I've got an Imax-2000 coming from Sparky and plan to mount it from a metal plumbing vent pipe coming out of the roof of the house. Am I correct in thinking this type of mount will be grounded well and won't need anything more?
I suppose I should wait until the antenna arrives and read the directions but I'm interested to know how you tune the radio to the antenna for SWR?
I'll be running my Cobra 142 GTL with a Cobra CA-72 Dynamike Plus. I keep finding stuff packed away in the basement, lol.
IMAX-2000 INSTALL
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Dmusr
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Kingpin1946
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My I max came out of the box at at 1.2 to 1 swr. I replaced the top section with a 7 foot Francis gray amazer and had to retune it just slightly, but was worth it because of the gain in receive. Mine is on a 15 foot long piece of cyclone fence top rail then put into the plumbing vent on the roof. I used a small muffler clamp to set the height. 2 feet down into the vent just resting there, no guy wires. Been there for 4 years with no ground or trouble at all. When the wind blows you can hear a slight noise in the utility room from the motion of one pipe in the other.
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Dmusr
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That's a pretty good suggestion with the fence toprail. How did you run your coax into the house? To start I'll just run mine in a window but will eventually come up with something more permanent.Kingpin1946 wrote:My I max came out of the box at at 1.2 to 1 swr. I replaced the top section with a 7 foot Francis gray amazer and had to retune it just slightly, but was worth it because of the gain in receive. Mine is on a 15 foot long piece of cyclone fence top rail then put into the plumbing vent on the roof. I used a small muffler clamp to set the height. 2 feet down into the vent just resting there, no guy wires. Been there for 4 years with no ground or trouble at all. When the wind blows you can hear a slight noise in the utility room from the motion of one pipe in the other.
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Kingpin1946
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That's all I did. Then slid the window closed against the coax and put a strip of duct tape up to seal the 1/2" gap in the window. Didn't want to drill holes you know.........Dmusr wrote:That's a pretty good suggestion with the fence toprail. How did you run your coax into the house? To start I'll just run mine in a window but will eventually come up with something more permanent.Kingpin1946 wrote:My I max came out of the box at at 1.2 to 1 swr. I replaced the top section with a 7 foot Francis gray amazer and had to retune it just slightly, but was worth it because of the gain in receive. Mine is on a 15 foot long piece of cyclone fence top rail then put into the plumbing vent on the roof. I used a small muffler clamp to set the height. 2 feet down into the vent just resting there, no guy wires. Been there for 4 years with no ground or trouble at all. When the wind blows you can hear a slight noise in the utility room from the motion of one pipe in the other.
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Kingpin1946
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They quit making them a few years back. Seven foot long fiberglass antenna with triple windings internal. (Windings inside the glass rather than around the outside.) They really worked well if you had room for a 7' antenna. I used to have two of them but a friend needed one for his RV so now I have one.doctor wrote:What is a francis grey amazer, never heard of one
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Interesting hooking it up to a vent pipe a direct path of uninvited lightning potential into your house.Dmusr wrote:I've got an Imax-2000 coming from Sparky and plan to mount it from a metal plumbing vent pipe coming out of the roof of the house. Am I correct in thinking this type of mount will be grounded well and won't need anything more?
I suppose I should wait until the antenna arrives and read the directions but I'm interested to know how you tune the radio to the antenna for SWR?
I'll be running my Cobra 142 GTL with a Cobra CA-72 Dynamike Plus. I keep finding stuff packed away in the basement, lol.
Most people would say yes but that is not me . I seen the results at a friends house 25 years ago with his vent pipe with antenna setup and a house fire.
Not a chance I would hook it up that way. I would put it on a mast touching the ground and go up from there. Run grounds from the antenna to a 8 ft ground rod in the ground and then some .Thats my 2 cents and I msticking to it !
Its not a real radio unless it has tubes and USB/LSB on the front panel ....
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'Doc
Couple of things.
The Imax and 'A99' type antennas don't need an RF ground. Any grounding is for electrical purposes, lightning, etc. That's not a bad idea though.
Is your vent pipe grounded? No idea. Just depends on how old your house is to some extent. All vent pipes are not metal, and even when they are, who says it's metal all the way to dirt? So, simplest thing is to do any grounding you think is necessary. Big wire, not little wire, it's for lightning, right? And who wants a water heater, toilet, or whatever between lightning and ground?
NO antenna is exactly 'pre-tuned' out of the box. How can the manufacturer guess what/where/how it's gonna be mounted? So that's why there's almost always some means of adjusting an antenna, one way or another. They can get sort of 'close', and if that's close enough then great! If not, then it's up to you to do that adjusting. Best idea is to read the instructions and at least try to follow them.
- 'Doc
The Imax and 'A99' type antennas don't need an RF ground. Any grounding is for electrical purposes, lightning, etc. That's not a bad idea though.
Is your vent pipe grounded? No idea. Just depends on how old your house is to some extent. All vent pipes are not metal, and even when they are, who says it's metal all the way to dirt? So, simplest thing is to do any grounding you think is necessary. Big wire, not little wire, it's for lightning, right? And who wants a water heater, toilet, or whatever between lightning and ground?
NO antenna is exactly 'pre-tuned' out of the box. How can the manufacturer guess what/where/how it's gonna be mounted? So that's why there's almost always some means of adjusting an antenna, one way or another. They can get sort of 'close', and if that's close enough then great! If not, then it's up to you to do that adjusting. Best idea is to read the instructions and at least try to follow them.
- 'Doc
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Roughneck424
I purchased an Imax a year or ago. Bolted it to the top of a wooden power pole no ground of any kind. Like Doc mentioned it does not need a RF ground.
It tuned to 1.3 with no adjustment.
Hooked up my new Sparkyfied 148 and spun thru the channel dial. Heard a few truckers talking, asked for a radio check and they came back with a Loud and Proud from Florida! I'm in Kalifornia!!!
I had hurried the install to get ready for the first DX Fest at CBRT. I had Mother Nature on my side that day for I was Nation Wide that day!!
All with the 148 and Imax!!
You can search thru some of my previous post for a picture of that setup and the contacts made with it
It tuned to 1.3 with no adjustment.
Hooked up my new Sparkyfied 148 and spun thru the channel dial. Heard a few truckers talking, asked for a radio check and they came back with a Loud and Proud from Florida! I'm in Kalifornia!!!
I had hurried the install to get ready for the first DX Fest at CBRT. I had Mother Nature on my side that day for I was Nation Wide that day!!
All with the 148 and Imax!!
You can search thru some of my previous post for a picture of that setup and the contacts made with it
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SPANKY
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Zumlin
Check your vent pipe, if it is sectional it may stress and get a leak at a seam, if the seam is in your attic you may get fumes.
Some older pipe is cast and the only thing keeping the seam sealed is a fiber packing material.
Also the pipe may flex around and start a water leak into the attic.
A chimney can get stressed also and start to break down, the Imax is a big lunker up there whipping around sometimes...
I would go with mast mounted to the side of the house before using a chimney or vent pipe if possible..
But I know how it is when you wanna get up and running sometimes....peace
Some older pipe is cast and the only thing keeping the seam sealed is a fiber packing material.
Also the pipe may flex around and start a water leak into the attic.
A chimney can get stressed also and start to break down, the Imax is a big lunker up there whipping around sometimes...
I would go with mast mounted to the side of the house before using a chimney or vent pipe if possible..
But I know how it is when you wanna get up and running sometimes....peace
