Stan, just go with what you like. I too am suspicious of claimed gain by
manufacturers.

I will also throw in a plug for getting your ham license. It costs very
little to get your license, and it opens many new adventures far and above
11 meters. You can work the world on 100 watts and a wire strung between a
couple of trees.

Try the practice tests on QRZ.com.

73.
Russ W6OHM

"Stan Cooper" wrote in message
...
Hello I hope I'm not intruding by asking for advice on a CB antenna but I
figured this would be the group to ask about such things for the straight
scoop. At any rate I'm considering a store bought beam with both vertical
and horizontal polarization and my choices are limited to these two below.
(not many being manufactured anymore)

The Maco has a 16 foot boom and an advertised gain of 12.5 db, while the
JO GUNN has an 8 foot boom and an advertised gain of 14.5 db. I know there
is a lot of smoke and mirrors involved with advertised gains and so my
question is...is it possible for the JO GUNN to perform as well as the
Maco antenna?

The GUNN is of much stronger construction and a smaller windload so I'd
rather put it up, but the short boom makes me wonder if the gain and
rejection numbers are suspect.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, antenna choices, price tags and
urls below.

73
Stan

MACO-Shooting Star $279.95
http://www.mpaudio1.com/Macobeamantennas2.html

JO GUNN 3 + 3 STAR $382.00
http://tinyurl.com/6hzteu

Oh btw, I'll be tower mounting it about 40' from the ground and turning it
with a hamIV rotator.

Thanks again.

On Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:11:58 -0700, "998cc"
wrote:

Stan, just go with what you like. I too am suspicious of claimed gain by
manufacturers.

I will also throw in a plug for getting your ham license. It costs very
little to get your license, and it opens many new adventures far and above
11 meters. You can work the world on 100 watts and a wire strung between a
couple of trees.

Try the practice tests on QRZ.com.

73.
Russ W6OHM

"Stan Cooper" wrote in message
...
Hello I hope I'm not intruding by asking for advice on a CB antenna but I
figured this would be the group to ask about such things for the straight
scoop. At any rate I'm considering a store bought beam with both vertical
and horizontal polarization and my choices are limited to these two below.
(not many being manufactured anymore)

The Maco has a 16 foot boom and an advertised gain of 12.5 db, while the
JO GUNN has an 8 foot boom and an advertised gain of 14.5 db. I know there
is a lot of smoke and mirrors involved with advertised gains and so my
question is...is it possible for the JO GUNN to perform as well as the
Maco antenna?

The GUNN is of much stronger construction and a smaller windload so I'd
rather put it up, but the short boom makes me wonder if the gain and
rejection numbers are suspect.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, antenna choices, price tags and
urls below.

73
Stan

MACO-Shooting Star $279.95
http://www.mpaudio1.com/Macobeamantennas2.html

JO GUNN 3 + 3 STAR $382.00
http://tinyurl.com/6hzteu

Oh btw, I'll be tower mounting it about 40' from the ground and turning it
with a hamIV rotator.

Thanks again.

On Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:11:58 -0700, "998cc"
wrote:

Stan, just go with what you like. I too am suspicious of claimed gain by
manufacturers.

I will also throw in a plug for getting your ham license. It costs very
little to get your license, and it opens many new adventures far and above
11 meters. You can work the world on 100 watts and a wire strung between a
couple of trees.

Try the practice tests on QRZ.com.

73.
Russ W6OHM

"Stan Cooper" wrote in message
...
Hello I hope I'm not intruding by asking for advice on a CB antenna but I
figured this would be the group to ask about such things for the straight
scoop. At any rate I'm considering a store bought beam with both vertical
and horizontal polarization and my choices are limited to these two below.
(not many being manufactured anymore)

The Maco has a 16 foot boom and an advertised gain of 12.5 db, while the
JO GUNN has an 8 foot boom and an advertised gain of 14.5 db. I know there
is a lot of smoke and mirrors involved with advertised gains and so my
question is...is it possible for the JO GUNN to perform as well as the
Maco antenna?

The GUNN is of much stronger construction and a smaller windload so I'd
rather put it up, but the short boom makes me wonder if the gain and
rejection numbers are suspect.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, antenna choices, price tags and
urls below.

73
Stan

MACO-Shooting Star $279.95
http://www.mpaudio1.com/Macobeamantennas2.html

JO GUNN 3 + 3 STAR $382.00
http://tinyurl.com/6hzteu

Oh btw, I'll be tower mounting it about 40' from the ground and turning it
with a hamIV rotator.

Thanks again.



Sorry 'bout the blank.
I knew if i just kept reading i would find something like QRZ.com

Stan Cooper wrote:
Hello I hope I'm not intruding by asking for advice on a CB antenna but I
figured this would be the group to ask about such things for the straight
scoop. At any rate I'm considering a store bought beam with both vertical
and horizontal polarization and my choices are limited to these two below.
(not many being manufactured anymore)

The Maco has a 16 foot boom and an advertised gain of 12.5 db, while the
JO
GUNN has an 8 foot boom and an advertised gain of 14.5 db. I know there is
a
lot of smoke and mirrors involved with advertised gains and so my question
is...is it possible for the JO GUNN to perform as well as the Maco
antenna?

The GUNN is of much stronger construction and a smaller windload so I'd
rather put it up, but the short boom makes me wonder if the gain and
rejection numbers are suspect.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, antenna choices, price tags and
urls
below.

73
Stan

MACO-Shooting Star $279.95
http://www.mpaudio1.com/Macobeamantennas2.html

JO GUNN 3 + 3 STAR $382.00
http://tinyurl.com/6hzteu

Oh btw, I'll be tower mounting it about 40' from the ground and turning it
with a hamIV rotator.

Thanks again.

Hi Stan,

The Maco Shooting star "data" says it has a gain of 14dB (the Comet is the
one rated at 12.5dB). Both manufacturers claim decibels of gain as well as
power gain. The relationship is logarithmic, where dB = 10 log(base10)
P1/P2. The Maco Shooting star claims 28X power gain. This would be
14.47dB... close to what they claim. The JO GUNN 3+3 Star claims 40X power
gain. This would be 16.02dB... 2dB more than what they claim. The Maco
item doesn't make any claim about Front/Back or Front/Side rejection, while
the JO GUNN item makes some very wild claims of over 40dB. Based on this
information, I'd probably go with the Maco.

The late William I. Orr said it best in the preface to his book, 'The Truth
About CB Antennas', "PT Barnum is alive and well, and writing CB antenna
ads."

Bryan WA7PRC

Stan Cooper wrote:

...
MACO-Shooting Star $279.95
http://www.mpaudio1.com/Macobeamantennas2.html

JO GUNN 3 + 3 STAR $382.00
http://tinyurl.com/6hzteu

Oh btw, I'll be tower mounting it about 40' from the ground and turning it
with a hamIV rotator.

Thanks again.



I have never ran either one. However, I would go with the MACO also--if
forced to choose on the data which has been presented, alone ... It is
a four element antenna, the JO GUNN is three and in an unconventional
configuration.

The MACO, on the other hand, appears to be completely switchable from
vertical mode to horizontal mode.

Regards,
JS

When you are measuring gain, if dBi isn't specified it is normal to assume
dBd. I cannot get that JoGunn page to load and display, but based on what
you have said, the better, or should I say, more believable one is the
Maco. Those gain numbers seem high by a bit for a four element antenna,
but there may be some advantage from the dual polarity, but I doubt it, as
the power is split between Hand V as well going in. And 4 elements/16 foot
boom, 27 MHz sounds much closer to right than 8' boom 3 elements and 14
db. Those are just plain wrong, or at least lack reference.

The ARRL handbook years ago had a construction article on a ten meter
beam, that I scaled very successfully to 15 meters. 12 foot boom three
eleemnts, made from basic aluminum tubing, probably cost well under $100
to build today. But you'd need to be handy with a 'grid dip meter" to get
it right. Just another thought.


My $0.02

getting ham license and operating ten meters, I'd guess you're
actually interested in talking to someone, so 11 meters is probably better
for that. I frequently listen on 27.185 as an indicator of weather or not
ten meters is open. Lots of activity from about 26.8 thru 27.6 or higher,
nothing above 28 except some lonely beacons...true shame. But if you go
beyond the ten meter deal, and get with the other HF bands or 2 meters,
440, etc, you'll have a blast, and the code no longer stands in the way...

Good luck with the Maco.

GeorgeC
W2DB
Awstin, TX

root wrote in
:

When you are measuring gain, if dBi isn't specified it is normal to
assume dBd. I cannot get that JoGunn page to load and display, but

George,

Fundamental relationships depend on dBi, it is dBd that is the fudge.

dBd seems to have its popularity from the mistaken view by some that
because it is not possible to construct a real isotropic radiator, that dBi
doesn't have a real meaning.

Owen

Owen Duffy wrote:

George,

Fundamental relationships depend on dBi, it is dBd that is the fudge.

dBd seems to have its popularity from the mistaken view by some that
because it is not possible to construct a real isotropic radiator, that dBi
doesn't have a real meaning.

Owen

At least one manufacturer has taken advantage of the fact that, unlike
dBi, dBd has no universal definition. Some think it's dB relative to a
dipole in free space; others think it's relative to a dipole mounted
over ground. And few seem to realize that the difference between the two
is typically 4 - 6 dB. Creative marketeers are able to capitalize on
this confusion, and have.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Roy Lewallen wrote:
Owen Duffy wrote:

George,

Fundamental relationships depend on dBi, it is dBd that is the fudge.

dBd seems to have its popularity from the mistaken view by some that
because it is not possible to construct a real isotropic radiator,
that dBi doesn't have a real meaning.

Owen

At least one manufacturer has taken advantage of the fact that, unlike
dBi, dBd has no universal definition. Some think it's dB relative to a
dipole in free space; others think it's relative to a dipole mounted
over ground. And few seem to realize that the difference between the two
is typically 4 - 6 dB. Creative marketeers are able to capitalize on
this confusion, and have.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL


Roy;

I think that this a subject custom made for the phrase: Your Mileage May
Vary.

Dave WD9BDZ

"Stan Cooper" wrote
The Maco has a 16 foot boom and an advertised gain of 12.5 db, while the
JO GUNN has an 8 foot boom and an advertised gain of 14.5 db. I know there
is a lot of smoke and mirrors involved with advertised gains and so my
question is...is it possible for the JO GUNN to perform as well as the
Maco antenna?

The GUNN is of much stronger construction and a smaller windload so I'd
rather put it up, but the short boom makes me wonder if the gain and
rejection numbers are suspect.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, antenna choices, price tags and
urls below.

snip

Stan
The Maco antennas are built here in Memphis, and are not of a high
quality. If
I had to use one of their products, it would be a pair of
horizontal-stacked V-quads.
Small, light, works well and can be easily re-tuned to 10 meters later on.
The Jo Gunn model is a copy of the Charles "Gizmotchi" antenna ( still
being made,
by the way). Construction is better, tubing fit and finish are quite good,
but the gain
figures are really about 7 dbi for both of the antennas.
Gain figures are inflated to catch a sale, so I'd consider quality,
price, and strength
of materials/design as more important factors.
I've got enough tubing in my antenna junk to build a 3 element Gizmotchi
for 10
meters, and I might just do that, for the sake of having something different
in the
neighborhood.

Mike W5CHR
Memphis