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Call Sign : 26-CT-4316 Posts : 21 Times Thanked : 1 Join date : 2021-10-31 QTH or Location : Redcar Equipment Used : Yeasu 450d
Subject: Gainmaster 5/8 Fri Jul 15, 2022 6:32 pm
Hi guys just a quick one Siri gainmaster 5/8 is it pre tuned and cannot be tuned And what the swr like across the band atu and not 20m up to 6m please
Alan Pilot Major contributor
Call Sign : 163-CT-220... Posts : 2606 Times Thanked : 70 Join date : 2019-11-19 QTH or Location : Anglesey North Wales Equipment Used : Yaesu FT-991A,,Yaesu FTDX-10,,Icom ic-7610,,Anytone AT-D878UV PLUS",,LINCOLN II+. Age : 16
I wouldn't start pulling the 'wire' up through the top ferrule for fear of over tightening the antenna cabling/connections and the manual states as such to prevent damage. I think Alan may have been referring to the Gainmaster HW (half wave) which can be tuned by such methods and although you probably could adjust it with some jiggery-pokery it probably isn't recommended. (A look at the manual will show you this is a more complicated antenna than a simple wire with a capacitive connection as well as matching stub.)
As ever there are the typical complications surrounding operator installation. Much depends on how high it is installed, whether near metallic objects, quality of coax cable used by you for connection, how long the coax is with losses incurred, etc. etc.
Also it will depend on what you find is an 'acceptable' SWR.
The manufacturer states a SWR range of 2:1 (25.5MHz - 30MHz) which most radios can easily handle and is actually a 90% or better efficiency.
As you make mention you could probably load it almost anywhere with an appropriate ATU/Matcher but gaining an acceptable SWR doesn't necessarily make it a good antenna.
Hope that helps.
All the best, Victor
Alan Pilot Major contributor
Call Sign : 163-CT-220... Posts : 2606 Times Thanked : 70 Join date : 2019-11-19 QTH or Location : Anglesey North Wales Equipment Used : Yaesu FT-991A,,Yaesu FTDX-10,,Icom ic-7610,,Anytone AT-D878UV PLUS",,LINCOLN II+. Age : 16
Subject: Re: Gainmaster 5/8 Sat Jul 16, 2022 7:59 am
oop's yes it was the halfwave i had. Still have it but lost the inner wire when the old greenhouse was taken down to make way for the new shack.
Victor likes this post
Victor CT Directors
Call Sign : 26-CT-3228 / M7VIC Posts : 6135 Times Thanked : 375 Join date : 2019-11-10 QTH or Location : Bedford Equipment Used : Various
Subject: Re: Gainmaster 5/8 Sat Jul 16, 2022 8:50 am
No worries Alan mate, doesn't help that Sirio called them both 'Gainmasters'.
Just thought I'd clear that up a bit in case you get the old "but you said".......
Alan Pilot and Tristar like this post
Dave_P New Member
Call Sign : 26-CT-9718 Posts : 11 Times Thanked : 0 Join date : 2022-04-17 QTH or Location : Walsall Equipment Used : Midland Quarantotto, FT-991A, IC-7400, TS200-X, IC-7100, IC705, FTM300, FT-817, IC-E92D, ID52E. Age : 58
Subject: Re: Gainmaster 5/8 Mon Oct 03, 2022 11:53 pm
ive had the 5/8 wave gainmaster since they came out. Its been mounted on a 6 meter pole that whole time with no issues at all. It covers from 24.65 upto 30.3 mhz all below 1:5:1. without any ATU or other form of matching.
And for some reason it also tunes on 4m without an ATU although i cant say performance is any good.
madmax New Member
Call Sign : 13-CT-139 Posts : 32 Times Thanked : 1 Join date : 2023-12-13 QTH or Location : Neustadt, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Equipment Used : CRT SS9900 v4, Gainmaster 5/8
Hi guys, Has anyone perhaps tried to make a Gainmaster 5/8 antenna themselves from a spare part that can be ordered separately?
I decided on something like that because that part is cheap here, and I wouldn't want to miss the specifications if I made the entire antenna myself. So I wanted to ask if anyone has tried something similar and what experiences were like...? That would be an excellent solution for my balcony, and it could also be useful for a trip in nature.
Last edited by madmax on Fri Jul 12, 2024 8:41 am; edited 1 time in total
Alan Pilot Major contributor
Call Sign : 163-CT-220... Posts : 2606 Times Thanked : 70 Join date : 2019-11-19 QTH or Location : Anglesey North Wales Equipment Used : Yaesu FT-991A,,Yaesu FTDX-10,,Icom ic-7610,,Anytone AT-D878UV PLUS",,LINCOLN II+. Age : 16
That is the part that got binned when the old greenhouse was taken away.
That part can be ordered here in Germany for 35e. Here is the DIY plan (unfortunately in German, but the dimensions don't need translation).
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karelgol Senior contributor
Call Sign : 19-CT-024 / PD0GOL Posts : 169 Times Thanked : 6 Join date : 2020-05-21 QTH or Location : Steenwijk, JO32bs Equipment Used : Yaesu FT-897D, Quansheng UV-K5 porto, CB silver rod as mutiband HF antenna, OSJ-pole for 2m/70cm, MFJ-925 tuner Age : 66
Subject: Re: Gainmaster 5/8 Tue Jul 09, 2024 8:34 am
Don't know if this is what you seek, but i'm also a member on the facebook T2LT group, where we've had a thread about the gainmasters.
Alan Pilot and madmax like this post
Alan Pilot Major contributor
Call Sign : 163-CT-220... Posts : 2606 Times Thanked : 70 Join date : 2019-11-19 QTH or Location : Anglesey North Wales Equipment Used : Yaesu FT-991A,,Yaesu FTDX-10,,Icom ic-7610,,Anytone AT-D878UV PLUS",,LINCOLN II+. Age : 16
Subject: Re: Gainmaster 5/8 Tue Jul 09, 2024 9:56 am
Will have to dig it out well what i have left lol. Not this week i don't think full of a cold well that was what i thought until Linda got a Covid test kit out and yes we are both positive not good when you have COPD but it's a first so we did well i think.
madmax New Member
Call Sign : 13-CT-139 Posts : 32 Times Thanked : 1 Join date : 2023-12-13 QTH or Location : Neustadt, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Equipment Used : CRT SS9900 v4, Gainmaster 5/8
My antenna: I mounted the antenna on a Spiderbeam 12m fiberglass pole. Altogether, it cost less than a factory-made Gain-Master antenna. Now I have an antenna that I can quickly disassemble in case of strong winds or bad weather. I can also take it with me on trips into nature.
Les-1, Victor, karelgol, Mavic2Pro, SlimsNotSoShady and John79 like this post