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Thread: Solarcon A-99

  1. #1
    "Island Bartender" KG4CGC's Avatar
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    Solarcon A-99

    So I got a freebie a-99 already cut for 10m. OK, great. I go online and look for more information on it and it's just an end fed, half wave vertical with an impedance matcher, so to speak, attached to 16 ga wire in 3 sections.

    Currently I switch back and forth between an inverted-V half wave dipole and a vertical half wave dipole.

    Just for your edification on the construction method, I used 4 strands of insulated 12 ga wire, tightly twisted together to length for each leg of the inverted-V. For the vertical dipole I used insulated 8 ga wire and hung it in a tree with a rope also attached to the bottom leg and secured to the ground just so it doesn't blow around all over the place.

    1) My question(s) is, should I expect a better gain figure with the a-99 over my dipole?

    2) Should I attach a wire, cut to resonant (about 100.75") to the base of the a-99 and let it hang straight down? The a-99 will be hung from a tree in the spot that the vertical dipole occupies.

    3) How is the manufacturer of the a-99 able to claim it is a half wave over a quarter wave radiator with a gain figure of 9.9 dbi while the dipole MIGHT be as high as 2.4 dbi?

    Anyway, these are questions for greater minds than mine and any help would be greatly appreciated. Hey, did I mention it's free pour at bar?

  2. #2
    "Usual Suspect" WZ7U's Avatar
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    Charles, I really don't know how they justify that gain figure, but they do seem to work reasonably well. The 1/2 over 1/4 wave thing throws me too. But really it is just as you describe. A piece of wire in a tubular radome.

    Now, the one I had was mounted on a stick of 3/4 water pipe up against the house. It's possible that the pipe acted like the other half of a vertical dipole. Thinking about it, I'm almost certain that was what was going on. But I can't test the theory without a PVC mast or something. In your application, I think a piece of wire hanging as you suggest is a great idea if you want to keep the coax shield out of the equation.

    Your price point is extraordinaire.

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    Last edited by WZ7U; 03-23-2021 at 01:23 AM.

    Like that post was...
    Moving on, my posts are not helpful

  3. #3
    Orca Whisperer PA5COR's Avatar
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    I use the imax 2000 bit longer same network in the antenna same end fed antenna with 37 Pf C in the middle of the 2nd half of 3 parts.( middle section)
    I run it on 10/12/15 and with tuner on 18.
    On 10 and 12 5/8 on 15 and 18 1/2 wave antenna, i tried the ground radial kit from Imax, it only narrowed bandwidth, so now no radials, just some ferrrite about 10 feet from the feedpoint to keep rf from the coax.

    Does it work? yes, 10 like any other 5/8 antenna, same on 12, on 15 running digital mode i get most continents in daily if it is a bit open.
    Compared to the FD-4 wire a 40 feet up it is about the same on 10 depending conditions sometimes the Imax wins.
    on 15 the Imax is a tad better as the wire.
    Your 99 should also be quite broadbanded give it a try .
    Last edited by PA5COR; 03-27-2021 at 03:07 AM.
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  4. #4
    Administrator N8YX's Avatar
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    I have an Imax up here; around 30ft at the base.

    It has a homebrew radial kit - 3 bundles; 4 radials per. They're cut for 28.500, 27.200, 24.950 and 21.300. The 11M segment actually resonates around 26.700 as measured with an analyzer; Ch1 SWR is 1.7:1. I suspect a bit of tuning will help here. 10M resonates higher up the band (ditto tuning) and 12 and 15M are close to unity where I usually operate. Additionally, a choke balun was installed at the feedpoint.

    The current 10M station is an IC-751A/R-71A/R-70 ensemble with either an AT-100 or AT-500 auto-tuner handling matching duties. I can also switch the antenna to the FT-102 station and operate 10M with it if desired. Neither the Icom nor Yaesu tuners have a problem bringing SWR to 1:1 so this tells me the impedance characteristics are well within specs. One day I'll sweep the thing with my antenna analyzer and post the results across the four bands of interest.

    Many (a rather large percentage) of the local 10M Gang use this particular antenna for our net operations. The most power I'll put into mine is ~200w PEP (from the barefoot FT-102) and it's held together for years. It gets great reports as compared to some of my other 10M antennas, though some day I hope to have a Pro-67 or TH11DX in the air for DX.
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  5. #5
    "Island Bartender" KG4CGC's Avatar
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    OK wow and it's listed as a 1500 watt antenna!
    My main reasoning with this piece of equipment is, will it hear better that a half wave dipole?
    If not, I will string up an aluminum ground plane. The reason I'm not hopping on that right away is because I have yet to see if the ground radials will clear some of the branches in a tall black walnut tree. The supporting branch is about 12 feet out from the main trunk but of course, there are a few small branches along the way up.

  6. #6
    Administrator N8YX's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KG4CGC View Post
    My main reasoning with this piece of equipment is, will it hear better that a half wave dipole?
    If everyone in your area is vertically polarized, yes. If they're using horizontally polarized antennas and are located in one general area relative to you, I'd put up a dipole. Another option is to put a 10M loop for omnidirectional coverage using horizontal polarization.

    Go look up the Avanti Sigma antenna. It was a 5/8w CB vertical with a full-wave loop configured into the radial setup. The operator could switch between polarities and talk to the crew around town on the vertical section or work DX via the loop. An area CB buddy had one and it worked rather well for what it was.
    "Everyone wants to be an AM Gangsta until it's time to start doing AM Gangsta shit."

  7. #7
    "Island Bartender" KG4CGC's Avatar
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    Yes well I use an inverted-V as well. pulls in the horizontal signals very well. Antenna switch in the antenna tuner. Use the tuner just for convenience of switching antennas and also for when the OCF dipole goes back up.

  8. #8
    Administrator N8YX's Avatar
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    On which frequency or frequencies does your group hang out, Charles?
    "Everyone wants to be an AM Gangsta until it's time to start doing AM Gangsta shit."

  9. #9
    Orca Whisperer W3WN's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by N8YX View Post
    I have an Imax up here; around 30ft at the base.

    It has a homebrew radial kit - 3 bundles; 4 radials per. They're cut for 28.500, 27.200, 24.950 and 21.300. The 11M segment actually resonates around 26.700 as measured with an analyzer; Ch1 SWR is 1.7:1. I suspect a bit of tuning will help here. 10M resonates higher up the band (ditto tuning) and 12 and 15M are close to unity where I usually operate. Additionally, a choke balun was installed at the feedpoint.

    The current 10M station is an IC-751A/R-71A/R-70 ensemble with either an AT-100 or AT-500 auto-tuner handling matching duties. I can also switch the antenna to the FT-102 station and operate 10M with it if desired. Neither the Icom nor Yaesu tuners have a problem bringing SWR to 1:1 so this tells me the impedance characteristics are well within specs. One day I'll sweep the thing with my antenna analyzer and post the results across the four bands of interest.

    Many (a rather large percentage) of the local 10M Gang use this particular antenna for our net operations. The most power I'll put into mine is ~200w PEP (from the barefoot FT-102) and it's held together for years. It gets great reports as compared to some of my other 10M antennas, though some day I hope to have a Pro-67 or TH11DX in the air for DX.
    What's involved in creating those radials? I really should add some to my A 99, although it works pretty well as is.
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  10. #10
    Administrator N8YX's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by W3WN View Post
    What's involved in creating those radials? I really should add some to my A 99, although it works pretty well as is.
    Calculate as 1/4 wave at the frequency (or frequencies) of interest. This exercise was done primarily as an experiment to de-couple the feedline from the radiating portion of the circuit - something the Imax is noted/notorious for. The area CB denizens claim their usable bandwidth goes way down when the Solarcon accessory radial kit is installed, and this lends credence to the theory that the feedline is being made to radiate at frequencies far off resonance.

    I cut mine for the mid-point of the 10M "SSB" (<29MHz) band, the mid-point of 11M, the mid-point of 12M and the mid-point of the 15M phone band. A group of four was attached to a ring terminal then the wires were tie-wrapped together. Make three or four bundles, connect the ring terminals to the clamps which secure the antenna to its mast and slope them away at a 45 degree angle.

    Mine wasn't tuned any further but I highly advise doing so at the primary frequency of interest (e.g., 28.400, 27.200MHz) - wherever you'll operate the most. The other bands are easily matched with an antenna tuner.
    "Everyone wants to be an AM Gangsta until it's time to start doing AM Gangsta shit."

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