Opek HCS-100 Antenna

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26op306
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Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by 26op306 »

Afternoon all, long time no.. er type. Has anyone used or have experience with the latest antenna from Opek the HCS-100 ? A few places are selling them (Knights, Moonraker, Sharmans) and they look to be of high quality and similar to the A99. They have a nice adjustable length inner brass rod on the top section and the ubiquitous pair of tuning rings on the base. They also have a solid base mounting plate so no crush issues like can happen with the A99.

Just ordered one to find out for myself but interested to hear what others have found. I'm wondering if the fibreglass is nice and thick like the A99, or is it the wimpy thin walled stuff used for the Gainmaster?

73
Mark.
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ch25
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Re: Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by ch25 »

Made in Taiwan and covering 26-30 MHz with a 5.75db according to the factory.
Measured against a 2 inch nail ...
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26op306
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Re: Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by 26op306 »

Never pay any attention to CB antenna gain figures. It's just something all manufacturers have to do now, lie, or they'll lose sales to those that lied first or best. I'm more interested in the construction than the "gain".

73
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ROTEL240
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Re: Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by ROTEL240 »

26op306 wrote: 29 Aug 2020, 14:35 Afternoon all, long time no.. er type. Has anyone used or have experience with the latest antenna from Opek the HCS-100 ? A few places are selling them (Knights, Moonraker, Sharmans) and they look to be of high quality and similar to the A99. They have a nice adjustable length inner brass rod on the top section and the ubiquitous pair of tuning rings on the base. They also have a solid base mounting plate so no crush issues like can happen with the A99.

Just ordered one to find out for myself but interested to hear what others have found. I'm wondering if the fibreglass is nice and thick like the A99, or is it the wimpy thin walled stuff used for the Gainmaster?

73
Mark.
https://youtu.be/eZd7ScXswHE have a look here
26op306
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Re: Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by 26op306 »

Thanks. I'm now in possession of 6 of them, bought for folk in my radio club. My general impression is that they are of good design, but I predict that they won't get a good name due to some QC issues. It's mainly to do with the middle section. It has a removable centre screw at the bottom, and a brass joint at the top which is soldered on to brass tube which the top section brass rod slides in to. The issue is, the brass joint is held firm with a grub screw, but the weight of the middle section rod/tube causes it to become detached from the tube in shipping. It's a soldered joint and has only been soldered around the lip - the picture explains if I can attach it. It's a relatively easy repair, but compared to the A99 it's more to go wrong for the average CBer...
The bottom section has a similar issue. There's a brass button at the top and at the bottom it's a crimped bit of coax to the SO-239. Rather than solder breaking, on this section it pulls the crimped coax apart. Again, easy to fix, but I bet this happens to a significant percentage of them.
One if the six I ordered had been handled roughly by the courier, the tube was damaged, and the middle and bottom sections both had these faults.
If you're prepared to put some work in to do your own QC checks, it's a nice antenna. I like that all base section matching coils and everything can be withdrawn from the tube with just a single grub screw - the A99 is sealed.
The other way the A99 wins is the joints which are chromed brass on the A99, but just polished (untreated) aluminium on the Opek. I'll be using silver based antenna assembly grease from Innov on the threads or they will be inseparable in a few years. I'll also use some lacquer over the joints once tuned perfectly or they will just go white with corrosion.
I have more photos if anyone is interested.
HTH
Mark.
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Raverrst
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Re: Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by Raverrst »

How have you got on 26op306 with this antenna quite afew months on plus with the storms we’ve had etc? there is still very little info reviews about them, my main concern is noise/static, as they look to be very similar to the A99 and iv found them to be extremely noisy antenna in the past at my location..
☢️Wednesday’s and Sunday’s 9pm 27.405 Usb, Qsk’s welcome☢️
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prettypolly
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Re: Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by prettypolly »

Yes they are noisy mines picks up a constant ignition noise 24 7 s8 plus
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Raverrst
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Re: Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by Raverrst »

prettypolly wrote: 26 Jun 2022, 09:44 Yes they are noisy mines picks up a constant ignition noise 24 7 s8 plus
Ahh I thought this mite well be the case being very similar in design to the A99. I’m now using a 5/8 Gainmaster I’ve found this much quieter at my location..
☢️Wednesday’s and Sunday’s 9pm 27.405 Usb, Qsk’s welcome☢️
Arthur1645
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Re: Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by Arthur1645 »

Wondering if anyone can help me.i have the OPEK-100 antenna.l,m having problems with the SWR.i opened up the bottom section.i,m not getting a connection between the 2points arrowed.is this right.many thanks Arthur
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Allan666
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Re: Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by Allan666 »

Don't seem to be a very good Aerial to me, Especially if you have to make mods to a brand new one.I also wonder if when stating the gain if they calculated it over a Dipole or Isotropic ??
If the problen cant be sorted with a "LUMP-HAMMER" then its most likely to be an Electrical fault
NM1020
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Re: Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by NM1020 »

I don't know this particular antenna, so I'm only guessing, but that construction looks a bit like the Imax 2000, where there's a similar series capacitor formed from that brass tube, meaning that it will show no continuity through its length - on the other hand it could be faulty. The Imax 2000 will measure as DC grounded across its 'SO' connector socket, but will measure open circuit along its length, due to the internal series capacitor formed by a brass tube and inner insulated shaft. I've got a personal theory that it's due to this capacitor that people running these aerials with rigs connected during thunderstorms that allows the aerial to charge up to thousands of volts from the air until the built in capacitor suddenly flashes over and blows the rig - I've heard of it happening a few times.
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Re: Opek HCS-100 Antenna

Post by john ferrier »

Anymore info on this Antenna? not much info from users long term use.
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