HF Antenna Battle: Chameleon vs. Radioddity vs. JPC-12

Comments · 206

• BL

  @BlessedLaymanNC · 1 year ago

  I&apos;m using the JPC-12 as my base antenna for the time being. I&apos;m in the top floor of a two story apartment that happens to have a big wooden deck. I mounted the antenna on one of the corner posts about 12 feet from the center of the apartment wall. I tuned it for 20 meters, which is completely flat. For the counterpoise, I used the supplied ribbon cable without separating it. I just stretched it out on the wood banister and around the far corner. <br><br>I have an LDG autotuner matched to my IC-7100 and it tunes 60-10 meters and random portions of 6 meters without adjusting the coil or antenna length. <br><br>I also have the Gabil GRR-7350TC. It is as unique as the JPC-12 in that it uses an M10-1 vs the M10-1.5 that the JPC uses. But, the base has a standard 3/8-24 so I can use the poles from my old Buddistick if I want to lift it up a bit. &nbsp;Natively, it is bottom loaded and has a coil somewhat similar to the Chameleon. I&apos;ve barely tested this antenna, so I don&apos;t have any pros or cons to say about it. <br><br>The JPC-12 was almost impossible to tune when I received it. The slider was so hard to move you could not stop it after putting that much force on moving it. I used a tool and ended up twisting the contact away from the coil. When I put it back, it works much better. It&apos;s a little hard to push, but not so hard I can&apos;t move it only one coil if I need to. But, I do often overshoot the one or two coils when I make small adjustments. &nbsp;<br><br>Because the base of the antenna is raised up to the height of the banister, I bottom loaded the antenna. That way I can reach the coil. <br><br>I&apos;ve had really good reports using 50 watts on the Icom with this antenna. I&apos;ve caught a few DX and a lot of POTA, which is mostly what I chased. My reports are almost always better than what I could give out. &nbsp;Band conditions were so bad the first two days I put the antenna up, the only reason I did not take it down and give up was that two of my local club members told me there was no propagation at all...<br><br>One of the things I really like about the JPC is the bag. I can not only put all my wire, etc inside it, but I also put two Buddistick poles and the Babil antenna as well. When I bought both antennas I thought I could interchange parts, but nothing doing there. I can put the Buddistick poles under the Gabil coil, but it has nothing to do with the JPC. &nbsp;<br><br>I have a tripod designed for holding a Starlink antenna, but I clamped a mirror mount on it so I can mount the Gabil on it. In the field, I can raise the antenna off the ground a bit. I haven&apos;t tried it with the JPC yet as it was installed already and I did not want to take it down. <br><br>With rare exception, I&apos;ve found for myself, as well as read about, the fact that antennas of the same length and configuration perform about the same on transmit and receive. Coil and element diameters strongly affect bandwidth otherwise performance is about the same. <br><br>The real test will be in the field where you need to setup, adjust and take down the antennas. &nbsp;<br><br>Thanks for all of your content. &nbsp;73 for now.

  11

• DI

  @digitalanaloguehamradio · 7 months ago

  I love how you respond to every single comment. Something lacking on some channels.

  3

• BI

  @billmartin1591 · 1 year ago

  I compared all and bought the JPC12, haven’t had it out with my Xiegu x6200 yet as I’ve not figured the radio out yet. As you get older simple isn’t anymore. <br><br>Truly enjoy your channel

  7

• VE

  @VE7ZWX · 1 year ago

  You made me laugh when you said -lets talk about them whips -yxl says are you ok , made me laugh even more .

  5

• GA

  @garybales8831 · 4 months ago

  Thank you for the information I’m studying for my tech and general now hopefully be on the air soon

• TH

  @ThomasHart59 · 1 year ago

  Thanks for the info, looking forward to seeing how they perfom.

  1

• PA

  @palmerstation99 · 2 months ago

  Thanks very much. Just learning antenas

• VI

  @victorcharlie7491 · 1 year ago

  Great antenna video, tnx Man!

• WO

  @woodsbikes6130 · 1 year ago

  Well for me, I&apos;m partial towards the Radioddity antenna. &nbsp;I like the included case and how they&apos;ve made a complete system. &nbsp;I also like how the &quot;tuning&quot; coil is enclosed with a slider for adjustment.<br><br>Both the Radioddity and Chameleon seem to be better designed with more robust top sections of the whips.<br><br>My experience is with the Super Antenna MP-1 which is similar to all 3 of the reviewed kits here. &nbsp;It&apos;s a decent antenna for what it is. &nbsp;So hopefully I can add the Radioddity to my arsenal of antennas someday.<br><br> It would be cool if Radioddity had an optional low-profile tripod. &nbsp;Someone could combine the tripod base with a piece of Faraday cloth as the counterpoise network.<br><br>Stay safe and happy hamming Everyone. 😎

  4

• NC

  @ncphotos · 9 months ago

  Great video! W2CSI Santa got me JPC-12 for Christmas

• JA

  @jackmortimer329 · 1 year ago (edited)

  Thanks for this comparison video. I got my M10 to 3/8 x 24 from McMaster Carr. They are a hardware rather than a radio company, so their prices are easier to take.

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• BL

  @blueboy1183 · 1 year ago

  Great video! &nbsp;Looks like all of them will do the job quick and easy set up is what I like. &nbsp; 73 enjoyed!!