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View Full Version : Just put up a sirio NV4K



222DBFL
11-04-2015, 07:06 AM
Hello all. Just wanted to give my opinion about this antenna and some of my experiences with it so far. 1st off, I got this antenna from my boss as a gift, it one I have wanted for a long time. I had an accident with my sirio tornado while working on it by myself and trying to move it a bit. Big mistake!!! Needless to say the tornado looked like it went through one! So I had to put the old A99 back up. This made radio kind of not fun for me as the A99 just isn't my cup of tea. Ground noise went up 2 S-units, rx and tx range cut in half at least. Anyway. Fast forward. Took down the A99 and put up another dipole headed E/W as I have one pointed N/S already and got both of the dipoles up to 35-40ft at feedpoint. They work great for dx, but again, no local range at all. 4-5 miles tops. So now comes the new sirio vector 4000 (NV4K). I put this antenna up at 26-27ft at the feedpoint. It tuned as follows.
R=50, X=0, vswr 1.0:1. Freq= 27.400.
Man talk about flat tune!! This antenna has some ears and tx is great as well. Can hear stations as far as 100+ miles at times now and can talk to all my locals out to 50+ miles. This is on SSB. About 20 watts of power. The antenna is 28'6" and is one heck of an antenna. Sirio beefed up the joints and I've had some decent winds here the last few days and antenna stays pretty straight. I am one happy camper. I have made quite a few contacts with it and all reports are great signal and clean clear audio. Using an Icom 746 for my base station. Have 4 antennas up total. 3 for 11m and one for 144mhz rx only. It's a home brew long wire. Works well and can hear quite a few airports locally along with a lot of other stuff. Both of my dipoles are cut for 27.385 freq and hold a pretty broad range for tx. The vector 4000 is a great antenna that is the best I've ever used. I'm no antenna expert, but this antenna if tuned properly even setup at 18-20ft will perform well. It doesn't need a bunch of height although height is might for locks talk. Dx wise, when the conditions pick up I'll post back some more results and also how the antenna is holding up. Noting also that I used HD heat shrink on every joint, including the bottom section and also used no-ox on the entire antenna, minus the coax connector. A very light coat over the entire antenna and also at every joint and screw. Don't know how much it helps, but the heat shrink and no-ox should keep the antenna clean and free of water hopefully. I weather proofed connector at bottom with self amalgamating tape. This can be bought at Home Depot or Lowes. I also isolated coax from entire mast and from touching any metal from antenna feedpoint to my room. This was done with 1/2" lmr400 grommets made for 1/2" snap ins for commercial tower stuff. So none of my coax ever touches the mast at any point from top to bottom. Also used some ferrite chokes at the feedpoint as well. Anyway, here are a few photos. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/04/2db9dac370f8c19b32e37bc6ee9f2989.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/04/08793c83df55ad6bebc05b5a677b020f.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/04/674bba4523ec2d4688cf171ec89f4d5e.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/04/d29f348c10d4088f1f11e3f92df1b547.jpg

222DBFL
11-04-2015, 07:08 AM
I also have the measurements that I will post as well if anyone needs them. Again, antenna is tuned for 27.400, and vswr from 1.0 to 2.0 is almost 2mhz of bandwidth.

222DBFL
11-06-2015, 05:35 AM
Radio being used is an Icom 746. Coax is Andrew lmr400. Amphenol connectors. Not that it matters. But this is my base setup with the antenna being the one listed. Works well and if I can hear them I can usually talk to them now!!

222DBFL
11-08-2015, 05:30 AM
I don't know if anyone has viewed this thread but I want to say, this antenna just plain rocks. Talked all the way across the state yesterday to the west coast of FL from the east coast. Good trip and great qso. Also talked 70 miles south now everyday since placing the antenna up. So my range has definitely gone up considerably. I hear guys now have conversations that I could barely and I mean just barely hear before. Now they come in crystal clear. One hell of an antenna for the money!! It knocks the socks off the A99 and the sirio tornado by far. More the A99 as the tornado was a good antenna. This one just plain has ears and if I can hear them I can talk to them usually!! Anyway, just some experience with the antenna now and getting some feedback from other locals and they all say I've gotten a much stronger signal out at 50+ miles than I did before. Antenna is 26ft to feedpoint. Tip is at approx. 54ft. I've come down a few feet from original position, but am planning on adding a 40ft push up mast soon. It's already bought, just gotta go pick it up. Other things going on at the moment, but at least I know I have it. And I only paid $35 for it!! No rust and all guyed wire holders are clean. Soon I'll have my station the way I want it!! Anyway, just some updates about the antenna and how it performs. Also here are my dimensions for tuning it for 27.400 if anyone wants to use them. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/08/148f81fbabfc76baba98928fbd9748d5.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/08/13e0c3574c0f033a42e0a8704fd7cb72.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/08/db56639a70c1da48a1fb41f86b76331b.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/08/8280267592968eba51835ba71156d0f0.jpg

222DBFL
11-08-2015, 05:31 AM
Here are the rest. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/08/91d3912c18d61f45cf53383749065177.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/08/a06b6bee1a1f03ecaa90334c8401f5bf.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/08/faf1073830aa7115cd7774101bc86978.jpg

222DBFL
11-08-2015, 05:33 AM
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/08/bd3f1b74e2318e871923987eed3faa82.jpg

JAF0
10-16-2016, 07:57 PM
Hello 222DBFL,
Do you know how many feet of mast is beneath the cone arm mounting HUB at the base of the radiator?

It sounds like you may have hit a very lucky combination of factors, judging by how superior it sounds like your NV4K is performing.

Perhaps you've stumbled on an excellent combination of the number of feet of mast verses how high above ground, depending on the path the coax takes from the base of your mast.

And if you don't mind me asking, what is the path of the coax after it leaves the bottom of the mast, and how many total feet of coax, which appears to be coiled (acting like a choke?) at the base of the mast?

222DBFL
10-16-2016, 09:10 PM
I did have to take my antenna down due to the Hurricane we had. But will be placing it back up.
At any rate, my antenna was 27ft to the actual bottom of the base. This would have placed the cone hub arm at about 28ft or so.
My coax was routed down the mast and completely isolated from the mast with 1/2" snap in's and 1/2" grommets made for LMR400 from my previous job as a cell site tech. The coax then was coiled up at the base of the mast and then again isolated from anything using more snap in pieces and 1/2" rubber grommets as seen in the pic below. I did this all the way to my radio room. Then I placed a surge arrester in line. The first length of coax was 60ft and the 2nd piece was approx 30ft. Here are the parts I used to keep the coax isolated from the mast and also from touching my roof or any other part of the house. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161017/1bd7bcf76496a3033b1297a6284432e5.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161017/83b0c8b36e28e41c050acd850a2ca668.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161017/1fff7853fcf07e5c8affb34597ad3740.jpg
I tuned the antenna with the 60ft piece of coax using an MFJ269C antenna analyzer which is pretty close to being a multiple of an electrically tuned 1/2 wave coax jumper. I ended up with the results of
R=50
X=0
VSWR= 1.0:1.
If I could have gone higher with the antenna I would have and when I remount the antenna I plan on getting it up to at least 30ft or more. I have a 40ft push up pole that I just need to pick up from a local pals house. Last I checked which was a couple months ago, the antenna still was at the same readings as I listed above. And boy did it work well for me at the height at which it was at. For only being 27ft to the base of the antenna it did an excellent job for me both locally and DX'ing. If I left anything out I will post more info. I can't see what you wrote at the moment so I am going off what I saw from reading your post.

222DBFL
10-16-2016, 09:20 PM
The coax came down the mast to the roof and you see the coiled up coax. From there it's isolated again from the roof with the above parts and this was done all the way to my radio room.
Also I ran a solid #2awg ground wire to the base of the antenna and all the way to the ground where I had approx. 10 or more ground rods. The entire back half of my house had ground rods and #2awg was used to connect them all together as well as my radio equipment. I used an Icom 746 for a radio and with 100 watts or less, in which case I tried to keep the power down to about 20-50 watts most of the time unless the band was really crowded. I spent lots of time setting this antenna system up and will do the same when I place the antenna back up again. Until then I have the antenna sitting in my garage and it's being cleaned up slowly and I am making sure all bolts and such are tight and that all screws are cleaned. I will then recoat the antenna with NO-OX again again and make sure I weather proof all jointing sleeves as I did last time. As I said I was a cell site tech for 17 years so I accumulated many parts and a lot of coax. Was planning on using some LDF4-50A but my Andrew LMR400 is just fine. I am no antenna expert and went on the advice of someone when I got the Sirio vector 4000 and I am darn happy I did. I was amazed at the distance at which I could talk to others on SSB. And the antenna tuned perfectly!! It took me some time to get it right but I was rewarded with many contacts and if I could hear then I could make contact with them.
Hope some of this info helps. And thanks for asking about the setup. Like I said, I spent many hours trying to make sure I had the antenna setup correctly as well as the entire antenna system.

222DBFL
10-17-2016, 06:20 AM
I also want to add that I didn't side mount this to my mast pipe but rather used a 1 5/8" fence rail post and slid the base of the antenna down into the pipe. This I believe helped with the stress placed on the base of the antenna and made it more or less balanced than mounting it on the side of the mast like most do. If you look at the pic below you'll see that there is no visible base section of my antenna. Like I said it slid into the mast pipe and then 3 self tapping metal screws were used to keep it in place. Do I think I had some magic going on. Certainly not IMO. I just took a lot of time and effort getting the antenna the way i wanted it. I also used HD heat shrink on all joining sleeves of the antenna where they screw together. This kept all moisture out and also kept my screws looking almost new when I removed the heat shrink. I will be placing the antenna back up again and it will be higher than previously placed. I also planned on using LDF4-50A coax but was told not to at the moment as there were no issues with the Andrew LMR400 I used originally to setup the antenna. Here are a couple of pics of the antenna before it came down for Hurricane Mathew. And I am glad o did this as my local plan lost his 85ft ROHN 18" tower to a very large tree that fell on a guyed wire. He lost his 3 element beam and also a repeater antenna and most of his Commscope 1/2" superflex coax. Not a good deal as the tower was twisted about 120 degrees and then snapped at the base legs.
Anyhow here are a couple pics of my antenna and note the mounting area. No base is noticeable due to it being inside the top mast pipe. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161017/7a917cbcc21b13f41fec896eae013f5b.jpg

JesseJamesDallas
10-17-2016, 09:51 AM
You took it down for the hurricane? Been nice if you left it up to test how well they handle high winds! lol

Then you would have a good excuse to buy a tower and beem if it turned into a pretzel...

222DBFL
10-17-2016, 01:08 PM
I wish JJD!! Would love to have a nice beam antenna. I live in Daytona Beach and we had winds of up to 100+ mph. It took down local pals 85ft tower. So I don't think my Sirio vector would have made it!! Glad I took it down. It is a good antenna for my needs. Not to say that I wouldn't love a beam antenna setup. Just too many other obligations I have to afford one at the moment. 4 kids keep me broke LOL!!

JesseJamesDallas
10-17-2016, 04:47 PM
I wish JJD!! Would love to have a nice beam antenna. I live in Daytona Beach and we had winds of up to 100+ mph. It took down local pals 85ft tower. So I don't think my Sirio vector would have made it!! Glad I took it down. It is a good antenna for my needs. Not to say that I wouldn't love a beam antenna setup. Just too many other obligations I have to afford one at the moment. 4 kids keep me broke LOL!!
You don't need 4 kids to stay broke now days...It's just me and my daughter now at home, and I stay broke all the time!

JAF0
09-29-2017, 02:06 AM
(snip)I am no antenna expert and went on the advice of someone when I got the Sirio vector 4000 and I am darn happy I did.(snip)

I'm awfully curious, maybe I know the guy, who was it that recommended it to you 222DbFL, and did you ever get the NV4K back up and higher?
It's been almost a year, how goes it, is it still working great?

BOOTY MONSTER
09-29-2017, 07:25 AM
great antenna ! it's only pitfall is it's physical durability :( . made one of my own but MUCH more durable a few years ago . hope to be moving soon and putting my stuff back up in a few months .

222DBFL
10-01-2017, 04:57 AM
I did not place my antenna back up all the way. I did make sure it was still tuned after having taken it down for Hurricane Matthew, and I also replaced coax with LDF4-50a and a short run of FSJ4-50B or 1/2 “ super flex to my radio room. Used brass UHF connector at feed point and ran coax out. Prepared to place antenna back up just recently, then came Irma. Needless to say antenna came back into the garage. It’s back out again, sitting roughly 6-7ft off the ground. I can still talk with it if I want to, but I need to get it mounted on the push up pole to 30+ feet. I was very happy with the antenna when I had it up at 27ft to the feed point. It rocked!! Getting it close to 35ft will help a bit I am sure. Locally anyways. But they do need to be beefed up and some mods to be made for them to last any time in any type of environment that can be potentially harsh. Central FL, 4 miles from the beach isn’t what I would call the best location for one of these antennas. Unless you plan on modding it as was said by BOOTY MONSTER. He knows more about this antenna then I ever will!!!! They do work well for local and DX when they are setup correctly. I know what mine was capable of, but I also modded mine a bit for the wind and also rain as well. But again, if you put some time into one, you can have a darn good vertical antenna antenna for local and DX. JMHO.
I just have had too many other things going at the moment to have time for radio of any kind. Suppose to have gotten my ticket and that hasn’t happened. With a father with Alzheimer’s, and being part of the main care taking, I don’t get a lot of play time at the moment. But I could care less as I wouldn’t want my kids to abounded me when I need them the most!!! And I won’t do it to my father. He is still well enough to stay at home and we will grant that until we cannot!!!! That is what family does. Anyways. To all that know me, thanks for keeping in touch from time to time, I appreciate it. Until I get back on the radio,
73 and God Bless To All,
From 222 Daytona Beach, FL!!!

JAF0
10-02-2017, 03:32 AM
Good info, both.
I'm putting one in a 115' tree this Sunday but before I do I plan to use my friend's table saw and slit the top 3" of each section of the tubing, right through the screw holes, and use 2-3 clamps per section to hold each section of the main shaft together.
Any other mods you guys advise?
I just compared it to my interceptor10k and it is better performing, i just wish it was built as well.
Funny, I'm also using Andrews LDF4-50a a friend gave me that he got when he worked there and was given a truckload of stuff when they went OOB.

222DBFL
10-03-2017, 05:40 PM
If you are going to place one that high up, I would make sure it’s beefed up as much as possible. Every joint needs to be beefed up as well as the basket area. If you get this antenna to hold up at that height, you’ll have one heck of a vertical antenna!!! Should talk locally a long ways!! Good luck to you and be safe!!

BOOTY MONSTER
10-07-2017, 08:21 AM
i wound up making my own clamps because hose rings kept stripping out long befor i felt they were tight enough . i made mine out of 1/16 x 1/2 inch wide aluminum strip from lowes with #8 nuts and bolts (SS is soft and strips too easily for my taste) . a bit of a pain in the ass because each one had to be sized for each different tubing diameter joining section but well worth the end results IMO .

BOOTY MONSTER
10-07-2017, 08:26 AM
Good info, both.
I'm putting one in a 115' tree this Sunday but before I do I plan to use my friend's table saw and slit the top 3" of each section of the tubing, right through the screw holes, and use 2-3 clamps per section to hold each section of the main shaft together.
Any other mods you guys advise?
I just compared it to my interceptor10k and it is better performing, i just wish it was built as well.
Funny, I'm also using Andrews LDF4-50a a friend gave me that he got when he worked there and was given a truckload of stuff when they went OOB.

wow ! 115 feet should be awesome for any antenna ! . can you share your experience comparing Jays antenna to the NV4K ? what you liked and disliked about each and their performance differences . thanks .

source
10-18-2017, 01:54 AM
hi friend lovely ant i have the older type avanti sigma 4 home built .i made myself.plannig to buy one of the vector 4000 soon.where did your boss buy it.i know where it sell but maybe i can get a little cheaper than ebay or amazon .

BOOTY MONSTER
01-17-2018, 10:06 AM
222 you've had this up in Fla. for 2 years now and we know Fla gets high winds and hurricanes . how has your vector held up physically ? and can you guesstimate how high the winds are that it has survived ? do you lower it during storms to protect it ? have you had any damage or any little things you've had to tighten up or reinforce ?

222DBFL
01-17-2018, 08:34 PM
It has been lowered since last year Booty Monster. I took it down before the hurricane Matthew hit. Had intentions to put it back up but other things came about. It sits in the back yard at the moment about 4 feet of the ground. I have a 40fr push up pole that one day I’ll hopefully get to put it on and get it back up.
As for winds, I would say the strongest winds my vector 4000 saw was 30-40 mph sustained winds. Maybe a fuse of 50 mph. And that was when it was only 27ft off the ground. I had the mast pipe guyed off pretty good so only the antenna and top 4-6ft of mast pipe actually bent in the wind. The antenna held up, but it sure was at its point of almost being an issue at 27ft off the ground to the base of the antenna. I am planning on getting it up to about 30-35 feet with the push up pole. This should be plenty high enough for both good local and DX as well. I was pretty consistent out to 60-70 miles on SSB locally. And if I could hear them I could talk to them.
But as I and both you have most likely seen and noted, this antenna isn’t for a windy area IMO. Fair weather with the occasional bad T-storm and it should be fine if guyed or mounted properly. That or build a beefed up one. I do love the antenna and God willing I’ll have it back up again one day. Sorry for the text wall, just sharing my experience and thoughts/opinions, on the antenna. What you think? You see about the same results? I would like to possibly buy another one in the future aka beef it up, but truly it needs to be made with heavier gauge aluminum. JMHO. Have a good one.

222DBFL
01-17-2018, 08:35 PM
As for reinforcing it, all I added was heat shrink to all the joints. Don’t think it really did a whole lot for beefing things up. But I don’t know any different as I did this from the get go.