Unknown Solarcon antenna

[RodinKy]

Neighbor just gave me a bunch of junk mobile and other misc cb stuff, included was a Solarcon base antenna, there's no model number on it and it's approximately 24 ft long, from the condition of the fiberglass it is several years old, it comes in three sections, anyone have a guess which model it could be?

[Radar-DLDN]

Sounds like an Imax 2000, the same one I have. It is a decent antenna. Only thing to be aware of is it really flexes in the wind. Not dangerous to it, mine has held up for 5 years now, but it's disconcerting when you first see it in a stiff wind.

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[pabxone]

Have a look at these 2 articles and see if it's the same antenna - (it will be a Imax 2000 as my guess also)

[RodinKy]

Thanks for the reply. I went out and remeasured it, three six foot sections so I'm now thinking it is an A99. Do these go bad or do they last until they fall apart?

Hey Rod...

I have a Bandit (A99 clone) that I've had up on my roof for 11 years.

The fiberglass has started to shed....I repainted it with Fusion and then covered it in white electrical tape.

It still works and most of 11M contacts are made with this antenna.

Bombero

[231]

Thanks for the reply. I went out and remeasured it, three six foot sections so I'm now thinking it is an A99. Do these go bad or do they last until they fall apart?

I was going to say, "24 ft?" Not even the Imax is that long. Sounds like an A99 @ 18' overall length.

They hold up pretty well actually...But yes, corrosion will get them sooner or later if the weather doesn't. You'll need to just set it up and try it. Be advised though it's an end fed dipole antenna which means it uses the coax as the counterpoise...so be sure to use decent RG-8x or better feed line.

Also a 10' support mast minimum would be wise...even for testing purposes. If it's missing the u-clamps you can use pretty much any like from Home Depot and double them up with a couple of hose clamps as secondary support. The bottom metal is the attachment point. Clean up the SO-239 connection (both shield & center connector) and giver her a try...you might be pleasantly surprised.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

231

[bigdaddy-351]

24 foot it’s a imax 2000 , 18 foot it’s a antron 99 or imax 99 . I have a almost 30 year old Antron 99 with a 4 radial ground plane kit on it up almost 50 feet on a push-up pole in the middle of the woods here in Alaska and had nothing break off of it and the s.w.r.’s are still at 1.4 across the 11 meter band , and that’s with almost 20 year old rg-8 coax. We are right on the lake and it’s not out of the ordinary to get 50-60 mph winds hitting it , coming off of Mt. McKinley , especially in the winter time and that can put the wind chills down to 20 to 30 bellow easily. Pretty impressed so far. It’s coming down and a new metal 5/8 ground plane with lomar 400 coax is going back up instead. I also have a imax 99 with a 3 radial ground plane kit on it and when I was up on the hill about 300 feet it got out surprisingly well too . But that was with the help of a Texas star 667v . People were surprised at how well it got out. But A 5/8 will get out better and hear better too. I’d like to find a older.64 wave metal ground plane or 7/8 metal antenna myself though.