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I fully understand the ' vertical antenna haters' ' opinions about this particular antenna. So, I decided to try a more positive approach to helping those that have purchased one of these antennas with the 'hope' of having great success. In my research I discovered that one could attach an amplifier to boost the signal, but here's the catch: the maximum power that the antenna can handle is 250W SSB and 100W FM on 10M and 6M. Any amplifier UNDER that limit is OK.That being the case, most amplifiers push a greater limit then what can be handled by this particular antenna. Some transceivers now come with an adjustable wattage output, my TS-440SAT can be adjusted down to about 20W output. I 'disengaged' the 'antenna tuner' on the TS-440SAT. Turned the 'CAR' knob to the left and reduced the output to 20W.

1. Download Comet Cha-250b Antenna Manual Free
2. Download Comet Cha-250b Antenna Manual 1
3. Comet Cha 250b Antenna

Connected an '811' (amplifier) to the back, then connected an 'antenna tuner', and then connected the antenna cable to the 'tuner'.With everything up and running I was able to push about 220W through the antenna. Made an improved difference!Since you have already spent your hard earned money on one of these antennas; make it work better. Home Owner Associations and Deed Restrictions are not always fully understood by some of our fellow Hams.

The 'compliance person' will squint to find a flaw. Work with what you've got.73's. Improving the CHA-250X by runinnig more power to it just doesn't sound like the answer. As everybody else has said put more radiails down there more the merrier. They do not have to be in a spot where another radial already is. Heard of some folks that used loads of metal. Mostly aluinum and had a killer vertical.

He also had one heck a mess. If it wasn't due to the fact that you are doing experiments with it that I for one will not tell you to sell it. But, if after trying everything you can and the antenna refuses to show improvement in it's present state then. Tear apart the antenna. Salvage what you can and make a better antenna. Therer are some antenna that are worth saving and tears have been shed over they. Thankfully the Comet CHA-250Bx isn't one of them.

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You can count this as a valuable learning experience and the oppoturnity to produce a fine antenna with the scrapes you will have. Or you can sell it to another newbie.

I'm thinking there must be some of us that would buy that antenna and use it as internded.73Gary. Say what you want. I am VERY HAPPY with mine. I regularly make contacts over 2200 miles with 100w on 12m, 15m and 20m.

I do not have ANY RADIALS. It is 40' in the air at the top of the antenna and attached to a 10ft 1 1/2' EMT attached to a 4x4 12ft in the air from my porch. At the base of the EMT it connects to a 10ga solid copper wire to the ground where it is attached to a 4 ft solid copper ground rod buried flush to the earth. I use 50 ft of RG8 with it. I can operate all bands 80m through 6m with less than 1.3 to 1 SWR and with a tuner I can operate on 160m as well.

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This is the BEST all around antenna. If a storm is coming I can take it down in less than 5 minutes since it only weighs in at 6-8 pounds. Then lay it horizontal on the ground until the storm passes. Of course I cover the matching coil with a plastic bag to keep out the water then put it up again when the storm passes!It is often quieter than my 20m Roof Dipole noise wise.

If I can hear the station which now that I have an FT-950 I can hear MUCH better than the previous kenwood I had on the same antenna. I can work the station. Just last week I forgot I had my power turned down to 10 Watts to test swr after a passed storm and still made contacts into Alabama from Texas with 5-9 report. Once I turned up the power to 100W I was 5-9 +20db.

I have worked over 3200 miles into costa rica with 5-9 reports. HF is great especially with the FT-950 and this antenna. It is a true joy.I am sorry others have such biased opinions on this antenna. But it works great for me.KD5SPX. I also have the Comet 250Bx which I purchased used off the I/net. It is mounted on the rear of my motor home on the roof ladder about 12' off the ground.

I use mine grounded to the MH chassis frame and have a small radial system on the MH roof. I removed the lossy mounting transformer and now feed it via a Icom AH-4 tuner with my IC-7000. My motivation was to have a easily raised, light weight, simple, vertical antenna.

I made a swing up mount out of PVC water pipe which works great for raising the antenna for operation. Laid down on the roof, the 23' antenna travels well. The on-air results have been very rewarding considering what it is. Just a reminder that the propagation plays a very important role in the success of an antenna at certain times. Having reliable and repeatable results requires more than just good propagation. When the bands are good I can work the world with a screwdriver antenna and sometimes a wet string.

Comet Cha 250b Antenna

That doesn't make it the best antenna in the world. It's when condition are marginal that tests the capabilities of an antenna system. To get your signal out there may require the use of different antennas at different times. As for the joy you expressed on your antenna, have you setup any other antenna and compared them?

Just relying on a single reference is a faulty method. String something else up and compare that with what you now have. Then you can say what you want with greater authority.Just look at the antenna reviews and you will find numerous reviews that tell you their antenna is the best in the world. Maybe, maybe not.73Gary.

Here's part of an email that I got from someone at Comet when I was looking into HF verticals:'The CHA-250B is not a 'vertical' per se, it's an end-fed long wire in a vertical position. The base of the antenna needs to be at least 12-15 feet above average ground, and will work better at about 10M (35ft) above ground if possible.The magic box at the bottom is a broad-band transformer to match the impedance. It is not really efficient. But works amazingly well!' I ended up going with a Hustler 6BTV. Originally Posted By Toad77:Here's part of an email that I got from someone at Comet when I was looking into HF verticals:'The CHA-250B is not a 'vertical' per se, it's an end-fed long wire in a vertical position.

The base of the antenna needs to be at least 12-15 feet above average ground, and will work better at about 10M (35ft) above ground if possible.The magic box at the bottom is a broad-band transformer to match the impedance. It is not really efficient. Brother mfc serial port interface driver wdm windows 7.

But works amazingly well!' I ended up going with a Hustler 6BTV.LOL.magic box.LOL.pretty bad when there own rep calls it a dummy load.+1 on the 6BTV. Ok the 6BTV that everyone mentions seems to be a good antenna from all the searching that I have done.Now here is the kicker, I will need to either mount it on top of the house with one of those roof tripod kits, or buy a long ass pole and mount it to that on the side of the house. I have small children so radials that stretch to the ground are out, guy lines will be pushing it. Can I mount and use this antenna without guy lines and leave it up permanentlyly?Any suggestions on how to do it?

This will be my first HF antenna so anything else I need other than the coax?I am completely new at this so the help everyone is giving is really appreciated. I have kids tooI buried my radials a few inches in the ground. Coax also buriedand made a small perimeter of small landscaping blocks around the baseThey know not to touch it or go near it when im on the airThe hardest part is tuning it.SWRStart at the bottom of the antenna(10 meters) and work your way upDont slap it together and expect it to work with an antenna tunerBeg borrow or steal an antenna analyzerMost clubs have one geek who owns oneMine is not guyed and it has survived high winds and severe weatherThey are surprisingly durableInstall it right and you'll work a ton of DX. The more I research the safety, ease of use, and performance aspect it does seem that wire will work for my location.Can I mount a wire di-pole in the attic? Will it still radiate through the shingles?

Does it really have to be in the air or if needed can I just lay it on the shingles on top of the roof and pin in down?I have received my radio and of course the power supply that I already have won't work so a new power supply was ordered, I also ordered a tuner while I was at it.This is getting expensive! Originally Posted By Omni:The more I research the safety, ease of use, and performance aspect it does seem that wire will work for my location.Can I mount a wire di-pole in the attic? Will it still radiate through the shingles?

Does it really have to be in the air or if needed can I just lay it on the shingles on top of the roof and pin in down?I have received my radio and of course the power supply that I already have won't work so a new power supply was ordered, I also ordered a tuner while I was at it.This is getting expensive!i have a fan dipole in my attic cut for 10/17/20 and it works decent for 10 and 17, 20 is hit or miss because i was a retard. I installed the 20 legs first and cut to tune before i added the 2 other bands and when i did that the 20 legs were to short. Originally Posted By Omni:Can I mount a wire di-pole in the attic? Will it still radiate through the shingles?Attic dipoles are all I have, due to homeowner restrictions. My primary antenna is a mono band dipole, that is cut for 20 meters. The SWR is 1.2:1 or less, across the entire 20 meter band.

I use an antenna tuner with that same dipole, to work 17, 15 and 12 meters. I also have another dipole in my attic, that is cut specifically for 10 meters.In the three months I've been on the air, I've managed to work close to 40 countries, and almost all of that was on SSB.An attic dipole will never compare to a big Yagi on a 100 foot tower, but like they say.any antenna is better than no antenna.