Hi Alan,
Great set of antennas for LEO work. Notable contacts with them include RAFT just above 20 deg elevation and the ISS last Field Day. The antennas are very light weight and and have stood up to high winds and salty sea air for the last 3 years. Assembly is relatively simple, and the polarization coax assembly is a piece of cake to assemble/operate. The only downer is that these antennas use locknuts instead of screw-in clamps to secure the elements (like on the Cushcraft models), so once you put it up, it's up for good! The ham I bought mine from took hours to remove the nuts to ship it to me from out of state. But, if you're setting up a permanent station, it's a great set for the price.
73,
Matt Bennett KF6RTB
"Alan P. Biddle" APBIDDLE@mailaps.org wrote: Hi,
I see that Hy-Gain/MFJ still at least lists the old Hy-gain Oscar antennas: http://www.hy-gain.com/products.php?catid=7
Like the old Cushcraft AOP-1, they were a bit short on gain for P3 birds, but otherwise seemed to be a relatively simple way and reasonably priced way to get coverage with switchable circularity. Certainly good enough for current LEOs and possibly the newer P3 birds. I was asked by someone just getting started about them, and wondered if anyone had practical experience? We have discussed the many alternatives, so I would rather keep to just this antenna.
Alan
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