Installed M2 Horizontal Loop today - PHOTOS
 

1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a good one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them avsailable for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

No offense taken....
Where I live we use bamboo for fishing and Ringo Ranger II's for distant vhf
communications. Perhaps you have it mixed up where you live. Take the coax
off the bamboo and hook it back to the Ringo....

73 / DX

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com




"David 01" wrote in message
...
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

You both might be interested in knowing that you are compairing apples
and oranges-- as the Ringo is VERTICAL polarized, while the M2 is
HORIZONTAL polarized-- makeing a 20 dB difference at the recieved
end - the advantage of either one depending on the polarization of the
recieveing antenna! -- Verticals for FM, Horizontals for C.W /S.S.B.
Jim NN7K

David 01 wrote:
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a good one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them avsailable for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...

1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

We wouldn't want to disconnect the bamboo. That's the only effective antenna
between it and the Ringo Ranger II.

Seriously, the Ringo Ranger II was my first anteena back in 1990 and I
didn't know how poorly it performed until I changed to something else. To
this day I've never had anything else perform that poorly. Everyone that
I've talked to that has tried one has had the same expeerience. One guy
tried two of them. He bought the first one used and thought that he had just
gotten a defective one and ordered a brand new one with the same result.

73

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
No offense taken....
Where I live we use bamboo for fishing and Ringo Ranger II's for distant
vhf
communications. Perhaps you have it mixed up where you live. Take the
coax
off the bamboo and hook it back to the Ringo....

73 / DX

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com




"David 01" wrote in message
...
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for
each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

You know, to be confused, you gave a pretty good review, BUT, if you'll
reread our posts you'll see that we were not comparing the two antennas that
Charlie was talking about. I was simply commenting on the Ringo Ranger II.

73

"Jim - NN7K" wrote in message
. ..
You both might be interested in knowing that you are compairing apples
and oranges-- as the Ringo is VERTICAL polarized, while the M2 is
HORIZONTAL polarized-- makeing a 20 dB difference at the recieved
end - the advantage of either one depending on the polarization of the
recieveing antenna! -- Verticals for FM, Horizontals for C.W /S.S.B.
Jim NN7K

David 01 wrote:
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...

1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

My brother runs the Ringo Ranger and is very happy with it. It performs
very well and increased his range tremendously. I was even looking into
getting one for myself this summer. This is the first time that I had heard
any bad reviews of the antenna. I will have to check into it some more.

Guy P. Distaffen

KB0SWS


"David 01" wrote in message
...
We wouldn't want to disconnect the bamboo. That's the only effective
antenna
between it and the Ringo Ranger II.

Seriously, the Ringo Ranger II was my first anteena back in 1990 and I
didn't know how poorly it performed until I changed to something else. To
this day I've never had anything else perform that poorly. Everyone that
I've talked to that has tried one has had the same expeerience. One guy
tried two of them. He bought the first one used and thought that he had
just
gotten a defective one and ordered a brand new one with the same result.

73

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
No offense taken....
Where I live we use bamboo for fishing and Ringo Ranger II's for distant
vhf
communications. Perhaps you have it mixed up where you live. Take the
coax
off the bamboo and hook it back to the Ringo....

73 / DX

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com




"David 01" wrote in message
...
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a
good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no
one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for
each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

I installed a Cushcraft ARX2B Ringo Ranger II yesterday. It's on a 10' mast
on a rooftop tripod. The measurements given in the manual for assembling
the antenna for a specific frequency were right on the mark. I used the
dimensions for 147MHz and my MFJ-259B showed the "sweet spot" to be
146.88MHz. SWR bandwidth is a bit narrower than I'd prefer, but it is a
very usable antenna for the 2M FM application.

As far as performance.... I cannot complain at this point. I am able to
bring up a repeater 80 miles away half scale. My wife and I tried out
simplex today and it performed well. Previously I've owned the Diamond X50A
and CP22E antennas, as well as a slew of groundplane and J-Pole antennas.
Based on the performance I've experienced so far, it appears the ARX2B is
better than most, as it should be because it's a 5/8 wave x 3 (vs. a 1/4
wave x 3 for the X50A and a 5/8 wave x 2 for the CP22E).

I'd suggest you have the guys in your area double check their assembly as
I'd tend to think they did something wrong if they're comparing the
performance to a dummy load. The antenna has something like 40 pieces out
of the box.... plus a few different adjustment points (middle and bottom
coils, plus the length of the antenna between coils).... so there is a lot
that could be done wrong with the antenna. Also, I'd tend to think the
"weak point" of the antenna would be the run of coax that connects the
radials to the bottom coil, so that would also be a good place to look.

73,
Dan





"David 01" wrote in message
...
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

It was a miracle that I even looked at this post given the topic, but I did
and found that you were replying to me under a subject to which I didn't
post (i.e. you changed it).

It's good that you're satisfied with the Ringo Ranger II and that they have
a defender somewhere (you don't own stock in the company, do you?). But I
know that my experience was not from a bad install (37 years of
communications experience now) and I doubt that so many others all did it
wrong. Maybe you messed up with your other antennas and that made the ringo
look better.

I stated facts to you and no matter your likes or dislikes what I stated
shall remain fact.

73

David

"Dan" wrote in message
...
I installed a Cushcraft ARX2B Ringo Ranger II yesterday. It's on a 10'
mast
on a rooftop tripod. The measurements given in the manual for assembling
the antenna for a specific frequency were right on the mark. I used the
dimensions for 147MHz and my MFJ-259B showed the "sweet spot" to be
146.88MHz. SWR bandwidth is a bit narrower than I'd prefer, but it is a
very usable antenna for the 2M FM application.

As far as performance.... I cannot complain at this point. I am able to
bring up a repeater 80 miles away half scale. My wife and I tried out
simplex today and it performed well. Previously I've owned the Diamond
X50A
and CP22E antennas, as well as a slew of groundplane and J-Pole antennas.
Based on the performance I've experienced so far, it appears the ARX2B is
better than most, as it should be because it's a 5/8 wave x 3 (vs. a 1/4
wave x 3 for the X50A and a 5/8 wave x 2 for the CP22E).

I'd suggest you have the guys in your area double check their assembly as
I'd tend to think they did something wrong if they're comparing the
performance to a dummy load. The antenna has something like 40 pieces out
of the box.... plus a few different adjustment points (middle and bottom
coils, plus the length of the antenna between coils).... so there is a lot
that could be done wrong with the antenna. Also, I'd tend to think the
"weak point" of the antenna would be the run of coax that connects the
radials to the bottom coil, so that would also be a good place to look.

73,
Dan





"David 01" wrote in message
...
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for
each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

I see that the subject was changed before. The first 3 messages I replied to
were "The HIGHER the BETTER" then 3 of these that someone changed and I
didn't notice, then one more "higher" then back to these. I didn't notice
the change because they were in the thread together.

"David 01" wrote in message
...
It was a miracle that I even looked at this post given the topic, but I
did
and found that you were replying to me under a subject to which I didn't
post (i.e. you changed it).

It's good that you're satisfied with the Ringo Ranger II and that they
have
a defender somewhere (you don't own stock in the company, do you?). But I
know that my experience was not from a bad install (37 years of
communications experience now) and I doubt that so many others all did it
wrong. Maybe you messed up with your other antennas and that made the
ringo
look better.

I stated facts to you and no matter your likes or dislikes what I stated
shall remain fact.

73

David

"Dan" wrote in message
...
I installed a Cushcraft ARX2B Ringo Ranger II yesterday. It's on a 10'
mast
on a rooftop tripod. The measurements given in the manual for
assembling
the antenna for a specific frequency were right on the mark. I used the
dimensions for 147MHz and my MFJ-259B showed the "sweet spot" to be
146.88MHz. SWR bandwidth is a bit narrower than I'd prefer, but it is a
very usable antenna for the 2M FM application.

As far as performance.... I cannot complain at this point. I am able to
bring up a repeater 80 miles away half scale. My wife and I tried out
simplex today and it performed well. Previously I've owned the Diamond
X50A
and CP22E antennas, as well as a slew of groundplane and J-Pole
antennas.
Based on the performance I've experienced so far, it appears the ARX2B
is
better than most, as it should be because it's a 5/8 wave x 3 (vs. a 1/4
wave x 3 for the X50A and a 5/8 wave x 2 for the CP22E).

I'd suggest you have the guys in your area double check their assembly
as
I'd tend to think they did something wrong if they're comparing the
performance to a dummy load. The antenna has something like 40 pieces
out
of the box.... plus a few different adjustment points (middle and bottom
coils, plus the length of the antenna between coils).... so there is a
lot
that could be done wrong with the antenna. Also, I'd tend to think the
"weak point" of the antenna would be the run of coax that connects the
radials to the bottom coil, so that would also be a good place to look.

73,
Dan





"David 01" wrote in message
...
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the
ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a
good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no
one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them
avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for
each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

Who cares anymore what you think...

You are either an imbecile or a troll or have some chip on your shoulder.
Seek professional help.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com




"David 01" wrote in message
...
I see that the subject was changed before. The first 3 messages I replied
to
were "The HIGHER the BETTER" then 3 of these that someone changed and I
didn't notice, then one more "higher" then back to these. I didn't notice
the change because they were in the thread together.

"David 01" wrote in message
...
It was a miracle that I even looked at this post given the topic, but I
did
and found that you were replying to me under a subject to which I didn't
post (i.e. you changed it).

It's good that you're satisfied with the Ringo Ranger II and that they
have
a defender somewhere (you don't own stock in the company, do you?). But I
know that my experience was not from a bad install (37 years of
communications experience now) and I doubt that so many others all did it
wrong. Maybe you messed up with your other antennas and that made the
ringo
look better.

I stated facts to you and no matter your likes or dislikes what I stated
shall remain fact.

73

David

"Dan" wrote in message
...
I installed a Cushcraft ARX2B Ringo Ranger II yesterday. It's on a 10'
mast
on a rooftop tripod. The measurements given in the manual for
assembling
the antenna for a specific frequency were right on the mark. I used
the
dimensions for 147MHz and my MFJ-259B showed the "sweet spot" to be
146.88MHz. SWR bandwidth is a bit narrower than I'd prefer, but it is
a
very usable antenna for the 2M FM application.

As far as performance.... I cannot complain at this point. I am able
to
bring up a repeater 80 miles away half scale. My wife and I tried out
simplex today and it performed well. Previously I've owned the Diamond
X50A
and CP22E antennas, as well as a slew of groundplane and J-Pole
antennas.
Based on the performance I've experienced so far, it appears the ARX2B
is
better than most, as it should be because it's a 5/8 wave x 3 (vs. a
1/4
wave x 3 for the X50A and a 5/8 wave x 2 for the CP22E).

I'd suggest you have the guys in your area double check their assembly
as
I'd tend to think they did something wrong if they're comparing the
performance to a dummy load. The antenna has something like 40 pieces
out
of the box.... plus a few different adjustment points (middle and
bottom
coils, plus the length of the antenna between coils).... so there is a
lot
that could be done wrong with the antenna. Also, I'd tend to think the
"weak point" of the antenna would be the run of coax that connects the
radials to the bottom coil, so that would also be a good place to look.

73,
Dan





"David 01" wrote in message
...
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the
ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a
good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no
one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them
avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for
each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

A message like that reveals a lot about the writer.

God Bless You

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
Who cares anymore what you think...

You are either an imbecile or a troll or have some chip on your shoulder.
Seek professional help.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com




"David 01" wrote in message
...
I see that the subject was changed before. The first 3 messages I replied
to
were "The HIGHER the BETTER" then 3 of these that someone changed and I
didn't notice, then one more "higher" then back to these. I didn't
notice
the change because they were in the thread together.

"David 01" wrote in message
...
It was a miracle that I even looked at this post given the topic, but I
did
and found that you were replying to me under a subject to which I
didn't
post (i.e. you changed it).

It's good that you're satisfied with the Ringo Ranger II and that they
have
a defender somewhere (you don't own stock in the company, do you?). But
I
know that my experience was not from a bad install (37 years of
communications experience now) and I doubt that so many others all did
it
wrong. Maybe you messed up with your other antennas and that made the
ringo
look better.

I stated facts to you and no matter your likes or dislikes what I
stated
shall remain fact.

73

David

"Dan" wrote in message
...
I installed a Cushcraft ARX2B Ringo Ranger II yesterday. It's on a
10'
mast
on a rooftop tripod. The measurements given in the manual for
assembling
the antenna for a specific frequency were right on the mark. I used
the
dimensions for 147MHz and my MFJ-259B showed the "sweet spot" to be
146.88MHz. SWR bandwidth is a bit narrower than I'd prefer, but it
is
a
very usable antenna for the 2M FM application.

As far as performance.... I cannot complain at this point. I am able
to
bring up a repeater 80 miles away half scale. My wife and I tried
out
simplex today and it performed well. Previously I've owned the
Diamond
X50A
and CP22E antennas, as well as a slew of groundplane and J-Pole
antennas.
Based on the performance I've experienced so far, it appears the
ARX2B
is
better than most, as it should be because it's a 5/8 wave x 3 (vs. a
1/4
wave x 3 for the X50A and a 5/8 wave x 2 for the CP22E).

I'd suggest you have the guys in your area double check their
assembly
as
I'd tend to think they did something wrong if they're comparing the
performance to a dummy load. The antenna has something like 40
pieces
out
of the box.... plus a few different adjustment points (middle and
bottom
coils, plus the length of the antenna between coils).... so there is
a
lot
that could be done wrong with the antenna. Also, I'd tend to think
the
"weak point" of the antenna would be the run of coax that connects
the
radials to the bottom coil, so that would also be a good place to
look.

73,
Dan





"David 01" wrote in message
...
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the
ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a
good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of
no
one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them
avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data
for
each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

Hey Charles!

I looked you up and a lot is explained. I thought you had died or something.
I hadn't seen you trolling on the firewall newsgroups like you used to and
your AB7SL web site was gone.

It's been a long time.

Believe it or not, I'm glad to see that you are alive and kicking and not as
caustic as you used to be.

I really do mean it.

God Bless You!

"David 01" wrote in message
...
A message like that reveals a lot about the writer.

God Bless You

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
Who cares anymore what you think...

You are either an imbecile or a troll or have some chip on your
shoulder.
Seek professional help.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com




"David 01" wrote in message
...
I see that the subject was changed before. The first 3 messages I
replied
to
were "The HIGHER the BETTER" then 3 of these that someone changed and
I
didn't notice, then one more "higher" then back to these. I didn't
notice
the change because they were in the thread together.

"David 01" wrote in message
...
It was a miracle that I even looked at this post given the topic, but
I
did
and found that you were replying to me under a subject to which I
didn't
post (i.e. you changed it).

It's good that you're satisfied with the Ringo Ranger II and that
they
have
a defender somewhere (you don't own stock in the company, do you?).
But
I
know that my experience was not from a bad install (37 years of
communications experience now) and I doubt that so many others all
did
it
wrong. Maybe you messed up with your other antennas and that made the
ringo
look better.

I stated facts to you and no matter your likes or dislikes what I
stated
shall remain fact.

73

David

"Dan" wrote in message
...
I installed a Cushcraft ARX2B Ringo Ranger II yesterday. It's on a
10'
mast
on a rooftop tripod. The measurements given in the manual for
assembling
the antenna for a specific frequency were right on the mark. I
used
the
dimensions for 147MHz and my MFJ-259B showed the "sweet spot" to be
146.88MHz. SWR bandwidth is a bit narrower than I'd prefer, but it
is
a
very usable antenna for the 2M FM application.

As far as performance.... I cannot complain at this point. I am
able
to
bring up a repeater 80 miles away half scale. My wife and I tried
out
simplex today and it performed well. Previously I've owned the
Diamond
X50A
and CP22E antennas, as well as a slew of groundplane and J-Pole
antennas.
Based on the performance I've experienced so far, it appears the
ARX2B
is
better than most, as it should be because it's a 5/8 wave x 3 (vs.
a
1/4
wave x 3 for the X50A and a 5/8 wave x 2 for the CP22E).

I'd suggest you have the guys in your area double check their
assembly
as
I'd tend to think they did something wrong if they're comparing the
performance to a dummy load. The antenna has something like 40
pieces
out
of the box.... plus a few different adjustment points (middle and
bottom
coils, plus the length of the antenna between coils).... so there
is
a
lot
that could be done wrong with the antenna. Also, I'd tend to think
the
"weak point" of the antenna would be the run of coax that connects
the
radials to the bottom coil, so that would also be a good place to
look.

73,
Dan





"David 01" wrote in message
...
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the
ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced
a
good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of
no
one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them
avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data
for
each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

David,

No, I don't have stock in Cushcraft, nor would I want to. Cushcraft seems to
be the MFJ of antenna companies - they make an inexpensive product and,
unfortunately, they have their share of flops. I guess we have differing
opinions as to whether the ARX2B is a flop or not.

I used the same rooftop tripod, same mast, and same feedline for the antenna
comparisons. Like I said, the antenna has only been up for a couple days
now but all indications at this time are that it is performing well.

If cost were not a factor, I would've gone with a DB224, beam/rotor
assembly, or perhaps even a Hustler G7-144, and I'm sure performance would
be better. However, for the $60 I paid for antenna I can't complain.

Interesting enough, if you check out the reviews of the antenna on eHam
(http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4437), you'll see that it earned a
respectible 4.0/5 rating. Of those that didn't give it a perfect score, one
cited poor instructions, one cited a problem with the phasing cable (which
appeared to be related to an installation issue), and only one person cited
issues with the actual performance of the antenna (out of eight reviews).

73,
Dan






"David 01" wrote in message
...
It was a miracle that I even looked at this post given the topic, but I
did
and found that you were replying to me under a subject to which I didn't
post (i.e. you changed it).

It's good that you're satisfied with the Ringo Ranger II and that they
have
a defender somewhere (you don't own stock in the company, do you?). But I
know that my experience was not from a bad install (37 years of
communications experience now) and I doubt that so many others all did it
wrong. Maybe you messed up with your other antennas and that made the
ringo
look better.

I stated facts to you and no matter your likes or dislikes what I stated
shall remain fact.

73

David

"Dan" wrote in message
...
I installed a Cushcraft ARX2B Ringo Ranger II yesterday. It's on a 10'
mast
on a rooftop tripod. The measurements given in the manual for
assembling
the antenna for a specific frequency were right on the mark. I used the
dimensions for 147MHz and my MFJ-259B showed the "sweet spot" to be
146.88MHz. SWR bandwidth is a bit narrower than I'd prefer, but it is a
very usable antenna for the 2M FM application.

As far as performance.... I cannot complain at this point. I am able to
bring up a repeater 80 miles away half scale. My wife and I tried out
simplex today and it performed well. Previously I've owned the Diamond
X50A
and CP22E antennas, as well as a slew of groundplane and J-Pole
antennas.
Based on the performance I've experienced so far, it appears the ARX2B
is
better than most, as it should be because it's a 5/8 wave x 3 (vs. a 1/4
wave x 3 for the X50A and a 5/8 wave x 2 for the CP22E).

I'd suggest you have the guys in your area double check their assembly
as
I'd tend to think they did something wrong if they're comparing the
performance to a dummy load. The antenna has something like 40 pieces
out
of the box.... plus a few different adjustment points (middle and bottom
coils, plus the length of the antenna between coils).... so there is a
lot
that could be done wrong with the antenna. Also, I'd tend to think the
"weak point" of the antenna would be the run of coax that connects the
radials to the bottom coil, so that would also be a good place to look.

73,
Dan





"David 01" wrote in message
...
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the
ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a
good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no
one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them
avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for
each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com

HI Dan,

If you're satisfied with the performance that's all that counts.

As I mentioned, I tried one as my first antenna and really didn't have
anything to compare it to until I changed and everything else I tried did a
better job for me. One night I mentioned this on a repeater that stretches a
couple of hundred miles and several others related their experiences and
like I said, I never heard anything positive about that model until on here.

But like I said, if you're satisfied, great! My main point in commenting on
the antenna in the first place was in case you hadn't tried other antennas
like I hadn't when I bought mine.

73

David

"Dan" wrote in message
...
I installed a Cushcraft ARX2B Ringo Ranger II yesterday. It's on a 10'
mast
on a rooftop tripod. The measurements given in the manual for assembling
the antenna for a specific frequency were right on the mark. I used the
dimensions for 147MHz and my MFJ-259B showed the "sweet spot" to be
146.88MHz. SWR bandwidth is a bit narrower than I'd prefer, but it is a
very usable antenna for the 2M FM application.

As far as performance.... I cannot complain at this point. I am able to
bring up a repeater 80 miles away half scale. My wife and I tried out
simplex today and it performed well. Previously I've owned the Diamond
X50A
and CP22E antennas, as well as a slew of groundplane and J-Pole antennas.
Based on the performance I've experienced so far, it appears the ARX2B is
better than most, as it should be because it's a 5/8 wave x 3 (vs. a 1/4
wave x 3 for the X50A and a 5/8 wave x 2 for the CP22E).

I'd suggest you have the guys in your area double check their assembly as
I'd tend to think they did something wrong if they're comparing the
performance to a dummy load. The antenna has something like 40 pieces out
of the box.... plus a few different adjustment points (middle and bottom
coils, plus the length of the antenna between coils).... so there is a lot
that could be done wrong with the antenna. Also, I'd tend to think the
"weak point" of the antenna would be the run of coax that connects the
radials to the bottom coil, so that would also be a good place to look.

73,
Dan





"David 01" wrote in message
...
No offense, but where I live live the guys joke that they use the ringo
ranger II as a fishing pole or dummy load. We haven't experienced a good
one
here. Anything else is far better in our experience and I know of no one
actually using one now, but they say there's a stack of them avsailable
for
free behind a certain store.

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
1. http://www.ad5th.com/VHF.html

Also shown my Ringo Ranger II - ARX-2B. Links to technical data for
each
antenna also.

--

Charlie
Ham Radio - AD5TH
www.ad5th.com
Live Blues Music
www.492acousticblues.com