Sirio Gainmaster Have I Made The Right Choice ?

[P5shn]

Well I have taken the big plunge & brought the Sirio Gainmaster after my 5/8 Venom is not really performing as I needed it to, wanted it to & expected it to.
The reason I have gone for the GM is because I live out in the country & according to some sound advice from a couple of very reputable specialist shops they told me this was my best option,
What do you guys think who own them & with your vast knowledge base ?
Another couple in the shortlist were the Sirio 827 but the groundplanes were far too big for where the ariel is going to be sited & also the imax 2000 which was a very close contender, bigger is better ... mmmmmm yes but I have done some homework and the GM seems to have more going for it like less noise & no possible TVi issues although I stand to be corrected as this is just what I have read on the internet.
I guess it is a case of horses for courses & what is best for one may not suit another.
It is just when you spend £120 on an antenna you want it to be the right one, I made that mistake with the venom, I brought it cus it was cheap and although it is tries and tested for decades it just wasn't suitable for me and my needs.

Anyway I have brought the GainMaster & I am going to unbox it today & build it ready for it to be raised up into the sky in all its glory to replace my Venom 5/8.
A very big upgrade from that yes I know but the question is have I made the right choice in buying the GM or should I have brought the IMAX 2000 ?

Any feedback from Gain Master or IMAX 2000 owners or expierience, views etc would be greatly appreciated prior to me opening the box.

Have a Happy & peaceful Sunday everyone
I have found this this forum great and helps so much in answering so many questions.

[Admiral]

Only one way to find out.

[Mudslinger]

I don't think there is much real work difference between an Imax and a Gainmaster in terms of performance.

Both are pretty robust if assembled correctly.

You should get a noticeable improvement over a 5/8 venom. I found the one I had pretty poor for a 5/8 wave. In fact it was no better than an A99...

[NightProwler]

Excellent choice sir Just make sure you do not over tighten the clips holding it together or the fibreglass can crack. Mine has been up about 4 years now and it's the best I have used. Just for the record I have an imax 2000 too and the Gainmaster is very slightly better on RX and TX, Wider bandwidth too. No messing about just chuck it up and off you go.

[P5shn]

Well the gain master is up & is looking good, nice & easy to build & quality is excellent, time for some testing now.
can anyone give me a Ariel test who lives near ST18 ?
Thank you

[Tim]

The best test you'll have is how it stands up to the next lot of gale force winds forecast for this next week.

[Sam P]

The best test you'll have is how it stands up to the next lot of gale force winds forecast for this next week.

Cheerful sod!

Is yours a Gainmaster, Tim?

[stanogs68]

My antron battered Doris

[ghost123uk]

Well the gain master is up & is looking good, nice & easy to build & quality is excellent, time for some testing now.
can anyone give me a Ariel test who lives near ST18 ?
Thank you

Did you get a better SWR than you had on the Venom 5/8 wave?

There will be a few of us within range on UK C25 latter this morning (and likely on until mid afternoon). I will be on that channel from 9:30 until about 2pm, though I will be a mobile station, so may not get to you, but you should certainly here Mr Moonraker (the chair on that net) on top of Mow-Cop If you do hear him or any of the others, do break in on the side, we have a nice group of breakers on there most mornings

[MrWeetabix]

There's no right and wrong when it comes to antennas, because it is all dependant on your own situation, location and cicumstance.

Anwyay, its bought now and it's up. No going back and no refunds, so try not to dwell on what you could have won....

[Tim]

The best test you'll have is how it stands up to the next lot of gale force winds forecast for this next week.

Cheerful sod!

Is yours a Gainmaster, Tim?

I'm always cheerful. No, mine's not a Gainmaster, the vertical I'm using is an old school type GPA27 aluminium 1/2 wave dipole, the white fiberglass one in 3 sections behind the front door is an Imax 2000.

[P5shn]

There will be a few of us within range on UK C25 latter this morning (and likely on until mid afternoon). I will be on that channel from 9:30 until about 2pm, though I will be a mobile station, so may not get to you, but you should certainly here Mr Moonraker (the chair on that net) on top of Mow-Cop If you do hear him or any of the others, do break in on the side, we have a nice group of breakers on there most mornings

Thank you I can hear some activity (voices) faintly.
Yes my swr is a lot better but my incoming signal is really faint.
I am 99.9% sure it is because of the low quality coax I am using RG58 at £22 for 50meters, ideal for short runs & patch leads but not 70 - 75 foot lengths from rig to twig.
Also not ideal for putting more power through.

I have ordered a 50m Roll of RG-213 which i know is double the price but will be of great gain to my set up.

I have looked into the losses I am suffering at present with my set up using the RG58 at its 75 foot length.
Where as when I use the RG-213 the gains will be significant over the RG58.

The reason why I am struggling & going all out to get my set up right is because I live in a little village out in the country away from any town so any improvement will result in more gain.

[NightProwler]

50M of RG58? Hmmmmm

[wa10]

I had 170ft of cheap rg58, 100w at the radio gave 42w at the antenna, it made very little if any difference in hearing people compared to genuine rg213

[ghost123uk]

I am 99.9% sure it is because of the low quality coax I am using RG58

I have looked into the losses I am suffering at present with my set up using the RG58 at its 75 foot length.

Hi there, this IS getting a bit muddy, in one of your other posts you say you are using Mini 8 (not RG58) =

shop sold me mini 8 and said it would be fine, but after reading online running 70ft.............

Anyway, imho, 70 feet of Mini 8 is fine. I have about 60 feet of it feeding my basic Silver Rod, and it works just fine on both ground-wave and DX.
Of course, the 213 is nice to have though

The reason why I am struggling & going all out to get my set up right is because I live in a little village out in the country away from any town so any improvement will result in more gain.

At least that will work to your advantage, being out of town (as I too am) means much less background interference ("QRM")