I max 2000

[jkb]

Is this still a well made antenna please? Had Antron 99’s where the lacquer stripped off after a while?
Thanks john

[The Collector]

I've an Antron and the gel-coat can flake and the fibreglass underneath can start to degrade or splinter slightly. The metal joints can come loose from the fibreglass tubing over time and may need new epoxy resin (araldite stuff).

I bought a second hand Imax (and then stupidly sold it again) and it looks almost identical in build apart from the sections are about 8ft each as opposed to the Antron's 6ft'ers, so may well suffer from similar symptoms.

The A99's and Antrons are an older design though, so it may be a few years until the Imax's start to show issues like those mentioned above and if you buy a new one, it should give you 10yrs+ use I should think.

[Ur5by9]

double post

[Ur5by9]

Imax is a very large unsupported antenna which folds over into a horizontal dipole in the most minimal of winds. not quite as bad as the gainmaster which was just a joke

[Nitehawk]

Well that's a big statement UR5by9 if you've had one it must have been DUFF, I had one up for nearly ten years, it got me round the world and back, it was low noise and stood everything the wind threw at it, and was still as straight as a die. If a anyone is thinking of buying one highly recommended , of course that's my opinion, location is a big factor.

[108EH002]

Can't say what a new Imax is like build quality wise,the Imax is still fine after 95mph + winds here,ok it whips about but I wouldn't say it performs poorly for me,and there are 6 locals who use them with good results.

2 locals running Imax's last night on 27.565 usb,talking to Charlie in 193 div about 7/8 oclock...........will tell them you think the Imax is poor......just because it was poor for you ur5by9,doesn't mean its poor to everyone else who is happy to use one.

Ive used the SGM and 827 just for reference.

[The Collector]

The only reason I sold mine was that I felt the top section was way too thin and "whippy".

As my aerials have to be disguised due to strict covenants in the area (my Antron is camo'd up and hidden in conifers somewhat),being whippy and therefore more eye-catching as it swayed, it would've been easier to tell that it was an aerial...plus it would've been 6ft taller than the Antron so perhaps downright obvious.

I'd got a bid on it when selling it on ebay when I thought about keeping it and seeing if I could put a 7ft Firestik or 9ft tank-whip on as a top section, instead of the whippy top section instead.

I wasn't sure if it would have SWR'd in though so let it go. I've now got a big swr/matcher meter so perhaps that would do the job of matching it. If I see a cheap Imax again I'm going to try and buy it and have a go and I can also compare it against the Antron, as well as with its normal top section and then the replacement one (would just need to find someone on).

[108EH002]

1/4 wave ss whip trimmed to 8ft collector

[NightProwler]

My Imax is mounted at the end of the garden on a scaffold pole cemented into the lawn about 8 feet off the ground and has been there for years. I bought it off a mate who bought it new many years ago so it's an old one. Bends like crazy when a bird farts anywhere near it but always pops back up. For me it's the best vertical I have used. Out performed my Gainmaster and Sirio 2012 which I mounted on the same pole to compare them. It's slowly turning greenish/grey and a bit mouldy but it cracks out and takes a battering

[The Collector]

1/4 wave ss whip trimmed to 8ft collector

Ahhh.. thanks, I wasn't sure if it had any loading in it or was just a straight wire inside?

I'll keep a look out for one again then as a whip should hopefully stay more upright in the wind as it has less resistance.

7ft Firestiks are hard to come by as people won't post them because of the approx. £23 postage costs, but although it'd probably flex less, it might actually be heavier and put more of a strain on the connector/joint itself.

[108EH002]

Double post from ur5by9 originally said = the Imax was p1ss poor........hence Nitehawk's post about a "big statement"

[Ur5by9]

Your absolutely right , I edited the post originally and it left the double post without the edit of the antennas performance in my experience. I suppose I am comparing this to my Sirio 827 which it didn't perform even remotely close.

The winds around this area also reflects on my experience , it was like a 24 ft fishing rod with a big heavy weight on the end.

However in the Imax 2000 defense it was a better performer than the gainmaster 5/8 and marginally more stable in the wind

and of course no offence to the people who have great success with them

[108EH002]

^^ I wouldn't say you are going to cause much offence ur5by9.^^

Just that some ops would probably be a little surprised at such a bold statement if they have used one for CB.......Imax are ok for CB,far better than the A99/cheap silver rods.

As for a 24ft fishing rod with a weight on the end...........more like a fly rod with a submarine on the end

It's about time I tried another ali antenna again anyway as its been a few year that I have been using the Imax....my mate has just put up a S.P.500 35ft up and he is seeing a BIG difference compared to the SGM it just replaced at the same height,and so did everyone else who answered the call for a "radio check" upto about 30 miles.......contacts a good bit further on groundwave needed but no one else on when initial tests were carried out at the weekend........time will tell.

[The Collector]

Well if you should decide to sell your Imax, 108 then let me know as I've got a crisp fiver in my pocket waiting

Back in the day as a teeenager, I had most of the popular homebase aerials going at one time or another, but never managed to get a Sigma 2, 4 or Ham Int. Big Mac (that would've been too unwieldy anyway methinks).

My fave was the Sirio 2012, but my dad wouldn't let me have that on the roof where my Thunderpole Mk1 had been.

The Ham International Hy-Power that I sold to Superstar on here was a beast, but with 6x 9ft long ground-plane legs, it would've overhung next door's garden!

[108EH002]

I would need more than that........oversized object I'm afraid,my Imax will be kept as a spare as I like it,and need it for out n about static mobile.
If I put a jubilee clip an inch under tuning rings then it slips inside a heras fencing pole with the jubilee clip stopping it falling down inside,and if you join 2 of these poles together you can push the pl259 through the highest pole,making it an easy install collector

I also want to try the Imax on a double pl259 straight into the dv mount on the car aswell collector.

Would imagine most "parents" who are not into radio of any kind,would say NO to the average homebase antenna of any size.......my dad done 4 yr national service in the signals.......my brother was TOLD to get it higher up,so it was 2 × 20ft poles/kicker/and a 5/8th wave silver rod,and the location was a good bit asl