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LFA's Are they really that good?
m0hkb
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Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:45 pm Posts: 129 Location: IPSWICH JO02OB
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LFA's Are they really that good?
Guys do any of you have real life experience with the G0KSC LFA antennas? Justin is very keen to talk the talk but can these walk the walk any better than a conventional yagi on a smilar sized boom? I'm in process of getting QRV again on 144 and am looking for somthing with around an 4m boom which will sit on my chimney stack and not be overally obvious to passers by. I'm currently looking at the 8 element I0JXX for a couple of reasons, a) They are available locally b) They are priced well c) they are quite light. The other option was the 8 or 9 element LFA - Do you think I would notice any real life difference on noise floor as claimed? I'm now living 500 yards from the north sea (The antenna will be able to physically see the sea) and the house is around 45m ASL but it is still in the Town. Opinions please!!
_________________ Keiron M0HKB
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 8:37 am |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
g4rra
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Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 3:11 pm Posts: 3707 Location: IO80BS Spreyton Devon.
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
Well heres my take on it Keiron Justins antennas are in my opinion the latest must have antennas,they follow a long line of antennas that have fallen into that bracket.. Cue Dees...OZ5HFs...DJ9BVs.. etc etc. In my opinion nowadays theres very little difference, if any between the top performers apart from price,and on that score Justins are expensive. Will you notice any difference between a 10ele Eagle, and a 10ele LFA ?...not enough to make it worth the extra in my opinion,and I have sat under systems using both Eagles and LFAs.Justin does make a great play about the noise reducing effect of using LFAs,and the polar patterns do look very good.,thats probably what sets his antennas apart from others. Will LFA users tell you they are the most wonderful antenna known to man?....Of course they will,so would I if I had spent that much on it,truth is very few people have both antennas up at the same time and of course if you are relying on signals on 144Mhz to differentiate we all know it can be 51 one min and 59 the next Ive used an I0JXX antenna on 50mhz and it did suffer from driven element problems,they used some sort of potting compound on the driven element connections which were enclosed in a box..anyway it didnt work and neither did the plastic round clips that hold the elements to the boom..maybe the new ones are better as my one was pretty old. Sounds like the new QTH is nice..am I going to have to suffer listening to you knocking off SMs on a flat band ?
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 10:26 am |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
m0hkb
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Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:45 pm Posts: 129 Location: IPSWICH JO02OB
Feedback: 2 (100%)
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
SM's on a flat band I hope so! I could work SK7MW flat from JO02OB the new QRA is JO01QX. 02OB had 37km of land before I hit open water in the direction of SK7MW from 01QX I have 2.5km sloping down to the sea. I should be ok. I've just got myself another Mutek 144a to run with my 756pro and need to dig the tempo out of the cupboard. The only thing im struggling with is the antenna. Really regretting selling my 2 x 9 ele M2's now as they are mega money new - But you get what you pay for engineering wise i guess.
_________________ Keiron M0HKB
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 10:37 am |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
ei2glb
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Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:39 pm Posts: 3033 Location: Kildare IO63MD
Feedback: 26 (100%)
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
I have tried a few different antennas on both 6,4,2 and 70 and I now use LFA's
I dont have a list of data to prove my choice but I am happy with the LFA's and will stick with them.
I made all my own LFA's and this is a lot cheaper if you have the tools and time.
I dont value my free time as some do on here so I enjoy making the antennas more than using them if truth be told.
Justin is a sales man he is hardly going to talk negative about his antennas now is he.
Lots of people have switched from 7el M2 on 6m to LFA's and the all seem happy, M2 might be well built but its old school technology now.
Trevor
_________________ Trevor EI2GLB QRZ+LOG WX
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 10:59 am |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
m0hkb
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Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:45 pm Posts: 129 Location: IPSWICH JO02OB
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
I appreciate he is a sales man (so am I!) Trevor I just don't have any first hand experience with the Product and was asking for other's experiences. In this day and age there is so much information out there and so many people peaddling snake oil it makes chosing an antenna hard work!
_________________ Keiron M0HKB
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:04 am |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
ei2glb
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Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:39 pm Posts: 3033 Location: Kildare IO63MD
Feedback: 26 (100%)
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
I agree Keiron it can be a minefield out there.
Good luck with what ever you choose I am not currently active on VHF but hope to make it back up there soon.
_________________ Trevor EI2GLB QRZ+LOG WX
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:08 am |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
m0hkb
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Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:45 pm Posts: 129 Location: IPSWICH JO02OB
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
Thanks trevor.
_________________ Keiron M0HKB
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:22 am |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
g6nhu
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Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2012 9:20 am Posts: 967 Location: Clacton-on-Sea, JO01
Feedback: 2 (100%)
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
We used a 9 ele LFA as a contest aerial for a year and it was dreadful.
The almost total lack of sidelobes meant that it simply wasn't suitable for us, unless we were directly pointing at people, we wouldn't hear them and that's not the way to run a frequency in a contest.
In my opinion, for contesting they're not very good. A local group ran a stack of 4 x 5 ele (I think) where the beamwidth isn't so narrow in a contest and they worked well. We replaced ours with a 9 ele Vargarda that I used to use here and it's a great improvement.
If you want one at home for working DX then they're great as you know who you're trying to work and you will get less interference due to the narrow beamwidth and lack of sidelobes.
If I were looking at a 2m beam for home that I knew I wasn't going to use in contests, I'd buy one.
_________________ 73 Keith, G6NHU, KB3WPE The Martello Tower Group QSO365 - My amateur radio blog
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 1:13 pm |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
G8VHI
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Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 5:21 pm Posts: 677 Location: Nuneaton IO92FM
Feedback: 6 (100%)
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
I agree with all comments! Like has been also said. Very few lobes so a pants aerial in contests. As for cost my pockets are not that DEEEEEPPPPPP Reg G8VHI g4rra wrote: Well heres my take on it Keiron Justins antennas are in my opinion the latest must have antennas,they follow a long line of antennas that have fallen into that bracket.. Cue Dees...OZ5HFs...DJ9BVs.. etc etc. In my opinion nowadays theres very little difference, if any between the top performers apart from price,and on that score Justins are expensive. Will you notice any difference between a 10ele Eagle, and a 10ele LFA ?...not enough to make it worth the extra in my opinion,and I have sat under systems using both Eagles and LFAs.Justin does make a great play about the noise reducing effect of using LFAs,and the polar patterns do look very good.,thats probably what sets his antennas apart from others. Will LFA users tell you they are the most wonderful antenna known to man?....Of course they will,so would I if I had spent that much on it,truth is very few people have both antennas up at the same time and of course if you are relying on signals on 144Mhz to differentiate we all know it can be 51 one min and 59 the next Ive used an I0JXX antenna on 50mhz and it did suffer from driven element problems,they used some sort of potting compound on the driven element connections which were enclosed in a box..anyway it didnt work and neither did the plastic round clips that hold the elements to the boom..maybe the new ones are better as my one was pretty old. Sounds like the new QTH is nice..am I going to have to suffer listening to you knocking off SMs on a flat band ?
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 2:57 pm |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
G0UWK
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Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:01 pm Posts: 2546 Location: Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent IO83VC
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
Having actually built and used a pair on 70cm I'm very pleased with the results. Mine are homebrew so cost was not an issue (£80 each to build or £255 to buy and they are 23ft long) a single one also does rather well on the UKAC 70cm contest and It's just worked EA8 on 70cm too.
Tunes up well, F/B is good, forward gain seems on par with the designers notes and again a single one receives well off the moon. I had a pair of 23 ele wimo's before this and prefer the single long yagi option.
I too was sceptical and thought I'd try them, not fair to knock something unless you have first hand experience and all that. I was prepared to trash them if they didn't work and follow the DK7ZB route.
I have donated the other yagi to a friend now as a single one is good enough for what I want.
Oh forgot to mention, I tested one at the same height as a 21 ele tonna and it blew it into the weeds, GB3BSL perfectly readable at 519 on the LFA and not even there on the Tonna.
_________________ Building your own equipment is one of amateur radio's most satisfying elements.
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 5:27 pm |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
G0UWK
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Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:01 pm Posts: 2546 Location: Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent IO83VC
Feedback: 9 (100%)
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
Paul, Tony has just bought a 25 ele I0JXX and same story the element holders keep coming loose He now has my other 26 ele LFA and it's also noticeably better in forward gain. I built them like a brick outhouse much to his dismay but they will certainly withstand some bad wx that is a given
_________________ Building your own equipment is one of amateur radio's most satisfying elements.
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 5:34 pm |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
G8VHI
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Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 5:21 pm Posts: 677 Location: Nuneaton IO92FM
Feedback: 6 (100%)
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
I worked EA8 from here on 2 times 23ele Cue dee! Reg G0UWK wrote: Having actually built and used a pair on 70cm I'm very pleased with the results. Mine are homebrew so cost was not an issue (£80 each to build or £255 to buy and they are 23ft long) a single one also does rather well on the UKAC 70cm contest and It's just worked EA8 on 70cm too.
Tunes up well, F/B is good, forward gain seems on par with the designers notes and again a single one receives well off the moon. I had a pair of 23 ele wimo's before this and prefer the single long yagi option.
I too was sceptical and thought I'd try them, not fair to knock something unless you have first hand experience and all that. I was prepared to trash them if they didn't work and follow the DK7ZB route.
I have donated the other yagi to a friend now as a single one is good enough for what I want.
Oh forgot to mention, I tested one at the same height as a 21 ele tonna and it blew it into the weeds, GB3BSL perfectly readable at 519 on the LFA and not even there on the Tonna.
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:27 pm |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
G0UWK
Moderator
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:01 pm Posts: 2546 Location: Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent IO83VC
Feedback: 9 (100%)
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
G8VHI wrote: I worked EA8 from here on 2 times 23ele Cue dee! Reg G0UWK wrote: Having actually built and used a pair on 70cm I'm very pleased with the results. Mine are homebrew so cost was not an issue (£80 each to build or £255 to buy and they are 23ft long) a single one also does rather well on the UKAC 70cm contest and It's just worked EA8 on 70cm too.
Tunes up well, F/B is good, forward gain seems on par with the designers notes and again a single one receives well off the moon. I had a pair of 23 ele wimo's before this and prefer the single long yagi option.
I too was sceptical and thought I'd try them, not fair to knock something unless you have first hand experience and all that. I was prepared to trash them if they didn't work and follow the DK7ZB route.
I have donated the other yagi to a friend now as a single one is good enough for what I want.
Oh forgot to mention, I tested one at the same height as a 21 ele tonna and it blew it into the weeds, GB3BSL perfectly readable at 519 on the LFA and not even there on the Tonna. Have you tried an LFA Reg?
_________________ Building your own equipment is one of amateur radio's most satisfying elements.
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:38 pm |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
G8VHI
Advanced Member
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 5:21 pm Posts: 677 Location: Nuneaton IO92FM
Feedback: 6 (100%)
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
no and I wont be what i have works just fine. Why waste money I can spend on things I need G0UWK wrote: G8VHI wrote: I worked EA8 from here on 2 times 23ele Cue dee! Reg G0UWK wrote: Having actually built and used a pair on 70cm I'm very pleased with the results. Mine are homebrew so cost was not an issue (£80 each to build or £255 to buy and they are 23ft long) a single one also does rather well on the UKAC 70cm contest and It's just worked EA8 on 70cm too.
Tunes up well, F/B is good, forward gain seems on par with the designers notes and again a single one receives well off the moon. I had a pair of 23 ele wimo's before this and prefer the single long yagi option.
I too was sceptical and thought I'd try them, not fair to knock something unless you have first hand experience and all that. I was prepared to trash them if they didn't work and follow the DK7ZB route.
I have donated the other yagi to a friend now as a single one is good enough for what I want.
Oh forgot to mention, I tested one at the same height as a 21 ele tonna and it blew it into the weeds, GB3BSL perfectly readable at 519 on the LFA and not even there on the Tonna. Have you tried an LFA Reg?
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:44 pm |
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LFA's Are they really that good?
G0UWK
Moderator
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:01 pm Posts: 2546 Location: Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent IO83VC
Feedback: 9 (100%)
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Re: LFA's Are they really that good?
Sure, but if you have not tried one then it's only hearsay. Not saying in it's the best thing since sliced bread but it works and it was cheap - to build of course. By the way G0FYD did EA8 on a 19 ele tonna from Blackpool amazing contact.
_________________ Building your own equipment is one of amateur radio's most satisfying elements.
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Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:51 pm |
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