Enjoyed this, nice to see the A99 covered from a HAM perspective. I have a small garden and use one for 10, 12, 15 and occasionally 11, it outperformed a G5RV junior and EFW antennas on those bands. The GPA-80 is another vertical I’ve tried with decent results.
I used the Antron 99 for years back in the CB days. I had nothing but good luck with it. Put it up about 30-35 feet on a couple of sections of 2 inch gas well pipe bolted to the side of the house and that was that.
I used an Antron A-99, ground mounted with no radials for a year or so until I could get my 5-BTV all set up. The A-99 worked on 10/12/17 with no tuner and I will admit, on 17M that thing worked great. I had a blast with it and wish I had kept it up just for that band.
love my antron 99..... back in the mid 80s early 90s i worked perth australia from the middle of the UK on 11m... I just turned the radio on after replacing the coax and had a 5/7 into portugal on 10m. love it.. the radial kit is really a good thing to have, but also having an 18 ft pole as the counterpoise works too.. mine's about 20ft up in the middle of a bunch of oak trees.
Great Video! I bought a President Washington, and was looking at getting this antenna and yu are answering a huge question I had about being able to use the same antenna for HAM as well (as I want to get my HAM license eventually). Got a cabin in the mountains, good amount of land but not a ton of space, so if I can use on antenna for both, I'm sold. This antenna gets highly highly recomended wherever you look (and I WILL spray paint it!)
That's been the word from a few people online, and a GREAT tip! I am curious - not something you'd necessarily need to make a video about, but, if I get this solarcon 99, do you know of any good videos or specific sites that brak down exactly how to use a solarcon a99 for both HAM radio and CB? is it as simple as unplugging the antenna line from the CB base station and plugging it into a HAM? Just curious about the process of how exactly you do it. I'd mentioned, I will get a HAM radio (and eventually my technician license), and would rather just have one antenna suitable for both, in one setup. Just curious if you could point me to a good site of the basic, boiled down process, or, if you could in a few steps, explain? @@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures
Got a CB halfwave aluminum vertical I gutted out and put a 4:1 unun to it. Would easily tune 30m through 6m for a lot less money and better performance. Would tune 40m but did not work to good there. They sell them like this for less then a A99 costs. But if you have a A99 and want to put it to use, have at it. It is only a half wave CB antenna.
I recently acquired 2 of these new in the box. I was worried about it working for ham. I put it up and wow I have been amazed. I can tune 6-20m with an external turner. 20m is not great tho. Checked it against my EFHW with whisper. It will work tho if it is all you have. But it is my go to antenna for 6-17m at my house. I connected it to my antenna grounding rod and it helped. Thanks for the paint tip. I need to do that to mine. As for the second one, I am going to give it to my brother.
Great video as usual. I was hoping to see you at Pacificon. I bumped into a lot of old friends I haven't seen in years, however, and went with a friend I've known for almost 70 years. We still need to meet for coffee sometime, maybe at Peets in Pinole.
That's really great with the A-99, but I wanted to tell u I've been using an IMAX 2000 for many years now (the newest version being called the Optimax 2000); with it hanging up high in a tree (which I've never climbed), using a weighted mast & a heavier line looped over a thick limb), I've worked all over the world with this antenna! With the internal AT on my Icom IC-7300, it'll easily load on 10 & 12m (& 11m, too, of course); & while I can use an external AT to work another band or two, I found that my ZS6BKW wire antenna outperforms on those; & yes, the A-99 will definitely work well, too, but I still love my IMAX! 73 de WA4ELW in TN 🇺🇸 dit dit 😃
My Kenwood ts690s with AT and my Kenwood external tuner I can barely reach 40 for a 2SWR , 20 all the way thru 10 I get a 1:1 . My Max2000 is about 6 years old .
I was given an A99 several years ago because it was being replaced as it had ceased to work. I asked for it, thinking there couldn't really be much wrong with it. Turned out it was full of water, and that was because the drain hole had been plugged with silicone sealer by the original installer, when he wrapped the SO 239 with tape and goop. I let it dry out, rubbed it down, gave it a couple coats of varnish and it's been stonking along since 2016 - it must be at least 20 years older than that, too. From what I read of them, quality control at the factory was a bit hit and miss, if you get a good one, hang on to it. Several were sold with internal faults and forgotten-about soldering, etc. I can't get 20m on mine, nor have I tried 6m (need to give that a go), but it's absolutely excellent on 10, 11, 12, 15 and 17m. The claimed gain figures are a joke, as is the claimed power rating. Just ignore them, put a max of 100W into it, and it will last for decades.
Check out the proton 99 too, it actually outperforms the intro 99 a little bit and breaks down into four 55 inch sections so it fits better into the trunk of a small car or a backpack, but it isn't built quite as well. And the a99 antron is 9.9 DB gain over a chromium zucchini and that's about it LOL it actually has a hard time keeping up with the centerfed half wave dipole made of wire!
I used an A99 when I first got licensed back in the 90's. It worked great on CB and also killed it on 10. I would also use it on 20 , 17, 15 and 12. 20 meters it was so so. I just used the auto tuner on my radio. I also experimented and swapped the 4' upper whip with a 102' stainless steel whip. It worked better on 20 and 17 but worse on the higher bands.
Hi guys, not dumping on the Antron 99 BUT lol I swapped mine out for a similar looking Imax 2000 at 24 feet long, the Imax blew it out the water. All the very best. Ian
Chuck, I want to get my hands on one of these antennas, not sure if it would do the NZ 26MHz band, but if you can get that many bands out of a vertical, that has to be pretty good. How high was your antenna during this test? Thanks for the video.
@@KK6USYHamRadioAdventureswhere ever it comes out of the box. It worked for 11 meters spot on out of the box so I hooked it up to CB at first. Not much luck with 4 watts legal limit so I hooked up to 7300 just to test out and it’s been on a 4 way switch ever since feeding into my atu.
All I did with mine was rub it down with sandpaper and gave it two coats of yacht varnish, but any weatherproof paint (non -metallic) will do, for disguising purposes.
Can you adjust the tuning rings before putting it in the air, or do you have to put it up and down to do it? Mine will be on a roof and approximately 37 ft high.
Hi and thanks for the video and information. I do have a question or two. What type of paint could one use to help protect the A99, Also was wondering what diameter is the top of your flag pole? I can inly find them with iter 3cm or 5cm die, I would guess the 3cm would work, as I am unable to find any information about what size would work. Also As Im am in europe the amazon links dont work :•) But thats ok, I can find them on the local shops. More about the fitting :•) Cheers Have a great day ! From Holland 🇳🇱.
Hi KK6USY I have that antenna but the fiberglass has splintered very badly. I was thinking of putting it in a rubber tubing something like Heat Shrink, would that work or would it interfere with the performance?
The is a good antenna but too expensive, but inflation can blamed. 9Dbi gain is out of the question more like 2.1Dbi. Its a end dipole with a 1/4 wave matching stub using coax and toroid. The good plus is the antenna bandwidth. The I max 2000 set up with a very same 1/4 wave match but with a 5/8 wave radiator. Amateur radio operators have said the i-max 2000 will tune to 40m with a tuner, but I have never tried one. I know any strong wind will beat a i-max 2000 to death.
A99s gain was a myth. It worked ok but rattled in the wind as the wire inside would hit the fibre glass. My Avanti Sigma 4 knocked spots of it. Btw Solarcon measured gain over a wet piece of string😂
es una antena útil, resistente al medioambiente, el salitre de mar y algo de viento , muy practica de regular e instalar, con un rendimiento aceptable, pero no es la mejor en cuanto a ganancia , es bastante sorda con respecto a una sirio de aluminio...
I've been running an A99 for about 30+ years on 20-10. I've even tuned it up on 30m before just to see if I could (LOL). Any of my turners turn it just fine on 20m. My X-6100 has no problem tuning it on 20m. Compared to my 20m dipole, It gets almost the same results. Works great on 17m. Doesn't perform so well on 15m. 12m is just fine. I adjusted mine for best SWR at the very bottom of 10m or a little lower. de N1PCE
@@KK6USYHamRadioAdventuresI recently restored a 45 year old Shakespeare Big Stick. Alcohol wipe down, 2 coats spray paint primer, careful wet sand, alcohol wipe down, 2 coats of white enamel spray, then put it up. 10m, 11m, 12m tuned,15m tuned, 17 m tuned, and 20 m tuned. 😊😊😊
Enjoyed this, nice to see the A99 covered from a HAM perspective.
I have a small garden and use one for 10, 12, 15 and occasionally 11, it outperformed a G5RV junior and EFW antennas on those bands. The GPA-80 is another vertical I’ve tried with decent results.
The A99 will not give you all of these fans at one time.
I used the Antron 99 for years back in the CB days. I had nothing but good luck with it. Put it up about 30-35 feet on a couple of sections of 2 inch gas well pipe bolted to the side of the house and that was that.
I used an Antron A-99, ground mounted with no radials for a year or so until I could get my 5-BTV all set up. The A-99 worked on 10/12/17 with no tuner and I will admit, on 17M that thing worked great. I had a blast with it and wish I had kept it up just for that band.
love my antron 99..... back in the mid 80s early 90s i worked perth australia from the middle of the UK on 11m... I just turned the radio on after replacing the coax and had a 5/7 into portugal on 10m. love it.. the radial kit is really a good thing to have, but also having an 18 ft pole as the counterpoise works too.. mine's about 20ft up in the middle of a bunch of oak trees.
A99 is great for DX on 10 meters. Much better than my horizontal dipole.
I can tune 20 meters with an ext tuner. Thanks for the video.
Awesome to see this, Chuck. A lot of hams in my area use CB antennas like these on our local 10m net and say they have great results on 10-12m.
Great Video! I bought a President Washington, and was looking at getting this antenna and yu are answering a huge question I had about being able to use the same antenna for HAM as well (as I want to get my HAM license eventually). Got a cabin in the mountains, good amount of land but not a ton of space, so if I can use on antenna for both, I'm sold. This antenna gets highly highly recomended wherever you look (and I WILL spray paint it!)
Awesome! Yes the paint will save your hands down the road.
That's been the word from a few people online, and a GREAT tip! I am curious - not something you'd necessarily need to make a video about, but, if I get this solarcon 99, do you know of any good videos or specific sites that brak down exactly how to use a solarcon a99 for both HAM radio and CB? is it as simple as unplugging the antenna line from the CB base station and plugging it into a HAM? Just curious about the process of how exactly you do it. I'd mentioned, I will get a HAM radio (and eventually my technician license), and would rather just have one antenna suitable for both, in one setup. Just curious if you could point me to a good site of the basic, boiled down process, or, if you could in a few steps, explain? @@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures
@@greggould4275 You adjust the rings to the band you want, get it close you should be able to on 10m easily.
Got a CB halfwave aluminum vertical I gutted out and put a 4:1 unun to it. Would easily tune 30m through 6m for a lot less money and better performance. Would tune 40m but did not work to good there. They sell them like this for less then a A99 costs. But if you have a A99 and want to put it to use, have at it. It is only a half wave CB antenna.
I recently acquired 2 of these new in the box. I was worried about it working for ham. I put it up and wow I have been amazed. I can tune 6-20m with an external turner. 20m is not great tho. Checked it against my EFHW with whisper. It will work tho if it is all you have. But it is my go to antenna for 6-17m at my house. I connected it to my antenna grounding rod and it helped. Thanks for the paint tip. I need to do that to mine. As for the second one, I am going to give it to my brother.
Awesome to hear, I knew people liked them on the Ham Bands. Thank you for the comment!
I use one on 10m, years ago, I used the cb98 that worked great on 10-11-12m. A cable strain releaf may help with holding coax.
Great video as usual. I was hoping to see you at Pacificon. I bumped into a lot of old friends I haven't seen in years, however, and went with a friend I've known for almost 70 years. We still need to meet for coffee sometime, maybe at Peets in Pinole.
Thanks,Yea we will have to get a coffee!
That's really great with the A-99, but I wanted to tell u I've been using an IMAX 2000 for many years now (the newest version being called the Optimax 2000); with it hanging up high in a tree (which I've never climbed), using a weighted mast & a heavier line looped over a thick limb), I've worked all over the world with this antenna! With the internal AT on my Icom IC-7300, it'll easily load on 10 & 12m (& 11m, too, of course); & while I can use an external AT to work another band or two, I found that my ZS6BKW wire antenna outperforms on those; & yes, the A-99 will definitely work well, too, but I still love my IMAX! 73 de WA4ELW in TN 🇺🇸 dit dit 😃
My Kenwood ts690s with AT and my Kenwood external tuner I can barely reach 40 for a 2SWR , 20 all the way thru 10 I get a 1:1 . My Max2000 is about 6 years old .
Works great to for listening 160 80 40 20 meters to. Much better then my MLA 30 mag loop or any longwire
That was a fun experiment!
I was given an A99 several years ago because it was being replaced as it had ceased to work. I asked for it, thinking there couldn't really be much wrong with it.
Turned out it was full of water, and that was because the drain hole had been plugged with silicone sealer by the original installer, when he wrapped the SO 239 with tape and goop.
I let it dry out, rubbed it down, gave it a couple coats of varnish and it's been stonking along since 2016 - it must be at least 20 years older than that, too.
From what I read of them, quality control at the factory was a bit hit and miss, if you get a good one, hang on to it. Several were sold with internal faults and forgotten-about soldering, etc.
I can't get 20m on mine, nor have I tried 6m (need to give that a go), but it's absolutely excellent on 10, 11, 12, 15 and 17m.
The claimed gain figures are a joke, as is the claimed power rating. Just ignore them, put a max of 100W into it, and it will last for decades.
I love the A99 - I call it my "All Band 99"
I found mine laying on top of my shed, been there about 5 years and still working!
Check out the proton 99 too, it actually outperforms the intro 99 a little bit and breaks down into four 55 inch sections so it fits better into the trunk of a small car or a backpack, but it isn't built quite as well. And the a99 antron is 9.9 DB gain over a chromium zucchini and that's about it LOL it actually has a hard time keeping up with the centerfed half wave dipole made of wire!
I'll check it out!
Geez the fiberglass …
A lesson I
Learned
Right? A frend gave me an old one and I learned a quick lesson. Thanks for watching!
I used an A99 when I first got licensed back in the 90's. It worked great on CB and also killed it on 10. I would also use it on 20 , 17, 15 and 12. 20 meters it was so so. I just used the auto tuner on my radio. I also experimented and swapped the 4' upper whip with a 102' stainless steel whip. It worked better on 20 and 17 but worse on the higher bands.
Talked to Australia and Russia this weekend on the X6100 and the A99 on 10M
Good to know 73's from Canterbury u.k
Nice video Chuck. If u want to try 6 meters sometime, I'm happy to try it. I'm just using a speaker wire dipole. Good on QRZ. AD8FL
Very similar to my Shakespear Big Stick.
I think those antennas talk better sky wave ,then they do ground wave.
Hi guys, not dumping on the Antron 99 BUT lol I swapped mine out for a similar looking Imax 2000 at 24 feet long, the Imax blew it out the water.
All the very best. Ian
It doesn't blow it out of the water that much for twice the price.
How would you water proof the connection the way the a99 is made? Thanks
Do you need to trim anything on the top for 10 metres or do the tuning rings suffice?
I took 10" off the top section of mine for a better match on 10 meters., 1.2 at 28.400 works great
that's a great tip thanks!
I just use mine as a 10m antenna , I have a zero 5 I use for the others @@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures
Chuck,
I want to get my hands on one of these antennas, not sure if it would do the NZ 26MHz band, but if you can get that many bands out of a vertical, that has to be pretty good.
How high was your antenna during this test?
Thanks for the video.
15' I think
Thanks for the info Chuck. KO4HPC 73
I use mine from 20-10.
I didn't try to tune 20m other than the radio where are your rings positioned ?
@@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures I’m using autotuner. MFJ939. With my icom 7300 it will tune most of 20, 17, 15,12, & 10 meters.
@@KK6USYHamRadioAdventureswhere ever it comes out of the box. It worked for 11 meters spot on out of the box so I hooked it up to CB at first. Not much luck with 4 watts legal limit so I hooked up to 7300 just to test out and it’s been on a 4 way switch ever since feeding into my atu.
@@LJH08Ralith Excellent, great to hear. I know a lot of hams use this antenna especially on 10m.
RIGHT ABOUT THE FIBERGLASS FAILING . CAN I USE SHALACK/ VARNISH TO PROTECT IT ? MABEY SHRINK WRAP ? DB GAIN ON A HALF WAVE IS 2.15 NOT 9DB
All I did with mine was rub it down with sandpaper and gave it two coats of yacht varnish, but any weatherproof paint (non -metallic) will do, for disguising purposes.
Remember, Fiberglass antennas are great lightning rods !
💥⚡😳
ALL antennas are lightning rods.
Did you do any adjustment to the tuning rings before putting it up? Where were they set?
Yes years ago but I adjusted them during the filming. I had them more towards the to for the video , really didn't mess with them much.
Can you adjust the tuning rings before putting it in the air, or do you have to put it up and down to do it? Mine will be on a roof and approximately 37 ft high.
Try mounting it about 10' off the ground and it should be close when you raise it.
@@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures it would be on a 20ft pole, hinged at the bottom and horizontal when I test it. Ok?
Hi and thanks for the video and information. I do have a question or two.
What type of paint could one use to help protect the A99, Also was wondering what diameter is the top of your flag pole? I can inly find them with iter 3cm or 5cm die, I would guess the 3cm would work, as I am unable to find any information about what size would work.
Also As Im am in europe the amazon links dont work :•) But thats ok, I can find them on the local shops. More about the fitting :•)
Cheers Have a great day !
From Holland 🇳🇱.
Hi KK6USY I have that antenna but the fiberglass has splintered very badly. I was thinking of putting it in a rubber tubing something like Heat Shrink, would that work or would it interfere with the performance?
I use this as a flagpole antenna as well and with a tuner can use it on a few bands as well. Anyone make a counterpoise setup for this?
Yea here is a link, amzn.to/3X7cYjJ
Do the tuning rings work, or cutting the length better off?
The is a good antenna but too expensive, but inflation can blamed. 9Dbi gain is out of the question more like 2.1Dbi. Its a end dipole with a 1/4 wave matching stub using coax and toroid. The good plus is the antenna bandwidth. The I max 2000 set up with a very same 1/4 wave match but with a 5/8 wave radiator. Amateur radio operators have said the i-max 2000 will tune to 40m with a tuner, but I have never tried one. I know any strong wind will beat a i-max 2000 to death.
Your in the Bay area .....im in Brentwood
I have the exact same setup for my CB base station (same flagpole and antenna), my coax runs into my basement. Do I need to ground this antenna?
Y E S
A99s gain was a myth. It worked ok but rattled in the wind as the wire inside would hit the fibre glass. My Avanti Sigma 4 knocked spots of it. Btw Solarcon measured gain over a wet piece of string😂
es una antena útil, resistente al medioambiente, el salitre de mar y algo de viento , muy practica de regular e instalar, con un rendimiento aceptable, pero no es la mejor en cuanto a ganancia , es bastante sorda con respecto a una sirio de aluminio...
There's no magic with the A99, it's just a half-wave vertical, end-fed with an L-match network. You can make your own for
,,,,,,ya forgot,,,its built for 11m,,,,so thats 6 bands,,,,lol,,,de NV1H😎
It is not 9.9 db gain but .99.
Lol!
Colossal i10k
9.9db huh?
I've been running an A99 for about 30+ years on 20-10. I've even tuned it up on 30m before just to see if I could (LOL). Any of my turners turn it just fine on 20m. My X-6100 has no problem tuning it on 20m. Compared to my 20m dipole, It gets almost the same results. Works great on 17m. Doesn't perform so well on 15m. 12m is just fine. I adjusted mine for best SWR at the very bottom of 10m or a little lower. de N1PCE
It is unity gain, at best.
BS. The Solarcon A99 only has 3.3dB gain at best. The higher the gain, the shorter the bandwidth.
Those things are junk. Less efficient than a dipole.
I guess i need to take my 99 down and my daimond 200 2 meter and paint
It will help keep them in good shape!
@@KK6USYHamRadioAdventuresI recently restored a 45 year old Shakespeare Big Stick. Alcohol wipe down, 2 coats spray paint primer, careful wet sand, alcohol wipe down, 2 coats of white enamel spray, then put it up. 10m, 11m, 12m tuned,15m tuned, 17 m tuned, and 20 m tuned. 😊😊😊
@@VicGreenBitcoin That would be Jason 2.0 that would do that I use my antennas, Lol!
Very nice demonstration 👍
KN6JHC
3 to 1......
🫲😳🫱 Yikes !