Hy-gain Super Penetrator

[Countryboy]

I left a tread talking about the maco v58 and the workman v58 and someone suggested I look at the Hy-gain Super Penetrator. I did look at them and was wondering if it is worth the 50 bucks more over the maco. It looks like the maco mostly and may be a little taller. Is it really that much better?

[KneeBiter]

Chevy , Ford , They will both get you there.

It all depends on if you will be running 5k watts through it. I like the HGSP. But the Maco is a good antenna as well.

If I say the SP is better and Joe says the Maco is better which one is better ? They are both good antennas.

Do a google search on reviews. You will find the same performance from both I am sure.

[Sandbagger]

I would tend to agree. There is very little difference electrically between these 2 antennas, so any signal difference would be too small to see.

[KneeBiter]

There are so many different factors that come into play. What are you looking to do? Talk to locals within 20 miles ? Skip ? Locals more than 20 miles? Base to mobile ? Base to base ?

Just to give you an idea of what I am talking about. When I was a kid in the early 80s we had a tech in NH named Roger who owned and operated Nashua communications. I was in the market for a base antenna. I asked him a question. What is the best base antenna?

Now I want you to vision Doc Brown from Back To the Future answering this question.

Roger was a techs tech. He was eccentric , Some would say nuts , some would say too smart , He was a nice nice guy and one heck of a radio man. He was a hello and goodbye to the regular person but if you could get him to talk to you he was unstoppable.

He proceeded to grab a big piece of paper and a pen. He started to draw circles , lines , Waves , Numbers , while all the time my minds was spinning , All I asked was What the best antenna was ??

He explained or at least tried to explain to my jelly brain why that was an extremely hard question and why there was no answer.

He then started to show me on the diagram he was drawing that several different factors would make each and every antenna better or worse for different scenarios.

I ended up saying to him once my mind was blasted and I could absorb no more , Just give me a base antenna that is not to big and performs well in a wide range of conditions.

He sold me my Astroplane. I still have it and love it.

Now with that said, I have tried many base antennas back around that time. All mounted on the same mount in the same spot. Some larger antennas were worse than my 100" steel whip local but were better long distance. Some smaller antennas were better long distance than larger ones ,

I found a wire hanging from a tree with my antenna tuner did better for skip than the .064 wave I had at the time on a switch box. But the wire was junk for local.

So , If you buy either the Maco or HG chances are you will see little difference between the 2 because they are a similar type of antenna.

But there is no answer to which is the best. Or which will perform better without being Doc Brown and having a background in antenna design and knowing the exact use and conditions for each transmission.

10000 Jigawatts. Do you know what this means Marty?

[**GRUMPY**]

Both antennas should work about the same, the real question is which one will tune the easiest and last the longest!

I will tell you now the Maco clamps are pure junk, the so-239 hot wire should be replaced with a #8 wire... it comes with a #14 wire which is junk. You should replace the nuts and bolts with stainless steel. Many of the parts used on the Maco are very cheap and not the best by any means. Setting the SWR can be a real treat and not the easiest to tune. The Maco lacks a "cap hat".

If you go with a Maco V5/8 you might as well buy a Workman W5/8 instead and save about $40.00. Same antenna that has Maco instructions inside the box. If you need to know who sells them let me know and I can guide you in that direction!

The Hy-Gain SPT-500 you may have remembered from back in the day, might or might not be the same as the one available today. First... Hy-Gain was bought in 1999 by MFJ (better known as "mighty fine junk"). So I'm not sure the quality is there as it was years ago. The SPT-500 uses a sort of 'cap hat" which is a plus over the V5/8 - W5/8. I hear the clamping isn't that good on these antennas either, but I haven't seen one in person to be sure of that. The old P-500 was pretty easy to tune, not sure of the SPT-500.

There is one other option you may want to look at and that is the Sirio 2016. Yep... it's an Italian Made Antenna, but well constructed for the money. I have one here that is about to be put up here in the next couple weeks (I hope). As for the construction of the antenna, it blows the pants off of the stock Maco V5/8. Whether it performs as well I will be able to tell you that shortly. There are a few guys on here that have them and seem to really like them, it is one of the main reasons I bought one to try! I have a brand new Maco here and decided to sell it to a local here and go with the 2016 instead.

In any case, I would suggest you find someone with an antenna analyzer if you plan on going with the V5/8- W5/8. It is a good idea to have one to use with any install for that matter. But I am telling you now that the V5/8 can be a real headache to tune. They perform well when tuned, but don't be shocked if you have SWR problems when it rains or snows using a stock V5/8-W 5/8... they just were not made the best that they could have been!

Good luck and have fun!

[KneeBiter]

I agree, Last thing you want is to mount your antenna up high. And then you have problems with swr. You want a quality antenna that once mounted will last for years. I think MFJ got a bad rap from some faulty solder connections in a batch of equipment years back.

I have had several mfj products and all were well made and never a problem. I also owned the original HGSP and a friend has the new one. From what I can see they are pretty close in quality.

You could always try and buy an NOS old school antenna from Ebay or on the forum.

Dont try to save $50 and end up spending more than $50 in time and frustration . Pay up front and do it once and done.

You can spend big cake and be done with this antenna.

www.zerofive-antennas.com/1011-meter-58-wave-colossal-5k-groundplane-vertical-antenna

[KneeBiter]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KdMP0PEYr4

[Sandbagger]

Apr 14, 2013 10:48:55 GMT -5 KneeBiter said:

There are so many different factors that come into play. What are you looking to do? Talk to locals within 20 miles ? Skip ? Locals more than 20 miles? Base to mobile ? Base to base ?

Just to give you an idea of what I am talking about. When I was a kid in the early 80s we had a tech in NH named Roger who owned and operated Nashua communications. I was in the market for a base antenna. I asked him a question. What is the best base antenna?

Now I want you to vision Doc Brown from Back To the Future answering this question.

Roger was a techs tech. He was eccentric , Some would say nuts , some would say too smart , He was a nice nice guy and one heck of a radio man. He was a hello and goodbye to the regular person but if you could get him to talk to you he was unstoppable.

He proceeded to grab a big piece of paper and a pen. He started to draw circles , lines , Waves , Numbers , while all the time my minds was spinning , All I asked was What the best antenna was ??

He explained or at least tried to explain to my jelly brain why that was an extremely hard question and why there was no answer.

He then started to show me on the diagram he was drawing that several different factors would make each and every antenna better or worse for different scenarios.

I ended up saying to him once my mind was blasted and I could absorb no more , Just give me a base antenna that is not to big and performs well in a wide range of conditions.

He sold me my Astroplane. I still have it and love it.

Now with that said, I have tried many base antennas back around that time. All mounted on the same mount in the same spot. Some larger antennas were worse than my 100" steel whip local but were better long distance. Some smaller antennas were better long distance than larger ones ,

I found a wire hanging from a tree with my antenna tuner did better for skip than the .064 wave I had at the time on a switch box. But the wire was junk for local.

So , If you buy either the Maco or HG chances are you will see little difference between the 2 because they are a similar type of antenna.

But there is no answer to which is the best. Or which will perform better without being Doc Brown and having a background in antenna design and knowing the exact use and conditions for each transmission.

10000 Jigawatts. Do you know what this means Marty?

This is absolutely correct. There is never a "one size fits all " best antenna. That's why most HF band hams (who have the space) have several different types of antennas for the same bands. Because each type of antenna will perform better than the others under a specific set of circumstances. Are you in a valley, or up on a hill? Do you talk line of sight, or skywave? It all makes a difference.

[bootymonster]

Apr 13, 2013 16:52:30 GMT -5 Countryboy said:

I left a tread talking about the maco v58 and the workman v58 and someone suggested I look at the Hy-gain Super Penetrator. I did look at them and was wondering if it is worth the 50 bucks more over the maco. It looks like the maco mostly and may be a little taller. Is it really that much better?

i'd choose the penetrator over the maco . it has a 22 ft 9 inch vertical so it's a real .64wl antenna . i didn't find any difference between a 22 1/2 vertical vs. a 23 ft vertical on my maco type antenna .... but the actual macos are about 2 ft shorter physically than mine or the penetrators vertical . FWIU there's a capacitor effector where the vertical on the real macos vertical slides into the insulator inside the mounting tube that makes the matching network work with it as a 5/8 ..... but i'd rather have tge actual physical length myself . plus FWIU the penetrator is stronger physically and the vswr isn't effected my rain like some folks have issues with on the macos .

and i'll second the workman version over the pricer macos .

[238]

If you get a Maco, get the V5000. It is longer & stronger that the V58. When you get it set like you want it put 2 self tapping screws in each section. A Friend of mine eliminated the so239 & ran the coax straight to loop. Sorted of like a JoGunn. 238

[bluebird]

Apr 13, 2013 16:52:30 GMT -5 Countryboy said:

I left a tread talking about the maco v58 and the workman v58 and someone suggested I look at the Hy-gain Super Penetrator. I did look at them and was wondering if it is worth the 50 bucks more over the maco. It looks like the maco mostly and may be a little taller. Is it really that much better?

i have 2 maco 5/8 wave antenna's for sale for 100 dollars for both one with pole call henry at 302-430-3099

[captbarry]

Don't know about the Maco but when I got my Penetrator 500 many years ago it outperformed any Omni I had owned. As someone else pointed out Hygain was bought by MFJ and quality may not be what it was years ago.

[KneeBiter]

Did you get one?

[jacobs132]

i am getting ready to assemble a penetrator this coming up week, still in the box. putting it up about 40 feet in the air. ill let you know how my experience goes with this antenna.