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Gap Challenger DX
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Saturday, December 25 2004 @ 18:18
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The Gap Challenger DX antenna is the first production multiband antenna to utilize GAP technology.
Thousands of Challengers are now in use throughout the world. From the jungle of New Guinea to
the bitter cold of Finland to the brutal sands of Desert Storm, Challenger with its elevated
feed links its user with rest of the world. Challenger is the first and only antenna capable of
operating on eight separate bands from 3.5 MHz to 144 MHz. Its operating bands are 80, 40, 20, 15,
12, 10, 6 and 2 meters. Over 130 kHz of bandwidth is provided on 80 meters. On 2 meters Challenger
is a great base station antenna.
CQ Magazine tested the Challenger and established that on 2 meters, for example, its gain was approximately 6 to 8 dB. On 40 meters compared to a mono band vertical, they found Challenger an S unit stronger. This is typical of the many reports received from amateurs around the world. Challenger is designed to be mounted directly in the ground or elevated. A ground mount is provided with each antenna. With the ground mount in place, the Challenger simply drops in. If necessary, because of space limitations, but not to improve performance. Challenger may be roof mounted since it does not require earth loss to obtain a 50 ohm match. Challenger requires a counter poise of three 25 foot insulated wires. They may be buried or just scattered on the ground. Symmetrical deployment is not critical. Adding additional wire will not significantly improve performance. All of these are covered in a 16-page assembly manual provided with each antenna.
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Technical specifications :
+ Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 12, 10, 10, 6 and 2 Meters.
+ Bandwidth (<2:1): Entire band on 40, 20, 15, 12, 10, 6 and 2 meters.
> 130 kHz on 80 meters and > 1 MHz on 10 meters.
+ Connector: UHF (SO239)
+ Radiation Efficiency: Exceeds conventional verticals by up to 600%
+ Height: 31.5 feet
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