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Author Message   Ironmask Posted on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 4:43 pm:        I've already stated my conclusions concerning this topic. I would add, that in the three months the antenna has been up and operating in all weather conditions that Up-State New York [Lake effect snows and now ice storms] can throw at one. The performance exceeds the manufacture's claims by a lot. This includes reception, transmission and beating the TVI problem. Considering that the initial instalation was done by a novice and a blind man I don't think more needs to be said. Thanks Jay   Scrapiron63 Posted on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 5:43 pm:        Ironmask: Just wondered if you've had a good coat of ice on that antenna yet. From looked at the matching device in the picture that was posted in the review, it would seem a coat of ice would short it to ground and the SWR would be off the scale. I have ice problems on this mountain top where I live, just had a good ice coating for about a week. The gamma match on my beam gets coated, and the SWR is bad high, couldn't use it for several days. However the old I-Max 2000 stood there bent like hell with a terrible load of ice, but was still ok to use, swr was in range. I was afraid the I-Max was gonna break, but it didn't. A friend's 5 element broke down, the boom in three places, and the elements broke from the weight of the ice. I think my 3 element beam would have broken if I hadn't took my shotgun with some light loads and shot some of the ice off the elements. This just happens a few days a year, but is aggravating if you can't use your antenna for several days. Scrapiron   Marconi Posted on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 8:48 pm:        Scrapiron63, the matching device is already at ground potential. It is a dual adjustable coil and the tap is located near a 50 ohm impedance point on the tuner. Marconi   Ironmask Posted on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 8:18 pm:        Scrapiron63 We now have about two inches of solid ice on the ground. I have just finished covering chanel 19 for emergency transmissions. To answer your question, My SWR went from a 1:5 to 1 to a 2:0 to 1. We have had power outage etc. But when all is said and done the performance was not dimished by much. I don't have the bending or other structurial problems I have seen with other antennas. When I drove truck in the North west I used Fransis antennas because they would'nt ice up as the metal ones did.   Scrapiron63 Posted on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 11:11 pm:        Well a 2:0 to 1 ain't too bad with a heavy coat of ice. You can talk on that ok. These beams with gamma matches will go outta sight when coated with ice. Thanks for the information guys. scrapiron   Tech833 Posted on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 11:31 am:        The Shakespeare Army Big Stick and the Antron/Imax antennas are the best bet when dealing with ice. Shooting the ice off the antennas is what us commercial broadcasters do too. But only in the worst situations. Normally, the de-icers do a good enough job.   Scrapiron63 Posted on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 12:56 pm:        Thanks 833, some of my friends called me crazy for shooting my old beam, they may be partly right, ha. But it worked, saved it I believe. The ice storms we have here in the southern Ozarks are quite different than in some areas. It comes in the form of slow rain, with temps just below freezing, maybe all night or part of a day. It really builds and gets heavy on timber and other objects like towers and antennas. About the time it quits raining, we might get a little wet snow of top of the ice, then the main blunt of the cold front will move thur with strong winds, thats when the damage really starts. I have about 80-90 large pine trees on this 3+ acre yard, and this last storm done a job on them. My son came over with a crew and picked up 6 large trailer loads of big limbs. A 16 ft trailer btw. I believe for my area, the Antron/Imax is the best bet for a GP. With really a heavy coat of ice, I think the SWR would have to really get high on the I-10K, same as it did on the old Penetrator 500 I ran for so long. Scrapiron   Tech833 Posted on Saturday, December 14, 2002 - 11:55 pm:        Scrapiron- Just a suggestion- If you want the strongest fiberglass CB antenna I know of, check out the Anttron 305. The construction is nothing short of stout. Also, the signal improvement over the A99 is very noticeable on both transmit and receive.   Galileo Posted on Sunday, December 15, 2002 - 12:37 pm:        Tech,Thanks for the review..Was there no signal difference between this antenna, and the Maco?? I have been interested in this antenna for awhile now,I currently am using a Maco..Thank You, Tom Shaw   Tech833 Posted on Monday, December 16, 2002 - 2:30 am:        Hi Tom, I'll bet you would not be able to tell the difference in signal between a V-5/8 and the I-10K. There are a lot of variables at work, and I am sure that some I-10K owners on the board here will tell you differently. However, scientifically speaking, the V-5/8 and I-10K will produce almost identical gain on the horizon with all factors being equal. Aside from that, the I-10K will most surely outlast a V-5/8 antenna and can safely take much more power.   Crafter Posted on Sunday, March 09, 2003 - 2:09 pm:        Ice problems use a supersoaker and some liquid de-icer. Make sure and clean it out good though. Worked on my pdl 2 during ice storms in oklahoma. The wire's on pdl's are really sensitive to weight as well as the fiber hub.