Hustler 5BTV Mods for 12 and 17 Meters
HUSTLER 5BTV MODS FOR 12 AND 17 METERS N6WJA Edward Clayton I had purchased a Hustler 5BTV (5 Band Trap Vertical) antenna hoping to make it a portable antenna for camping trips and remote setups for Field Day or for the US Islands QSO Party. I took the antenna home, and did a preliminary set up, built a radial mounting plate, attached the radials (30 +) and tried to tune up the antenna. 10 and 15 meters were OK, but I could not get 20 meters on the same planet. Different length radials added changed nothing. Since I couldn’t get 20M working, I felt it wasn’t necessary to try 40M or 80M. Disappointed, I broke the antenna down into 2 sections and hung it up in the garage, hoping to get back to it. 3 Years later….In the meantime, I had built some other vertical antennas, I constructed a 20M vertical from the handle of a pool vacuum, built a 4 element 2 Meter Yagi, I made loop antennas for 17M and 20M and tested them in different configurat...