Pro Antennas

The I-PRO Traveler 

Band coverage: 40m* 20m 17m 15m 12m 11m & 10m (40m* option is available) 

The I-PRO stands at only 3m tall and packs away into a 1m carrying holdall 

Resonant design, no ATU, wire radials or grounding are required

The I-PRO is a centre fed half-wave vertical dipole with capacity hat end loading. We have chosen capacity hat loading for a      very important reason; to keep the inductive loading to an absolute minimum and therefore minimise losses. The practical   results are so impressive & consistent; they could only be obtained from a highly efficient antenna. The I-PRO is making its presence known with groundbreaking performance! 

Please check out G4GTW's YouTube video channel, for set up demonstations and lots of exciting DX action! http://www.youtube.com/user/G4GTWantennas  

The I-PRO can be set up in a couple of minutes, with its simple folding design. Weighing in at just 6 kg, including the quad legged base with a modest package length of only 1m, it really is a 'go anywhere' HF antenna solution.           

Four independently-adjustable legs can easily be set to compensate for a wide range of uneven/real world terrain including ground slopes of upto   30 degrees 

The I-PRO antenna package includes a circular spirit level - it simply pops into the base tube as an aid to setting the the I-PRO truly vertical. This is not critical with regard to the antenna's performance, we feel it's just the finishing touch to ensure the I-PRO stands truly upright!  

Picture: the Quad legged base, two folding capacity hat sections and the multi-band centre matching section

Extensive field testing has been carried out over a variety of ground conductivities

The SWR measured at resonance for each band is typically better than 1.2 : 1

The I-PRO utilises capacity hat loading; this minimises the dependence on inductive loading and therefore keeps losses to a minimum. This winning combination provides very high radiation efficiency and an antenna that is very user friendly in terms of bandwidth without the need for an ATU

The following bandwidth is to be expected between 1.5 : 1 SWR points 

40m .... 70kHz  20m .... 300kHz   17m .... 500kHz   15m .... 900kHz   12m .... 1800kHz   11m .... 1870kHz   10m .... 2200kHz

This is a very high quality product with carefully selected components chosen throughout; High specification anodised thick walled seamless aluminium tubing; stainless steel fixings; gold plated 10 Amp sockets; German sourced 34mm diameter thick walled fibre glass tube provides massive structual strength and superb dielectric properties; 8mm solid fiber glass support rod that provides 90 degree feeder isolation and flexible - robust stress relief of connections. A sliding weather proof boot is included for easy access to the SO239 socket. 

    The I-PRO is available in two versions the only difference being the centre matching section. The multi-band centre section is identical in size to the 40m centre section. The fitting couldn't be simpler they literally click into place with our integrated stainless steel push button clips. 

 Here is a small sample of G4GTW's successes with the I-PRO. Observation, timing and sometimes location will all help to achieve satisfying results, even through the present poor HF band conditions.                    

The DX potential with the I-PRO is extremely impressive, here are a few recent log book entries (G4GTW): 20m CN89NY, 20m 7X3WJA, 20m ZD8N and last but not least Hawaii KH7XS. All these contacts were made with the I-PRO ground mounted from a very modest garden.                                                                  

Latest update witnessed by Mike G0WSB, 17m 1/2 Watt SSB QSO, R5+S4 report from KD4AF-North Carolina, using the FT-817 and the I-PRO close to salt water. If you try the I-PRO close to salt water, be warned, you will become hooked, the low angle gain enhancement that is achieved by setting up a vertical close to salt water has to be experienced. This is not a new phenomenon, DXpeditions make full use of this advantage whenever possible. The following link does help to explain and illustrate what happens to the radiation patern:  "Just add salt water"   >Links 

To maximise the enhancement from salt water ground planes, a vertical antenna needs to be no more than a wavelength away from the waters edge. In practical terms, on 17m, the antenna should be no more than approximately 50ft from the waters edge. The I-Pro is the perfect product to enjoy this experience, the light weight self contained structure that can easily be moved back and forth with the tide line. Can you imagine the work involved to set up a 1/4 wave vertical with all its radials and the thought of having to re-site it when the tide line approaches!