My ProMaster and Alpha Antenna experience for the last year.
Here is my story over the past year of my relationship with the Alpha ProMaster Antenna and the Alpha Antenna company. The antenna took about two weeks to arrive and was shipped professionally in a 20x6x6 200lb test cardboard box. The bag fit perfectly into the box and as I slid it out, I could immediately tell this product presented itself well. The bag has a front pouch where the Alpha Match was stored separately. On the front pouch was high end stitching. A detailed look at the bag showed me that the seams were well stitched, and it was clear from the thickness of the padding between the outer and inner shells of the bag, it could easily be used in unforgiving environments.
The first thing to come out of the bag was the four radiating elements that are attached by O-Rings to the mount that goes on top of the tripod. These radiating elements are constructed of what I have been told are outdoor rated 16-gauge wires. Upon close examination of these elements, I can see on one end are the O-Rings that have been crimped onto the wire, which has been tinned. Over the sheath of the O-Ring and overlapping the wire they have placed a 1-inch piece of black shrink tubing. On the other end is an 8-inch-long steel spike where a plastic insulator is used to separate the wire from the metal spike. Here the wires are looped through the plastic insulator and affixed somehow under another piece of black shrink tubing. Back at the mount, the O-Rings are held in place permanently on the mount, as they are placed between the top female stud and the nylon washer.
The next thing to come out of the bag was the tripod. It was immediately clear to me that this tripod was either custom built or at the very least had undergone modifications to enable the mount and elements to easily fit over the top section. It was an easy matter of just tightening four bolts and nuts to install the mount. I thought it was cool that the steel spikes and radiating element wires serve as the guying system for this antenna, and after a matter of about 2 minutes I had pressed the spikes by hand into the ground and extended the tripod, which is pretty high! Extending the tripod was a simple matter of just loosening the couplers then extending the tripods legs and mast sections.
The last peice to come out of the bag was heavy duty stainless steel telescopic whip, which I am very impressed with. I screwed the whip onto the mount after it was fully extended. At this point installed the Alpha Match and attached my coax. While I still was holding the Alpha Match, which is a plastic box about 6x6x4, I examined it closely. It appears as though it has been sealed, although if I were to leave it outdoors for an extended period of time or in the rain, I would definitely enclose it in a Tupperware container or something similar.
So, I preceded to run my 25-foot section of RG8x coax to my MFJ-259B antenna analyzer. I was so excited to see that I would not need a tuner for SWR or reactance on 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, or 80 meters!!
I hooked the coax up to my rig and by the end of the first day; I had racked up 39 contacts from Germany, Japan, Costa Rica, and many state-side contacts. Over the past few months, I have logged hundreds of QSOs and have taken the antenna camping, to relatives’ houses, and even to a Christmas Party.
I’ve learned that I can trust the service from Alpha Antenna too, as when one of the radiating elements broke from when I stepped on it, I called them about repairing it and instead they sent me another one, no problem! 40 Meters has become a favorite band of mine now with this antenna it’s as easy as punching the button on the internal tuner on my rig and then transmitting. I’d definitely recommend this company and antenna to a friend!
AA2NH
More reviews on the Heavy-Duty HF ProMaster Base antenna
See the Heavy-Duty HF ProMaster Base antenna
View all Product Customer Reviews
Open the Alpha Antenna Home Page
