Force 12 Sigma 5 vs. TW2010

Previously I used a Force-12 Sigma 5 vertical dipole. You can see my review of the Sigma 5 on eham.net. Although the Sigma 5 has performed well, I am retiring it from travel due to concerns about its longevity. These concerns were brought to a head by a blog I read about a DXpedition to the Cook Islands. After a few days the salt spray destroyed the PC board in the Sigma 5. The problems they ran into confirm my fears about the design of the Sigma 5 antenna. The PC board is mounted in a large piece of PVC in the center of the antenna. The PVC has openings at the top and bottom to accomodate the antenna. There is also a large slot in the side to accomodate the coax and control cable. To be a fair, a number of individuals on eham.net have reported using this antenna in adverse conditions for extended periods with out any problems.

Although both antennas are based on the same design (short vertical dipole) and appear to have the same electrical characteristics, the TW2010 is a much more elegant implementation. In addition, the TW2010's PC board (where the coils and relays are mounted) is sealed.

I just received the TW2010 last week. By all appearances the folks at TW Antennas have done an outstanding job on design and construction. It does not have the problems with rough edges and missing pieces that I initially ran into with the Sigma 5. It has been too cold and snowy in Chicago to test it. However, once the weather breaks I will set it up and give it a test run. Base on what I have seen, I have extremely high hopes for it.