The Diamond V2000A 6M/2M/70cm base station vertical.
Been looking at getting another 2M/440 base antenna to replace the dual band j-pole that I am using now. Living in a hilly area 25 miles from town I have a marginal signal into the local repeater. I have used a Diamond V2000A before that worked well for what I needed at the time. Mainly repeater and simplex work. Although I do not have any 6M gear in the shack, I do have a dual band 2M/440 radio. the overall performance of the Diamond antenna was outstanding.If you plan on using the Diamond V2000A with a Baofeng UV-5R be sure to get the correct connectors. The Baofeng radio's have a reverse SMA adapter.
Diamond V2000A notes.
The Diamond V2000A is a tri-band vertical antenna capable of delivering a potent signal on the 6M, 2M and 70cm amateur radio bands. It is made for US hams that need FM communications. It is an excellent antenna for those needing tri band operation. With it's small footprint and low profile it is a great choice for those that have antenna restrictions. It is a two piece fiberglass pole that has high quality connectors to put the antenna together quickly with no guesswork.The Diamond antenna company has been making Amateur and commercial radio antennas and accessories in the HF/VHF/UHF range for many years now with a full line of antennas from hand-held VHF/UHF radios to mobile antennas and base stations.
V2000A Base antenna available at AMAZON!
Diamond V2000A specs
According to the Diamond V2000A manual, the antenna is:1/2 wave on 6M |
2X5/8 wave on 2M |
4X5/8 wave on 440 |
- 2.15 dBi of gain on 6m, 6.2 dBi on 2m, 8.4 dBi on 440
- 50 ohm
- SO-239 Female UHF connector
- Mast acceptance 1.2 to 2.4"
- Max power: 150w
- Wind rating: 112 mph
- Length is 8.3 ft
- Weight is 2.6 lbs
The Diamond V2000A: a no-compromise compromise antenna
Although it is a compromise antenna the Diamond V2000A will still deliver a potent signal on 6M in the 52MHZ to 54MHZ range and also covers the 2M and 70cm amateur radio bands. the threads for the radials are 10/32 inch, making it easy to replace or modify using standard threading. Some have experimented with changing stock radials for radials made for 6M with very little change on the 2M and 70cm bands.The Diamond V2000A does not always play nice with other antenna's.
One other thing to keep in mind, like most other vertical antenna's is to keep the antenna away from other objects. The ground radials tend to detune the antenna ground plane when in close proximity to other metal objects. Even the pole that you mount the antenna on can in some cases cause the tuning radials to not work properly.V2000A Base antenna available at AMAZON!
People seem to either LOVE this antenna or absolutely hate it. Most problems can be related to RF screwing up the SWR. This can easily be cured by making an small RF trap at the base of the antenna. Usually 8 turns of coax tightly grouped together. This also keeps the coaxial from radiating and detuning the antenna system.
Other complaints come from high SWR on 6M band. This antenna is made for 6M FM repeater use mostly in the 52MHZ to 54 MHZ portion of the 6M band.
Attack of the clones.
Their are clones on the market that are similar in design to the V2000A but do not work nearly as well. Out of all the clones, some are one piece and others are two piece antenna's like the V2000A. You can expect these antenna's to give poor performance. The Diamond antenna's incorporate high end parts in all of there antennas and Guarantee them. If something breaks you can get it replaced quickly.Great info at http://ea4eoz.blogspot.com/2012/09/modifications-to-diamond-v2000-and.html
What great, informative comments regarding the DIAMOND V-2000. I have owned one for years and am impressed by the antenna's performance on all three bands. Yes - the 50MHz performance can be improved by replacing all 3 radials with extended-length radials - see mod here: http://ea4eoz.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/modifications-to-diamond-v2000-and.html
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the genuine DIAMOND V-2000 is the way to go. There are less expensive (or should I say cheaper) copies on the market - but you get what you pay for! DIAMOND IS QUALITY. Why pay good money for a transceiver and then ruin it's potential performance by using an inferior product that under-delivers?! The ONLY beef I have is a weakness in the mounting structure which DIAMOND HAS NEVER ADDRESSED (shame on them) - the mounting architecture is reliant solely on ONE grubscrew at the base of the antenna. This grubscrew secures the WHOLE antenna to the short-length supplied tube which is, in turn, secured to the pole on which the whole antenna system is mounted. This is a weak point that will need rectifying by the user at some stage, so better to do so before first erecting. (Make some hacksaw cuts in the supplied, short-length tube and secure to the main antenna WITH A GOOD QUALITY STAINLESS STEEL JUBILEE CLIP. You won't regret it, and the whole installation becomes pretty well maintenance-free. SHAME ON DIAMOND FOR NOT RECTIFYING THIS EASILY-RECTIFIED PROBLEM.
It's great that DIAMOND refers to their gain figures in dBi - 2.15 dBi gain on 50 / 6.2 dBi on 144 / 8.4 dBi on 430. This equates to REAL-LIFE GAINS of 0 dBd gain on 50 / 4.05 dBd on 144 / 6.25 dBd on 430. dBd (real-world dipole) is 2.15 dB LESS than dBi (isotropic theoretical). Too many suppliers KNOWINGLY & FLAGRANTLY misrepresent these figures by quoting the HIGHER gain figures and just adding "dB" (without the "i" or "d") in order to mislead (con) purchasers into believing they are purchasing a higher gain antenna. So - come on suppliers, less of the con, and publish gain figures as dBd!!!
Just got one a few days ago. Stargazer. It comes with two screws now. Good on them addressing this issue. P.S. Yes. I know I'm replaying to a message from 2015. But this information might be useful to future buyers.
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