appreciate it. It wasn't boring at all though at first I thought it was going to be lol. But you kept me interested in everything from the antenna to your base station to your bag of crisps lol. So, I just bought an 8" Solarcon pre-tuned antenna for my new Monte Carlo I just bought and the rings were a bit of a mystery to me. I knew that twisting them up or down would tune the SWR/VRT but it didn't come with instructions and I couldn't find anywhere online on how to do it, which way to turn them, if they had to be together or if each ring should be in a different position, etc. Yours was the only video I could find on the rings so I appreciate it. Got my SWR meter to tune it so now I just have to get to an open space and do it up. Thanx again, mate!
@@CB-RADIO-UK Oh and I meant to mention to you, they don't give radio checks here in the States either lol. I've been trying to get a radio check on my new CB in the car for days now lol. Any time I hear someone ask for a radio check I give it to them. I don't know why most CBers are such a-holes about it but it's everywhere, not just the UK lol.
The S.W.R will be effected by buildings and trees due to the capacitance effect .If you put your hand close to your antenna it will also change the S.W.R. due to the capacitance of your hand. The aerial should be kept as far away as possible from buildings an trees ect The coax might also effect S.W.R.
Martin Bernstein Thanks Martin. Its strange as over time ive noticed the swr changes from 1:1 to 1:6. I ve bought a matcher now for when I run a bit of power if the swr is high.
Better to adjust the antenna than introduce a matcher which will introduce power loss. The change in S.W.R could be due to corrosion in the antenna or the water getting inside the coax.
I think its more to do with the coax which is running very tight to the radio but has a couple of nasty turns where it goes through the attic. Mostly its fine. I ve sort of learned to live with it which is fine for the amount of transmit I actually do.
Coax is a major factor when tuning these as well as any antenna. I am using an antenna that is just like the antron but with only two sections the base and the mobile looking whip antenna at the top of it. Both are about six feet in length and my tuning at 19'6"s is almost all the way up at the top as well. I too had a flat match with 50' ft. of coax when it was up a full 20' but due to the pole being flimsy aluminum and too small in diameter I took it down and the SWR started climbing back up as well. I still think I am missing the center section though, and have not been able to contact the owner of the antenna so I am looking for a replacement as well for it and I do believe I am going to go with the Sigma 5/8 wave that is rated for at least 1500 whiskies, would prefer 2000 watt range that way it can accommodate any further expansion in the shack that might be later on down the road.
No they were fine. its been up and down a couple of times after this video. I think I have a slightly defective model esp going by how bad the top section was made.
You would think that they would give it a quality check prior to dispatch. Unless of course it was damaged during transit. They may not be the most expensive ANT available but they are also a long way from being the cheapest when you think you can pick up a mag-mount for as little as a tenner.
+1stprinceoflite I would like that but I think it would make the antenna stand out a little too much with the radials. I live in a tight neighbourhood sadly.
Hey Fred like your videos I'm across the pond in the USA. I was going to order antron a99 antenna for indoor use I have vaulted ceilings. Did you ever get that mic check on 19? Just a couple questions please. How does that antenna work? Do you have to ground it? The only reason I'm putting it up in the house is because I'm in a wheelchair I figure I can play with it till spring time and pay someone to put it on the roof. I greatly appreciate your reply thank you I'm using a uniden 930 SSB bearcat
Hi. The antenna does not require grounding to work. Ive had good reports all over the globe from the antron. Interesting that your planning an indoor antenna. Have you thought of a cheap wire antenna which would be easier to set up. See here. ua-cam.com/video/Z8vehgbxCcc/v-deo.html
Thank you for the response Fred! I checked out that video pretty cool LOL. I actually went with a tram 1499 50 ft rgx8 coax. The SWR was perfect on it after I calibrated it with my radio it's got a feature on it for that But I wasn't getting anything I only tried the first night. The one channel that came in Crystal clear was the NOAA weather channel so obviously it was receiving. So I pretty much had 50 ft of that wire with the antenna spread out from my bedroom to my living room where my uniden 930 SSB was. Then I put it in my attic calibrated again and when I transmitted it it went all the way up to 9.3 so needless to say I had to turn down the SWR extremely but all I'm getting is the NOAA weather not hearing anything. I'm going to play with it some more since you sent me that video thank you give me some good ideas. One thing I wasn't sure about is that coax cable pretty much has to be straight right? Because the 50 ft the tran 1499 said it needed for the ground. I also ordered 50 ft of 211 coax cable the good stuff I guess it's as thick as your thumb rgx8 is as thick as a pencil. I was wondering though when I do receive my amtron a99 antenna I'm going to have 50 ft of cable because I already ordered it am I going to be able to coil that extra wire up or will that infringe on my reception? Thank you Fred!!!
Hi John. Best to avoid and un wanted coiling of the coax. Shorter the better really. RG213 is pretty low loss but RG 8 "mini 8" is easier to work with. Having an indoor antenna is always a compromise from an outside one. Its good your hearing stations but your transmit range is going to be limited to a few miles only.
@@CB-RADIO-UK thanks man I really appreciate the videos and the advice. I actually met a local today on the radio and he's coming over he's going to hook me up with the used a99 we're going to hang it off the fence thought it was pretty cool really cool I'm excited!!! He said he put it on my third story roof in the spring I should be able to hit some real good reception with that!!!
Good video! If you can get it up further from all that capacitance of the house, watch that SWR come into line the way it should. Go 40 feet up, ad ground plain with radials printing magnetic north south east west for improved skip.
Hi Fred in the shed or attic, get in on the chimney mate with a 6ft or 10ft pole . Had one for years on the chimney with no need to touch the rings,guess once it's in the clear it performs better. Only took mine down to replace it with a 2 mtr +70cms dual band vertical. Good luck mate 73 de paul
Paul Fallon I would love that Paul but there are building regs where I live. I am pushing my luck already ;-(. I am thinking of perhaps a telescopic pole to get it a bit higher when I need it.
Brother Ive had 2 A-99's the 1st one tuned out fine the newer one I got a few years back would never get below a 1.5 and after I put 1 kw through it the swr is ghosting up and down Its being replaced with a MaCo V-5000 and I had to buy a Rig expert AA-35 because I'm tired of all the guessing games using standard meters.
My SWR is a 1-1 with bars close to the middle. I'm picking up different freq's and all kinds of radio stations a certain time of the day. I suppose the A-99 is equipped to receive multiple bands.
great antenna the a99 had one for years. you can actually split the rings does give bit more flex on swr and the firestick on top is better than the standard element more people use the firesstick. good luck and make some contacts
Might also be worth checking with an external meter especially on the Grant II as I never trust meters built into the radios. Especially the self calibrating ones fitted to radios such as the Grant II
if you still have the silverrod a ideal for a video is to modify it to a pentrator style matching coil and lengthen the radials and see how it works that way - Charles
lowest swr at 1. higher at 40 means antenna is short. low at 40 high at 1 antenna is to long. need to set it at the center of the band and ya i agree you need to put it higher away from obstructions for real results. and ever consider there's a groundplane kit you can get for the antron99. (we old school radio operators call these 99's. "bleed sticks" ) 73's from K7SCE southern arizona usa.
+Scott Edick Thanks Scott for the advice. Yes its too close to the house wall. I would love a ground plane kit but iam trying to keep it low key. I am thinking of the firestick top section mod for next year.
Hi Billy. Ive run a Solarcon for the past 5 years and its stood up to some high winds etc. Gets out ok. The silver rods also work well buy being alloy i found that mine bent in the wind.
To the guy with the Antron 99 I used to have one of those antennas my self when I set up my antenna I did not move the antenna tuning rings to set the swr it was already retuned from the factory I talked to people all over the United States on it watch for Fiberglas slivers about every two winters 73 from Kevin
Kevin Rhodes Thanks Kevin. I think I needed to adjust mine so drastically because its located quite near the wall of the house. Its been working really well and I ve had some good reports on it.
Can you help me my friend and I both have this antenna with uniden pro 505xl, were 9 miles apart and I can't hear her I'm getting 1.1 ch 1 and 1.3 ch40. We can hear the same people other people talking but not each other
hi buddy glad you got the antron up. Don't forget you had a good SWR in the shed, but up in the loft the Cable has been lengthened, which will affect your SWR as well. Most people just run a cable straight from the aerial to their rig but in your situation you are diverted it somewhere else, which affects the SWR plus you are right to close to a building doesn't help. But with all antron 99 a good SWR is 1.5 that's normal
Yes that's true. I am also running the coax through a burner just as a bypass at the moment which prob will increase the SWR. Loads of skip coming through, about twice the signal strength as before. ;-)
Hi Fred , I have a max 200 and also had to put rings to the very top for a good SWR, was it a good idea or should I have left factory settings? Would of been nice if they marked factory settings so they can be placed back in case of errors , cheers Fred, good videos as always
the antrons come pre tuned, its the fact its to close to the house try putting it down the garden in open space or up above the house, let me no how you get on!
+cbjamesb1 Yes it is too close to the house. Its a crap set up at the moment. Next year I hope to get a telescopic pole to take it higher. I will also look at the firestick top section upgrade. I will make another video then. Mind you I did make New York a couple of weeks back at +20 signal so it certainly works. Thanks for your interest.
So just joined your channel. Question is with regards to your antenna type video, Allum or Fibre. No one suggested making there own. Also how do you like your President cb. Great vids by the way.
Ugly balun might help. I have a antron 99 good antennas.2 foot of the ground Stainless steel tube bolted to it had swr of 1.2 channel 1/20/40.what is the pole stainless or Ali
Hi John the pole is alloy. I managed a SWR of 1.2 on the old Murphy in the shed. I did rem that I am passively running through a 100w burner with the President. I need to try bypassing that although the cable is a bit short. With your balun did you use 5 turns around a 4" pipe ?
The antron 99 is a great antennae for the price. Great for CB. No they are not a ham antennae,but with a good tuner ham bands 10 thru 17 meters work well.
@@arconeagain A ham amateur radio antennae is only capable of receiving and transmitting on amateur radio frequencies. The antron 99 can be used for both. The antron can be used on 11 meter cb band and then the amateur radio frquencies 10, 12 , 15, 17 and some 20 meter with the help of of a separate antennae tunner. Like the MFJ
I agree, there is a whole world of difference between having it clamped to a fence post in the garden and having it as high as physically possible up on the side of the house.
+Greg Belliveau Ground the antenna pole with a copper ground rod (ebay) hammered into the ground. Use a long car battery strap (also ebay) to connect the rod to the pole.
Out of the box the rings are tuned for US CB band channel 1 - 26.965 MHZ to channel 40 27.405 MHZ. Add the ground plane kit to that & you have it made!
I've got a question for you man, I have bought me one of these I love it, anyway I hooked up my SWR meter to it and I read 2.1 on channel 1 and 1.5 on channel 40 OK so I went up and lowered my turning close all the way down and checked it again and on channel 1 my SWR went down to under 1.5 and on channel 40 my SWR meter didn't even hardly move it all so my question is is this OK? Am I getting some kind of a false reading here? I worry because when I key my radio with my hand on the back or my final is that it feels like my final is getting hot within 10 seconds of key and up, it warms up pretty quick, but if I leave them in the center where they were when I bought it then it seems as though my final takes a lot longer to warm up but I was under the impression that the lower the SWR the better and when the tuning coils are all the way down that's my best SWR I have a pitched roof one of my polls on my ground plane is about 2 feet away from my tin roof and the other one is about three or 4 foot away from the same roof so what that cause me to have this problem maybe because I do know it's supposed to be up there away from metal objects, I just want to make sure that I'm safe with my radios and clear this up a little, like I say I know that the lower the SWR the better the radio performs, I built me a dipole in my room just now and it's SWR is really low it doesn't even get up to 1.5 on my final seems to not be getting hot at all just warm every once in a while when I keep and hold the button and talk
Hi Yes your correct. The lower SWR the better as the antenna is better matched to the radio and less power is being reflected back. The finals heating up is a bit odd. Is this on FM or SSB ? If your radio has a built in swr meter than double check it with the reading your getting. Also some radio's will not transmit with a really high swr. Your ground planes sound ok from from the roof. If your worried perhaps raise it slightly higher.
This is on AM cb radio, I don't get why my finals get hot like that either, if my tuning screws are all the way down they warm up pretty quickly but that's where my lowest SWR is at which is a weird one, I did however put them back to factory settings and that seems to keep my finals from heating up like that but brought SWR back to where I mentioned in the previous comment, I did check my SWR with an different radio with a meter built into it and it read the same to so I'm stumped, I figured I better put it back to factory since they say that's the best place to run it at for 11 meter, I need to order more coax and I'll give your idea a try as far as raising it up above my tin roof a bit more and see if that helps me out, I'm new to some of this stuff especially owning a base antenna, this is my first ever base antenna, I'm really happy with it and love the hobby it's a blast
Nice video. Prefer the antenna you had up originally myself. Not much on the Antrons. Like the radios particularly the President Grant. Thanks for the info.
+mark williams There is a lot going for the old Silver Rod. As old as the hills in GPA form. Work very well with a good ground plane attached, still got mine. Only trouble is they tend to bend after a while.
Those are designed for centering on the USA CB band @ 27.185MHz. Dump it, buy a Proton99. The new Imax 2000, called "Max 2000", are problematic as a high percentage are having serious SWR issues. At 53 miles (as per Google Earth) iCOM IC-7300 receiver Yaesu FTdx-3000 transmitter Same coax, same location, same mast base height RX antenna - 2 element vertical quad beam TX antenna installed on 50' Rohn-20 TX antenna: RX Signal Strength Antron99 ................. S-6.75 Proton99 ................. S-8.25 Imax ........................ S-8.5 NV4K ....................... S-9+1dB SPT-500 ................... S-9+3dB Gain Master ⅝ ........ S-9+5dB
the antenna the a99 comes pre swr in the states there set for mids so there very good on mids and ok on uk40, I have had 4 a99s swr on mids 1.1 and on uk 40 1.4 and I have never moved the rings you need to be at least 9m from your home, mine have all been that from the home and the base of the antenna 4m of the ground. I have never run a earth wire or a balun either had no props with stray rf of static and they take lots of high winds I even use one for static mobile, and i get every were with dx to both poles and every were in between great video, and never trust in build swr meters get a trusted swr meter check it with a 50ohms dummy load and it should read 1 if not its guffed.
+stephen “quadrunner” hanson Thanks Stephen for your comment. Yes your right about the location needing space. that's the issue here. Since making this video and playing around with coax runs ive managed SWR 1.2 ave. I hope to elevate the Antron higher next year and upgrade with the top section mod. Even in its stunted height I managed New York at + 20. Video here. ua-cam.com/video/KBRPyE7v0tQ/v-deo.html
riku2015 Thanks for the comment I will give it a go but in the UK AM only became legal last year. Everyone uses FM here. I did get a rig check from a trucker on a vintage emergency handheld. Here. ua-cam.com/video/gm6yhu-V5aQ/v-deo.html
John Purvis Kinda, the high SWR on the President is a result of passing through the idle burner for some reason. The Antron is a great receive antenna. Was able to test it trying to bring in a faint signal across London, did much better than my older silver rod. Can be seen on my latest video, although its faint better than before.
Fred, when you get a chance try a 7 foot Firestik on top instead. It doesn’t whip about as much due to being larger in diameter and should give you more gain.
@@CB-RADIO-UK Go on Fred! 😂 Get it down before winter sets in and replace the coax (Westflex 103) and get yourself a 3/4 wave 7 foot Firestik. It’ll survive the wind much better than that Solarcon 5 foot copy! It’ll also give you a good excuse to re-tune the vswr and weatherproof it all with new amalgamating tape. You’ll never need to touch it again mate 👍
@@4444panther yes, unless there's high power rating required, an RG58 patch between the radio and the box for example is perfectly fine. The losses associated will be miniscule, and it's flexibility will likely make your system more practical and thus reliable. I use mil spec with 95% shield. coverage.
Picked it up on ebay ages ago. Worked really well at the time to steady the pole in wind. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155143610625?hash=item241f47a101:g:YzoAAOSwFNFjTpfa&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwOjMA2PsYSqj%2FTVVo0AOq%2BEFX6e9vcyhaT6%2FzOLGY7xJrbrtzfWkx8L9IbPW35NF19IHdOSpCuzannkf%2B8bkd%2BHPhG9ku5Ye7pdtFMrXZ2NinF475zLFAG8bgn%2FRyCMUqX1Pk08KvB3%2Bg%2Fa%2F1YIUkiuMlhI8JDfew5FnviwzYXMOtEffoaOs7916dJiIG8GsfiIA3CfNn0C1jGNrIB66SjSbyL1v65c4j%2BywXseYjx5OtNIzgh2FlyrgczZf3hoZEA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR97bxLvCYg
How did you contact them for the replacement? I have Two of the antennas & both are missing the middle sections.They came from a dealer who passed away & we never found any center sections in the boxes that the two tops & two bottom sections were in.A contact number would be great if anyone has one.Thanks much & God bless.
Mine was brand new so they sent out a new section straight away. I doubt they will sell a odd section though. I think your best bet is to look for a used example and use the middle section from that.
+Scott Edick. . Yes that would be a good upgrade for next year. I am also trying to source a telescoping antenna pole to allow me to attach to the side of the house and raise it above the roof when needed. Thanks again for you comments.
Hi Fred, I have the same rig on my antron 99 and the rings are about in the same place as yours. When using the rigs swr meter the needle doesn't move, however I put it on and external swr meter and the swr was off going into 1.5 on channel 40 and about 1.2 on channel 1. Not sure why. I do have a lot of interference though it being about 7 to 9 on the rigs meter. I currently have rg213/u cable on it not sure if that's ok.
no you do nota true ground radio for 11 meter is 8.5 to 9n ft long it is o pure snake oil and so is the junktoron 99www.radiomanual.info/schemi/ACC_antenna/Solarcon_A-99_review.pdf
@@oboammar3994 it is not pure snake oil. The radials are really for decoupling the feed line from the antenna. End fed monopoles over a quarter wavelength long suffer from bad common mode current.
I like the video, brings back memories from past. Was back in 1975 I first got on CB. Was alot of fun, a great hobby. I think me & my friends must of put up hundreds of ant. 99's over 10 years, back when CB was very popular.
+Karen Morelli Yeah back in the day you could walk around the streets and play spot and name the antenna. My Antron 99 should be going up on the house this summer.
Waste of money, for me anyway, just couldn't get the SWR down at all always at 3+.. Bought a sirio gain master... Absolutly fab No swr problems at all...
Maybe it was bad from the factory, it happens. Love my solarcon 99. Talked all over with it local and dx. Aggrsvating when the swr wont come down no matter what you do
I have the a99 great antenna I speak skip to Italy on side band I have rci 2950 antenna is over 35 feet in the air I live in new Jersey. I think ur rings are to high the swr is always a little higher on chnl 1 and lower on 40 I get about 1.2 too 1.4 ....
Tony Garigel Yeah your prob right about the rings. I ve got a swr of around 1.2 at the moment. The A99 is doing pretty well considering its low and I ve had some good reports locally. Next project is to get it a little higher.
Put 100 ft of coax on it will come right down on swr and broadband out great any less u won't get a good broadband swr on the antron i have sold and used antrons for 30 years they are great antennas if u do as i said u should not have any problems with broadbanding the swr
@@4444panther I know. The length of feedline will attenuate reflected power and give the operator a false impression of what the SWR is at the antenna. Unless the antenna is at 1:1.
superrobotfan1099 Yeah that's very true. Mine is not by any metal roofs but is rather close to the house. In a ideal world I would like it away from all buildings.
Is that what's wrong with mine it's very close to a metal roof I don't know what's going on w mine. I get 1.5 on ch 1, 1.3 on ch 19 then little to no movement in the 30-40 ch. My friend 4 miles away cannot hear me. I have the proton99 30 feet in the air, and radio check on ch 17 others could hear me just not my friend. I'm 203' above sea level he is 100' above sea level. If I tune it all the way up, still little to no movement on ch 40.
I had the same problem Fred when I put up my home brew antenna testing my Murphy Homebase's but i was very persistent,, check out my video if you get time cheers Shane ct1017
I ve updated this video for April 2016 and fitted the Fire Up upgrade kit from Thunderpole. ua-cam.com/video/rWi8FJF4n-c/v-deo.html
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You need to RAISE the Antenna at least 10 feet above the peak of your roof on your home.. It will make a world of difference..
It starts at about 8:15 into your Amtron 99 installation video. As soon as you see yourself key up for the radio check, take a look at the frequency display.
+Ernest Rodriguez Checked it. Not the best focus on my behalf. Right I was on UK FM Channel 19 27.781.25 MHz which is the UK calling freq.
Hi Fred,
I had the original Antron 99 (Not the solarcon version), back in the early 90's and the instructions suggested it was pre-tuned and should be ready out of the box. When testing it the SWR it was very low 1.0 to 1.2 over a few bands and no adjust of the rings was required. However I did have it earth strapped as well.
Also I recall in strong winds it would almost look horizontal (approx. 60+ degrees) and give reason for concern as it was on a 21ft pole on top of the house, however it stood up to everything nature could throw at it and never let me down.
Thanks,
Andy
I don't know what's going on w mine. I get 1.5 on ch 1, 1.3 on ch 19 then little to no movement in the 30-40 ch. My friend 4 miles away cannot hear me. I have the proton99 30 feet in the air, and radio check on ch 17 others could hear me just not my friend. I'm 203' above sea level he is 100' above sea level. If I tune it all the way up, still little to no movement on ch 40.
ON MY A99,I REPLACED THE FIBERGLASS ANTENNA WITH A FULL 102" STAINLESS STEAL WHIP,WITH TUNING RINGS ALMOST AT TOP, PERFECT SWR!,SURPRISING!,GREAT RECEIVE & TRANSMITT,MORE ANTENNA surface,really works well,!
I did the same thing but cut about 10" off the top of the whip.. I have a flat match from channels 10-40 channel 1 has a 1:2 match No matter how much power I put through the A-99 on channel 27.505 the SWR stays completely FLAT!
Go with lmr400 coax and run an 8awg ground wire from the u-bolt mount at the base of the antenna to a stake 4 feet long driven in the ground. That'll fix you right up!
Also to get an accurate SWR reading make your coax on 1/2 wave (17 feet) increments. Skip full-wave i.e. 1/2 3/2 5/2 etc. 17 x 3= 51 feet etc. and put the base of the antenna on full-wave increments (34 feet) for the very best results. Changing the length of the coax does not change the SWR but keeping it in 1/2 wave increments results in accurate readings at the radio end. Hope that helps you! Good luck!
Greetings from the states. Great video! I sincerely appreciate it. It wasn't boring at all though at first I thought it was going to be lol. But you kept me interested in everything from the antenna to your base station to your bag of crisps lol. So, I just bought an 8" Solarcon pre-tuned antenna for my new Monte Carlo I just bought and the rings were a bit of a mystery to me. I knew that twisting them up or down would tune the SWR/VRT but it didn't come with instructions and I couldn't find anywhere online on how to do it, which way to turn them, if they had to be together or if each ring should be in a different position, etc. Yours was the only video I could find on the rings so I appreciate it. Got my SWR meter to tune it so now I just have to get to an open space and do it up. Thanx again, mate!
Hi Glad you stuck with the video. Its an old one now.
@@CB-RADIO-UK Oh and I meant to mention to you, they don't give radio checks here in the States either lol. I've been trying to get a radio check on my new CB in the car for days now lol. Any time I hear someone ask for a radio check I give it to them. I don't know why most CBers are such a-holes about it but it's everywhere, not just the UK lol.
The S.W.R will be effected by buildings and trees due to the capacitance effect .If you put your hand close to your antenna it will also change the S.W.R. due to the capacitance of your hand. The aerial should be kept as far away as possible from buildings an trees ect The coax might also effect S.W.R.
Martin Bernstein Thanks Martin. Its strange as over time ive noticed the swr changes from 1:1 to 1:6. I ve bought a matcher now for when I run a bit of power if the swr is high.
Better to adjust the antenna than introduce a matcher which will introduce power loss. The change in S.W.R could be due to corrosion in the antenna or the water getting inside the coax.
I think its more to do with the coax which is running very tight to the radio but has a couple of nasty turns where it goes through the attic. Mostly its fine. I ve sort of learned to live with it which is fine for the amount of transmit I actually do.
If coax has been damaged with the tight turns ie a serve kink in it its possible.
Coax is a major factor when tuning these as well as any antenna. I am using an antenna that is just like the antron but with only two sections the base and the mobile looking whip antenna at the top of it. Both are about six feet in length and my tuning at 19'6"s is almost all the way up at the top as well. I too had a flat match with 50' ft. of coax when it was up a full 20' but due to the pole being flimsy aluminum and too small in diameter I took it down and the SWR started climbing back up as well. I still think I am missing the center section though, and have not been able to contact the owner of the antenna so I am looking for a replacement as well for it and I do believe I am going to go with the Sigma 5/8 wave that is rated for at least 1500 whiskies, would prefer 2000 watt range that way it can accommodate any further expansion in the shack that might be later on down the road.
How do you think coax is a major factor in tuning? In what way?
Nice set-up also the junk food review
I can't see why the thumbs down? Keep up the UA-cam thing waven from So.Califoina
Just had a quick look on CB installation guide and it suggests making sure that both of the male coax connectors are properly soldered.
No they were fine. its been up and down a couple of times after this video. I think I have a slightly defective model esp going by how bad the top section was made.
You would think that they would give it a quality check prior to dispatch. Unless of course it was damaged during transit. They may not be the most expensive ANT available but they are also a long way from being the cheapest when you think you can pick up a mag-mount for as little as a tenner.
I was not impressed.
Ever thought about getting a ground plane kit for your stick antenna. They do work wonders on the receive of the radio.
+1stprinceoflite I would like that but I think it would make the antenna stand out a little too much with the radials. I live in a tight neighbourhood sadly.
Hey Fred like your videos I'm across the pond in the USA. I was going to order antron a99 antenna for indoor use I have vaulted ceilings. Did you ever get that mic check on 19? Just a couple questions please. How does that antenna work? Do you have to ground it? The only reason I'm putting it up in the house is because I'm in a wheelchair I figure I can play with it till spring time and pay someone to put it on the roof. I greatly appreciate your reply thank you I'm using a uniden 930 SSB bearcat
Hi. The antenna does not require grounding to work. Ive had good reports all over the globe from the antron. Interesting that your planning an indoor antenna. Have you thought of a cheap wire antenna which would be easier to set up. See here. ua-cam.com/video/Z8vehgbxCcc/v-deo.html
Thank you for the response Fred! I checked out that video pretty cool LOL. I actually went with a tram 1499 50 ft rgx8 coax. The SWR was perfect on it after I calibrated it with my radio it's got a feature on it for that But I wasn't getting anything I only tried the first night. The one channel that came in Crystal clear was the NOAA weather channel so obviously it was receiving. So I pretty much had 50 ft of that wire with the antenna spread out from my bedroom to my living room where my uniden 930 SSB was. Then I put it in my attic calibrated again and when I transmitted it it went all the way up to 9.3 so needless to say I had to turn down the SWR extremely but all I'm getting is the NOAA weather not hearing anything. I'm going to play with it some more since you sent me that video thank you give me some good ideas. One thing I wasn't sure about is that coax cable pretty much has to be straight right? Because the 50 ft the tran 1499 said it needed for the ground. I also ordered 50 ft of 211 coax cable the good stuff I guess it's as thick as your thumb rgx8 is as thick as a pencil. I was wondering though when I do receive my amtron a99 antenna I'm going to have 50 ft of cable because I already ordered it am I going to be able to coil that extra wire up or will that infringe on my reception? Thank you Fred!!!
You know what I did get one channel I could hear them very well but I could not respond and they could not hear me.
Hi John. Best to avoid and un wanted coiling of the coax. Shorter the better really. RG213 is pretty low loss but RG 8 "mini 8" is easier to work with. Having an indoor antenna is always a compromise from an outside one. Its good your hearing stations but your transmit range is going to be limited to a few miles only.
@@CB-RADIO-UK thanks man I really appreciate the videos and the advice. I actually met a local today on the radio and he's coming over he's going to hook me up with the used a99 we're going to hang it off the fence thought it was pretty cool really cool I'm excited!!! He said he put it on my third story roof in the spring I should be able to hit some real good reception with that!!!
I had NO problem screwing the ground plane kit on it took me 4 minutes i started them straight and they went on smooth.
Good video! If you can get it up further from all that capacitance of the house, watch that SWR come into line the way it should. Go 40 feet up, ad ground plain with radials printing magnetic north south east west for improved skip.
I remember CB in the boom days.You couldnt get on any channel :) Loved it !
Hi Fred in the shed or attic, get in on the chimney mate with a 6ft or 10ft pole . Had one for years on the chimney with no need to touch the rings,guess once it's in the clear it performs better. Only took mine down to replace it with a 2 mtr +70cms dual band vertical. Good luck mate 73 de paul
Paul Fallon I would love that Paul but there are building regs where I live. I am pushing my luck already ;-(. I am thinking of perhaps a telescopic pole to get it a bit higher when I need it.
Brother Ive had 2 A-99's the 1st one tuned out fine the newer one I got a few years back would never get below a 1.5
and after I put 1 kw through it the swr is ghosting up and down Its being replaced with a MaCo V-5000 and I had to buy a Rig expert AA-35 because I'm tired of all the guessing games using standard meters.
My SWR is a 1-1 with bars close to the middle.
I'm picking up different freq's and all kinds of radio stations a certain time of the day.
I suppose the A-99 is equipped to receive multiple bands.
Hi Buddy. Yes the A99 is tuned to just 11 meters.
You should have called for the Cow Poo guys on CH40 Mate then check your "SWAR"
great antenna the a99 had one for years. you can actually split the rings does give bit more flex on swr and the firestick on top is better than the standard element more people use the firesstick. good luck and make some contacts
Fred. Use a MFJ 915 ferrite to clean up your radios receive a bit.
You adjusted the rings right .If 40 is high er than 1, move rings up.
Yeah i struggled at first. I did eventually get and maintain to this day an SWR of around 1.2
@@CB-RADIO-UKhow did you fix the high SWR?
Might also be worth checking with an external meter especially on the Grant II as I never trust meters built into the radios. Especially the self calibrating ones fitted to radios such as the Grant II
Yes I think I will. I did rem later that the Grant is bypassing through a burner which could be increasing the SWR. Thanks
Usually someone will respond to your radio check by saying "IT WORKS!"
Yeah that happens :-)
if you still have the silverrod a ideal for a video is to modify it to a pentrator style matching coil and lengthen the radials and see how it works that way - Charles
Thanks for the suggestion Charles.
lowest swr at 1. higher at 40 means antenna is short. low at 40 high at 1 antenna is to long. need to set it at the center of the band and ya i agree you need to put it higher away from obstructions for real results. and ever consider there's a groundplane kit you can get for the antron99. (we old school radio operators call these 99's. "bleed sticks" )
73's from
K7SCE southern arizona usa.
+Scott Edick Thanks Scott for the advice. Yes its too close to the house wall. I would love a ground plane kit but iam trying to keep it low key. I am thinking of the firestick top section mod for next year.
Hi Fred Billy from the states someone recommended the sigma 5/8 venom silver rod over the Solarcon 99 what’s your take on this Thanks 73s
Hi Billy. Ive run a Solarcon for the past 5 years and its stood up to some high winds etc. Gets out ok. The silver rods also work well buy being alloy i found that mine bent in the wind.
To the guy with the Antron 99 I used to have one of those antennas my self when I set up my antenna I did not move the antenna tuning rings to set the swr it was already retuned from the factory I talked to people all over the United States on it watch for Fiberglas slivers about every two winters 73 from Kevin
Kevin Rhodes Thanks Kevin. I think I needed to adjust mine so drastically because its located quite near the wall of the house. Its been working really well and I ve had some good reports on it.
Can you help me my friend and I both have this antenna with uniden pro 505xl, were 9 miles apart and I can't hear her I'm getting 1.1 ch 1 and 1.3 ch40. We can hear the same people other people talking but not each other
hi buddy glad you got the antron up. Don't forget you had a good SWR in the shed, but up in the loft the Cable has been lengthened, which will affect your SWR as well. Most people just run a cable straight from the aerial to their rig but in your situation you are diverted it somewhere else, which affects the SWR plus you are right to close to a building doesn't help. But with all antron 99 a good SWR is 1.5 that's normal
Yes that's true. I am also running the coax through a burner just as a bypass at the moment which prob will increase the SWR. Loads of skip coming through, about twice the signal strength as before. ;-)
A longer length of coax will typically lower the SWR reading. This is not a true reading however, at the antenna feed point is the true reading.
Yes. It worked for me might be different for you.
Hi Fred , I have a max 200 and also had to put rings to the very top for a good SWR, was it a good idea or should I have left factory settings? Would of been nice if they marked factory settings so they can be placed back in case of errors , cheers Fred, good videos as always
Hi. I think the rings go where you get the best SWR. Mine are lower down nowadays but i could only get a good SWR with them higher.
@@CB-RADIO-UK cheers Fred , yes mine is high , all the best mate
Did u manage to get the swr down. I just got 1 an mines at the top an Reading 1.5.
The 1 I had in the 90s was 1.0 with the rings in the middle
Yes i did get a 1.2 SWR but not till a while later when i took it down for a service because the spring washers had corroded.
I just got the same antenna, had a thread issue too. Haven't put antenna in service yet, hope it's a good one.🎙️
Mine still going strong in 2019
You need to use RG 400 coax cable the best.
the antrons come pre tuned, its the fact its to close to the house try putting it down the garden in open space or up above the house, let me no how you get on!
+cbjamesb1 Yes it is too close to the house. Its a crap set up at the moment. Next year I hope to get a telescopic pole to take it higher. I will also look at the firestick top section upgrade. I will make another video then. Mind you I did make New York a couple of weeks back at +20 signal so it certainly works. Thanks for your interest.
I do like that Britain's get use F.M. Nice clean sound. We in U.S.A. use U.S.B. ,L.S.B. and A.M. The sound quality suffers due to QRM.
Maybe I'm dumb but you didn't calibrate the swr on the radio before you checked the swr readings.....
Done off camera
Yes the bottom of the antenna needs to be above the roof or it will reflect the signal back giving you false reading B:
jose rodriguez Yeah I agree on that. I wanted to stick it 40 feet up at the end of the garden but alas the boss said no. LOL
Bullshit.
So just joined your channel. Question is with regards to your antenna type video, Allum or Fibre. No one suggested making there own. Also how do you like your President cb. Great vids by the way.
Hi The president Grant has very good build quality but is pricey and brings in a lot of QRM noise for use as a home base radio.
@@CB-RADIO-UK interesting
Ugly balun might help. I have a antron 99 good antennas.2 foot of the ground Stainless steel tube bolted to it had swr of 1.2 channel 1/20/40.what is the pole stainless or Ali
Hi John the pole is alloy. I managed a SWR of 1.2 on the old Murphy in the shed. I did rem that I am passively running through a 100w burner with the President. I need to try bypassing that although the cable is a bit short. With your balun did you use 5 turns around a 4" pipe ?
A coaxial choke is advisable for end fed monopoles. I'd step it up to a good ferrite choke at the feed point over an ugly balun.
The antron 99 is a great antennae for the price. Great for CB. No they are not a ham antennae,but with a good tuner ham bands 10 thru 17 meters work well.
How could it be a ham antenna, and what difference does it make?
@@arconeagain A ham amateur radio antennae is only capable of receiving and transmitting on amateur radio frequencies. The antron 99 can be used for both. The antron can be used on 11 meter cb band and then the amateur radio frquencies 10, 12 , 15, 17 and some 20 meter with the help of of a separate antennae tunner. Like the MFJ
@@rondellschuyler7074 tell me something I don't know.
Look closely at the frequency display at that part of the playback
+Ernest Rodriguez Got you, ok I will take a look ;-)
Put a couple's loops in the coax at the ant end of the coax
Will that lower the swr?
GOOD ?
Ch 19 is 27.185 frequency
Hi not in the UK its 27.78125 MHz
I would say make your own antenna it will work just as good maybe even better
Have you noticed and issues with bleed-over with that pole beeing on the low side.
No not really. I was picking up a little RF from the house which disappeared once I got it higher.
I agree, there is a whole world of difference between having it clamped to a fence post in the garden and having it as high as physically possible up on the side of the house.
Correct me if I'm wrong but channel 19 is 27.185 MHz Are you operating on 40 uppers? Or is channel 19 different in your country?
Hi. Yes our FM is stand alone. Our Ch 19 is 27.78125 MHz
Do you have to ground this antenna?
mykylc No not really but grounding the mounting pole can sometimes reduce rf background noise.
fredintheshed1 Thanks!
What is the name of the mast you are using for your antenna mount in this video?
It was a 2", 3 meter alloy pole connected to a 1.5" 2 meter steel pole. No name as such but something i made myself.
I have an Antron 99 I want to install here in Connecticut but first want to properly ground it for fear of lightning strikes. Any tips?
+Greg Belliveau Ground the antenna pole with a copper ground rod (ebay) hammered into the ground. Use a long car battery strap (also ebay) to connect the rod to the pole.
Out of the box the rings are tuned for US CB band channel 1 - 26.965 MHZ to channel 40 27.405 MHZ. Add the ground plane kit to that & you have it made!
Thanks for the info on the rings. That makes a bit more sense. I think my antenna had a few faults out of the box but its been working fine since.
sounds like static, you have a static discharge unit on it? grounded?
+Geronemo Bauer No was not grounded.
Send me your old antenna as I need one to put up my base station.
clockwise or counter clockwise what direction is it to lower SWR on channel 40 looking down or up at antenna the direction of turning the rings?
Clockwise raises the rings. On my set up the higher the rings went lowered the swr on all channels.
I've got a question for you man, I have bought me one of these I love it, anyway I hooked up my SWR meter to it and I read 2.1 on channel 1 and 1.5 on channel 40 OK so I went up and lowered my turning close all the way down and checked it again and on channel 1 my SWR went down to under 1.5 and on channel 40 my SWR meter didn't even hardly move it all so my question is is this OK? Am I getting some kind of a false reading here? I worry because when I key my radio with my hand on the back or my final is that it feels like my final is getting hot within 10 seconds of key and up, it warms up pretty quick, but if I leave them in the center where they were when I bought it then it seems as though my final takes a lot longer to warm up but I was under the impression that the lower the SWR the better and when the tuning coils are all the way down that's my best SWR I have a pitched roof one of my polls on my ground plane is about 2 feet away from my tin roof and the other one is about three or 4 foot away from the same roof so what that cause me to have this problem maybe because I do know it's supposed to be up there away from metal objects, I just want to make sure that I'm safe with my radios and clear this up a little, like I say I know that the lower the SWR the better the radio performs, I built me a dipole in my room just now and it's SWR is really low it doesn't even get up to 1.5 on my final seems to not be getting hot at all just warm every once in a while when I keep and hold the button and talk
Hi Yes your correct. The lower SWR the better as the antenna is better matched to the radio and less power is being reflected back. The finals heating up is a bit odd. Is this on FM or SSB ? If your radio has a built in swr meter than double check it with the reading your getting. Also some radio's will not transmit with a really high swr. Your ground planes sound ok from from the roof. If your worried perhaps raise it slightly higher.
This is on AM cb radio, I don't get why my finals get hot like that either, if my tuning screws are all the way down they warm up pretty quickly but that's where my lowest SWR is at which is a weird one, I did however put them back to factory settings and that seems to keep my finals from heating up like that but brought SWR back to where I mentioned in the previous comment, I did check my SWR with an different radio with a meter built into it and it read the same to so I'm stumped, I figured I better put it back to factory since they say that's the best place to run it at for 11 meter, I need to order more coax and I'll give your idea a try as far as raising it up above my tin roof a bit more and see if that helps me out, I'm new to some of this stuff especially owning a base antenna, this is my first ever base antenna, I'm really happy with it and love the hobby it's a blast
Well i would say go with the lower SWR setting. The finals get super hot on my SS9900.
Ok I'll go back to that spot that SWR is a whole better looking to me I was excited about it being that low
Thanks a bunch for helping me out
Thanks for the vid mate, the tip with the tuning rings is a good one. Listener......
Cheers Richard. I think my antenna has some faults from new but is working well now.
Already pre tune by the factory for 11 meters.
Mine was way off. Quality was terrible.
See here ua-cam.com/video/hU4kP1jMpfs/v-deo.html
Nice video. Prefer the antenna you had up originally myself. Not much on the Antrons. Like the radios particularly the President Grant. Thanks for the info.
+mark williams There is a lot going for the old Silver Rod. As old as the hills in GPA form. Work very well with a good ground plane attached, still got mine. Only trouble is they tend to bend after a while.
Those are designed for centering on the USA CB band @ 27.185MHz. Dump it, buy a Proton99.
The new Imax 2000, called "Max 2000", are problematic as a high percentage are having serious SWR issues.
At 53 miles (as per Google Earth)
iCOM IC-7300 receiver
Yaesu FTdx-3000 transmitter
Same coax, same location, same mast base height
RX antenna - 2 element vertical quad beam
TX antenna installed on 50' Rohn-20
TX antenna: RX Signal Strength
Antron99 ................. S-6.75
Proton99 ................. S-8.25
Imax ........................ S-8.5
NV4K ....................... S-9+1dB
SPT-500 ................... S-9+3dB
Gain Master ⅝ ........ S-9+5dB
Ha i see the Gainmaster came out tops, and probably why i use one.
the antenna the a99 comes pre swr in the states there set for mids so there very good on mids and ok on uk40, I have had 4 a99s swr on mids 1.1 and on uk 40 1.4 and I have never moved the rings you need to be at least 9m from your home, mine have all been that from the home and the base of the antenna 4m of the ground. I have never run a earth wire or a balun either had no props with stray rf of static and they take lots of high winds I even use one for static mobile, and i get every were with dx to both poles and every were in between great video, and never trust in build swr meters get a trusted swr meter check it with a 50ohms dummy load and it should read 1 if not its guffed.
+stephen “quadrunner” hanson Thanks Stephen for your comment. Yes your right about the location needing space. that's the issue here. Since making this video and playing around with coax runs ive managed SWR 1.2 ave. I hope to elevate the Antron higher next year and upgrade with the top section mod. Even in its stunted height I managed New York at + 20. Video here. ua-cam.com/video/KBRPyE7v0tQ/v-deo.html
+stephen “quadrunner” hanson That is 'factory preset',you adjust if needed.
Heya you trying channel 19, its almost with no exception AM modulation, thats because you dident listen propelly, try AM. truck drives use it.
riku2015 Thanks for the comment I will give it a go but in the UK AM only became legal last year. Everyone uses FM here. I did get a rig check from a trucker on a vintage emergency handheld. Here. ua-cam.com/video/gm6yhu-V5aQ/v-deo.html
You got it sorted yet?
John Purvis Kinda, the high SWR on the President is a result of passing through the idle burner for some reason. The Antron is a great receive antenna. Was able to test it trying to bring in a faint signal across London, did much better than my older silver rod. Can be seen on my latest video, although its faint better than before.
Your very close to a tall building. You need to get about 22 feet away from it for the antenna to tune it properly
+8-bit King Spot on. Yeah I know, wish I could.
+fredintheshed1 can you move ant. to other side of shed away from that building ?
+Karen Morelli Aiming to get it above the gutter line of the roof on a sliding pole arrangement, well all going well.
22. How did you come up with that?
Did you ground it?
No. I could not get the rod through the house foundation.
Great video Fred. Useful and informative mate. Give you shout. From CT9484.
Thanks Mark. Not sure where your located but we run a net 27.305 USB 4-5 pm daily.
How it working so far ?
Really good. There are better antennas (Sirio 2016) but they are much bigger.
Fred, when you get a chance try a 7 foot Firestik on top instead. It doesn’t whip about as much due to being larger in diameter and should give you more gain.
Hi. Ive already got the firestick upgrade section. Its not 7 foot though. Not planning on bringing the antenna down any time soon though.
@@CB-RADIO-UK Go on Fred! 😂 Get it down before winter sets in and replace the coax (Westflex 103) and get yourself a 3/4 wave 7 foot Firestik. It’ll survive the wind much better than that Solarcon 5 foot copy! It’ll also give you a good excuse to re-tune the vswr and weatherproof it all with new amalgamating tape. You’ll never need to touch it again mate 👍
never use RG-58. not even as a jumper btwn units. use RG-213 or LMR-400.
Bullshit.
@@arconeagain i agree.. as long as the jumpers are a short length and 50 ohms.
@@4444panther yes, unless there's high power rating required, an RG58 patch between the radio and the box for example is perfectly fine. The losses associated will be miniscule, and it's flexibility will likely make your system more practical and thus reliable. I use mil spec with 95% shield. coverage.
whats the bracket on the fance
Do you mean the pipe clamp bracket on the shed.
yes
@@CB-RADIO-UK
Picked it up on ebay ages ago. Worked really well at the time to steady the pole in wind. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155143610625?hash=item241f47a101:g:YzoAAOSwFNFjTpfa&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwOjMA2PsYSqj%2FTVVo0AOq%2BEFX6e9vcyhaT6%2FzOLGY7xJrbrtzfWkx8L9IbPW35NF19IHdOSpCuzannkf%2B8bkd%2BHPhG9ku5Ye7pdtFMrXZ2NinF475zLFAG8bgn%2FRyCMUqX1Pk08KvB3%2Bg%2Fa%2F1YIUkiuMlhI8JDfew5FnviwzYXMOtEffoaOs7916dJiIG8GsfiIA3CfNn0C1jGNrIB66SjSbyL1v65c4j%2BywXseYjx5OtNIzgh2FlyrgczZf3hoZEA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR97bxLvCYg
ty verry much @@CB-RADIO-UK
If it's higher on the high channel, it needs to be shortened.
You can't shorten this type of antenna silly.
radio check comeback! 😁
Your loud and proud 10-10
@@CB-RADIO-UK 👍
I didn't see your ground plane
No ive not got the radials fitted.
Brilliant, totally love it, Just like me in conwy
simon marles Yeah we are both vertically challenged. lol
when you were requesting a radio check with your president radio
How did you contact them for the replacement? I have Two of the antennas & both are missing the middle sections.They came from a dealer who passed away & we never found any center sections in the boxes that the two tops & two bottom sections were in.A contact number would be great if anyone has one.Thanks much & God bless.
Mine was brand new so they sent out a new section straight away. I doubt they will sell a odd section though. I think your best bet is to look for a used example and use the middle section from that.
oh and to mention. toss that crappy rg58.. use rg8x
+Scott Edick. . Yes that would be a good upgrade for next year. I am also trying to source a telescoping antenna pole to allow me to attach to the side of the house and raise it above the roof when needed. Thanks again for you comments.
+Scott Edick i always used heavy cable out dorrs
+Karen Morelli Yes I want to replace the RG58.
Hi Fred, I have the same rig on my antron 99 and the rings are about in the same place as yours. When using the rigs swr meter the needle doesn't move, however I put it on and external swr meter and the swr was off going into 1.5 on channel 40 and about 1.2 on channel 1. Not sure why. I do have a lot of interference though it being about 7 to 9 on the rigs meter. I currently have rg213/u cable on it not sure if that's ok.
@@livesportsvideo02 have you tried a choke or band pass filter?
Never had an Antron 99 but I would say as long as the SWR is well within what it should be then it should be ok.
Yeah I kinda figured the same. The instructions seemed to say only half a turn was needed. Could be the antenna is too close to the building. Thanks
you need a ground plane on that 99
Yes ive seen the groundplane kit but it would make the antenna stand out too much.
no you do nota true ground radio for 11 meter is 8.5 to 9n ft long it is o pure snake oil and so is the junktoron 99www.radiomanual.info/schemi/ACC_antenna/Solarcon_A-99_review.pdf
The A99 radials are too short.
@@oboammar3994 it is not pure snake oil. The radials are really for decoupling the feed line from the antenna. End fed monopoles over a quarter wavelength long suffer from bad common mode current.
keep up the good work, 73's KC3DSF.
get you some rg-213 coax
I like the video, brings back memories from past. Was back in 1975 I first got on CB. Was alot of fun, a great hobby. I think me & my friends must of put up hundreds of ant. 99's over 10 years, back when CB was very popular.
+Karen Morelli Yeah back in the day you could walk around the streets and play spot and name the antenna. My Antron 99 should be going up on the house this summer.
Put a 1.1 air chock balan at the antenna feed. Better still make your own antenna
I do have a T2LT antenna which works really well.
@@CB-RADIO-UK yes I just watched your video. Great stuff very interesting
i liked this vid deal with that
I just saw your video, look back at your frequency display. They probably couldn't understand you since you were off frequency.
+Ernest Rodriguez Oh ok what part, time etc ?
The frequency is correct for channel 19 in the UK (27.78125 MHz). Channel 19 is defined at a lower frequency in the US (27.185 MHz)
Waste of money, for me anyway, just couldn't get the SWR down at all always at 3+.. Bought a sirio gain master... Absolutly fab
No swr problems at all...
The Gainmaster came out top in my recent survey for fiberglass antennas.
Maybe it was bad from the factory, it happens. Love my solarcon 99. Talked all over with it local and dx. Aggrsvating when the swr wont come down no matter what you do
ground your antenna....
you got screwed they sent you a return, good company
Yes I think you may be right. That mid section was not as it should have been. However they did replace it asap without question.
the check is in the mail!
+cdm1250uhf1 LOL ;-)
Understood, best of luck!
On your Grant 2 you was way off of CB Band on another band above it and not dialed in on frequency! by hte way 19 is 27.195 you was on 27 788
Hi Patrick. Dont forget iam UK based so out channel 19 is 27.78125 MHz
I but mine up sirao get 5 to 9 lb of well cr,p mate said get higher out do better rig I'd cre 8900 thanks
I have the a99 great antenna I speak skip to Italy on side band I have rci 2950 antenna is over 35 feet in the air I live in new Jersey. I think ur rings are to high the swr is always a little higher on chnl 1 and lower on 40 I get about 1.2 too 1.4 ....
Tony Garigel Yeah your prob right about the rings. I ve got a swr of around 1.2 at the moment. The A99 is doing pretty well considering its low and I ve had some good reports locally. Next project is to get it a little higher.
I had to put it higher here its city so I had to go above the wires that's why I put it higher maybe its the same there..by u.
Tony Garigel We have restrictions on antennas where I live. I am pushing my luck as it is. To get around this I am considering a telescopic pole.
it will break in heavy wind
Not so sure. Its stood up to high wind. Go watch my storm Katie video :-)
Put 100 ft of coax on it will come right down on swr and broadband out great any less u won't get a good broadband swr on the antron i have sold and used antrons for 30 years they are great antennas if u do as i said u should not have any problems with broadbanding the swr
Stupidest comment ever, and worst advice ever. You are a fool, don't listen to him people.
@@arconeagain i keep agreeing with you lol
@@4444panther I know. The length of feedline will attenuate reflected power and give the operator a false impression of what the SWR is at the antenna. Unless the antenna is at 1:1.
its referred to as S W R!! NOT "SWAR"
No come on its SWWWWWAAAAARRRR on the Charlie Brown.
swar? i think you mean s.w.r.
No Ted lets all say Swaaarrrr 🙂
antennas dont like metal roofs or metal buildings that happend to me once with a galvanize roof move it away of metal roofs.
superrobotfan1099 Yeah that's very true. Mine is not by any metal roofs but is rather close to the house. In a ideal world I would like it away from all buildings.
Is that what's wrong with mine it's very close to a metal roof I don't know what's going on w mine. I get 1.5 on ch 1, 1.3 on ch 19 then little to no movement in the 30-40 ch. My friend 4 miles away cannot hear me. I have the proton99 30 feet in the air, and radio check on ch 17 others could hear me just not my friend. I'm 203' above sea level he is 100' above sea level. If I tune it all the way up, still little to no movement on ch 40.
I had the same problem Fred when I put up my home brew antenna testing my Murphy Homebase's but i was very persistent,, check out my video if you get time cheers Shane ct1017
Ultraflex 7...