Bought this and it just arrived this week. Just went out with it today for the first time to try it out. 1. I can confirm that it is quick and easy to set up. Very convenient for Pota & portable ops. 2. I was able to work many bands and made enough contacts to activate a park. 3. However, I had 3-1 swr on all bands, and was able to use it all day because I had a built in tuner in my radio (ft-450d). 4. 20-30mph wind gust had no effect on the vertical. 5. The setup is really stealthy. Many hikers dog walkers and random passers by in the park with me nearly tripped on the wire or thought the rods were part of the fence. It does not look like an antenna...much less a permanent monstrosity that HOA's hate. 6. It works, but it was on the expensive side. Update: After 3 or 4 deployments now and in different soil-types for the grounding rods, I have been around 2:1 SWR. This antenna is very capable and convenient and is the real deal. It has earned a permanent position in my top rotation of deployment antennas and is always in my jeep now. 73, de W3LAM
I’ve had this antenna for over a year and it has been great. I live in middle Tennessee and I have made FT8 contacts all over Europe and parts of Africa and from Canada to the entire South America continent. I’ve had this antenna deploy the whole time I’ve owned it. TN07 is a great company and Bob is a really good person.
I have spent a lot of money on antennas and building antennas since I earned my General license in 2020, and I have enjoyed experimenting with everything in my arsenal; but the MyGoTo antenna is, without question, the best of the lot. TN07 Engineering has done a remarkable job designing this antenna. I have deployed the MyGoTo at Wednesday afternoon sessions of the Bastrop Country Amateur Radio Club at a local city park. It always gets stellar reviews from my fellow Hams.
I can say from owning this antenna for a bit, I have worked many DX contacts (i.e. South America, Puerto Rico, New Zealand...etc) besides a lot of stations in the U.S. I also get many 58, 59 constant reports. Yes it is expensive, but honestly for a compromise antenna it has been worth it every penny.
Hoa charges you to protect the value of the market value of your home based on adjacent, to keep standards at a level or rising. Any very massive dx ather chugging antenna would be lightening bait, and in heavy winds, could trash a neighbors house, thus raising insurance rates, ect. Besides keeping you from getting into kilowatt footwarmer levels of addiction with any interference going with it.
@@user-fn6pq9tp2g There are a ton of new homeowners that have no idea they're moving into an area with an HOA or covenant. It should be criminal to enforce them on homeowners that never agreed to it in writing.
I like everything about this antenna sans the price. Deployment time, bands you can use and low SWR are all big attractive traits. Could be great for POTA stuff. I'll wait and see if the price comes down. Great video. Thank you again Josh!! 73
I agree completely, I know that a company has to recoup the development costs. But I'm in agreement, I have to wait for either TN07 to bring the price down, or some other maker to put out something very similar for a lower price. I just can't justify $500 for this antenna.
@Spike S I think that's how things would work in a different field, but ham radio is a niche market. Just how many people are in the market for an antenna like this?
Compare to the Broadband Comet CHA-250B and Diamond BB7V - someone who has limited space but needs use of all bands, quickly, the T antenna appears to be a great choice. FYI: the Diamond uses a 6:1 unun and a 600 Ohm resistive load. Great presentation! 73 KO4CES
@@mrradio2187 I would build/use the ZS6BKW design is very simple and it works all bands. Each leg of the radiator is 46’ 10”. Use 14ga stranded. The matching section is 39’ 1.5” of 450 ohm ladder line. What you use for insulators is up to you.
Well.... maybe expensive, but if you are in an HOA and really want to be on air from home, maybe not such a high cost. HAM radio is a lot like other hobbies, you can usually find a way to participate at a comfortable price point.
Very cool to get a duplicatable, tunerless, 80-6 antenna. Must have been fun finding the dimensions and the perfect windings for it to work anywhere ya pitch it. Don't be dumb and blame the inventor, make very sure you are not spearing through, satellite, accent light, sprinkler plumbing, or other stuff before you start poking at your place's plot, you may or may not own. Put a tupperware or something over the whip nut on de-whipped days, so it does not corrode, but it looks like common whip nut from any cb antenna mount at the local truckstop.
Sounds like a Magic Antenna. And ... everything magic is a bit suspicious :). It's suspicious that the SWR is flat accross that huge frequency range as is 3,5 to 50 MHz. It's only possible , IMHO at the price of high transmitted energy losses. It's nothing wrong with such approach, wide -range SWR might be a superior priority compare to radiated power efficiency ( if the goal is to establish a comm link from A to B at the known specs, like distance, frequency, time etc., like in military or emcomm ). But then this should be clearly stated in the user manual. It's suspicious that such a bulky Impedance Matching Device is sealed in the resin compound with no chance to peek inside it, and it's only rated at "real" 25W output power CW or Digital. So obviously it's not a FT-240-43 ferrite core inside :) So what's then inside that box? Kinda' termination resistor? Paying 499 USD, I feel like having a right to know ... Last on my suspicions list is advertising it as POTA portable antenna. Fine, but how can I know if the soil in the park I come to will be soft enough to drive 2 copper rods into it? What if not? No POTA. It seems that the Go2 is a new player in the market and is quite active in doing a marketing campaign , I saw already a second or third review on YT recently and all are very positive. That's good. But I'm suspicious , I want more evidence :) Thanks for the review anyway! 73! Linas LY2H
i really like they idea of this, and i think it would stay under the radar of hoa in my situation i only have a little qrp rig at the moment, but i cant really string up a dipole and get away with it so this is a nice fairly compact unit, i like the bird house idea !!
You did a nice commercial for the product. Some real-world testing would have been nice too. Show us some live antenna measurements showing SWR on different frequencies, some different locations, is the antenna directional, how well does it work in different soils. Will it work on a sandy beach near salt water. Re-do this video and include more info.
Totally agree! I can out do it with my DMR Radio, don't need any super expensive wires in the yard. My little Hot Spot bothers no TV, is a whole lot cheaper, and no ugly antenna to irritate the neighbors.
@@jimcoulter5877 Yes, but you are using a billion dollar infrastructure (the Internet), just like the cell phone or wired telephone network. And, you are trading having an antenna at your location for having a large antenna and tower somewhere else in your neighborhood. Second, in a major emergency that network is going to be overloaded and not reliably accessible. Third, the dirty little secret about the Internet and cell phone networks is that in a large grid power failure after about three days the cell sites will start running out of fuel to run the generators. A battery operated radio system with solar panels will continue working.
Kudos to Bob! I’m in an HOA condo. Love seeing new antennas. However… Only 25w CW at all but $500? Sorry, no thanks. I get better mileage, except 80m which I don’t care about, from my ATAS-120A. Cut the price in half and up the CW power, then I’m interested. WB3CFN.. dit dit
Just wondering why you didn't do some RBN tests and compare it to your existing antennas? But for 500 dollars, jeez that's a crazy price for what you get. The MFJ 1979 17ft whip is about 50 dollars or so!
Thanks for this review. However, it would have been nice if you addressed how efficient this antenna is. SWR is not the whole story...as you know, you could put a 100 ohm resistor on the output of your transmitter and achieve a 2:1 SWR, but you would not get much radiation. Impedance matching is important, of course, but that does not mean you are getting a signal out. Maybe an update to this review would show RBN results on the various band and that would be more informative. That being said...WOW! That is really pricey! Tnx es 73 de Arnie W8DU
@@HamRadioCrashCourse Thanks for the quick reply! I was suggesting RBN because they give you some signal strength readings. Unfortunately, I think he is going to have a steep uphill climb to sell these because of the price point.
I think the shown SWR spectrum is not possible, if there is not any resistor in the bottom case. This is a dummyload with a radiator, I think... Any EFHW wire antenna with 1:49 unun is much better and cheaper than that. 73 by Martin (DG4BAD)
This looks like a neat package to go camping with, & do POTA. I wonder what the emission calculations say about keeping a safe distance from the My Go2 antenna while transmitting?
Only near 50 mhz are any bones resonant in the human body. It is close to 1/8 or less of a wave so very minimal excitation. Getting someone to hold the ground stakes while you check hamodem email, might get fuzzy.
It is good for the finally released from duty "emptynester" that missed out on decades of antenna tinkering, and thinks milking an indoor loop for every khz is awful. This is outdoor 1 hour project, that is not a massive lightening lure for all them hf bands, with a tuner inline, and several radios have them built in. I am not sponsored, but have hope for this array, and see it's niche. Sunspots are coming!!!
I would swap the 17' telewhip with a 5/8 wave, Firestick from any local truck stop, and not even have to take it apart. It is electrically a 21' antenna, so the 4.5' whip should keep it tunable, in white or black, same thread, too.
I love my DX commander but sometimes that can take a hot minute to setup... It may be a little pricey but I've been looking for a pota antenna with fast deployment that actually works.... Might give it a try
I have the DX C. too and was thinking the exact same thing. I'm betting the DX will be better for receiving from any direction, but this one has a faster setup for sure! (Especially laying out radials.)
@@mikel5077 And your Buddipole or Buddistick will out perform this dummy load by a bunch. If time is so short for antenna set up that you feel this $500.00 antenna is worth the money, buy a mag mount and Ham Stick and plop it on top of your car or truck. It will work much better.
One question… Is what is inside the cylinder a secret or could you just ask the person selling it. If it’s not going to be figured out that way the other possibility is taking an x-ray of it which should give additional information and I wouldn’t think would damage it
Has anyone found an alternative for a permanent setup that allows for an antenna that requires less than 25' of vertical height (mounted at ground level) and only requires
So essentially, it is like a trapped dipole consisting of a flexible wire on one side and a rigid retractable element on the other side. Right? Does the wire "counterpoise" have to be stretched? Or will the performance be the same if it is in a zigzag formation? Lets say. To follow the contours of a wall or fence of your HOA lot.
I am assuming he has a patent on this antenna. Saying that it would be nice to understand technically how it works. I am a bit skeptical on how well this could work compared to a ground mounted Hustler mobile antenna. The wire attached, is that suppose to be up high , say more than 20 feet in the air? If so maybe its just a end fed 49 or 64:1 Unun ?
K8MRD did a POTA activation with this antenna where he showed the SWR on all bands. Was less then 2 on most bands except 10 where it was around 2. Most bands were 1.5 or less. Mike made over 50 contacts with that antenna on his activation so it looks like it works.
@@markanderson8066 The Wolf River or Buddistick will smoke this antenna and can be set up so that it takes very little time to get on the air. If you buy this because it's plug and play, you deserve the lousy performance that you will get. Maybe we have it too easy as hams these days. A little effort with the right antenna will pay off with many more contacts and not having someone have to ask you for your call sign 5 times....that is if they even come back to you if you are using this dummy load.
No way I'd but a Bird House on a little pole in my yard. It would clash with my Pink Flamingo's....LOL. Save $$$ and buy an antenna that actually works well. This is not it.
I appreciate the review however I felt it was lacking in practical examples of making contacts. I don’t do much digital so I was looking for phone contact examples. Have you done anything with phone in 40 or 20 m or higher? I have a unique challenge with deploying radials in my yard and I am looking for something that is good enough without them.
17 foot stainless steel vertical whip is hardly what I would call stealth, but I digress, honestly this is really nothing more than a Chameleon CHA MPAS Lite which sells for $340 ($160 less than the TN07).
@@HamRadioCrashCourse Correct. I emailed TN07 yesterday and received an answer that the 25' wire is, indeed, a radiating element. It almost operates as a 90 degree dipole, with a 17' vertical element and 25' horizontal element. It's the transformer that does the magic. I don't have it in my radio budget right now, but I would like to try it out on a POTA activation.
@@markanderson8066 Basically what you are doing to use a metal 65 foot tower as an antenna. Might be interesting if they just sold that IMD (Impendence Matching Device) separately for like $299 or so.
This antenna looks great for HOA stealth. But I looking for the best Antenna for a dedicated HOA apartment on the fourth floor in Chaska Minnesota. I have a good VHF/UHF antenna But looking for an HF antenna for my FT-991A.
Just sayin', don't fall into the "standard" versus "daylight saving" time trap. Just say "Pacific Time" so then it applies whether standard or daylight saving time is in effect.
Sorry to say… The incredibly flat SWR over the wide range can indicate 1. Very high losses, 2. Very low efficiency of the system. Prefer to stay away from these kind of antennas. And btw …$500 for it? Oh boy… no way! Anyway many thanks for vid mate.
First, I believe in free enterprise and the right of everyone to make a profit on their intellectual and physical labor. However, it does seem to be more than a bit over priced for what it appears to be. If this antenna really does as well as he claims, not just the wideband SWR (a 50 ohm resistor would do the same) but in actual radiation efficiency, then it might be worth $500. Until someone buys one and opens it up to see what is actually in the matching device and/or takes measurements to see how much power is consumed in said device, I am going to be skeptical. Once the info on what is inside the antenna gets out, likely very few people will spend $500 for it.
@@mrradio2187 Base loaded antennas are not new. Getting one that provides a low SWR across all the ham bands with decent radiation efficiency would be without adding capacitive and inductive sections in line or in parallel with the vertical whip and without having to change the length of the whip each time one changes the frequency.
Josh, Trying very hard to decide between the Buddistick Pro Deluxe or the TN07 for my first HF antenna. I do live in an HOA. I am operating a Yaesu FT-991A Any advice? 73, KN4YGC
The Buddistick Pro is a portable antenna. And you need to manually adjust it. The TN07 is more permanent. For a first antenna you can go with an End Fed Half Wave and save some money and only need to put up a wire. It might be more stealthy.
Not sure about other parks, but the one near me prohibits anything that penetrates the ground so this would not work for POTA for me. Interesting design though.
Out of curiosity, have you used the Go2 Antenna with the IC-705 and Xiegu’s XPA125B? Given the 100W SSB rating for the antenna vs the potential output of 125W with the XPA-125B, and living in an HOA, I am concerned it might damage the antenna. Rather research and ask rather than finding out the hard way. Any input would be appreciated.
Whenever I hear someone say an "antenna is lower noise than my other antennas", I substitute the word "poorer" in place of "lower noise" in the statement. The comparison should be done as a signal to noise ratio statement. If the noise is low & the signal is as high as it was your comparison antenna, then you have something. If the noise is down 10 dB and so is the signal, then all you have is a poor antenna.
I am wondering how this would work in the frozen tundra of the Midwest in the winter, and the rocky surfaces of the SW. Driving those stakes in the ground would be a chore. Some activation locations do not allow stakes to be driven into the ground as well. Skeptical !
Two concerns... first, my dummy load also has a very low VSWR across the bands, and an impressively low noise floor. Those characteristics do not speak as to the radiating performance of the antenna. My other concern... transformer heat at only 25 watts. This means the RF energy is not being propagated but instead being dissipated as heat. Yes, just like my dummy load. That is NOT a good sign.
I am studying for my Extra Class exam, and from what I learned, so far, there are no antenna systems existing on the planet earth that radiate all the RF energy generated by the transceiver into the air. Loses occur within the cable, feed line matching device, and radiating elements. Resistance does cause RF energy to be dissipated as heat. Hopefully, that heat will not be hot enough to fry anything. No mention of the ERP for the My Go2 antenna is stated in the review.
This is no different to using any heavily mismatched aerial & trying to compensate it all with an antenna tuner. Sure, the Tx final stages are now happy but your RF output power is wasted in the tuner. The TNO2 is a compromised antenna like a lot of these designs are but people who live under HOA conditions don't have lots of good choices & are heavily restricted but TNO2, Chameleon MPAS, loops & Wolf River are great options especially for HOAs, POTA & similar
@@HamRadioCrashCourse We'd have to know the ambient temperature, wind speed, humidity and other parameters (eg: thermal dissipation characteristics) to fully characterize the temperature rise. Of course heat is dissipated through all baluns and transformers, but this seems like a significant rise for only 25 watts input. For an antenna this expensive, I'd like to see their gain calculations and beam pattern plots. How can we model this thing in EZNEC? This is a mysterious antenna and I have seen little (ok, nothing) to explain the theory of operation or any quantitative data on its performance. I think that is fair to ask of an antenna of this cost. My point was simply that advertising a flat SWR across the bands without a tuner doesn't convey anything about its performance.
Some modes the power output varies with the modulation level. SSB may hit 100 watts peak, but the average power is more like 25 to 35 watts. FM voice is the same power regardless of the level of modulation. All antennas convert so portion of the energy to heat. Too much heat and you damage coils, etc. There is more, but that is the basics.
Bit too rich for my blood at C$650, though. And as much difficulty as HOA hams have, _apartment-dwelling_ hams like me have it _much_ worse. And as it turns out, TN07 engineering will NOT ship outside the United States, meaning I in Canada cannot order this. Guess I will have to try some other antenna...
I see Mike at K8MRD Radio Stuff did a review on this antenna...to bad the company that builds these doesn't have any in stock! Ya think when they gave you guys the 'FREEDIES' to do a review they might have anticipated a few more sales...OH Well...snooze you lose!
Yes- while I respect these guys I DONT respect the fact that i bet NONE of these guys paid $500 for the antenna. HellA. I would do a review for a free one myself. Not paying and inflated $500 for this. Too many other options that are much cheaper!!!
$500.00 ??? I was born at night, just not last night. It's a dummy load with an antenna so it will radiate. Not well, but you can make contacts with it. It has under 2-1 SWR from 6 to 80 meters. Of course it does, it's a dummy load....a resistor in a can. Most portable antennas are a compromise antenna, some much more so than others. If I lived in a HOA, I'd spend the money wanted for this antenna and the antenna I might replace it with because you will be unhappy with it on a Flag pole Vertical with an auto tuner which will 100% smoke this antenna. Or spend $50.00 on an end fed dipole with white 28ga. wire that no one will see and actually have an antenna that will work. In my point of view, if you are too lazy to set up something like a Buddistick antenna (which will work far better than this smoke and mirrors antenna), you really should not be a ham radio operator. There has not been a new design in antennas for quite a while. To me, this is a shameless rip off. I feel sorry for any new ham who buys this and expects it to perform in anything but good conditions. Anyone who has been a ham for any length of time would just laugh and move right on after seeing this antenna. I saw another review where it was used for POTA. When you don't have a pile up and conditions are decent, it made contacts. In a pile up, less than ideal conditions (which happen often) or for any kind of DX, this dog will not hunt. Save your money. Do research and you will find an antenna that actually work fairly well in an HOA that you can build or buy. Josh, it was plain as day that you really didn't want to say this was a good antenna or worth the $$$. Why not just come out and say it ? Far better to guide people in the right direction than to be P.C. This antenna is nothing but a re packaged idea from years past that did not work well then and still doesn't. In my opinion it's a total rip off. Please start comparing tested antennas to known good performers of the same use. In this case, a Buddistick or EFHW. We need honesty, not just that it radiates. Don't mean to rip on you, but people need to know what they are really getting. Especially at a $500. price point. This antenna will end up being put in the corner (or sold to some other unsuspecting person) when the poor person who bought it finds out it is inferior to many others that actually will make far better contacts that cost far less.
Question sir. I have an 12 foot cab antenna don’t know if it can be used with a ham radio. My goal is to be prepared if I need to have communicable in the ent of emergency. I have solar etc. I want to be prepped. If I need to listen or transmit to emergency help etc. what is the best antenna that is stealthy. I am in a normal neighborhood that has an hoa. That part stinks. So I need to hide it best I can. Was also thinking of a telescoping pole I can raise if I need to use this communication method. What antenna do u recommend to be able to be safe and have this Shirley to be prepared. ??? Thanks
Yes I’d be careful with the ground rods if you don’t know what’s under the ground. I live in apartment and they will let me put in a hand dug ground plate. In these older buildings you don’t know where the water, electricity,!or natural gas lines are.
@@randellt I think you’re probably right. And those little posts are not the same as a ground rod that has to go down 6-8 feet. So about the only thing that might be close to the surface would be piping for a lawn sprinkler system.
I was interested until I saw the Price, that is way too much money for that! What Ham Radio needs is an affordable Emergency Antenna for ARES/ACS. This would never pass the XYL test because ot the Price Gouge.
The question isn’t, how do I get an antenna that my HOA can’t see? The question is, why are you living in a neighborhood with arbitrary rules made by people who aren’t paying your mortgage?
@@HamRadioCrashCourse In the SF Bay Area good luck finding a home that doesn't have at least one HOA. Mine has 2 HOA which overlap. And the all prohibit amateur radio antennas.
Bought this and it just arrived this week.
Just went out with it today for the first time to try it out.
1. I can confirm that it is quick and easy to set up. Very convenient for Pota & portable ops.
2. I was able to work many bands and made enough contacts to activate a park.
3. However, I had 3-1 swr on all bands, and was able to use it all day because I had a built in tuner in my radio (ft-450d).
4. 20-30mph wind gust had no effect on the vertical.
5. The setup is really stealthy. Many hikers dog walkers and random passers by in the park with me nearly tripped on the wire or thought the rods were part of the fence. It does not look like an antenna...much less a permanent monstrosity that HOA's hate.
6. It works, but it was on the expensive side.
Update: After 3 or 4 deployments now and in different soil-types for the grounding rods, I have been around 2:1 SWR. This antenna is very capable and convenient and is the real deal. It has earned a permanent position in my top rotation of deployment antennas and is always in my jeep now.
73, de W3LAM
I’ve had this antenna for over a year and it has been great. I live in middle Tennessee and I have made FT8 contacts all over Europe and parts of Africa and from Canada to the entire South America continent. I’ve had this antenna deploy the whole time I’ve owned it. TN07 is a great company and Bob is a really good person.
I’m in middle Tn as well I just passed my Tech. Class sat 9/9/2023
Also in middle TN! Got my tech license at the end of 2022. Have you used this on any other modes than FT8?
I have spent a lot of money on antennas and building antennas since I earned my General license in 2020, and I have enjoyed experimenting with everything in my arsenal; but the MyGoTo antenna is, without question, the best of the lot. TN07 Engineering has done a remarkable job designing this antenna. I have deployed the MyGoTo at Wednesday afternoon sessions of the Bastrop Country Amateur Radio Club at a local city park. It always gets stellar reviews from my fellow Hams.
I can say from owning this antenna for a bit, I have worked many DX contacts (i.e. South America, Puerto Rico, New Zealand...etc) besides a lot of stations in the U.S. I also get many 58, 59 constant reports. Yes it is expensive, but honestly for a compromise antenna it has been worth it every penny.
The fact that products exist to hide your hobbies from an HOA should really tell you all you need to know about HOAs.
@T.J. Kong I agree , they knew about rules and signed an agreement before buying and whine about it.
Hoa charges you to protect the value of the market value of your home based on adjacent, to keep standards at a level or rising. Any very massive dx ather chugging antenna would be lightening bait, and in heavy winds, could trash a neighbors house, thus raising insurance rates, ect. Besides keeping you from getting into kilowatt footwarmer levels of addiction with any interference going with it.
HOAs are one of those concepts that sounds great in theory, but the execution thereof is almost always disappointing…
@T.J. Kong some of us get into HAM after buying our homes. Really though, being in a small HOA isn’t bad if all your neighbors are friendly folks
@@user-fn6pq9tp2g There are a ton of new homeowners that have no idea they're moving into an area with an HOA or covenant. It should be criminal to enforce them on homeowners that never agreed to it in writing.
I like everything about this antenna sans the price. Deployment time, bands you can use and low SWR are all big attractive traits. Could be great for POTA stuff. I'll wait and see if the price comes down. Great video. Thank you again Josh!! 73
I agree completely, I know that a company has to recoup the development costs. But I'm in agreement, I have to wait for either TN07 to bring the price down, or some other maker to put out something very similar for a lower price. I just can't justify $500 for this antenna.
Agreed - the price is VERY steep… under $300 would be realistic…
@Spike S I think that's how things would work in a different field, but ham radio is a niche market. Just how many people are in the market for an antenna like this?
Compare to the Broadband Comet CHA-250B and Diamond BB7V - someone who has limited space but needs use of all bands, quickly, the T antenna appears to be a great choice. FYI: the Diamond uses a 6:1 unun and a 600 Ohm resistive load. Great presentation! 73 KO4CES
Interesting design. But at $499 its way overpriced. I’d buy if it were half this price.
Everybody drink!
Yeah... I still want it.
@@yugbe You can build your own, it's not that difficult and save $450
@@mrradio2187 I would build/use the ZS6BKW design is very simple and it works all bands. Each leg of the radiator is 46’ 10”. Use 14ga stranded. The matching section is 39’ 1.5” of 450 ohm ladder line. What you use for insulators is up to you.
Well.... maybe expensive, but if you are in an HOA and really want to be on air from home, maybe not such a high cost. HAM radio is a lot like other hobbies, you can usually find a way to participate at a comfortable price point.
Very cool to get a duplicatable, tunerless, 80-6 antenna. Must have been fun finding the dimensions and the perfect windings for it to work anywhere ya pitch it.
Don't be dumb and blame the inventor, make very sure you are not spearing through, satellite, accent light, sprinkler plumbing, or other stuff before you start poking at your place's plot, you may or may not own.
Put a tupperware or something over the whip nut on de-whipped days, so it does not corrode, but it looks like common whip nut from any cb antenna mount at the local truckstop.
Sounds like a Magic Antenna. And ... everything magic is a bit suspicious :). It's suspicious that the SWR is flat accross that huge frequency range as is 3,5 to 50 MHz. It's only possible , IMHO at the price of high transmitted energy losses. It's nothing wrong with such approach, wide -range SWR might be a superior priority compare to radiated power efficiency ( if the goal is to establish a comm link from A to B at the known specs, like distance, frequency, time etc., like in military or emcomm ). But then this should be clearly stated in the user manual. It's suspicious that such a bulky Impedance Matching Device is sealed in the resin compound with no chance to peek inside it, and it's only rated at "real" 25W output power CW or Digital. So obviously it's not a FT-240-43 ferrite core inside :) So what's then inside that box? Kinda' termination resistor? Paying 499 USD, I feel like having a right to know ... Last on my suspicions list is advertising it as POTA portable antenna. Fine, but how can I know if the soil in the park I come to will be soft enough to drive 2 copper rods into it? What if not? No POTA. It seems that the Go2 is a new player in the market and is quite active in doing a marketing campaign , I saw already a second or third review on YT recently and all are very positive. That's good. But I'm suspicious , I want more evidence :) Thanks for the review anyway! 73! Linas LY2H
It's not necessarily flat across the whole range but flat at the ham bands.
i really like they idea of this, and i think it would stay under the radar of hoa in my situation i only have a little qrp rig at the moment, but i cant really string up a dipole and get away with it so this is a nice fairly compact unit, i like the bird house idea !!
I would use this antenna for tent camping. some camp cits have limited space. love how it goes up to 6 meters. great for the IC 7300. 73's Boston NY
You did a nice commercial for the product. Some real-world testing would have been nice too. Show us some live antenna measurements showing SWR on different frequencies, some different locations, is the antenna directional, how well does it work in different soils. Will it work on a sandy beach near salt water. Re-do this video and include more info.
Even just an A/B comparison to a dipole would help. - mike
Over half the price of an Icom 7300. Buy an antenna book, pick a design for small spaces and build it.
Totally agree! I can out do it with my DMR Radio, don't need any super expensive wires in the yard. My little Hot Spot bothers no TV, is a whole lot cheaper, and no ugly antenna to irritate the neighbors.
@@jimcoulter5877 Yes, but you are using a billion dollar infrastructure (the Internet), just like the cell phone or wired telephone network. And, you are trading having an antenna at your location for having a large antenna and tower somewhere else in your neighborhood.
Second, in a major emergency that network is going to be overloaded and not reliably accessible. Third, the dirty little secret about the Internet and cell phone networks is that in a large grid power failure after about three days the cell sites will start running out of fuel to run the generators. A battery operated radio system with solar panels will continue working.
Kudos to Bob! I’m in an HOA condo. Love seeing new antennas.
However…
Only 25w CW at all but $500? Sorry, no thanks. I get better mileage, except 80m which I don’t care about, from my ATAS-120A. Cut the price in half and up the CW power, then I’m interested. WB3CFN.. dit dit
If this were manufactured you-know-where and sold at Big Lots, it’d be $39.95.
EXACTLY....you win the interweb today !!!!
Would have been nice if the reviewer had run WSPR so we could see how the antenna performed. I would be interested to see how the antenna would do.
this stuff is soo overwhelming lol, but ill hang in there
i wonder if it works the same in other parts of the world
great channel too!
Just wondering why you didn't do some RBN tests and compare it to your existing antennas? But for 500 dollars, jeez that's a crazy price for what you get. The MFJ 1979 17ft whip is about 50 dollars or so!
Thank you MFJ!
A flat VSWR doesnt mean the Antenna will radiate well, A 50 ohm resistor has a flat VSWR also...
It is just shortened base load vertical.
Answer is in reverse engenering , its actual easy.
500$ is too much. All this with profit cannot be over 50$.
Very thorough as always Josh. Looks like a great vertical. Thanks!
Thanks for this review. However, it would have been nice if you addressed how efficient this antenna is. SWR is not the whole story...as you know, you could put a 100 ohm resistor on the output of your transmitter and achieve a 2:1 SWR, but you would not get much radiation. Impedance matching is important, of course, but that does not mean you are getting a signal out. Maybe an update to this review would show RBN results on the various band and that would be more informative. That being said...WOW! That is really pricey!
Tnx es 73 de Arnie W8DU
See the part of the video where grid tracker is displayed. All the pink lines are my signal getting out.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse Thanks for the quick reply! I was suggesting RBN because they give you some signal strength readings. Unfortunately, I think he is going to have a steep uphill climb to sell these because of the price point.
Good stuff. Thanks for putting this very useful info out via UA-cam.
I think the shown SWR spectrum is not possible, if there is not any resistor in the bottom case. This is a dummyload with a radiator, I think... Any EFHW wire antenna with 1:49 unun is much better and cheaper than that.
73 by Martin (DG4BAD)
Take a look at the follow on video I made.
This looks like a neat package to go camping with, & do POTA. I wonder what the emission calculations say about keeping a safe distance from the My Go2 antenna while transmitting?
Only near 50 mhz are any bones resonant in the human body. It is close to 1/8 or less of a wave so very minimal excitation. Getting someone to hold the ground stakes while you check hamodem email, might get fuzzy.
@@ERICtheLATE I'd stay so far away from it that it would still be with the manufacturer.
It is good for the finally released from duty "emptynester" that missed out on decades of antenna tinkering, and thinks milking an indoor loop for every khz is awful. This is outdoor 1 hour project, that is not a massive lightening lure for all them hf bands, with a tuner inline, and several radios have them built in. I am not sponsored, but have hope for this array, and see it's niche. Sunspots are coming!!!
I would swap the 17' telewhip with a 5/8 wave, Firestick from any local truck stop, and not even have to take it apart. It is electrically a 21' antenna, so the 4.5' whip should keep it tunable, in white or black, same thread, too.
I like the idea of the anternna. Seems like "R&D" is a polite way of saying over priced.
Bob is a great guy and TN07 make great products.
I love my DX commander but sometimes that can take a hot minute to setup... It may be a little pricey but I've been looking for a pota antenna with fast deployment that actually works.... Might give it a try
I have the DX C. too and was thinking the exact same thing. I'm betting the DX will be better for receiving from any direction, but this one has a faster setup for sure! (Especially laying out radials.)
I would recommend a linked dipole with a mast for pota as another cheaper option.
For the price of this antenna I think I'll stick with my buddy pole.
@@armandoa5468 I ended up buying a buddistick pro due to price
@@mikel5077 And your Buddipole or Buddistick will out perform this dummy load by a bunch. If time is so short for antenna set up that you feel this $500.00 antenna is worth the money, buy a mag mount and Ham Stick and plop it on top of your car or truck. It will work much better.
Is there a Large Resistor in the IMD box? That is the only magic I know of that will do what this does.
Yes, a $425.00 resistor....lol $75.00 for the rest of it.
Good Job Jaush
One question… Is what is inside the cylinder a secret or could you just ask the person selling it. If it’s not going to be figured out that way the other possibility is taking an x-ray of it which should give additional information and I wouldn’t think would damage it
I believe it's a 5:1 unun. Martin, g8jnj's design. Ripped off by many. Performance is a compromise.
You could use it for 11meters (CB) as well.
Honestly this sounds like it's worth the price given the width of band coverage. Drop this in and 'heeey tech's first HF antenna.
Has anyone found an alternative for a permanent setup that allows for an antenna that requires less than 25' of vertical height (mounted at ground level) and only requires
TeamReplay for the win!
Sweet antenna man.
it looks like it might be good for 11 meters CB also.
So essentially, it is like a trapped dipole consisting of a flexible wire on one side and a rigid retractable element on the other side. Right? Does the wire "counterpoise" have to be stretched? Or will the performance be the same if it is in a zigzag formation? Lets say. To follow the contours of a wall or fence of your HOA lot.
I am assuming he has a patent on this antenna. Saying that it would be nice to understand technically how it works.
I am a bit skeptical on how well this could work compared to a ground mounted Hustler mobile antenna.
The wire attached, is that suppose to be up high , say more than 20 feet in the air? If so maybe its just a end fed
49 or 64:1 Unun ?
I've been thinking about getting the TN07 but would like to hear about a similar product -Alpha Antenna HOA Buster 80-6. Thanks!
It would be nice to have seen SWR graphics for each of the bands.
K8MRD did a POTA activation with this antenna where he showed the SWR on all bands. Was less then 2 on most bands except 10 where it was around 2. Most bands were 1.5 or less. Mike made over 50 contacts with that antenna on his activation so it looks like it works.
I’ve got a 49-1 that can take 3kw. I wonder if a beefier matching unit could get it to 500 w?
The 'beefier' matching unit would increase the price...
@@eknaap8800 Maybe a big air cooler resistor to replace the small one in the "Magic" sealed unit.
@@johnk23705 Why bother. More than 200W increases only 1 S-point. Unless one considers 1 or 1.5kW....
Very interesting product. How would you compare it to a simiar semi permanent install of a wolf river coils with 102 inch whip?
You have to readjust the wolf river multiple times per band. Not so with the Go2
Once the WRC is set, I'd expect very similar results.
@@markanderson8066 The Wolf River or Buddistick will smoke this antenna and can be set up so that it takes very little time to get on the air. If you buy this because it's plug and play, you deserve the lousy performance that you will get. Maybe we have it too easy as hams these days. A little effort with the right antenna will pay off with many more contacts and not having someone have to ask you for your call sign 5 times....that is if they even come back to you if you are using this dummy load.
Thanks for the great video Josh. I love the bird house capacitance hat. LoL Now I need to convince momma to let me buy more ham toys.
No way I'd but a Bird House on a little pole in my yard. It would clash with my Pink Flamingo's....LOL. Save $$$ and buy an antenna that actually works well. This is not it.
I appreciate the review however I felt it was lacking in practical examples of making contacts. I don’t do much digital so I was looking for phone contact examples.
Have you done anything with phone in 40 or 20 m or higher? I have a unique challenge with deploying radials in my yard and I am looking for something that is good enough without them.
The Diamond BB7V is half the price without the ground radials!
17 foot stainless steel vertical whip is hardly what I would call stealth, but I digress, honestly this is really nothing more than a Chameleon CHA MPAS Lite which sells for $340 ($160 less than the TN07).
I mean. It’s quite different. The horizontal wire is part of the radiating element.
Mpas generally needs a tuner for all bands.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse Correct. I emailed TN07 yesterday and received an answer that the 25' wire is, indeed, a radiating element. It almost operates as a 90 degree dipole, with a 17' vertical element and 25' horizontal element. It's the transformer that does the magic. I don't have it in my radio budget right now, but I would like to try it out on a POTA activation.
Hi Bill! With the wire element radiating, there's a similarity to an off center fed dipole. Got to look up shunt feeds! WB2SMK
@@markanderson8066 , someone brought the OCFD to my attention via a PM. Good observation.
@@markanderson8066 Basically what you are doing to use a metal 65 foot tower as an antenna.
Might be interesting if they just sold that IMD (Impendence Matching Device) separately for like $299 or so.
It is pricey, and if you have one, ensure you lower the connecting wire. It might be a tripping hazard.
Its not suppose to be low. Sure, unhook it when done using it, but its suppose to be elevated.
Great review. Very informative
This may actually solve my problem!
This antenna looks great for HOA stealth. But I looking for the best Antenna for a dedicated HOA apartment on the fourth floor in Chaska Minnesota. I have a good VHF/UHF antenna But looking for an HF antenna for my FT-991A.
Thanks. Enjoyed!
Just sayin', don't fall into the "standard" versus "daylight saving" time trap. Just say "Pacific Time" so then it applies whether standard or daylight saving time is in effect.
Can you do a Masterclass on ham in general? Or do I just have to poke around your channel even more lol
I'll be using my Chameleon MPAS 2.0 for the same purpose...if Chameleon ever ships it to me.
Sorry to say… The incredibly flat SWR over the wide range can indicate 1. Very high losses, 2. Very low efficiency of the system. Prefer to stay away from these kind of antennas. And btw …$500 for it? Oh boy… no way! Anyway many thanks for vid mate.
Check out the follow on video where we test the antenna further.
I would make sure it is a fake birdhouse (no hole to enter, just a black painted spot). I wouldn't want to disturb a bird family just to transmit.
Could this antenna be used in NVIS technique? Or does it act more as an vertical?
What IR Thermometer is that youre using?
First, I believe in free enterprise and the right of everyone to make a profit on their intellectual and physical labor. However, it does seem to be more than a bit over priced for what it appears to be. If this antenna really does as well as he claims, not just the wideband SWR (a 50 ohm resistor would do the same) but in actual radiation efficiency, then it might be worth $500.
Until someone buys one and opens it up to see what is actually in the matching device and/or takes measurements to see how much power is consumed in said device, I am going to be skeptical. Once the info on what is inside the antenna gets out, likely very few people will spend $500 for it.
You'll find similar designs in various antenna books, the design is not new.
@@mrradio2187 Base loaded antennas are not new. Getting one that provides a low SWR across all the ham bands with decent radiation efficiency would be without adding capacitive and inductive sections in line or in parallel with the vertical whip and without having to change the length of the whip each time one changes the frequency.
You can cap it with bird house or feeder, or Gingar😂
How long is the wire that seems to be a counterpoise?
Did you ever get an answer to this question? I was wondering myself.
@@Xinud I havent
a different reply indicated 25ft
@@marcinmichigan2772 Thanks for pointing that out.
Pretty much the same thing as the tactical delta loop transformer, and the comet cha.
Thanks!
Welcome!
Thank You!
Josh,
Trying very hard to decide between the Buddistick Pro Deluxe or the TN07 for my first HF antenna. I do live in an HOA.
I am operating a Yaesu FT-991A
Any advice?
73,
KN4YGC
The Buddistick Pro is a portable antenna. And you need to manually adjust it. The TN07 is more permanent. For a first antenna you can go with an End Fed Half Wave and save some money and only need to put up a wire. It might be more stealthy.
Not sure about other parks, but the one near me prohibits anything that penetrates the ground so this would not work for POTA for me. Interesting design though.
To me concept of this antenna kind of Beverage antenna. With this ground rods and cable .
Not really a beverage at all.
What's the distance between two rods? I need to make sure it fits my tiny yard
25’
Out of curiosity, have you used the Go2 Antenna with the IC-705 and Xiegu’s XPA125B?
Given the 100W SSB rating for the antenna vs the potential output of 125W with the XPA-125B, and living in an HOA, I am concerned it might damage the antenna. Rather research and ask rather than finding out the hard way. Any input would be appreciated.
I have not specifically used that combo. It would likely have no issue with SSB. On digital, you might want to lower the power some.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse I appreciate your input as well as your channel. Thank you!
73
KI5SIB
May I ask how long the wire is from pole A to pole B? Also is it safe for gas or plumbing lines? In General? Thanks. 😊
It seems to be 25ft long
Almost too good....does the raised radial give directionality with its position?? 73
Do you suggest anything extra if you are going to leave it out in weather?
Weather proof the coax connection.
Whenever I hear someone say an "antenna is lower noise than my other antennas", I substitute the word "poorer" in place of "lower noise" in the statement.
The comparison should be done as a signal to noise ratio statement. If the noise is low & the signal is as high as it was your comparison antenna, then you have something. If the noise is down 10 dB and so is the signal, then all you have is a poor antenna.
I am wondering how this would work in the frozen tundra of the Midwest in the winter, and the rocky surfaces of the SW. Driving those stakes in the ground would be a chore. Some activation locations do not allow stakes to be driven into the ground as well. Skeptical !
Anyone know if this will work okay if the 25 foot wire is only about 12-14 inches above the ground? How long are the copper rods?
Two concerns... first, my dummy load also has a very low VSWR across the bands, and an impressively low noise floor. Those characteristics do not speak as to the radiating performance of the antenna. My other concern... transformer heat at only 25 watts. This means the RF energy is not being propagated but instead being dissipated as heat. Yes, just like my dummy load. That is NOT a good sign.
Show me any kind of matching device that doesn’t heat up. 105 is not much to worry about with regards to losing rf energy
I am studying for my Extra Class exam, and from what I learned, so far, there are no antenna systems existing on the planet earth that radiate all the RF energy generated by the transceiver into the air. Loses occur within the cable, feed line matching device, and radiating elements. Resistance does cause RF energy to be dissipated as heat. Hopefully, that heat will not be hot enough to fry anything. No mention of the ERP for the My Go2 antenna is stated in the review.
This is no different to using any heavily mismatched aerial & trying to compensate it all with an antenna tuner.
Sure, the Tx final stages are now happy but your RF output power is wasted in the tuner.
The TNO2 is a compromised antenna like a lot of these designs are but people who live under HOA conditions don't have lots of good choices & are heavily restricted but TNO2, Chameleon MPAS, loops & Wolf River are great options especially for HOAs, POTA & similar
@@HamRadioCrashCourse We'd have to know the ambient temperature, wind speed, humidity and other parameters (eg: thermal dissipation characteristics) to fully characterize the temperature rise. Of course heat is dissipated through all baluns and transformers, but this seems like a significant rise for only 25 watts input. For an antenna this expensive, I'd like to see their gain calculations and beam pattern plots. How can we model this thing in EZNEC? This is a mysterious antenna and I have seen little (ok, nothing) to explain the theory of operation or any quantitative data on its performance. I think that is fair to ask of an antenna of this cost. My point was simply that advertising a flat SWR across the bands without a tuner doesn't convey anything about its performance.
@@johnathanasiou9284 yes, if they work.
How long is the wire on groud
Which transformer is sitting down? 1 '; 4 1; 5 /
You didn't post the link for PC-ALE
Video is in the cards.
It used the 'wideband matching system'.
Inserting 3dB attenuator on transmission line will give you SWR < 2:1 on anything.🙄
Josh… could this be used for GMRS?
nope.
What are the cons of this antenna? Im confused with the SSB, AM, FM voice modes, 25 watts or 100 watts max?
Some modes the power output varies with the modulation level. SSB may hit 100 watts peak, but the average power is more like 25 to 35 watts. FM voice is the same power regardless of the level of modulation. All antennas convert so portion of the energy to heat. Too much heat and you damage coils, etc. There is more, but that is the basics.
Good job!
73 de N5XS
WAYYYYYYYYYYY to expensive.
Bit too rich for my blood at C$650, though.
And as much difficulty as HOA hams have, _apartment-dwelling_ hams like me have it _much_ worse.
And as it turns out, TN07 engineering will NOT ship outside the United States, meaning I in Canada cannot order this. Guess I will have to try some other antenna...
I see Mike at K8MRD Radio Stuff did a review on this antenna...to bad the company that builds these doesn't have any in stock! Ya think when they gave you guys the 'FREEDIES' to do a review they might have anticipated a few more sales...OH Well...snooze you lose!
Yes- while I respect these guys I DONT respect the fact that i bet NONE of these guys paid $500 for the antenna. HellA. I would do a review for a free one myself. Not paying and inflated $500 for this. Too many other options that are much cheaper!!!
$500.00 ??? I was born at night, just not last night. It's a dummy load with an antenna so it will radiate. Not well, but you can make contacts with it. It has under 2-1 SWR from 6 to 80 meters. Of course it does, it's a dummy load....a resistor in a can. Most portable antennas are a compromise antenna, some much more so than others. If I lived in a HOA, I'd spend the money wanted for this antenna and the antenna I might replace it with because you will be unhappy with it on a Flag pole Vertical with an auto tuner which will 100% smoke this antenna. Or spend $50.00 on an end fed dipole with white 28ga. wire that no one will see and actually have an antenna that will work. In my point of view, if you are too lazy to set up something like a Buddistick antenna (which will work far better than this smoke and mirrors antenna), you really should not be a ham radio operator. There has not been a new design in antennas for quite a while. To me, this is a shameless rip off. I feel sorry for any new ham who buys this and expects it to perform in anything but good conditions. Anyone who has been a ham for any length of time would just laugh and move right on after seeing this antenna. I saw another review where it was used for POTA. When you don't have a pile up and conditions are decent, it made contacts. In a pile up, less than ideal conditions (which happen often) or for any kind of DX, this dog will not hunt. Save your money. Do research and you will find an antenna that actually work fairly well in an HOA that you can build or buy. Josh, it was plain as day that you really didn't want to say this was a good antenna or worth the $$$. Why not just come out and say it ? Far better to guide people in the right direction than to be P.C. This antenna is nothing but a re packaged idea from years past that did not work well then and still doesn't. In my opinion it's a total rip off. Please start comparing tested antennas to known good performers of the same use. In this case, a Buddistick or EFHW. We need honesty, not just that it radiates. Don't mean to rip on you, but people need to know what they are really getting. Especially at a $500. price point. This antenna will end up being put in the corner (or sold to some other unsuspecting person) when the poor person who bought it finds out it is inferior to many others that actually will make far better contacts that cost far less.
Nice antenna. Unfortunately way to expensive!
Does this work for 11 m?
Any info on the propagation pattern of the antenna?
No, I don't have any pattern information. But, I just finished a recording on details on the SWR curve and my propagation.
Question sir. I have an 12 foot cab antenna don’t know if it can be used with a ham radio. My goal is to be prepared if I need to have communicable in the ent of emergency. I have solar etc. I want to be prepped. If I need to listen or transmit to emergency help etc. what is the best antenna that is stealthy. I am in a normal neighborhood that has an hoa. That part stinks. So I need to hide it best I can. Was also thinking of a telescoping pole I can raise if I need to use this communication method. What antenna do u recommend to be able to be safe and have this Shirley to be prepared. ??? Thanks
The length of the antenna is based on the frequency you’re transmitting on.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse so what should I buy. I am new. Just want to be able to find emergency channels and listen to info and call for help if needed.
Which radio are you using?
@@HamRadioCrashCourse baofeng and a wouxun kg-q10g. And want to buy an icon 705.
With the Wouxun, get an Ed Fong JPole
No way I'D pay 500 $ for that.
Be realistic !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes I’d be careful with the ground rods if you don’t know what’s under the ground. I live in apartment and they will let me put in a hand dug ground plate. In these older buildings you don’t know where the water, electricity,!or natural gas lines are.
8"s? No lines are only 8"s. Standard is 24" and service 18"
@@randellt I don’t know what the regulations are here in BC. Are you from BC?
Hi..No... BUt I would still guess at least 18's or more.. Just call your power company.. They will tell you 😎
@@randellt I think you’re probably right. And those little posts are not the same as a ground rod that has to go down 6-8 feet. So about the only thing that might be close to the surface would be piping for a lawn sprinkler system.
How much is it and where can it find it at?
Watch the video. Links in the description.
I email the company 3 times for information on the antenna no reply, cant buy from a company that does not reply back.
Ham Fam 😊 I'm so easily pleased
I was interested until I saw the Price, that is way too much money for that! What Ham Radio needs is an affordable Emergency Antenna for ARES/ACS. This would never pass the XYL test because ot the Price Gouge.
The question isn’t, how do I get an antenna that my HOA can’t see? The question is, why are you living in a neighborhood with arbitrary rules made by people who aren’t paying your mortgage?
Look up how many homes actually fall within HOAs. Its a shocking number.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse In the SF Bay Area good luck finding a home that doesn't have at least one HOA. Mine has 2 HOA which overlap. And the all prohibit amateur radio antennas.
Try and buy a house anywhere on the FL Gulf coast that doesn't have an HOA in place. PS ... I paid cash for mine :)
It is a little pricey. Quality looks great!
$500 50 ohm dummy load