Is The TN07 MyGo2 Antenna A Dummy Load? LETS FIND OUT!

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Thanks to Sterling kzbin.info for taking the time to help me out on making this video.

[@Blues2cool]

I've been running TN07 antennas for 4 years due to HOA and half my year RVing. The TN07 antennas have helped me communicate 1/2 way around the world and, of course, band permitting. I have met the designer/owner Bob. He has a sincere desire to produce antennas that just work and work well. These antennas are well worth there cost and have held up well. I own and operate 2 of them and will probably purchase a third.

[@johnbontempi4575]

Very well done video, Josh. Bob at TN07 is an incredibly knowledgeable guy, who has done much to introduce people like me to Ham radio. My understanding of the purpose of the MyGo2 antenna is not only to make it easy to set up, but also make it unnoticed by the HOA police. As you mention, there will be a performance trade-off, but that’s better than having no antenna at all. Thanks so much for an enlightening video and for your very diplomatic comments to the producer of the scam video.

[@garyclark4930]

The bottom line is everything is a trade off. Buying or making antennas is like buying a vehicle. What do you want to do with it and how much do you want to spend. Sterling was a great guest. Thanks Josh for finding a RF Engineer to investigate this antenna. Efficiency is always a trade off for multiband antennas. Good video.

[@HammockRadio]

Great video, its good to see Sterling! Part of being a Ham is experimenting, and with the tools we have at our disposal today, there's no excuse not to use them.

[@jeffreytaffuri2253]

Gentlemen, you have my deepest respect and gratitude for taking the time to provide this presentation in a very understandable way.

[@organiccold]

Just before the video start, i need to say: thats a hell of a cool t-shirt that not many people will understand. Love it. 73

[@dave-wk4t]

Want one

[@elmis123123]

Who needs a fluxcapacitor.....?

[@g4joe]

Time travel. 🇬🇧

[@Macjohn1419]

It would be interesting to take field strength measurements of the antenna at different bands to see the radiation efficiency and if there are any loss of energy on certain bands.

[@N0SSC]

I apologize for my awful doodling, and thank you Josh for asking me to help with this "debunking!" (Spoiler alert: it's definitely an antenna!)

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Thanks again Sterling!

[@billcosgrave6232]

You the man!

[@MrNobody-gi3gj]

Just dont become an "artist" sterling!! Lol 73s

[@ernestaldama5654]

It was very informative. I'm one week tech licensed, but have had some waveguide theory so it brought back memories. Thanks.

[@xanatax1844]

Thank you for your help!

[@jasonconrad9212]

Great explanation, I think people have to get over themselves. No matter what you use, unless you have “portable-full size rhombic” (note the heavy sarcasm). There’s going to be a compromise somewhere. If you could hook up a miracle antenna that works on every band and you can make a contact on the first try and hear who ever and whenever you want. I think I would “hang the mic up”, what fun would that be?! My friends give me a hard time about doing things the hard way, and using QRP. That’s what makes it fun and more rewarding when I get a 4,000 mile DX contact with just 10 watts SSB with my KX2! I love this hobby and I love to experiment with radio. Don’t take the negative “feedback” to heart!

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I get a lot of horrible comments. The only ones that bother me are claims I’m taking advantage of people, or too ignorant to know better. Pretty insulting in those cases.

[@503Nick]

Very well done and explained in layman’s terms

[@SteveKN4POP]

Damn. That was a very informative video. Thank you Sterling and Josh. 73

[@greg5929]

So so nice to get this deep tech dive. Sterling has the gold star for the day/month. It's a breathe of fresh air to hear someone delve into the engineering vs marketing/tech gloss over, especially to those EE in the world that have stayed into simpler realms of CS..KUDOS!

[@billharris6886]

Thanks Josh and Sterling for the interesting video. I am a retired RF engineer and have seen some videos on this antenna. I have also been curious as to what type of circuitry is in the base/matching unit. Thanks for using the network analyzer and making the S-parameter measurements; that is very telling as to the internal circuitry. My guess is the circuitry consists of a 3 dB attenuator with a 1,000 pF series capacitor with an RF choke (which is open at the RF frequencies) at the input and output ports so a DC path can be maintained. The wire running along the ground, when combined with the vertical antenna, appears to be acting like the primary of an auto transformer, causing the feedpoint impedance to remain low. 1/4 wave verticals require a groundplane, which this antenna does not have, so between the vertical and shunted ground wire, the antenna must spray signal all over the place. Since it is not resonant and probably going through an attenuator, I assume little of the input power actually gets radiated. So, although receive performance should be good, I would imagine transmit performance is similar to a QRP station. Although the telescoping antenna is very convenient, I can't imagine it would hold up very long out in the weather. The ground fingers in each section would probably lose connection. If used frequently as a field deployable antenna, I would recommend lubricating the contacts with silicone oil to make this expensive antenna last longer.

[@billcosgrave6232]

Sterling is cool. You should have him on more often. BTW - your channel is one of the few that I consistently refer to for info on ham radio...and beer.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Hah! Thanks for that!!

[@tomc8313]

Thanks for doing this! I've recently purchased a MyGo2, and have been grappling with 1) how much is actually getting out, and 2) what is this actually doing. This video went a long way to answering #2. I would like to see your future video where you tackle some of the other questions you posed. I'm going to be trying a few different configs with mine and then testing (e.g. taking the horizontal 26' run and getting it away from the ground (e.g. angling it upwards), varying the height of the vertical extension based on target band, etc. There is no right or wrong here - as you said; just compromise. I would like to know this antenna well enough to make adjustments to fit my needs and bands. Just another option at the buffet table of Ham!!

[@kylezeringue5673]

Josh, Sterling. Great video. Really lots of insights. Makes me wonder what the Smith chart would show if you experimented with the length of the wire to the other ground. Might provide more insight into what happens to the chart looking at length vs freq. for that wire. Lots of food for thought for looking at performance of various antennas. Thanks much!

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I could likely achieve that by playing with different resistors. In the future. In this case achieving a low swr on the plot was not needed for what we’re trying to show.

[@kylezeringue5673]

@@HamRadioCrashCourse oh, understood. Just occurred to me this might be another interesting test but I don't have the antenna.

[@normy31]

Thanks for the technical review, your findings how I interpret it leads me to believe it likely over priced for the real world performance expectations. Your technical guest clearly said it's not a dummy load, but I got out of it that it's not to far from one. The best testing would be in the field and track the contacts GPS. I'd be curious to know if any difference between transmitting and receiving range quality. Thanks for the content as always

[@AndrewWells527]

Good stuff, thanks for all the data and analysis. There is no perfect solution...to anything. Some people get caught up in the drawbacks for some use case and think it should apply to everyone. Maybe they can send you an antenna to sacrifice/open?

[@9a3hp]

And can find toroid transformer to match low impedance to 50 ohm. The wire grounded on another side is paralel feed line acting like inductor on low frequency. On resonant frequency have very hi impedance. On frequency higer than resonance whip is to long so need capacity. On frequency above resonant frequency this shortened feed line act like capacitor. Very simple but genius idea.

[@N1IA-4]

It's just cringe when hams (almost all of them boomers) diss something just because it's different than what they're used to. ("back in the day we only had copper wy-ah and we worked the world"). The proof is in the QSOs. There's nothing unsound about the specs on this antenna. It's all working with the space you have...not the space you have in your dreams. if it works well, then use it, I say. Hate to say it but a lot of old-timers love to spout off about their "experience and knowledge" when many of them haven't touched an antenna in decades. I wish there were less of these kind of hams...and I am 63!! Nice job with your videos. Keep them up, bro.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Thanks for the comment! I’m really not sure where attitude comes from. Why are they like that?

[@mwalker1975]

Great video today and to help to understand this antenna, or any for that matter. I'm confident I know the video you are referencing and I have noticed a similar trend that you called out. I had actually recently unsubscribed from the channel for the very reasons of the direction the channel seems to be going. I come to learn more, and get better in the hobby which is why I really enjoy your channels and others who are set out to educate. 73 Josh, KJ7FEE

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Thanks Max!!

[@jburchm1]

This is a fantastic video, really enjoyed it.

[@W9HJBill]

Should be interesting. If so, it's one of the most expensive dummy loads at $500. ;)

[@eduardopower5254]

Well I'm using and enjoying my chameleon Cha MPAs which is exactly the same and I've worked hundred of countries with that "dummy load"

[@W9HJBill]

@@eduardopower5254 Not exactly. The CHA MPAS is a vertical with a counterpoise. Supposedly the 25' wire isn't a counterpoise but rather part of the radiating element. I first thought this was just a much more expensive version of of the CHA, but I was corrected on that point.

[@rearickjb]

This is a great video and thanks to Sterling for the knowledge and testing. A big question still remains, how efficient is this antenna??? There could be some easy comparisons done to give some idea on how it stacks up. Lets see you run some WSPR or FT8 testing compared to a single band dipole. This would give some idea. Alternate between the two antennas with callsign/1 and callsign/2. Then show the WSPRnet or PSKReporter results.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

This is in work!

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

MFJ has a nice clamp on RF current meter. Measuring around the whip near the base, and measuring around the horizontal wire near the "transformer" would be instructive. If it's a dummy load, you won't see much current in either place, on either band. Current on the ground/mounting rod may also be interesting. And check how the current changes by band. You need to be transmitting a CW signal (or FT-8, etc.) of known power when the current reading is taken, and then you can figure out where the power is going. And, yes, the horizontal wire is "low", but it likely has measurable current maybe all the way to the distant ground, meaning that it isn't coupling that much energy capacitively to ground (so ground coupling isn't serving as a hidden dummy load). I have the meter, but I live in NH, so you can probably find one to borrow locally. I'm not going to buy one of these (I'm pretty happy with my EMCOMM II), so despite having the meter, I won't be running the test here. A very nice start on refuting the dummy load criticism. Thanks, and 73 -- KE1G

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Oh this is pretty smart. So this would go around the vertical? I would assume the shield of the coax would get in the way of the reading.

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

@@HamRadioCrashCourse Yeah. The MFJ has a split in half toroid with a snap clasp to hold it closed, so you open it up to reclose it around a conductor, like the whip, the horizontal wire, or the ground stake supporting the box. It would work around the coax, but not to measure the signal we intend (between the center conductor and the inside of the shield), but instead measuring the RF on the outside of the shield (that we try to block in many designs using a "line isolator" or a choke balun, and which can lead to "RF in the shack"). That might have a effect on radiation, but if there's RF current in the whip and RF current in the horizontal wire, then they're being an antenna. If the current is significant for the power level, then there's not much dummying going on. (But not that useful antennas like terminated coaxial cage dipoles and verticals do dissipate some of your power after having radiated what they can, in order to give you a good match. It's a compromise, but often much better than the alternatives of inserting a lossy tuner, and, yes, tuners are a source of loss.) Another fun measurement close to those that you showed would be with the resistor between the top wingnut post and the fitting for the whip. I suspect that they are NOT directly connected, but instead are connected to opposite ends of a coil winding, meaning that the two are 180 degrees out of phase. If you get an interesting curve, then I'm right. If it looks the same as the "open" case, then the are almost certainly directly connected inside the box. All very satisfyingly techie, but I'd be happiest seeing a comparison of PSKReporter results for this antenna and your favorite dipole (or whatever) at QRP transmit levels.

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

@@HamRadioCrashCourse And in case you're considering a purchase (or asking MFJ for a loan) what I have is the MFJ-854. Cheaper are the MFJ-853 or, for measuring when there's higher power into the antenna,, the MFJ-853H.

[@eduardopower5254]

In MY opinion, this "mysterious" antenna is nothing more than a 5:1 transformer, the binocular copper tube type. Exactly the same that the Chameleon Cha Hybrids, mini or micro. Same that the Ultimax 100, same that alpha Full metal jacket! And it works very good.

[@DaDitDa]

Agreed... Ken WA8FCI

[@cam-man7350]

Indeed I have worked the world on my alpha fmj. Performs really well on all bands. 73 ZS5TC

[@hazratmuhazmat8831]

I set up my Alpha Antenna Alpha Match (5:1 Balun) in the same configuration and got very similar results.

[@GoonyMclinux]

It 100% is that, if you hook one up directly into a dummy load at 100 watts around 30 or 40 watts shows up on a power meter.

[@yakovdavidovich7943]

The dips are not necessarily where it's resonant -- it's where the magnitude of the complex impedance is close to 50 ohms, making a good match. The definition of resonance is no reactance (purely resistive). Good matches are often not actual resonant points, unless you're using an antenna design whose natural radiation resistance is around 50 ohms.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Sure. Always a good point to mention that.

[@K5QBF]

Great video guys!!

[@CriticalThinker-42]

Thanks for another good video, Josh! I've been licensed a few decades and it seems that these "magic" antennas appear when propagation is on the rise or peaking so that their On The Air reports, while good, hide their short comings. I'm no LB Cebik (RIP), but it appears to me to be just an Off Center Fed Non-Resonant antenna fed with an unun. Possibly with a high value resistor across its output (using the earth via the ground rods for this?) to flatten the SWR a bit without absorbing most of the input power (based upon its CW limitation and heating). I expect that when the sunspot cycle bottoms out the numbers of folks praising this antenna drops considerably. 73s, mike N4ONL

[@Brighamdoc]

Thanks so much Now it's time to go play with my dipole

[@z8ty]

Enjoy this expose a lot. Go onto your search your videos to see if you’ve actually put it to use. It’s one thing to know the theory, the how to, but the real test is does it work? The second real test is does it work well enough to justify the cost? I almost bought one and Hamcation last month, but they were offering no incentive whatsoever. And I could not find enough reviews that actually tested the antenna in real-world conditions. Thanks again for the thorough technical review.

[@gpbarth]

First off, as I have learned, you use what you've got. (1) I have a very small yard (~75 ft. from my back door to my garage), with utility feeds overhead to my home and my duplex neighbor's home, and an alley behind my home with power and cable feeds, i.e. I am surrounded by WIRES, all of whom are either 60Hz or RF loaded. (2) Subsequently, I have no room for a ton of radials needed for a vertical (my yard is also

[@Hamman1701]

The load to flatten the SWR is the ground conductivity that the RF path passes through on the so call radial. Instead of using a metal pipe in the ground at the end of the radial use a wooden stick. You will see a great difference. It antenna is another version of the Buxcomm antenna.

[@ryankc9oza118]

Watched jim w6lg talk about this on his channel.

[@W9HJBill]

That was an awesome video. The WTF-1 seems like a more compact version of my Terminated End Fed Inverted Vee antenna which operates from 2M to 2200M with an SWR below 2.5:1. ;)

[@ammocraft]

That video of Jim’s should be required viewing for new hams before they are exposed to some of the YT shill channels out there promoting all their free gifts, paid promotions, and stealth sponsorships. Funny thing is, Jim said he’d had enquiries to buy it. 🤣🤣🤦🏻‍♂️

[@N0SSC]

@@ammocraft Sure, but I would also want this video to accompany it so a new ham can actually understand how these antennas might be obscuring a large compromise for your convenience.

[@ammocraft]

@@N0SSC Absolutely. I think every review that doesn't include some technical information and proper testing isn't really a review at all, and some (Josh NOT included) are outright shills. After all, part of the reason we get such a great free chunk of spectrum is to experiment with and further the understanding of radio. Ultimately the laws of physics don't change, and there is no free lunch...a compromise wideband antenna is just that - a compromise over a resonant single band one, but we need to educate the newbies to this fact, in a non-patronising way. Channels like W2AEW do a great job of explaining the basic theory of things like the Smith chart for beginners, and I love it when the bigger channels like this one put that stuff into the reviews too, especially with collaboration with SME's.

[@OCjb3]

Very well done sir!

[@denelson83]

The horizontal wire/vertical whip combination is topologically equivalent to a dipole.

[@EdLeonard47]

Good analysis! Any chance of an A-B antenna field test with something you think would be a fair comparison? Thanks! 73 de N9EdL

[@hazratmuhazmat8831]

I set up my Alpha Antenna Alpha Match in a way that matches the My Go2 Antenna. I got under 2:1 for all between 40 and 10. Generally, I think it is a 5:1 Balun.

[@RobertMacCready]

All this is interesting. Whoever did the hit piece did no service to AR. But I still would like to see the antenna operate. How well does it work? Can you only contact your neighbors down the street? Why not set up wspr, run it and see what propagation results you get.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

There will be a WSPR test. I have some testing gear on order and it’s been delayed due to the chip shortage.

[@LarryAllenTonar]

Somebody is taking a wry parody too seriously.

[@RobertMacCready]

OMG, a Ham doing a parody? They're not all dull and boring? hi hi hi

[@chrisazure1624]

The think transformer is a 5:1 UnUn. I tried my AlphaAntenna transformer in the same configuration (I put the horizontal wire under the coupling nut) and got the same results. Under 2:1 for 80-10m. I was using a shorter mil-whip, so if I use a longer vertical, I might get 6m.

[@redman840]

I’m wondering if the same claim could be made about the Chameleon micro and mini hybrid designs,similar to what we see here?

[@Ben-md9yx]

Thanks for another great video, Josh.. Learned about Smith Charts. But, I want your shirt. LOL..

[@MINI-4X4-RADIO]

The wire spacing and potting will have some intrinsic capacitive effect It would be interesting to stick s 1/4 wave for 6M on it

[@mattharvey8712]

Bravo......xray.....u need the airport scanner......beem scan........cheers

[@whiteb0rd]

I wonder how performance will vary with soil conditions? At extremes, wet sandy beach vs. dry soil ? Might be something else to explore with the RigExpert and a field trip or three....

[@gumbykevbo]

Id like to see how the antenna performs if set up on a metal roof (with stubs bolted to it rather than driven into ground). My suspicion is that it is using ground losses as a loss element. If that is the case then the SWR will be far worse when ground loss is eliminated. I think the horizontal bit( including ground) is a lossy stub, and my suspicion is that there is just a transformer , and maaaaaybe a capacitor inside the cylinder. Surely somebody must either be or have a friend or neighbor that is a dentist or doctor so that we can get some X-rays of this thing.

[@JunkyardPhysics]

How about showing the performance via wspr ? Compare it to a conventional properly tuned vertical. Perhaps just using a single counterpoise wire on the conventional antenna.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

This is something I am working on! Don’t worry. I think this antenna is a great way to show people how this all works.

[@ernestaldama5654]

According to what I understand the height of the long wire may add Capacitance Reactance. If the rods were lengthen would it still function normally. My other understanding this set up was for use in a HOA, environment.

[@FLHamExtra]

Would it hurt the components if you x-rayed it?

[@xanatax1844]

on a video showing off this antenna, showed readings from a meter. 😅 someone in the comments says, “okay, looks like you should expect 6dB attenuation of transmissions … so your emissions may be 25% of what you expect. 💜 that said, it should be a great receiver! … and still adequate for transmissions, - just wastes batteries, compared to the output you expect?

[@wjess3569]

Have you noticed directionality with this antenna and the 25' 'ground plane' ???

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Not from my simple setup. More testing would be needed.

[@robertmeyer4744]

That some interesting testing. a outher test would be running different bands is the heating of the coil the same ? also using rigexpert with antenna installed for use and taking wip off and or wire antenna to ground. a lot of AM broadcast stations are shunt fed. The tower or group of towers are all DC ground. then part way up from ground is the feed point . I think that mygo2 will be great for parks on the air where you do not have a lot of space. 73's

[@scottf4277]

Let's x-ray it!

[@richardyoung1657]

Using different resistors would have shed light on the transformer ratio.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I might go back and do that.

[@n5yiz]

I didn't even know Jim was talking about a specific antenna. Interesting.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Sure…

[@n5yiz]

@@HamRadioCrashCourse I didn't even know what you were talking about until you alluded to Jim. Is this start of YT ham wars? LOL

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Nah. Not trying to have beef. But check out some of his replies in his comments.

[@n5yiz]

@@HamRadioCrashCourse I read the comments the day he released the video. Heck, I even commented. I thought he was just making a random parody vid. I certainly didn't see Jim as one to "stir the pot".

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I saw your comment actually, pretty funny! 👍

[@ai5dd]

I wonder if the Chameleon Hybrid Micro works the same way.

[@bill-2018]

I just checked the price. I'll not bother. How much heat at what power level? Heat sounds inefficient and lossy. Several years ago I used three 5 foot aluminium poles slotted together making a 15 foot vertical at an agricultural show, with a beer bottle as insulation from earth, a wire from it to a roller coaster and variable capacitor then coax to my h/b 4 Watt tcvr. Much cheaper and it worked, 30m c.w. into Europe. Pubs On The Air soon, however this time I've a SOTAbream Tactical Mini mast, 22 inches extending to about 20 feet, and will run a wire up it and I'll use a counterpoise earth as well. G4GHB

[@doughendry115]

Just wondering If anyone thought about a 49:1 balun maybe because from the test it looked to inductive why they would need 2 ground not sure it would be interesting to see. I have an ideal it is some form of balun. Because the whip would act as a random length of wire. Also the longer wire grounded above ground would give some capacitance to the circuit where the 49:1 does have a capacitor at input between center and ground.

[@LarryAllenTonar]

Josh, I'm surprised you may have taken "Jim W6LG"'s very funny dummy-load-as-antenna video personally. I've only had an HA license a few months; with a very limited budget looking for my first EMCOMM/POTA suitable, clean-signal, efficient rig. I've have lost count of the ads, er reviews, parodied by the obvious dummy-load-as-antenna video: EFHW, OCFHW, vertical ¼-wavelength, random wire non-resonant, small "magnetic" loop... In reviews, shortcomings are glossed over. E.g.: • Cannot handle more than, say, 25W FM, CW and some digital modes without overheating a ferrite-core balun, unun, or load or possibly melting in-air loop or helix.- • Limited in-band low-SWR bandwidth, requiring if affordable antenna tuners limited to handling 300-600W in the difficult modes. • Near-ground elements requiring. low power operation for observer safety or long feed lines for operator safety. [BTW, I'd surely like to see in-vehicle RF power measurement from rooftop, trunk, and bumper-mounted antenna tigs over 10W. (especially after seeing video of a guy intending to install a 1kW HF amp in his truck and seeing. USArmy NVIS rear-to-front bumper vehicle antennas. ] Bob's TN07 Engineering web page was mixed about power handling [explcit "QRP"], and claimed SWR over [didn't say "all USA ham bands"] 3.5-55MHz, which I don't remember seeing 2:1 SWR graphed close up and longer-than-subliminal for each and every band in a review video. So, I am totally new at this. I could carry an 11lb $500 antenna kit, and maybe it's in-budget but will I get frustrated by QRP reception of my signal?

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I think I took Jim's video as a poke in the ribs that I should look into what was going on with the antenna. Having Sterling help me out was a lot of fun and I learned alot.

[@bobgerzoff5072]

Could one, with an infrared thermometer pointed at the transformer, compare the efficiency at different bands, i.e., higher temperatures less efficient, lower temps more efficient? 73

[@thomasnewbery7449]

Hmm... A field strength meter to compare it with a vertical... maybe place it about 100 ft from the antennas and record the results on video.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Working on that 👍

[@T-Hogie]

@@HamRadioCrashCourse and compare the field strength to a resonant vertical.

[@Munky332]

biggest compromise IMO is the damn price lol Rip it open, I wanna see its guts

[@mjktrash]

If there was a cricket, either it didn't come thru, or my bad hearing clipped it out for you.

[@hardenpt2522]

Can you do a review on the - Thales PRC-148 MBITR Blade antenna? 48” long 30-80mhz. Just bought one on ebay. Going to try to use it for my ft818 as a manpack antenna. Will mount it to the body of radio with a tnc bulkhead to pl259. Check it out!

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I don’t own one.

[@jeffryblackmon4846]

A non-destructive exam could be done via X-ray.

[@mssippijim]

It may work to some extent, but it is a very high price to pay.

[@ChrisN8PEM]

I feel bad for the guy who worked hard to design, test, manufacture and then sell these antennas. He gets caught up in the drama and has other youtubers declaring (without even seeing) it nothing more than a dummy load. If it's not a good product, it doesn't matter how highly you or others speak of it, it will fall to the side in time. But all this negativity out of the gate would just want to make me hang up my hat. Thanks Josh for trying to set the record straight.

[@Powerstrokemods]

Great video, thanks! The price of this little 'magic' device is really obnoxious, considering there's probably 5 bucks worth of pvc and wire, and glue from Home Depot. One has to wonder how the maker arrived at this figure, did he just reach in the air and think, hey, these will fly off the shelf if I make the price high enough. I think both him, and the ham community would be better served had the cost been around $100 each instead of $500 each. It may be a cool accessory, but, I don't think it's a good investment at all. Don't you know a dentist with an x-ray machine that can take a peek into this thing?

[@Locksnut]

The cricket was just practicing CW

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Lol

[@TinyDan87]

i know this vid was a while back, but you should try getting that balun thing xrayed by your local NDT mob, may even be someone in your followers that can assist

[@TwstedTV]

The ONLY way to actually find out what is actually happening, is that someone needs to crack this thing open. I am honestly very shocked that no one has cracked this puppy open yet. Specially in a hobby where everyone loves to find out how things work & connected. There has to be someone out there with deep pockets that is in this hobby and can crack this thing open and show everyone whats inside.

[@ty81060]

This is a great channel and very informative! Could someone offer a couple of good websites/sources to buy Ham Radios in CANADA? I'm looking for handheld right now...actually like to buy at least 4 or 5 units that are the same. Not finding what I'm looking for on Amazon or Ebay Canada. Leaning towards a couple of Yaesu models {under $200} and if for no other reason, I like they are made in Japan rather than China. Would also be interested in buying used to perhaps get more features for a bit less but no doubt be hard to find 5 used ones that are all the same model. Any help with references or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Ham Radio Outlet will ship to you.

[@thecarys563]

Don't want to be all ADA but the low contrast between the bright green and the white background was tough to see.

[@pieterdutoit9642]

Hi his look the same set p as Alpha vertical, Comet CHA 250, Diamond ,Chameleon tact, 5:1 / 6:1 transformer, Thank for it 1 thing I know Recieve is not good only strong signals

[@barndweller4573]

Interesting but WOW 499$ for that. I would spend the same as the Wolf River Coil vertical but at 499$ I will not be buying one.

[@thomasr.jackson2940]

A friend with an x-ray machine can reveal most of the innards.

[@jeffjohnson7470]

Can someone just answer “does it work?”

[@johnk23705]

Why will no one do a side by side comparison with say a Buddistick and the Go To antenna ? Betting the Go To will be about 2 "S" units below the Buddistick. You can speculate all day long as to what is in the magic cylinder. Why not crack it open and find out for sure. Is it a pure dummy load ?....No. But it's close to one. It will be lossy. Be honest with us and do a side by side, then we will know if it is even close to being worth the asking price. In any case, why would someone want to pay $550.00 for something that performs poorly compared to another readily available portable vertical for far less money. There has been nothing new in antennas in many years. Do the side by side, crack open the magic cylinder and put this to bed.....Also, if you want to be taken seriously on any portable antenna test, you need to always use a "Reference Antenna". otherwise you just keep giving glowing reports, not knowing how well a antenna really performs. All antennas will radiate. It cheapens your videos and makes you look like a shill. A Buddistick reference antenna for verticals, a 49 to 1 EFHW for wire. That way people will know if physical factors are worth any loss or gain compared to the reference. I'd almost rather sit through another BaoFeng video than another antenna video that gives no reference.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I’m actually working on this. Video hopefully coming soon. Rest assured.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

As to the last part of your comment. Idk that a buddipole being such high Q is a good reference antenna. I will likely be using a inverted v dipole and possibly a tuned vertical.

[@LarsLarsen77]

More RF engineers please.

[@Glider7303]

I see this as a very un-safe antenna using a tripwire installation technique that is going to get someone hurt.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Don’t use it. 👍

[@Glider7303]

@@HamRadioCrashCourse After seeing the design setup I never planned to use one I just see the potential for someone to get hurt by tripping on the outstretched wire and then possibly impaling themselves on one of the ground stakes.

[@bill-2018]

Put some hi-vis tape dangling from it.

[@TheRetiredtech]

It may not be a dummy load but it is snake oil

[@akademic2619]

Surprised you did not connect a known 20uh inductance coil in parallel to the top thumb nut and base ground nut and determine the combined value on your inductance or impedance meter (resistors and inductors in parallel). (X*X2)/(X+X2)= XTotal A bit of mathematics and you have your internal inductance coil values at any frequency. The next test is to parallel connect a capacitor and determine the resonant frequency which will confirm the inductor value. It is very unlikely that any capacitor is in use internally and you can recheck by determining what the natural impedance of a shortened vertical would be a that frequency from a chart or empirical measurements.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

This video already ran long. That is a good idea for a future video.

[@alsamson3419]

That’s not a fair test you need to mount it with the whip and properly ground it.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I followed the instructions.

[@dennleo843]

$500 bucks,,, not happening

[@WG5Xradio]

Jim must’ve decided that he needs to be a crotchety old whiner to stay relevant. ( And I’m old) He was the one with the rant video against the ARRL because they called the hobby a hobby. I used to watch his videos but I’m over it. Quit watching when I lost respect for his opinions.

[@edbouhl3100]

Numbers. His tech video views are usually multiples of 1000. His rant video views are usually multiples of 10,000.

[@MI7DJT]

You're the dummy load if you buy that piece of overpriced crap.

[@bobdaney48]

This RF dude talking a mile a minute and saying nothing.

[@joecormier6720]

Boring.

[@dmitryfrolov6290]

I think there is 9:1 or 4:1 unun in this matching unit and that's all guys! That's the whole secret. DE R2DTJ.