A-99 CB Base Station Antenna

Amazing. Setup was a snap. 30 minutes or less for me. If you use it for cb (11 meter band) you can use it right out of the box with great swr. No need to trim. I didnt even have to adjust the tuning rings.

Works excellent perfect SWR didn’t even have to touch the rings

I purchased this Solarcon A-99 antenna from Amazon on July 5th, 2019 for $68. After being out of CB for 45 years, I decided to get back into radio. I passed my technician, general and extra exams and became an amateur radio operator in 2022. Out of curiosity, I thought I would experiment by mounting this A-99 antenna about 20 ft. up in a tree and see what it could do. Boy was I in for a great surprise!Most shocking of all was this A-99 tunes in 10 meters, 11 meters, 12 meters, 15 meters and 17 meters as well. I have contacted and spoken to people all over the world using this simple and inexpensive antenna. Every state in North America, many countries in South America, Europe, Central America, South Pacific, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and the list goes on and on and on.And all for $68? Kinda hard to beat that.As you can see, I mounted this A-99 about 20 ft. up in a tree. If you paint the fiberglass vertical with a non-metallic green paint, it is nearly totally stealth.We have repeatedly experienced winds of 30-75 mph here for the last two years...this A-99 takes a lickin' and just keeps on tickin'.This Solarcon A-99 has some tuning rings on the base so you can fine tune it to various frequencies. I set the tuning rings all the way to the top.I was totally shocked to discover this Solarcon A-99 has low SWR for most of 10 and 11 meters... yes, 1:1 at 26.9 MHz-27.4 MHz. The SWR begins to rise when you get up into the 28 MHz's, but it still works well all the way up into the 29 MHz's. I recently discovered the exciting world of FM at 29 MHz and this A-99 works wonders on FM.You will need an antenna tuner for 15 and 17 meters. I was totally blown away after speaking to people all over the world on 15 and 17 meters with this antenna. People tell me I should not run excessive power on 15 and 17 meters, so I stick with the Yaesu FT DX 10 at one hundred watts and have never had a problem on those bands. On 10 meters, people tell me this A-99 can accept 1000+ watts. I have only tried it up to 800 watts and have never had a problem.I am not sure why the price on this antenna has more than doubled in the last year or so. I am not sure if it is worth the $175 asking price. I am totally convinced the $68 I paid for this new antenna in 2019 on Amazon was totally worth it.Last, I hear many people get 10-20 years of use out of the Solarcon A-99. But some people complain about the fiberglass degrading. The cure for this challenge is super simple: coat the fiberglass with a non-metallic paint and you will be good to go for many, many years to come.73's to all!

I don't often write reviews on Amazon.....I usually only do so when I really have something to say, or a strong point to make. Prior to purchasing this antenna from Amazon, I did a lot of research. I wanted something that would pull in CB well, so that I might have an opportunity to work skip on CB SSB. When I read some reviews that stated that the Solarcon A-99 Base Antenna would also work with some shortwave and ham bands, I was intrigued.I 've been a shortwave listener since the late 70's. I've used a number of radios/receivers and am currently using an ICOM 751A Transceiver and a new Grundig Satellite 750. I also am using a Galaxy DX 959 mobile CB with SSB for my base. I want to be clear that I am writing this review primarily to talk about the A-99's performance on shortwave.....I realize that most people will not be purchasing it for that, but it's a huge bonus to have an antenna that not only works well with CB (which it does) but also with shortwave.I am really sort of puzzled at the negative reviews with this antenna from writers who say that it is simply a CB antenna and nothing more. I do not work for, and I am not affiliated with Amazon or Solarcon. I work at a Child Abuse Intervention Center in Oregon and have nothing to gain by writing this review. I simply want to speak the truth about my experiences with the A-99. Those who say it does not work with ham or shortwave are simply not accurate. Either they are not using the antenna correctly, or they are not giving the antenna a fair shake. I want to be crystal clear......the A-99 works wonderfully from 25 meters down to 11 (CB bands). I am pulling in stations that I have not heard for a long time from all over the world. I live on the Oregon coast, so much of my late night/ early morning activity is from Asia and Europe and Australia. But the majority of stations that I am receiving are clear and audible. The A-99 has also functioned well for me on 31 meters and 49 meters, but not quite as well as the aforementioned bands.I live in a community that has HOA's so I am limited on what I can do as far as the bylaws are concerned. I'm not allowed to mount an antenna of this type on the roof, etc. I mounted the antenna onto a hardwood wooden dowel. I attached the dowel onto a metal stake that you would use to prop small trees up......and then I placed it into a metal garbage can filled to the brim with dirt and sand. It makes for a stable platform and since we get a lot of wind at times on the coast, I wanted to make sure it would handle that. The A-99 is at the back of my house and not visible from the road. It's about four to five feet above the roof peak, and about 40 feet into the air overall. That was the best I could do for height, but I am very pleased with the results. I have not had much opportunity to work CB skip yet; I've only had the antenna for about five days, but again.....I'm mainly writing this to make it clear that it will handle shortwave frequencies.I'm studying for my ham license and I plan to make this antenna my primary source of signal. I use it in conjunction with a MFJ -95E mobile tuner and it works well. I recognize that there are better antennas for shortwave listening. But my point is this.....if you are looking for an antenna that works on both CB and SW/Ham.....I'm not kidding.....you should give the Solarcon A-99 a good look. I'm super happy with my antenna and the very pleasant surprise that it has provided. I gave it five stars simply because it's so much more than "just a CB antenna".Scott SnyderCoos Bay, Oregon

This was highly recommended so I purchased and works great no problems

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Mounted antenna on top section of tower prior raising top section on tower, swr was 1.1 to 1.3 over 11 meter band with 1-1 balun in line at antenna connection. Raised tower section to top of tower and installed. Rechecked swr, it’s was 1.1 to 1.5 from below 11 meter band up thru 10 meters to well above 29 mhz. So far so good, all measurements are well within normal operating range. Have not ran power thru antenna yet. All parts were in the package with the antenna including manual. Europe was coming in today on 10 meters with S-9 and over signal strength but didn’t have time to engage in conversation via ham radio this evening due to work schedule. Most reviews on this antenna are 4.5 to 5 that I have seen so time will tell if that number holds true for me. There’s no way this antenna has 9.9 dbi gain and I have my doubts about 2k power rating with the coil size installed in this antenna. I have read reviews of burning up the coil running more than 3 to 4 hundred watts thru this antenna. This is my opinion so far for the A-99 Solarcon.