[amsat-bb] Re: Egg Beater Antenna

[Jim Jerzycke]

Hi, Steve
I have a pair of the M2 commercial eggbeaters I use for Field Day. They both have the radial kits underneath them, and an SSB Electronics preamp. My FT-847 provides the power for the preamps, so I don't need a bias tee.
I've also used them a few times at the home QTH, and they're "OK" for casual use. They're nicely made, but getting the loops installed can be very frustrating, as the CopperWeld wire that's used is very stiff and springy. Watch your eyes when installing them! If you happen to let go of the end you're wrestling with, it'll fly out reeeally fast. It also tends to tarnish very quickly, and not knowing how thick the layer of copper is, I wonder about their long-term performance. It looks like it would be pretty easy to replace the CopperWeld with some solid copper wire the correct size. 
This year I'll be going with one of the Gulf Alpha "Dual Band Easy Satellite" antennas. It's kind of like an Arrow Antenna on steroids, with 6 elements on 2M, and 8 elements on 70cm on a 6' boom.

73, Jim  KQ6EA


--- On Thu, 4/9/09, Steve Bluemel <stevebluemel at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Steve Bluemel <stevebluemel at gmail.com>
> Subject: [amsat-bb]  Egg Beater Antenna
> To: AMSAT-BB at amsat.org
> Date: Thursday, April 9, 2009, 6:30 PM
> Hello All,
> 
> How many of you use Egg Beater Style antennas? Would you
> please share your
> thoughts and opinions about their performance, commercial
> or homebrew?
> 
> Thanks,
> Steve KI6OQU
> _______________________________________________
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