Customer Reviews

Solarcon I-MAX 2000 CB/Ham Radio Base Station Vertical Antenna - 24'

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the 2nd Imax 2000 antenna I've owned, and like it alot. After about 9 years, the fiberglass will deteriorate from the UV rays in sunlight, and then a strong wind will eventually bring it down, but for what they cost and how they perform, I am still satisfied. a friend and I tested this antenna side-by-side on the same evening about 30 miles apart. He had an A99 and an Imax 2000. While my antenna remained the same (my Imax), he switched between his A99 and the Imax physically (he mounted it on the same pole at the same base height) - yes, because the Imax is taller, this also gave it a slight height advantage... I noticed a 3 s-unit improvement on my receive signal from his station when he used the Imax 2000. He also noticed the same 3 s-unit improvement on receive at his end (from my station) while he used the Imax. We both found it hard to believe that there was this much difference over the A99 which is also a fine antenna. I won't bore you here with technical details, etc. - I won't argue "how many db an s-unit is", etc. - Also, for you people considering purchasing a ground radial kit for the A99 OR the Imax, my advice is save your money. It did NOT lower our angle of radiation. On a seperate evening he tested the A99 and the Imax both with and without the radial kits attached (at HIS end, my station remained unchanged...) We both noticed NO perceptible difference in signal strength at either station, receive or transmit of either antenna whether the radial kit was on the antenna or not. We still noticed the 3 s-unit improvement of the Imax 2000 over the A99, but nothing else. In fact he noticed a slight climb in SWR on the Imax when the radial kit was installed.

A very good antenna and I got it here on Amazon for a very good price! This antenna works great on 15 meters as well as 11 meters and other bands in between. Easy to put up, easy to tune.

This is a great 10 Meter Antenna for the price. I purchased it with the radial kit. First contact was Alaska 59 report with 100 watts, feed point only 6 feet off ground. Next contact was 59 to Christmas Island. Wow. I know it says CB antenna, but as other owners have said, "The antenna doesn't seem to care." Great performer with great price. Tunes all bands 10, 12, 15, 17 and 20 meters with built in tuner in my FT-950. Get it now. Your mileage may vary, I will keep mine.

I was looking for a simple effective low cost antenna to cover 10M-17M. After extensive research, I found the Solarcon I-MAX 2000. I read the on-line reviews and the positive comments helped me make my decision to purchase this antenna. After installation, the performance was very impressive. This vertical outperforms the di-pole I used previously. The simplicity ensures low maintenance. So far I'm pleased with this purchase and am looking forward to the next peak of the sun spot cycle.

This antenna has performed extremely well in the month that I have owned it. I have worked 40+ new countries on 10-12 and 15 meters in 30 days. I have been recommending it to all my friends and I would recommend it to you as well. It is mounted 20 feet in the air and running 100 watts it has worked out well for local work as well as DX so get in on all the 10 meter fun while it's here. 73.

John/K2UBG

I assembled the antenna in about ten miuntes,and have it installed on a 10 foot mast. The antenna is very well made !

It will tune several bands 10,11,12,15,17, and 20 meters.

Since I operate a lot of 10 meters the rings need to be turned toward the top in order to get good resonance near the top of the ten meter band at 29.3 MHZ.

If you plan on using it on 15,17,and 20 meters do not install the ground plane kit. You will instead need to use an external tuner for 15,17,and 20 meters.

My first day using this Vertical on 15 meters I worked Belgium,Cyprus,and Spain with 40 watts and got good 5-7 to 5-9 reports.

For the money you can't find a better performing Vertical with 5/8 wavelength on the ten meter band.

Barry W0LHK

I've had this GREAT antenna up and in use now for over a decade, without any issues. I've literally worked all over the world with it without using an amplifier, with excellent signal reports on AM, SSB, and CW. When the bands are open, I often get 10 or 20dB over S9 reports overseas! It 'hears' very well too. The IMAX-2000 requires no antenna tuner for 10, 11, and 15 meters, and i've never used it on any other band. Gain (relatively speaking) is probably the highest for any vertical antenna commercially available today, and it assembles in 3 minutes by simply screwing the 3 parts together (simple pliers or a wrench will do fine). It's not even mounted that high at my location. I have it mounted on a long mast cemented into the ground in my backyard, with about 8 feet of the mast sticking out (so the base of the IMAX is only 8 feet high). Every few years, I take it down, unscrew the 3 sections, and spray and rub 'De-Oxit' contact cleaner on the threads and SO-239 connector to clean the electrical connections (not that it's really needed, but I do it anyway to insure max performance). It is a fairly long antenna, so please be careful that you don't touch power lines with it during installation, or that it can clear power lines if it should ever fall down. In summation, I highly recommend this well made, excellent performing antenna!

If your into skip like im not then this antenna will do the job. seems to work pretty good barefoot.