I’m looking for an affordable equivalent to the Chameleon CHA SS17 17-ft telescopic vertical antenna, ideally available in the UK or via AliExpress.
I’ve seen a few options listed online, but I’d really appreciate personal recommendations from anyone who’s actually used one. I’m after something that can take a bit of abuse in the field without falling apart — and without costing the earth.
If you’ve found something reliable that fits the bill, I’d love to hear about it.
Any help appreciated. Thanks, and Merry Christmas.
Martin
May I suggest a telescopic mast and a 17 ft wire? A 7 m mast can be used for other antennas.
Don’t forget the radials.
I haven’t seen ay stainless steel telescopic whips but maybe someone has. The ordinary plated telescopic whips have a limited life and one kink and they are done.
You mention AliExpress, and if you search there on “telescopic whip antenna” - you’ll get a page of 5.6m (18.3 ft) “Stainless Steel” antenna whips at very low prices. I have two of these, and they are fairly solid, but I can’t say I have really used them enough to make a recommendation or rejection of them but at the price, I took the risk. These are likely not the same quality as those used with commercial antennas, and one point to be careful of is that these tend to come with a metric M10 threaded bolt on the end, not the imperial one used in CB antenna mounts.
The antenna discussed in the thread is surprisingly robust. It has now become my primary antenna as it is so quick and easy to deploy. I have used it on about 30 activations without any problem.
I would recommend using a Choice supplier if buying from Aliexpress. In my experience, delivery from a choice supplier seems to arrive in 10 days or less.
Thanks Ron. I do use a wire regularly, but want to experiment with a telescopic set up with an additional 40m inductance coil. I enjoy ‘messing about’.
I broke the top section of mine yesterday, a combination of frustration due to it blowing over in the wind and the top section being a bit stiff.
It’s only a few inches shorter so it will still work but I’d lost the ‘blob’ on the end for pulling it out and stopping it being pushed too far into the next section.
I found one of the M3 stainless bolts I ordered off AliExpress by accident fitted nicely. A bit of epoxy to stop it coming out and it’s usable again.
