Dr. Dave...
It's obvious from the responses that most GAP owners have had little
trouble. Had my friend's problem been universal, GAP would have been out
of business long ago. I'm glad he was the exception rather than the
rule. And I'm glad to hear you had good customer service.
In defense of vertical antennas...
The saying, "Verticals radiate poorly in all directions," when compared to
a beam on 20 meters and above, is probably understandable. A Butternut, I
had could work anything it could hear on 10-15-20. When I put up a beam, I
began hearing a LOT I simply hadn't known was there.
Especially on 80 and 40M, where I spend almost all my time, a dipole is
better within a few hundred miles by as much as 10-20db on the S-meter. At
600 or so miles, my vertical begins to have the edge. For DX on 80M, my
Hy-Tower hears things the dipole doesn't know are there. Polarization can
also make a difference... As a signal fades on the dipole, it sometimes
stays readable on the vertical and vice-versa. My FT-1000D accepts a
second receiving antenna and can take advantage of this phenomenon to
maintain good reception.
I have even seen cases where some kind of local noise was S7 or 8 on the
dipole and didn't exist on the vertical!! (Exactly the opposite of how
it's supposed to work.)
Even with a beam at 63 feet and 80/40M Inverted V at 55 feet (when I was in
TX) I found having a really good vertical (with a good radial system under
it) was frequently an advantage.
Having said all that, in favor of a good vertical, yes, I would like to
have a beam again and may put one up in the future. A vertical is normally
no a substitute for a beam.
Ed, W5EJ
At 09:01 PM 10/8/99 -0400, KD4HXT wrote:
>Guys,
>
>Verticals radiate poorly in all directions. However, they radiate!!! It
>gets you on the air to have FUN! Key word is "FUN". In defense of GAP,
>I've owned a an "Eagle" for many years. I've moved a half dozen times in
>the past few years with nothing but a GAP to play with. I've taken it apart
>and moved it coast-to-coast three times. It works! A couple pieces broke
>on one move. Stopped by the booth at Dayton (this antenna was four years
>old) and they gave me the spare parts I needed to rebuild. I've had nothing
>but great customer service. Do I expect pileup busting performance...no.
>Does it get me on the air...you bet.
>
>Attitude is everything!
>
>Dr. Dave
>KD4HXT
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Joe L Blackwell <aa4nn@juno.com>
>To: towertalk@contesting.com <towertalk@contesting.com>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
>Date: Friday, October 08, 1999 2:49 PM
>Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] GAP Titan
>
>
> >
> >Dear OM Phil, K5PC
> >Sorry you are so misinformed. The GAP verttical is not a vertical per
> >se,
> >it is a vertical dipole! Adding radials to a GAP is the worse thing you
> >can
> >do. The recommended wires are a counterpoise for the lower bands, like
> >40, 80 and 160. These counterpoise wires are not radials ! Get it !
> >Having said that, I tried a GAP, hoping to optimize it for 80 meters and
> >the
> >entire setup stunk. Nuff said. GAP has its place, but it is not a
> >vertical that
> >requires radials. Get that through all your heads when you complain
> >about
> >the GAP.
> >Okay, Phil, so your friend (K2RM) said things kept falling off the GAP.
> >My oh
> >My, there aren't too many things that can fall off a GAP, a coupla
> >resonant
> >arms which are fastened to the basic vertical via plastic connectors.
> >Maybe
> >your friend, K2RM, could enlighten us with a more first hand experience.
> >No?
> >Putting comments like yours on the reflector, when you do not have first
> >hand
> >knowledge just leads to speculation and bias as regards particular
> >antennas.
> >
> >73, de Joe AA4NN
> >aa4nn@juno.com
> >
> >On Fri, 8 Oct 1999 10:49:36 -0500 "Phil Clements" <philk5pc@tyler.net>
> >writes:
> >>
> >> > I haven't owned a GAP, but a good friend, K2RM, had one for a
> >> couple of
> >> > years. Rarely two months went by when some physical part didn't
> >> fall off
> >> > into his back yard...literally! He tried everything including
> >> lightly
> >> > guying the antenna with nylon cord. (He is NOT in a windy area
> >> and the
> >> > antenna was protected by a stockade fence around the back yard.)
> >> I think
> >> > GAP replaced parts until the warranty period ran out.
> >> >
> >> > I was with him when he talked with the owner of GAP at Dayton, two
> >> separate
> >> > years. The guy basically told him, "That's too bad." He didn't
> >> offer to
> >> > replace his obviously bad antenna or extend the warranty or
> >> provide
> >> > additional replacement parts, nor did he even express regrets for
> >> the
> >> > on-going problems.
> >> >
> >> > Bob finally replaced the GAP with another vertical...an R5, I
> >> think. On
> >> > our weekly schedule, his 40M signal from Ft. Worth, TX to me in
> >> Ruidoso, NM
> >> > increased quite dramatically. He hasn't had a single problem with
> >> the new
> >> > antenna.
> >> >
> >> > Based on Bob's experiences, and equally on the attitude I saw from
> >> the GAP
> >> > guy, I wouldn't have one as a gift.
> >> >
> >> > Ed, W5EJ
> >> >
> >> > >Rod - I'm not sure "exactly" why this group "hates" the GAP
> >> Titan. I have
> >> > one
> >> > >an I am very pleased with it.
> >>
> >> Maybe it could be their trying to re-invent the way vertical
> >> antennas work
> >> and their deceptive ads(that prey upon unknowing new hams) that we
> >> don't
> >> like.
> >>
> >> If the instruction book on any vertical antenna does not say "put
> >> down as many
> >> radials as you can, as long as you can; chances are you are dealing
> >> with more
> >> "snake oil," "magic," and witchcraft than you are antenna theory.
> >>
> >> All vertical antennas require an extensive ground system to prevent
> >> RF energy
> >> from warming worms instead of being reflected up and away.
> >>
> >> I know, I know...do not bother telling how you worked 333 countries
> >> with no
> >> radials. I have worked several countries in my distant past with
> >> door bell
> >> wire clipped to a rain gutter. We are talking efficiency here; or,
> >> for those
> >> of you in Rio Linda, "more bang for the buck."
> >>
> >> (((73)))
> >> Phil, K5PC
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> FAQ on WWW:
> >> http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
> >> Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
> >> Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
> >> Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
> >> Search: http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm
> >>
> >
> >Vy 73, de Joe AA4NN
> >Eastern Top Band ARC, Carolina DX Assn, Carolina CW Ops,
> >Fairfield County Contesters, Ten-Tec only, CW only.
> >eeetet ee
> >
> >--
> >FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
> >Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
> >Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
> >Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
> >Search: http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm
> >
> >
>
>
>--
>FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
>Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
>Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
>Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
>Search: http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm
-------------------------------------------
Ed Juge
phone: 817.291.0733
email: ed_juge@zianet.com
======================
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
Search: http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm
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