Yaesu ATAS100

[KD7OOO]

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Has anyone had any "good" experience with the Yaesu ATAS100 all band mobile antenna? I have gone through 3 of the whips on the antenna, because they are soft and bend and break off. My mobile driving speed is not fast as I am rural. For an mobile antenna that costs over $300.00, and $15.00+ dollars every time you have to order a new whip, it is just not worth it. Have not been able to get any positive response from either Yaesu or distributors. Most of them just say "GOOD LUCK"

[KD7GOW]

Hi Roy;
I was just about to order a Yaesu FT-100 with a ATAS-100 antenna. I have no advice for you but I truly to appreciate the warning that you gave me.
73's
KD7GOW Keith

[KC0MIS]

Hello Roy,

I have had an ATAS-100 for about 6 months.
It is mounted on the back corner of my 2500 Ram 4X4.
I drive anywhere up to 75mph when on the freeway.
I have whacked the thing with the garage door.
I have not had one speck of trouble from the antenna.

73s
Chuck Uhlir
KC0MIS

[WM8L]

Roy,

I have had my ATAS-100 with FT-100 for 2 years. It has been a great rig without problems.

I have read of a few problems that other hams have had but fortunately non with mine.

I have had QSO's with Europe stations on 10 and 15 when band conditions have been favorable.

All in all I think it is a great antenna and does not look out of place on todays small vehicles. Mine is installed in a Ford Focus ZX5.

Terry

[VE6VPD]

Maybe a copy of this messagethread shown to your local Yaesu Factory Salesrep would make getting a new one that much easier?! Unfortunately, it sounds to me like you got the proverbial lemon. Sorry to hear that.

Have you thought about drilling the hole on the top of the ATAS-100 bigger to accomodate a larger diameter whip? I have a friend that did that and never had a problem with it afterwards.

73s,

KC7UMB / Steve

[KI6LO]

I've installed a ATAS-100 on my 2001 Mitsubishi Galant ES using a Diamond K400C mount on the passenger side of the trunk about 1 week ago. So far I haven't noticed any problems. Tunes easily and smoothly. At highway speeds (75+ mph) the antenna rides smoothly in the wind without vibrating and while the steel whip does arch back some at speed, haven't noticed any problems in signal quality. Have gotten everything from 54 to 10 over S9 for reports. One thing I did do to help alleviate the possibility of water damage (reported in some forums) was to seal the top of the rubber boot at the boot/antenna junction with RTV sealer.

Gene KI6LO

[KG7HQ]

I'm sorry to hear your having problems with the wip. I have mine mounted on a 1996 Blazer and have been 4X4ing with it. I haven't experienced any problems with mechnical failure.
I did learn a lesson with it involving coax lengths though. It appears that the tuning circuit requires a specific length of coax to allow it to tune all bands from 70cm-40mtr including the warc bands. I had made a mistake on my installation of shortening the coax from Diamond when customizing the install. I had to add length back on as part of the resonate circuit to get the antenna to tune the 12,10, and 6 meters bands. If anyone wants pictures of the installation of the FT-100D & ATAS-100 antenna in a Chevy Blazer, drop me an E-mail. The address is listed here in QRZ.