David,
The bottom line is that it's a terrible 'amateur' antenna for
the price.
'Doc

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"Doc" == w5lz writes:

[... David mentioned B&W antennas ...]

Doc David, The bottom line is that it's a terrible 'amateur' antenna
Doc for the price. 'Doc

Out of curiosity, what other antenna provides a better cost-benefit
ratio while maintaining the same constraints with respect to power,
size, and construction?

Jack.
- --
Jack Twilley
jmt at twilley dot org
http colon slash slash www dot twilley dot org slash tilde jmt slash
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Jack Twilley wrote:

Out of curiosity, what other antenna provides a better cost-benefit
ratio while maintaining the same constraints with respect to power,
size, and construction?

Jack.

Jack,
Almost anything! The only 'one' who benefits from this
antenna's
'cost-benefit' is the manufacturor...
'Doc

'Doc wrote:

Jack Twilley wrote:

Out of curiosity, what other antenna provides a better cost-benefit
ratio while maintaining the same constraints with respect to power,
size, and construction?

Jack.


Jack,
Almost anything! The only 'one' who benefits from this
antenna's
'cost-benefit' is the manufacturor...
'Doc
Doc

Having used a B&W antenna for several years all I can say is that it
does the job I ask of it. It provides me with a frequency agile antenna
that allows me to change frequency quickly without having a mess of wire
hanging from the trees in my yard.
Yes it is not the most efficient of sky hooks but it does what I need it
to do.
You obviously don't need these abilities. More power to you but please
do not dismiss the B&W out of hand without considering the requirements
of those that do. When someone asks about the B&W just give the facts
about the antenna and not your personal opinion.

Dave WD9BDZ

David,
Huh! I would have sworn that was just what was asked.
'Doc

Jack Twilley wrote:
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"Doc" == w5lz writes:


[... David mentioned B&W antennas ...]

Doc David, The bottom line is that it's a terrible 'amateur' antenna
Doc for the price. 'Doc

Out of curiosity, what other antenna provides a better cost-benefit
ratio while maintaining the same constraints with respect to power,
size, and construction?


Hmmm, How about an Isotron? 8^) Man, there is a small antenna!

If you take the bands that the B&W performs adequately on, the size
ratio between it an a halfwave dipole isn't quite so good. I suppose the
FD that is most comparable to my antenna is the BWD 90. It's 90 feet, as
we might figure. My dipole is 96 feet.

My dipole cost less than 30 dollars to make. If you count the tuner, I
still spent less money.

- Mike KB3EIA -

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"Mike" == Mike Coslo writes:

[... David mentioned B&W antennas ...]

Doc David, The bottom line is that it's a terrible 'amateur' antenna
Doc for the price. 'Doc

Jack Out of curiosity, what other antenna provides a better
Jack cost-benefit ratio while maintaining the same constraints with
Jack respect to power, size, and construction?

Mike Hmmm, How about an Isotron? 8^) Man, there is a small antenna!

They're too spooky for me. I don't understand how they work.

Mike If you take the bands that the B&W performs adequately on, the
Mike size ratio between it an a halfwave dipole isn't quite so
Mike good. I suppose the FD that is most comparable to my antenna is
Mike the BWD 90. It's 90 feet, as we might figure. My dipole is 96
Mike feet.

I guess it depends on what you consider "adequate". If your 96-ft
dipole provides comparable SWR matches across all the bands the B&W
antennas allegedly provide, that'd be pretty impressive. Like the
other poster, I noticed that there were no gain figures in the B&W
literature, and that does make me suspicious.

Mike My dipole cost less than 30 dollars to make. If you count the
Mike tuner, I still spent less money.

Sure, so did I. And my antenna was messed up the following spring,
due to stretched wire, water leaking into critical bits, and more. If
you spent less than thirty dollars and used copperweld or stainless
steel, then I'd like to know what trucks that wire falls off so I can
chase them around town.

Mike - Mike KB3EIA -

Jack.
- --
Jack Twilley
jmt at twilley dot org
http colon slash slash www dot twilley dot org slash tilde jmt slash
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Jack,
'AES' has copperweld, 18 ga., 250 feet, about $18.00. No
idea where to find stainless steel wire, don't need it...
'Doc

Jack Twilley wrote:
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"Mike" == Mike Coslo writes:


[... David mentioned B&W antennas ...]

Doc David, The bottom line is that it's a terrible 'amateur' antenna
Doc for the price. 'Doc

Jack Out of curiosity, what other antenna provides a better
Jack cost-benefit ratio while maintaining the same constraints with
Jack respect to power, size, and construction?

Mike Hmmm, How about an Isotron? 8^) Man, there is a small antenna!

They're too spooky for me. I don't understand how they work.

No majik there, they work about as well as you would expect an antenna
that size to work. That is, not very well. They look cool though!



Mike If you take the bands that the B&W performs adequately on, the
Mike size ratio between it an a halfwave dipole isn't quite so
Mike good. I suppose the FD that is most comparable to my antenna is
Mike the BWD 90. It's 90 feet, as we might figure. My dipole is 96
Mike feet.

I guess it depends on what you consider "adequate". If your 96-ft
dipole provides comparable SWR matches across all the bands the B&W
antennas allegedly provide, that'd be pretty impressive. Like the
other poster, I noticed that there were no gain figures in the B&W
literature, and that does make me suspicious.

Right, the two antennas are not quite comparable. I have to use a tuner
on my antenna. But that really isn't a handicap IMO. I contest with my
rig, and although I have to be careful on 80 meters, I can change bands
and set the knobs to their proper positions in just a couple seconds.


Mike My dipole cost less than 30 dollars to make. If you count the
Mike tuner, I still spent less money.

Sure, so did I. And my antenna was messed up the following spring,
due to stretched wire, water leaking into critical bits, and more. If
you spent less than thirty dollars and used copperweld or stainless
steel, then I'd like to know what trucks that wire falls off so I can
chase them around town.

Never used copperweld, except for twinlead. You can get it pretty
easily though.

The trick with regular copper is to pre-stretch it. You get a helper or
two on each end, and give a good steady pull to stretch it.

And yeah, Mother Nature can be a b***h sometimes. My dipole has been up
over 2 years now, and is still surviving. That is probably as much luck
as my construction genius! 8^) I'll be taking it down for some
modifications - I'm going to lengthen it so I can tune 80 meters better,
so I'll see soon how the plastic parts held up.

I think what I am driving at here is that everything comes at a price,
some monetary, some functional. Antennas like the B&W FD are great if
you want minimal fuss. That comes at a price in performance though. I
went real cheap. The price I pay is using a tuner. That doesn't bother
me at all - I'm an inveterate knob twiddler!

- Mike KB3EIA -

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"Mike" == Mike Coslo writes:

[...]

Mike I think what I am driving at here is that everything comes at a
Mike price, some monetary, some functional. Antennas like the B&W FD
Mike are great if you want minimal fuss. That comes at a price in
Mike performance though. I went real cheap. The price I pay is using
Mike a tuner. That doesn't bother me at all - I'm an inveterate knob
Mike twiddler!

I wholeheartedly agree. There's a price to be paid for every setup --
if you're not paying out of your wallet, you're paying out of your
time, or out of your loss of capabilities. It's one of those basic
facts of life. I also went dollar-cheap, and I'm getting what I pay
for. I'm considering going for something like the B&W for my next
location should it be appropriate, to see if I can get my money's
worth out of it. Worst case, it ends up getting sold second-hand on
eBay. Best case, well, we can all dream. :-)

Mike - Mike KB3EIA -

Jack.
- --
Jack Twilley
jmt at twilley dot org
http colon slash slash www dot twilley dot org slash tilde jmt slash
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