Solarcon A-99 CB Base Antenna Installation and Test

Installation of the Sorlacon A-99 10-11-meter antenna and testing to make sure the SWR is correct.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Antenna is working great! I raised it another 5 feet which appears to have helped it reach out farther locally. I'm also making more constant DX contacts with the new setup.

[@jerryboyer5200]

Thanks for the info.

[@VicGreenBitcoin]

You need seal the PL connector with seal tape bro

[@randymartin5521]

​@@jerryboyer5200 I'm a bit late to the party but for anyone else that sees this, if you're talking about using an amp on 11 meter CB in the US, it is illegal as CB is limited to 4 watts output AM or FM and 12 watts SSB. Our illustrious bureaucracy know as the FCC may not actively enforce it, but if they do catch you, it could be a $10,000 fine plus confusion of equipment.

[@Johnny-jw1iz]

Oh geez shut the hell up Stupid ​@@randymartin5521

[@vinniec5286]

I had that Antron-99 for several years in the early 90s. I bought it used off a friend and had it on a 20' mast. Best antenna I ever had. Had to give it away when I moved.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I'm very pleased with it so far. I was talking skip with Florida this morning, so I know it's working. :) Thanks for watching! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@FartyMcNuggets]

I agree with ya, I lost my Antron out the top of a loblolly Pine bout 75ft up in 98’ lol !!! Some of the mast is still up there ha ha ha !!!! 👍🏻

[@scorpiodrg]

yes i heave one of them for over 40 years and still works is a great antenna !!!!!!

[@billkniseley4052]

Helpful hint, use dielectric compound on the antenna joints and coax connector. Earth ground the antenna mast . Good to see you having some fun with that

[@mattpace5982]

You made a good choice of buying that antenna I have the same antenna it's 50 foot up in the air I've talked all over the USA on the 10 meter band and I've talked to different states on lower sideband of 38 on the cb band

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

So far, I'm very pleased with it. I made several contacts with some stations in Florida this morning, so I know it's working for DX. Thanks for watching! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada!

[@Rusted_Link]

The ground plane kit helps. Nice RF squirtter!

[@N1IA-4]

I bought the Solartron 99 a few months ago and for some reason it developed an issue with a very high SWR. It was such a great antenna on 10, 12 and 15 meters that I bought another and put it up recently. Wondering if the first one just got detuned somehow because the tuning rings butted up against my metal mast. Anyway I'm back in business and I have to say it's the most underrated antenna out there for hams. Many hams snub it because it's a "CB antenna". But that's a mistake. Performance is what counts. The SWR amazing is below 2:1 on 10, 12, and 15 due to its tuning coils. I do think it uses the coax as a counterpoise, though. Mine is radial-less.

[@foxman362]

Nice radio shack and nice radio setup.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Thank you, it's a fun hobby and I love talking on the radio with people around the country! Thank you for watching. 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@378Orlando]

I had an A99 for years then I switched to an IMAX 2000. Both are nice antennas. My IMAX 2000 is only on a 10’ pole due to HOA rules but I still talk DX all over the place .

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I'm enjoying the antenna so far. Currently it's sitting 9 feet above the ground. I'm planning an extension on the pole in the future. Thanks for watching! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@ChristiannTyler]

Few questions, why all the extra coax? I’ve heard you want your coax a specific length such as in multiples 18ft because it’s a quarter wavelength. Second, I have a roof I can put mine on I can’t mount it to a metal pole that’s in the ground only on the roof where there’s a metal vent pipe sticking up the roofline is about 25ft off the ground. Do I need to run a ground wire from the bracket securing the antenna to the vent pipe to ground? Or is that only for safety (lightening) which we never have in my area of the country. I will be running a lot of power so I got lmr400 coax and good connectors my antenna analyzer is on the way but I’m concerned about the grounding issue.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I plan to raise my antenna in the future, so I don't mind that I have a little extra coax. I haven't grounded my antenna yet, but plan to do so once the ground thaws out. A ground is not just for lightning protection, but also to discharge static electricity that builds up. I live in an area that gets low humidly and high winds which is the perfect recipe for static build up. I have damaged my Sears RoadTalker radio twice with static build up from my dipole antenna. I guess I don't have a very steep learning curve. 😀Thanks for watching! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@christophersmith1155]

i take mine camping, so i varnished it then used shrink wrap so i dont get hurt by the fiberglass.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Great idea, I've grabbed an old fiberglass pole before, and it was very painful. Thanks for watching! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@fargoalspach557]

When you had to adjust the rings how much did you turn them?did you turn just one? I purchased a used antenna and it’s like yours but mine didn’t come with any instructions for adjusting anything, just curious.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

When I bought the antenna, the rings were together dead center. You want the rings to be against each other after adjusting. Moving the rings upward will make the antenna longer and closer to the 10-meter band. When I had 50 feet of cheap coax hooked up to the antenna, the antenna was pretty spot on with the rings dead center. For some reason when I switched over to a better-quality coax at around 97 feet, I needed to tune the rings upward to get a lower SWR. Thanks for watching and 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@mattpace5982]

And the radio I use with my antron 99 is a rci 2950dx mobile I bought it from copper electronics had it peaked and tuned and inlined it's a very good radio

[@philiprhodes5537]

I have the imax 2000 and it’s my second one the first had some swr issues in the wet so bought another and yeah when taking the old one down i slid the sections through my hands and ended up with lots of those fibreglass shards stuck in my hand what a nightmare to remove them all… Just out of interest what do you use to re cost these when they get like that?

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Ouch! I grabbed a fiberglass stake once and instantly regretted it. It felt like grabbing a cactus. I've read that you sand them down lightly and can pretty much use any paint that does not contain any metal flakes.

[@UDX4570PalmSprings-yh1mv]

I have the "Sirio Gainmaster 5/8ths wave" which I found to be a far better antenna than the A99's, presently due to heigth restrictions with my location, I mounted the antenna on a cast iron patio umbrella stand and a 4' piece of inch and a half tubing which put the RF choke of the Gainmaster only 4 feet above the ground. The antenna, like the A99 is matched at the 27mhz band with a 1:1 throughout the band and is relatively the same on tge 10 and 12m band. I do alot of skip transmitting so having a low radiation angle is key, and have had 6 and 7x9 reports and some as 20 over reports in Austrailia and Hawaii. I would highly suggest, with the treaded joints on that A99 is put some "Jet Lube" copper infused anti-sieze on the threads to keep corrosion down to a minimum, Jet Lube is conductive so it will promote RF signal transfer from joint to joint. My coax is Messi & Paolini Hyperflex 10 with UHF connectors, the total length is a single run at 70'f which I have loosley coiled up 10'f from outside my shack. According to M&P coax tests, the Hyperflex 10 is much better than RG 213 loss wise but, not as good as RG-214 mil-spec, makes sense, RG-214 is a double Silver plated Shield and a Silver plated conductor, and nearly $5.00 a foot...lol My transiever is an RCI-2970-N3 Tuned up and is putting out 495 watts on the Bird meter, just below the Sirio Gainmasters suggested 500 watt max limit. So far after a year and a half of working DX, antenna is holding up fantastic. Great video, I hope the Antenna serves you well!. 73's from 4570 Palm Springs,Ca 👋🤠

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Thanks for the suggestions, it sounds like you have a sweet setup! I'm putting out around 85 watts on sideband and have been doing pretty well when conditions are favorable. Thanks for the comments and watching the video. I'll look for you when Southern California opens up next time! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@UDX4570PalmSprings-yh1mv]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures Thanks for the reply,take care and hopefully catch you down the log! UDX 4570

[@mcjjordan]

If you get different swr readings from 1-40 then adjustments can be made to get it better

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

After the video, I played around with the rings and was able to get the readings pretty close together with a little fine tuning. Thanks for watching! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@KG6YTG]

THE FORES IS STRONG WITH YOU.

[@jamesblack449]

I had this antenna It's an Antron 99 Base CB antenna You don't need to worry about your SWR it's already set.It's very well built If I could afford it I'd buy another one.This antenna will send your signal out where no other antenna has gone before.Last time I had one up about 20 feet in the air I talked close to 100 miles on a 4 watt Barefoot CB Mobile radio.I've never transmitted that far out on any other Base CB Antenna.

[@muckemark4318]

I also have this antenna. I am from Germany, Bavaria. My tip is not to use an adapter between the cable. This changes the ohm numbers. This is very bad with this antenna. It's best to use a solid cable. Great video

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Thanks for the tip and watching the video! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@mcjjordan]

Tape all joints up & coax connection . Slows water ingress

[@Chris_at_Home]

I worked in communications professionally and did some tower work. We would use Scotch 77 first, then a layer of scotch 88 and then friction tape with scotch coat painted on that. It’s waterproof and comes off fairly easy with the 77 as a bottom layer. I used this method from the Arctic to Middle East Desert to Indonesian jungles and never had a problem.

[@Screamingtut]

you should have put Dielectric Grease on the two joints & get some Marine Grade shrink tubing with adhesive inside (put two layers on each Joint the first one will just cover the connection joint with overlap, then place a long one covering all the metal joints. that's what I did with my antenna and I never had any water getting in. My fiberglass antenna was up for 12+ years.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm thinking of putting some protection on the antenna when I raise it. Thanks for watching, 73 from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada!

[@TahoeMtnMan]

I put up a 33' antenna and it is not as good as the dipole i had previous used. You are doing great! Jealous of your DX.

[@ihaulscrap]

Did the antenna not come with a ground plane radial kit?

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

It did not, the kit is around $78.00. I’ve read on radio forums that it doesn’t make a big difference in performance. The radials in the kit are close to 6 feet long. Thanks for watching!

[@bigfish5705]

Top job 👍🏽

[@bigfish5705]

👍🏽

[@AndrewSparkfish]

Any idea if it can handle a storm wind...?

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

It’s held up great. We get some pretty strong winds in our area.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Comments are turned back on. I realized today that I had accidentally turned them off about a week ago. Sorry about that!

[@waynedoomad2573]

Great anttena

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Thanks for watching, 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada!

[@mypointofblue5260]

Good video! Thanks!

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Thanks for watching, 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe NV!

[@richdabarber]

Will this work with the g90 ham radio

[@PopeyeKF4LBG]

Absolutely! Love my G90! Work 10-15 easily!

[@portabull749]

Cool

[@bleikrsound6127]

I’m preparing to set up one of these about 200 ft up a WV mountain slope. My plan is to connect a balun directly to the A99, connect 450 ladder line, run the 200 ft into the tuner. And I’m 65. Pray for me. 😂 😂 😂

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I'm not far behind you, be safe! I'm anxious to hear how it performs, please share when you get it up and running. 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@bleikrsound6127]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures Well she’s up. I miscalc’d the DXEngineering’s balun size, I had to make a ‘shim’ placed between A99 and the mast so the balun would easily connect directly to the connector ( I almost simply used a 3’ coax but that would have compromised my ‘direct connect’ experiment ). I used the tuning ring setting as set at the factory, just tightened them together,, and I didn’t test on-site. I’m getting below 1.5 SWR from about 26.500 to 28.500, with the center freq around 27.300 (entire CB band is almost flatline reflected ). I’m getting about the same performance as a short run of coax / 75ft., so using this no coax (other than what’s inside the A99) method is viable for long runs. Apologies for the long explanation! 584 Southern WV Night Watchman (local)

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

@@bleikrsound6127 Sounds great, I'm glad to hear that the antenna is up and your SWR is good! I've been thinking of adding a balun. Please let us know how your antenna is performing. Thanks for the comment!

[@bleikrsound6127]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures I heard you the other day, but conditions were wide open and I couldn’t get over the beamers. Had good reports so far, CA,TX,OK, and an off-band from Nome, Alaska on 27.425 LSB. There are so many mountains here, I’m doing far better contacting DX than locals blocked by steep valleys. I need more height!!!

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

@@bleikrsound6127 I hear you, I'm also in a valley completely surrounded by mountains on all sides. I sometimes wonder if the radio signal bounces off the mountains as I do very well DXing. How high is your antenna? Thanks for the comment, 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada!

[@fixitnige]

These antenna's were brilliant when they were made by Antron but the new Solarcon is not made aswel and does not work aswel, I know this because myself and a friend tested them both at the same time. I still use an original Imax 2000 I use on 10 mrts .

[@donmartin7460]

Mine is old and the glass is so bad now it looks furry. It works great but I need to re-coat it with something to get more years out of it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 10-4

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I've heard that the Krylon spray-paint will hold up for a few years. The Rust-Oleum spray-paint for plastic looks like it would probably hold up the best. Avoid anything with metal in it or lead based paint. I've also read to avoid black paint with high carbon content. Wash the antenna with soap and water (wear gloves to avoid the fiberglass splinters) and paint.

[@donmartin7460]

@@RidgeHikerAdventures 10-4 Definitely not looking forward to handling that thing but I have to try something or get a new one. I think I’ll wear my Covid mask too.

[@jacianmcgurk7424]

Done my Imax2000 with a pot of laquer and it came up good as new. All the very best 108AT132/2M0LNF Ian :-)

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

@@jacianmcgurk7424 That's great to hear, thanks for sharing. I think when the time comes, I might go the lacquer route. 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada!

[@donmartin7460]

@@jacianmcgurk7424 thanks…..I think I’m going to give it a shot.

[@dxsnap]

By chance do you a 1-800 to call for parts Lost my last 8 foot section in a storm

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Walcott Radio sells an upgraded replacement top section for the A-99 manufactured by Firestick.

[@baldanddangerous1572]

nice antenna

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Thank you, it looks much better than the PVC dipole that sits on top of my RV. :) 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada!

[@adamivanecky3907]

buy your self a 6.5 meter steel pole and put the antenna on that and have close to the radio room. the higher the antenna the better it will work and you will get out even a lot of greater distance.

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I'm planning to raise the antenna in about a month after collecting some data. I want to see what difference height will have on dx and local contacts. Thanks for watching! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@charleswills4554]

Ive two of them up at my house. They are a great antenna for the money. Ive talked all over the U.S. and Europe. 514 0ntario Canada

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I'm very pleased with the A-99 so far. I had a great time with it this morning, skip was really going. thanks for watching! I'll look for you on the airwaves, I've talked with several operators in Ontario. 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@ronnielayne5863]

if u have a chain link fence company near go get u some chain link fence top rail it comes i 22-24ft, 1 1/2-2in round maybe bigger an it comes in 12ga,14ga,16ga, an its smaller on one end so u can slide to pieces together mite be what ur looking for

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

Great idea, I never thought of using fencing poles. Thanks for watching and the comment. 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada!

[@ronnielayne5863]

ya they work great 654 southwest part of va @@RidgeHikerAdventures

[@bradyseitz2883]

Ground

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I really need to get out and run a ground. I’ll now have to wait till spring when the ground thaws out. Thanks for watching!

[@richardcallihan9746]

Consider having a ruler to make measurements. U clamp Not C clamp, just saying.

[@bbroken1]

Your going to bleed all over your naibors unless you get that thing at least a full wave off the ground. Especially when you run that amp

[@RidgeHikerAdventures]

I'm not too concerned. I mainly run barefoot on 11 meters and my radio puts out a clean signal. I also have a low pass filter inline when I run the amp on 10 meters to block out any possible spurious emissions above 30 MHz from the amp. Now that television signals are digital, 11 meter radios don't interfere with the signals any more. I don't even hear any RF noise on my computer speakers or 2 meter ham radio that I have on most of the time. Thanks for watching! 73s from 595 Lake Tahoe Nevada.

[@foxman362]

Paint your antenna black they won't see your antenna it last longer.

[@danieljohnson8437]

Ground...

[@jamesblack449]

Get some ground wire and ground it to a metal pipe or pole That will also protect your shed from lightning.