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A new antenna coming soon………
25 January 2013 | by I was going through my QST this week an had notice an add for a new antenna by SteppIR. In the past I would had just passed by the add but this antenna in the
picture had an eye catching look to it. It's called the CrankIR vertical
and can be used from 2m to 40m or another unit that goes from 2m to 20m
(an 80m unit is in the works) The antenna is great for portable ops,
field day, emergency and neighborhood restricted antenna areas...and the
list goes on!! For me this antenna can easily fit into a nap-sack and
carried out into
the great outdoors, placed in the truck of my Scion IQ and hauled to a park and setup at a picnic bench were I have done many a mini contest from.
So lets look at the nitty gritty of the antenna first off it's made by SteppIR who has a GREAT reputation and has been the choice of many DXpeditions. The 20m version extends to 9 feet and when folded up is only 26 inches. The 40m version is 18 feet and reduces to 30 inches. As far as I am concerned both sizes are very manageable for transporting. I am not gong to high light evey detail as there is a link on this post to the SteppIR CrankIR page with limited info but more to come!! This antenna is due to make its purchase date in the spring of this year. I did send an email to SteppIR with some questions about the antenna and Bart was very prompt to get back to me.
My Questions were........
1. I did not notice any radials are there any? (I asked this because for portable ops sometime radials can become a pain especially if you are in a park where the public is.)
Bart's answer was.....
The antenna will be designed to work with a single, elevated, tuned radial (included)
THERE HAS BEEN SOME COMMUNICATION
BETWEEN MYSELF AND STEPPIR SINCE THE POST.....IT WOULD SEEM I
MISUNDERSTOOD AN EMAIL. THE CABLE YOU SEE IN THE PICTURE DOES RAISE AND
LOWER THE ANTENNA ELEMENT TO THE DESIRED BAND TO WHICH YOU WANT TO
OPERATE IT'S NOT A COUNTER POISE. (MY MISTAKE) BART TOLD ME THERE IS A
COUNTERPOISE THAT WILL (THIS IS THE PLAN) EXTEND AND RETRACT FROM THE
BASE WITH ANTENNA AS YOU GO FROM BAND TO BAND.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected]. |
| Mounted on bench |
So lets look at the nitty gritty of the antenna first off it's made by SteppIR who has a GREAT reputation and has been the choice of many DXpeditions. The 20m version extends to 9 feet and when folded up is only 26 inches. The 40m version is 18 feet and reduces to 30 inches. As far as I am concerned both sizes are very manageable for transporting. I am not gong to high light evey detail as there is a link on this post to the SteppIR CrankIR page with limited info but more to come!! This antenna is due to make its purchase date in the spring of this year. I did send an email to SteppIR with some questions about the antenna and Bart was very prompt to get back to me.
My Questions were........
1. I did not notice any radials are there any? (I asked this because for portable ops sometime radials can become a pain especially if you are in a park where the public is.)
Bart's answer was.....
The antenna will be designed to work with a single, elevated, tuned radial (included)
Now what I get from this answer is the
radial is the crank up wire that is surrounding the antenna I had
thought this was for the cranking of the antenna up and down.
Note...see green section below for correct after the fact info.....
My next question was....
2. Was the cable and crank up device
part of the antenna or a separate piece?
Bart's answer was......
The crank is for extending or retracting the element around the frame of
the antenna. It does not raise/lower the antenna or support tube.  |
| The 40 to 2m retracted |
This is were I got the impression the
cable was not to raise and lower the antenna element and was the
elevated tuning radial he spoke of. As for the whether or not it was
attached to the antenna was not sure what his answer was...BUT
the picture to the left seems to look like it is attached to the base
of the antenna. There looks to be a bolt just below Mike's hand.
Bart's answer was........
Prices have not been set, but we do expect them to start at about $250.
So there yo go just some tidbits of
info about what seems to be a very nice antenna from a very reputable
company!!
4 Responses to “A new antenna coming soon………”
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Question, when is this antenna available in Australia and if not for a while, what would be the likely shipping charge to Australia? Seems like a great idea for a vertical antenna.
JUST AWESOME!!!!!!Gr888 Jobhttp://www.hylz.gov.cn/
When will this antenna be available in U.S. and what will the price be for 40 thru 2 meters?
it looks like a great antenna for small garden area.
when available in UK? and price.