Maco 103 3.element beam

[BladeRunner now OLD FLASH!!!!!]

I just ordered a maco 3 elem2nt beam. I'm wondering if thrtr are others out here that have used the antenna? I know there are other antennas out there that are greatly besster than this n but ai got this one becaus of cost and room to move. I have a lt of trees. I htink I made a good choice but I'm interested on other experiences with it. Thanks in advance. (forgive my typing it attrocious) he ahe

[Sandbagger]

Jul 31, 2008 15:20:05 GMT -5 BladeRunner now OLD FLASH!!!!! said:

I just ordered a maco 3 elem2nt beam. I'm wondering if thrtr are others out here that have used the antenna? I know there are other antennas out there that are greatly besster than this n but ai got this one becaus of cost and room to move. I have a lt of trees. I htink I made a good choice but I'm interested on other experiences with it. Thanks in advance. (forgive my typing it attrocious) he ahe

I am currently running the Maco 103C 3 element beam. It seems to work ok, although I really can't make an accurate A/B comparison from my current location, as this is the first "real" antenna I've put up at a reasonable height. I too have tree issues and I think they affect the pattern to the point that back rejection is not as good as I remember for 3 element beams I ran years ago at my old location. SWR is fairly good and it holds across all 40 channels and doesn't cross the 3:1 point until I'm into 10 meters. Still and all, I like the antenna for now.

[BladeRunner now OLD FLASH!!!!!]

I'll put it like this, I don't know how godd it is , but is will definately be better than a omnidirectional antennea and any back rejection is a plus.

[BladeRunner now OLD FLASH!!!!!]

I'm currently looking for a mast toput it on but geez,a 30 foot pole cost more than the antenna did. I have a very large TV antenna on a 30 ft piece of water pipe. Unfortunately 21 foot piece of equivliant pipe is as long as can be purchased these days and it cost a fortune.
Lookslike the TV antenna may get a downgrade and the beam go up on the existing pole. This pole was directly hit by and F2 tornado a few years back and ceme out without a scratch.Or bend, without guy cables. The new setuo will gain guy wires though.

[BionicChicken]

Push up pole prices have went through the ceiling down here the past few years. A 30' push up pole and a 9' mast pole (galvanized water pipe) out of the rotor will do a good job on the M103. You can guy the push up to where it is supported firmly and then the beam will be above the rotor and the guy wires. Without pushing the pole all the way out you can get by with only one set of guy wires if you attach it to a house or similar. A small TV antenna rotor will turn the 3's without a problem.

BC

[BladeRunner now OLD FLASH!!!!!]

I have the pole connecte to the house but i'm still going to add the 9ft of water pipe(if I can afford it he he ! $50.00 here) Naa I'll make it ok.No wonder nobody is building houses when 11' piece of water pipe is 80 bucks

[BionicChicken]

Man.................that's outrageous!!!! You can pick up a 20', 1 1/2" galvanized pipe down here (Mississippi) for around $34. Of course if you get it cut it costs more. Buying a hacksaw and the pipe is cheaper than letting them cut it plus you have extra pipe to sell to someone else or keep for a future project.

BC

[BladeRunner now OLD FLASH!!!!!]

My neighbor had a pile of junk at the very rear of her property and she had just the right pipe at the right length at the right price. FREE!! just to get it out of her yard. It's 105 degrees righ now and I've got to cut a limb. May start that a litle later this evening. Hopefully it'll be here Monday. If not. I can wait.

[BladeRunner now OLD FLASH!!!!!]

I got the beam up. For rsome reason I can't get the swr below 1.4:1. I tried for hours. I have rg58 (very low quality, radio shack) and wil be upgrqding to RG8 Pretty soon. . but I'm dead keying 5.5 watts and I can can talk to aynone I hear locally and some have been pretty far off.

[Sandbagger]

Aug 11, 2008 18:46:31 GMT -5 BladeRunner now OLD FLASH!!!!! said:

I got the beam up. For rsome reason I can't get the swr below 1.4:1. I tried for hours. I have rg58 (very low quality, radio shack) and wil be upgrqding to RG8 Pretty soon. . but I'm dead keying 5.5 watts and I can can talk to aynone I hear locally and some have been pretty far off.

In the grand scheme of things a 1.4:1 SWR is not all that bad. That's less than 4% reflected power. I would not drive myself into apoplexy trying to get it below that, especially if that 1.4:1 is spread out across the band. Sometimes you can tune a gamma match for a nearly flat match, but the bandwidth will become more narrow. I prefer to "detune" it slightly and have the match remain lower over a broader range of channels.

[marconi390]

If you just have to have the SWR lower, try adding a 1/4" or 1/2" to the ends of the driven element one step at a time and see if the SWR goes down. Driven elements using a gamma to tune like to be long (inductive).

[BladeRunner now OLD FLASH!!!!!]

I agree with you. I spent a couple hours tuning it an i'm happy with 1.4:1. If I remeber back in he old days when I helped a lot of guys put up antennas t, that was about the average weather it was in trees at 20 feet or 100 ft in the air on a tower. I'm getting 5.5 watts dead key on a browning mark III and also on a cheap mobile radio I had connected. also the meter I'm usinf I got from radio shack in the late 60's. Using the meter and conversion with the FWD and REV on the Mark 3, it's well below .4. But I'm not sure how accurate that is . think I'd believe the old RS meter over that one. I'm doing no more tuning because I'm satisfied but I amd going from RG58 to some good RG8 coax. I bet that Radio Shack shiel on the cable has less than 33% shielding. I'm relearning here so if i get of base , bring me back. It'a lot I have forgotten over 30+ buti'm remembering it pretty quick.