A Unique Solution for My Ham Radio Needs—the Alpha Antenna ProMaster Base Vertical: HF with an NVIS Element

I love chasing a good DX. On a cold winter night or a sweltering summer afternoon, it’s nice to retreat to the shack and search for that great white shark. And as I have shared previously, the DX Commander Signature 18  has greatly enhanced that experience. But with it, I lost a lot of my close-to medium-range abilities.

At first I didn’t think it would be a big deal because I left a Chameleon EmComm-III-Bconnected to my Yaesu FTDX-101MP as well. But that got me thinking. Is there a vertical-type antenna that also performs well at NVIS-type distances? Could there be an antenna that would perform well checking into local area nets and, when the business is done, just start tuning in DX contacts?

I started thinking about this because I use a Yaesu FTDX-10 in a second operating position as well as two Barrett 2050 radios for my work with Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) and Civil Air Patrol (CAP).  These systems could, and often do, require communication with what we would call NVIS-range stations, as well as stations beyond typical NVIS range, all within the same net or operational period. Neither the FTDX-10 or the Barretts have more than one antenna input.

I began searching around and tried several different wire antenna configurations. Some worked better than others. The G5RV is a nice compromise but wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I tried a couple of inverted-L antennas that again were not bad, just not the thing I was looking for. Then I came across the Alpha Antenna ProMaster Heavy-Duty HF Base Vertical Antenna.

The ProMaster has both a 17.5-foot vertical radiating element and a 25-foot horizontal NVIS radiating element. It employs a balanced RF ground via the eight-foot ground counterpoise wire. The “Alpha Match” is at the center of all of this, providing 50-ohm feedline input. This system is somewhat omnidirectional. However, it should be noted it slightly favors the direction of the ground counterpoise wire.

I have it mounted about seven feet up on a wooden post with the NVIS wire strung horizontally to a tree. I have been using it for several months with great results. On our state traffic net and state EmComm net I am hearing about 95%-plus of the stations on the net and have a path to all of the net control stations, which range from 20 miles to about 170 miles away. On the MARS/CAP side I have a path to NCS stations ranging from about 45 miles to approximately 2,000 miles away.

I know someone will ask, so here is what I am getting for SWR readings: On 20 and 80 meters I am getting about 1.8:1; 10, 12, 30, and 60 meters are right around 1.5:1; and 15, 17, and 40 meters are reading 1.2:1. Not perfect, but the bands can be simply tuned up by any internal tuner if necessary.

It’s not the magic bullet, but it’s darn close. I have been very happy with the ProMaster from Alpha Antenna and feel you will be too if you have these types of needs.

Until next time, 73 de AC8OW.

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