WorkmanSaturn B100 Base Station Apartment Attic Patio Balcony Boat Truck Antenna

I recently purchased a Workman B100 via Amazon. I have a Commercial Radio License, Extra Amateur License and 30+ years working with 2-way Radio, Paging, Trunking, HF and Microwave Radio Systems and Mobiles at a Fortune 50 Company.I like the Workman B100 Antenna a lot. It was purchased as an 11 Meter CB Antenna however, I've also found it useful on the 10 Meter Ham Band.I initially called Workman Tech Support because I was confused about the "coaxial cable length" issue. Tech Support indicated that the antenna requires at least 50 feet of coax to work properly and as the run between my radio & the antenna location is 110 feet, I put the system together and gave it a trial. Tech Support was very helpful, knowledgeable and offered to talk me though the installation in real time if required.I ran SWR tests on CB Channels 1, 20 and 40 and the antenna showed a SWR variation of 1.2:1 to 1.4:1 The antenna was resonant and the SWR was highly acceptable on all CB Channels. The initial Coax Length was 120 feet which I trimmed down to 110 feet. There was very little difference in the "before & after" Coaxial Cable Lengths. Good SWR PerformanceNext, I ran a SWR test on the 10 Meter Ham Band. Measuring at 28.000, 28.500, 29.000 & 29.700 MHz I discovered that the resultant SWR was between 1.1:1 and 1.4:1. The antenna is also resonant and usable on the entire 10 Meter Ham Band as well as the entire CB Band. The Antenna is mounted on a 20 foot pipe above a couple of scanning antennas.I normally hang out on 28.076 MHz which is the JT65 Digital Portion of the 10 Meter Ham Band. After connecting the Workman B100 to my Amateur Transceiver, I was startled to see stations that I had never seen while using my normal HF Ham antenna which is a 80 foot horizontal long wire with an autotuner. I was picking up stations in the Caribbean, South America, Japan, New Zealand, as well as all over the USA. It was pretty impressive. I didn't use it on the CB Band as my CB Radio has issues and a replacement is on the way. Performance on the CB Band would be no different than the experience on the 10 Meter Ham Band.Today I answered a request for a contact (CQ) on the JT65 digital portion of the 10 Meter Band. While the band was not as active as the day before, I made a contact with W8DM, an Amateur Station in Mississippi at about 9AM California Local Time. The receive and send levels were recorded at -4 DB both send and receive which which is a very good level and indicates that the antenna "hears" as well as it "talks". I was transmitting at 7 Watts on the Contact.The key to this antenna seems to be the utilization of a long length of coax cable between the radio and the antenna in order to provide a ground plane. If I was going to put this antenna on my car or boat, I'd probably use 100+ feet of coax on the system and just loosely spread up the excess cable around the car or boat. My cable is on a long, flat run under the house using RG-8x which is pretty inexpensive at $0.39/Foot or so. The signal loss with 100 feet of coaxial used on the CB Band Frequencies is only about 1.5 Db which is very acceptable.The Workman B100 antenna is well made, appears durable and it's even kind of good looking. If this antenna is not working for you, the problem is probably. (1. A short run of coax cable, (2. A connector assembly problem, (3. A bad cable. (4. The 10 or 11 meter band is not open and propagation (skip) is not working at that particular time. Try again later. This is in fact, a very nice antenna.April 8, 2015: I guess someone forgot to tell the B100 antenna that it can't talk long distances. I had a SSB QSO with KC5TVZ in Alanta Georgia on the 10 Meter ham band today @ 28.425 MHz on a marginal 10 Meter band. I'm in Central California It's not a beam but it performs OK.

UPDATE: The Workman works great with the QT 80 also. Receive and transmit on 10 and 12 meters is improved compared to the indoor wires.I tested this antenna in an indoor attic setup using two different HF rigs (Xiegu G 90 and x6100). I could easily tune it down below 1.5 for 10 and 12 meters as well as 15. I also experimented using the Workman on 17 and 20 meters. On 20 I made a POTA contact up in New England from here in WV. The receive was better versus my other attic antenna which is a short G5RV with additional wires. So far so good. I have another rig on the way (QT-80) and we will see how that goes.

Great CB Antenna and I got out about 20 miles in urban areas with it.Strawberry patch dxWeathered well for many years without sun damage.Which durable plastic and very good mount.Good resonance and worth the price for sure.

I'd give it less but can not I had this antenna for a whileFinally got it up 18ft on a fiberglass pole it's super super noisy I can't even get a local radio check SWRs show 1.5 to 1.8 on all bands and have not been able to make a single contract not happy with it will have to go with an aluminum like I knew I should have

This is a no-hassle antenna. Use it as a 10m HF antenna, or as an 11m CB antenna. For an antenna that is a compromise by design, this antenna is fantastic. Is it as good as a 1/2 wave dipole? no. Is this the best non-adjustable antenna you may ever use? yes. Following others with known/good installations, I mounted this to a 12-foot wooden closet rod and leaned the wood mast against my backyard fence. The supplied hardware was sufficient and sturdy. Next, I ran 60-feet of RG-8x coax to this and tested for SWR. Across the entire band my highest SWR is 1.34, and the lowest is 1.00This was just an initial test before I do a permanent mount elsewhere. But, this antenna just works right out of the package. It's cheap, it's easy, and it works as designed. I have wasted a lot more money than this experimenting with different odds and ends. I will continue to tinker and experiment with antennas, but if you need a reliable 10m antenna just to get on the air, this is a good one.Accept it's limitations! It still works way better than a lot of my home-brew devices.

The antenna itself seems like a good idea ... but the manufacturer did not make it clear that the mast this antenna is mounted to cannot have an outer diameter larger than 1.25". The clamps provided simply do not go around a 1.55" mast, and the metal bracket attached to the antenna is integral to operation of the antenna. (I called Workman Electronics and the helpful guy who answered told me I should either get a new, smaller mast or just return the antenna since there is no practical way to mount the antenna. Any attempt to remove the bracket will damage the antenna.)

Excellent indoor antenna. The Uclamps are stainless.

I received this antenna Monday took it right from ups driver opened box and pkg and put it right on the. Mast hooked the 18 ft of coax and another 18 ft of coax connected raised it up on 16 foot steel pole out side of house . RAN coax in through window and hooked up my galaxy 929 mobile sub radio on a 12 volt power pack . Hooked up swr meter and had a perfect match it receives good and it works great ! It is not as noticible to the neighboring as the association does not like them but it is not that visible . Now I can use the CB inside as a emergency communications with other I have so far so good .