Product Description
Thousands of Challengers are now in use throughout the world. From the jungle of New Guinea to the bitter cold of Finland to the brutal sands of Desert Storm, Challenger with its elevated feed links its user with the rest of the world. Challenger is the first and only antenna capable of operating on eight separate bands from 3.5 MHz to 144 MHz. Its operating bands are 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m, 12m, 10m, 6m, and 2m. Over 130 KHz of bandwidth is provided on 80m.
CQ tested the Challenger and on 40m compared to a mono band vertical, they found Challenger an S unit stronger. This is typical of the many reports received from amateurs around the world. Challenger is designed to be mounted directly in the ground or elevated. A ground mount is provided with each antenna. With the ground mount in place, the Challenger simply drops in. If necessary, because of space limitations, but not to improve performance, Challenger may be roof mounted since it does not require earth loss to obtain a 50 ohm match. Challenger requires a counterpoise of three 25ft. insulated wires. They may be buried or just scattered on the ground. Symmetrical deployment is not critical. Adding additional wire will not significantly improve performance. All of these are covered in a 16-page assembly manual provided with each antenna.
VOYAGER DX
10m – 40m MonoGAPs
TITAN DX
EAGLE DX
Review W6PUG Doug –:
Had my Challenger for 4 years now and it is great performer and great design – has withstood some tough winds. Moving North to another state and am, for sure, carefully disassembling and putting it up in the new home and property …. everybody oughta have one of these if limited on space and need great performance! Pix on my QRZ site. 73
Review Neil Whitham G4SEN/GK4SEN –:
Purchased my GAP Challenger DX 2 weeks ago and assembly was straightforward as the instructions were simple to follow. Nothing to change on the antenna as it performs exactly as per the specs on HF.
The 20m performance is remarkable First three contacts were 2 VKs and Texas all within the first hour and then the following morning on 40m more VKs, US, Puerto Rico and UAE. Best of the lot was busting through the pile up on 15m for V55DX yesterday.
It also had a bit of a battering on the second day with winds gusting 65mph, so pleased I guyed it for my own peace of mind!
Cheers guys!
Review bill lace –:
I have owned this antenna for over 10 years it has been in 2 locations in vk4; I am in the process of disassembling it to move to vk2 the antenna always has lived up to it’s claims; performance I cannot recommend it highly enough best regards bill vk2wml
Review Ronald Jay –:
Have had the Challenger up now for 3 months. I have it ground mounted here in Florid. It replaced a 5 band trap vertical. So far I have been able to break the Mid West and East Coast 20 and 40 meter mono banders and there
Kilo Watt stations on all the resent DX expeditions with 2 or 3 calls and 200 watts. 20 and 40 meters the antenna really performs. 10 and 15 are OK, 80 meters it really needs some help. Haven’t tried the other bands. Can’t wait to get a amplifier for it. Ron KN4D
Review Tom –:
Bought this antenna in 1993 in south Florida. I have a limited sized lot and the Challenger DX was a perfect fit. Well within my limited budget. While in S. Fla, it survived Tropical Storm Gordon along with many windstorms. Moved to Oklahoma in 1999. It was at two different locations in Central Oklahoma. It was taken out by a strong straight wind in 2010. The center insulator broke completely along with bending some of the vertical radiators. I repaired it and it’s still going strong. I moved to Wisconsin in 2014. It’s been on the air at two different locations here and works well. I use this antenna for digital only (JT9, FT8, PSK, etc). It’s a quiet receive antenna but it doesn’t compare to my 4 el yagi up at 60 ft. But it’s a solid antenna and if I were buying another vertical I’d buy another Challenger DX.
Review Rob Bennett –:
Got this antenna when I worked in Port Saint Lucie, FL in 1993. I moved to Boca Raton, FL and used it in a HOA. Worked relatively well! Had to camouflage paint it and still worked great! Glad I had it after hurricane Wilma. I moved to Decatur Georgia and disassembled it for the move and reassembled it. Still performs good as new. Low SWR on all bands as advertised. No tuning, no frustration and on the air with good sigs!
Review Mark Smith –:
I bought this antenna around 2006 so it’s been up for 12 years now, I was able to get my WAS with this antenna. I am in Florida. It has never been blown down from storm. It survived a storm last year where part of our shingles blew off the roof. I think it has been struck by lightning many times. I have had many good signal reports with it and have fed a linear into it with about 800W. I have worked a number of stations in Europe and a few in the Far East. Very easy to work the States and South America. A good antenna for the money.
Review Chuck McBride –:
I have had my Challenger DX installed at ground-level for 4 months and am pleased with it’s performance. I live in Oklahoma City and run a 40-6m OCFD at 34’. I added the Challenger to give me 80m, improve 40m, and give me some lower takeoff angles on the higher freqs.
The 80m performance has been so-so, but better than trying to tune a 40m dipole for 80m. On 40m, I have finally been able to get DX beyond southern Canada and the Carribean…many QSOs into Europe and far northern Canada, including QRP into Europe. My OCFD is usually 1-1.5 s-units better on 20m, but there are times when the Challenger outperforms it (several over-the-pole QSOs into Russia). On 15m, I can now work the Pacific very well! I have used it several times on 12m when my OCFD wasn’t up to the task. My 10m usage has been limited, as has 6m (I primarily use a moxon on 6m). I have also used it successfully on 60m and 17m with an LDG ATU.
All-in-all, I am happy with this antenna’s performance and really like that I didn’t have to dig up my backyard! It has met my expectations.
BTW, I only run 100W or less. The antenna has survived 14 severe thunderstorms now (77mph peak wind gusts) with a set of midpoint guys in a triangular configuration.
Review Chuck McBride –:
UPDATED REVIEW – I have had my Challenger DX for several months and am quite pleased with it. I have found that it does quite a job on 17 meters, even though it isn’t designed for that band. From my QTH in Oklshoma, it enabled me to log contacts to Rwanda snd Mayotte on 17m that my OCFD was not capable of reaching. Within it’s tuning range on 80m, it does pretty well and logged my first 80m European QSO. It is my go-to antenna on 15m and 40m when I want to work DX. It is very stormworthy when guyed. It was easy to install and I loved that I did not have to dig up my backyard to install a radial field.
Review Dave Wayman –:
I bought my GAP Challenger at the Atlanta Hamfest in 1989. It was a vast improvement over the Cushcraft R5 that I was using. I have deployed it in numerous locations since then and even had to replace the internal wiring harness when a ‘friend’ disassembled it from one location and cut some wires. It has always worked well! 30 years of always working speaks well for the quality of construction! Many contacts both local and DX speaks well of design. After relocation recently I thought I had a problem with it on the bands above 20m but I found that it was a problem with my ic-7300, not the GAP! Best vertical made in my humble opinion. SWR less than 2:1 from 80 through 6 meters. I did extend the 12 meter rod for 17 meter use with no problem.. 80 meters works well for DX and has about 200kHz bandwidth. The other bands require no tuner. Highly recommended. Easy to build, easy to deploy (with a friend). Rugged, and very good performance!
Review N5KAH(verified owner) –:
This is my third GAP antenna! First was my 1995 Challenger, then I owned a Titan in 2003, and now in 2023 another Challenger DX. The ease of assembly, no traps, and no tuning make working and switching bands as easy a pressing the band switch. Even if it is going to be a permanent install, I highly recommend the tilt-over base. The antenna doesn’t really require any maintenance, but it sure is handy to lay the Challenger down before wind storms, severe thunderstorms, tornados, or ice storms. When properly setup following the dos and don’ts, it is a quiet antenna for working DX. As an ARRL Technical Specialist, a good 75 percent of the antenna issues I solve are due to improper installation or setup. The Challenger is a solid performer when assembled and setup properly following the few requirements it needs to preform well. And if one does discover an issue, Richard is only a phone call away. My Elecraft K4D and I both enjoy having and using the Gap Challenger. If you purchase one, you will most likely be able to make the most of it and if not, it will most likely sell for close to its retail price on QRZ swap meet. It is a full 5 Starts in my opinion as I don’t have a single complaint about any Gap Antenna I have owned or used. Keith de N5KAH