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| Reviews Summary for AS-AYL-4 the True K9AY DX antenna with optional Wire/Mast Kit |
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Reviews: 10
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Average rating: 4.9/5
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MSRP: $250
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Description: K9AY Loop Low bands 4 direction recieve antenna for DXing. Includes relay switching box, adjustable terminations, High performance pre-amp with BCB and SW filters, as well as a mast and wire kit built to military standards, small footprint too. Hear what your missing on the low bands including DXing in the MW and LW bands. Works on 40 and 20m with preamp switch turned off.
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Product is in production.
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More info: http://www.arraysolutions.com
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write your own review of the AS-AYL-4 the True K9AY DX antenna with optional Wire/Mast Kit.
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KY6R
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 9, 2011 04:43
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Still Amazes Me
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I've had K9AY Loops up before, and have also tried a pair of top fed EWE's and the K6SE Optimized Flag. All of these work the same - but the small footprint and convenience of the Array Solutions (Wolf Systems) packaging is the best. I have a good ground - and the antenna sits just above a creek - with a ground rod right next to the creek, and for the first time - I really see a major difference in how the Termination resistor works. The strength of the null is best on the "1" setting for 160M. I will add 4 radials - 1 each under each direction and re-test in the fall.
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W7TJ
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Rating: 5/5
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May 4, 2009 08:28
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Excellent !
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Using Vertical Antennas on the Low Bands, Noise becomes a Real Problem especially as the area becomes more built and populated. BCI,power, and anything else imaginable masks many weak low band signals. I have a couple of Long fence lines where I was able to run single wire terminated beverages;what I was after in the unit here was the switching ability for different RX antennas, the BCI Filter and the Pre-amp all in one. The results were amazing:
1. Signals that were unreadable or copied with
extreme difficulty became Q-5
2. Tho primarily for 160M, the big surprize
was 80 Meters !
3. Without the preamp, Reception differences on
40 and especially 30 Meters are dramatic.
Bottom Line: If you do not have the space to put
up Low Band Yagis, or Move far out into the Country, clearly this is one of the best low band investments available.
Randy - W7TJ
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N7XM
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 10, 2009 14:31
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Works as advertized!!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After using my TX antenna for years - I finally
did the smart thing ! Install a RX antenna -
Not having a lot of space I went with the AY
RX loop system - its made operation on LOW
BANDS more fun and more productive - less
operator fatigue and more DX available -
This is really a good UNIT - and I
recommend it highly.
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W8RA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 31, 2009 10:15
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Great Service From AS
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I have been using the AS AYL-4 K9AY Loop System from Array Solutions for about 5 months. I found it to be very good for hearing the weak ones on 160 & 80 M. Over a period of weeks, it developed a major lack of sensitivity in one direction only. All signals dropped to near "zero" to the SW. I contacted Jay at AS - and got permission to send the remote unit off to Jim Wolf - KR9U in Indiana. I sent it by FedEx on Monday afternoon and by Friday the SAME WEEK I got the repaired unit back by FedEX! (at no cost!) That is very quick turn around - as far as I am concerned! Which is super because I found at my QTH - I was surprised to discover how completely dependent I had become on it for receiving! Listening on my 130 ft vertical is like trying to hear a bird chirp in a tornado.. The loops may not be the very best receive antenna but are what makes DXing possible here. It goes to show - often you don't know how bad you are going to miss something - till it's gone. This was a very good service expereince!
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KY6R
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 13, 2008 18:10
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BIG Fun!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I was an SWL and BCB DX-er for a couple years before getting my Novice ticket back in 1973. The K9AY system sold by Array Solutions lets me listen to up to 4 different stations on one frequency - the phasing and isolation seems that good.
Years ago, I had the AY Technologies version of this, and like a dummy sold it when I had to move from my old QTH.
Bot the control box / preamp and remote switch / terminating resistors are packaged and well built. The order and shipping were very prompt and packed well.
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KO4NX
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 8, 2008 17:09
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Great Top Band RX Antenna for Limited Space!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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After coming to the conclusion that a Beverage Array was out of the question due to the size of my lot; I decided to try the K9AY loop. I must admit that I was skeptical, and doubted this array could receive any better than my 160m 60' top loaded vertical, or 80m full wave Delta Loop. After the installation, I started testing the array and found that I could null out two stations, transmitting on the same frequency, in the AM broadcast band. For the test I chose a station in the Caribbean, and another on the NW coast of the Unites States (on the same frequency). When I switched from the SE wire to NW wire, I was able to completely eliminate all traces of the Caribbean station, and had excellent copy of the pacific station.
In the first six months of owning this antenna I managed to work all 50 States and 60 Countries. My Contest Scores on 160 meters have improved dramatically - What else can I say!!!
73
Rich, AJ3G
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K8RA
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 2, 2008 08:16
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It really works !!!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Well I completed my k9ay loop and I am very impressed. It is about 350 feet from my transmit antenna out in the front yard hidden in a
wooded area at the side of my lot. I went in there with a set of clippers and a chain saw and cleared an area. I made my own loop using a 25 foot fiberglass pole but bought the Array Solutions boxes. I have an 8 foot ground rod and layed eight 20 foot radials equally spaced. I have my control cable and coax laying on the
ground up to the antenna. It runs through the woods so it is not easily buried. By the way, I am using a 70 foot aluminum tower that
is insulated at the base and I use an L-tuning network at the base. I have 3 fixed settings on 160 and two on 80 to get the entire band
under 2:1 across the band. I can select the L-networks from inside. I also have near 10,000 feet of radial wire in the ground. It is a
great transmit antenna but very noisy on receive (as one would expect). You can see it on my web page ( http://www.k8ra.com ).
Now for the results. After listening extensively for two weeks, I am very impressed. The signal strengths are comparable between the k9ay
with the 15 db preamp and the vertical. But the k9ay definitely has a lower noise figure. It averages from 2 to 3 s-units. And the rear null is next to amazing. It varies on the station distance and time of day but I almost always see a null in the rear averaging anywhere from 3 to 6 s-units (seriously...it is amazing). It works great on 80 and 160. I sent a poor quality video to Jay at Array Solutions showing him my results and he put it on the Array Solutions Web Page. Take a look at it. Tonight on 80 I have been comparing the vertical to the loop and 90% to the time the loop is equal or better on receive. It clearly has a better S/N figure than my vertical. Of course this winter will tell the tale better but as of now, it was an effort well worth it.
I am sure it is not as good as a set of beverages but if you have limited space, it sure looks good to me at this point.
de k8ra Jerry www.k8ra.com
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N1DZ
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 18, 2007 21:45
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Works Great
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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The K9AY RX loop antenna works great and I rate it a 5. Very good front to back >30dB. I use a ground system with 12 radials. This made a huge difference in performance.
However this review is about the Array Solutions outdoors and indoors switching unit. The units are well built.For most modern receivers the preamp is not needed. I rate it an overal 4.
Improvements needed to make the array solutions switching box a 5.
-Make the output connector a PL259 instead of the phono plug
-Supply a DC cable
-Add a relay to disconnect the loop from the receiver on transmit
-The manual comes w/o schematics
If you are lazy and do not want to built the K9AY unit yourself this is the way to go.
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WD8PKF
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 14, 2007 18:27
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Ecellent Product
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I wish to tank Jay for having a great product out for Low Band receiving. I found the system was fairly easy to put up. I am running it with 4 radials. I would suggest having a male help with the installation...as I don't think my wife could have supported the nearly completed mast. Some of the measurements had to to be slightly adjusted, but the final result was beyond belief. We have an AM station with in 15 miles of my qth, and we are able to null it out! I am seeing at least a 30db front to back. The most important fact is that I am hearing many weak stations on 160 that could not hear with my "L" . I think the product is well worth its cost and recommend it to any one who is considering a K9AY type of array.
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WR5RR
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 29, 2007 21:30
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Good Low Band Performer
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have been struggling along on 160 with a loaded inverted vee, and recently an inverted L. The L really gave me a good transmit signal, but also gave me lots of noise. I listened to others describing a K9AY loop. Google gave me lots of hits, and different schemes for the hardware and controls. I got the wire part of the antenna up, and learned that ARRAY Solutions was working on a control system for the antenna. ARRAY Solutions has a very good reputation for good equipment, and good help. I ordered the ARRAY Solutions Model AS-AYL-4 four way K9AY Loop System. No problem to install the system, I had already got the feed line, and control line installed, so it was mostly plug and play. Both the relay box and control box are built with very nice printed circuit boards. The support from Jay, WX0B, ARRAY Solutions owner, is very good and he answers questions in a timely manner.
How does it all work, great! While learning how to use the system I listened below the AM broadcast band to NDBs. I could readily check bearings as the NDBs send a cw identifier. You can look this up for location on Google and verify the antenna system is receiving in the selected direction.
Now 160 is much more fun to work. The control box has a very good preamp, 15 db, for 160, and 80 meters. Below 160, and above 80 it has very sharp rejection. It does work very well on 40 meters, just be sure to turn the preamp off.
Thanks to ARRAY Solutions for another very fine product. My wife even commented on the quieter signals on 160. She says “Now You’ll Be A Big Dog On 160”! Maybe not a big dog, but a happy camper I am.
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