imax 2000 better high?

#380668

i want to put up a base antena, my choices are narrowed down to imax 2000 or maco v5/8. i was told the imax is more broadbanded but really needs to be mounted over twenty feet to work great. not sure about the maco. thats my problem, i can only mount my antenna on the end of a 10ft pole. i dont have the ability to go super high. (no space or funds for a big tower) so which antenna works best mounted lower.? thanks

#380670

On a 10ft. Pole I would say " either or" would work...just wondering why you can't go higher? Your not trying to put the antenna under something are you?

20' IMO would be the shortest I would go. But do whatever you have to do...Ideal would be not lower than 30'...

#380671

Yes both will work at 10ft, you would have to watch out for the Maco's ground plane radials. My ground plane is 10 to 12ft off the ground, haven't been about health wise to get it up on the roof, I still talk all over, even know a couple locals that use a 102" whip and magnet mount on their vehicle because they live in an apartment.

3's

Greg

#380672

Thanks, well i wish i could go higher but i dont see how i can get it 20 to 30 ft up without some kind of huge tower and i dont have the space for that. plus, i have a really small backyard cramped in with neighbors all around. i think they might be a bit nervous with somthing that tall.

#380673

lemmychatter wrote:Thanks, well i wish i could go higher but i dont see how i can get it 20 to 30 ft up without some kind of huge tower and i dont have the space for that. plus, i have a really small backyard cramped in with neighbors all around. i think they might be a bit nervous with somthing that tall.

Get a 3 section telescoping antenna pole. They are 10' but with 2 more 10' poles that slide inside each other so when fully extended your at 30'! They also have guy wire plates so you can tie it down so it don't go anywhere...Best of all, you don't have to dig a hole and set them in concrete, there's also a ground base you can get to set the pole on...(they also come in lengths up to 50' fully extended)

base plate.

You can also get braces that would attach to the eves of your house, then clamp to the pole and be able to put it up without all the guy wires (if your house is tall enough)

Radio Shack use to sell these, but since Radio Shack sorta went the way of the "doe-doe-bird" best bet is the auction site, or do some Googling...

They are easy to put up with just one person, I had a 30' one with a .64 ground plane on it, and had no problem walking it up by myself with the antenna on it.

#380706

hey thanks!! those are pretty sweet! ok, my next question would be if I go with one of these would putting it near a metal storage shed cause problems ? small cheapy 10x10 shed. its all metal though. high swr? or if the antenna is high enough does it really matter? thanks!!

#380767

Most plumbing supply places have 22.4ft black gas pipe that will work well for putting up a ground plane. Get a small piece of 11/2 inch pipe threaded on one end and pound it in the ground. Add one eave mount as high as you can get it and get the full 22' 11/4 inch gas pipe. Simply slide the smaller diameter pipe into the larger one pounded into the ground strap it to the eve mount and your antenna is up 20ft. No frills but it works. I have one strapped to my chimney and after some 90mph winds this summer it's still there. Was using 2 10ft masts clamped together but 60mph winds brought that down. Haven't had any issues with the gas pipe. Well, just one. The wife says it's ugly and looks like HE double toothpiks.

Buzz

TrblShooter · #385516

Right now I have a Zerofive colossal setup... I have a 10 foot 2" plumbing pipe 4 feet in the ground with 11 bags of concrete, another 10 foot pipe is attached to that, this puts me at 17 feet, I mounted a bracket for the peak on my garage.. I then have a 10 foot 1" pipe into a 2" to 1" reducer.. I felt that was going to be the weakest link so I made a sleeve. Took a section of 3" pipe, welded nuts to the pipe then slipped it over the reducer, plus it overlaps both pipes , then screwed bolts down.. Very stable.. I am in the process of taking down the zerofive and putting up a Imax 2000 I just purchased.. I am also going another 10 feet so the bottom of antenna will be 35 feet from the ground... I also am taking down the rg213 coax and replacing it with lmr 600 that I also just purchased.. Its an on going project but should be complete by next month.. Here is a picture of my setup now...

ext/dmzx/imageupload/img-file ... a8837f.jpg

#385521

TrblShooter wrote: ↑June 1st, 2017, 3:50 pm Right now I have a Zerofive colossal setup... I have a 10 foot 2" plumbing pipe 4 feet in the ground with 11 bags of concrete, another 10 foot pipe is attached to that, this puts me at 17 feet, I mounted a bracket for the peak on my garage.. I then have a 10 foot 1" pipe into a 2" to 1" reducer.. I felt that was going to be the weakest link so I made a sleeve. Took a section of 3" pipe, welded nuts to the pipe then slipped it over the reducer, plus it overlaps both pipes , then screwed bolts down.. Very stable.. I am in the process of taking down the zerofive and putting up a Imax 2000 I just purchased.. I am also going another 10 feet so the bottom of antenna will be 35 feet from the ground... I also am taking down the rg213 coax and replacing it with lmr 600 that I also just purchased.. Its an on going project but should be complete by next month.. Here is a picture of my setup now...

ext/dmzx/imageupload/img-file ... a8837f.jpg

Is there a problem with the ZeroFive that your taking it down, I feel it is a much better antenna than the Imax. The LMR 600 is some hefty coax, be sure to seal the connectors when installing them.

3's

Greg

#385523

height is might. higher the better. in my estimation

TrblShooter · #385542

MDYoungblood wrote: ↑June 2nd, 2017, 9:20 am
TrblShooter wrote: ↑June 1st, 2017, 3:50 pm Right now I have a Zerofive colossal setup... I have a 10 foot 2" plumbing pipe 4 feet in the ground with 11 bags of concrete, another 10 foot pipe is attached to that, this puts me at 17 feet, I mounted a bracket for the peak on my garage.. I then have a 10 foot 1" pipe into a 2" to 1" reducer.. I felt that was going to be the weakest link so I made a sleeve. Took a section of 3" pipe, welded nuts to the pipe then slipped it over the reducer, plus it overlaps both pipes , then screwed bolts down.. Very stable.. I am in the process of taking down the zerofive and putting up a Imax 2000 I just purchased.. I am also going another 10 feet so the bottom of antenna will be 35 feet from the ground... I also am taking down the rg213 coax and replacing it with lmr 600 that I also just purchased.. Its an on going project but should be complete by next month.. Here is a picture of my setup now...

ext/dmzx/imageupload/img-file ... a8837f.jpg
Is there a problem with the ZeroFive that your taking it down, I feel it is a much better antenna than the Imax. The LMR 600 is some hefty coax, be sure to seal the connectors when installing them.

3's

Greg

No , nothing wrong with the colossal, and it is a much better antenna.. The only reason I am taking it down and putting up imax is because I am going 10 feet higher and I do not want to use guy wires, so I want to go lighter and I go up.. Another 10 foot piece of 1 1/2 into the 2" will add more weight.. The colossal weighs 18 lbs with the radials and the imax weighs what 8 lbs? , so I figured it would be a wash.. But if my friend and I think it will be stable enough, I will reuse the colossal.. As far as sealing the connectors, what do you mean by that? Silicone and seal them because of water, or are you talking about something else.? Thanks Greg..

#385543

18 lbs or 8 lbs, that is static weight, a hefty mast wouldn't have a problem with that, wind load is what you need to pay attention too. The difference in the two antennas isn't much, the ZeroFive is more because of the ground plane, just a thought. Now for the connectors on LMR 600, they screw together and moisture will find it's way along the threads. On my connectors I use a dielectric compound (STUF) to keep moisture out of the coupling areas and self sealing electrical tape (3M product). If you already have it use it but 600 is overkill, especially going to a Imax antenna, the Imax isn't going to handle any wattage like the ZeroFive could.

3's

Greg

TrblShooter · #385652

MDYoungblood wrote: ↑June 3rd, 2017, 2:10 pm 18 lbs or 8 lbs, that is static weight, a hefty mast wouldn't have a problem with that, wind load is what you need to pay attention too. The difference in the two antennas isn't much, the ZeroFive is more because of the ground plane, just a thought. Now for the connectors on LMR 600, they screw together and moisture will find it's way along the threads. On my connectors I use a dielectric compound (STUF) to keep moisture out of the coupling areas and self sealing electrical tape (3M product). If you already have it use it but 600 is overkill, especially going to a Imax antenna, the Imax isn't going to handle any wattage like the ZeroFive could.

3's

Greg

So you think I can put the zero five back up with no problems? I am adding another 10 foot plumbing pipe above the house bracket. So there will be 20 feet of pipe above the house bracket.. If you think it will fly, I will put the zerofive back up.. And thanks for the heads up on sealing.. I already purchased the lmr600 months ago, I am just waiting on my friend to add the additional pipe to get me up higher and then he will swap out the coax. I would rather have overkill on the coax, it is just overall better coax then the rg213..

#385654

When using threaded pipe the weak spot is the threaded area if you brace it like the other joint I see no problems.

3s

Greg

TrblShooter · #385662

MDYoungblood wrote: ↑June 8th, 2017, 6:54 pm When using threaded pipe the weak spot is the threaded area if you brace it like the other joint I see no problems.

3s

Greg

Well those are joints above the eve brackets will be slid into each other by 2-3 feet and then cross bolted, so I think it will be solid.. Thanks greg, much appreciated...

TrblShooter · #385781

Quick question I forgot to ask... If I am going to reuse my zero five colossal after going up another 10 feet with mast, when I swap my coax out from the rg213 to the lmr-600, will the antenna have to be retuned for the new coax? I think it will have to be because of the difference in velocity, etc, etc...

#385784

Just swapping coax you shouldn't have to but if the antenna is down I would give it a good cleaning, chances are it will need adjusting then.

3's

Greg

TrblShooter · #385786

MDYoungblood wrote: ↑June 14th, 2017, 11:13 am Just swapping coax you shouldn't have to but if the antenna is down I would give it a good cleaning, chances are it will need adjusting then.

3's

Greg

Thanks Greg.. I will definetly give it a good cleaning.. I have to take each section of the antenna apart to take it down, so I figured it would need to be retuned anyway... I just wanted to know if going to a different velocity coax if adjustments were needed, question answered..

TrblShooter · #385897

Update: I just ordered a Maco 103hv, going to put that up when I take down the zerofive... I friend recommended the Yaesu G-1000DXA rotor, so I am going to roll with that.. I wanted to put a beam up from the beginning, I actually purchased the maco 103 months ago and have it sitting here new in the box, but at the time I did not think it was going to work with my mast setup, but after talking with my friend we have decided it will work just fine.. Cannot wait to get this setup..

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