|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
|
You can
write your own review of the M2 440-18 70cm Yagi.
|
N0TTW
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jan 26, 2009 16:54
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
This is a great antenna
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I read the reviews and question some of the comments.
It went together easy and the instructions are no different now then they were then (IE: 2000 and beyond).
This antenna is rugged as it took a nose dive off a tower during an Ice storm (the mast broke). I was able to straighten the elements and it is working flawlessly.
Take the time to assembling this antenna and you'll be glad you did.
Works great during contesting.
|
|
W4TXS
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Jun 3, 2004 19:44
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Not that tough to assemble
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
I recently purchased this antenna for use as a rover in the upcoming June VHF Contest. I agree that the keeper washers for the elements can be a pain, but once you give it a try it's not that bad. You CAN remove the keeper if you slide it on too far by simply pulling the element out of the boom and sliding the keeper off the opposite end of the element you inserted it from. You can then reuse it. I found it helpful to mark the elements on both sides of the boom with a Sharpie after centering it. That isn't all that difficult either....just measure and adjust. I'm sure we can find fault with any antenna. I bought a 10 element Cushcraft for 432. Sure the elements don't need to be measured, but the saddles that the elements sit in do not line up as well as "through-the-boom" types like the M2. And, how about an SO-239 connector for 432....that's what the Cushcraft comes with. Give me a break. M2 even uses "N" connectors on their 2 Meter models. I'll rate this antenna again after I see what it does in the contest.
|
|
WB5VNX
|
Rating: 2/5
|
Aug 26, 2002 19:08
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Emphasis questionable
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
Upon unpacking the M2 I reviewed the instructions (yes, not a manly thing to do -- read the instructions) and thought the instructions were very skimpy. But what the heck, I’ll give it a try, I’ve built many antennas in 25 years and not all store bought. The first thing I noticed is that they didn’t ship the coax balun. Being a Sunday I proceeded on and decided to call them later.
The keeper system for the elements is one of the shoddiest and hardest systems I’ve ever encountered on an antenna. One of the rods was substandard sized and wouldn’t stay in the plastic keepers. I assembled the antenna on sawhorses and rolled it from side to side to keep it at a comfortable distance. Every time I would roll it the small diameter element would fall out. The push tube in my estimation is a somewhat dangerous procedure in that it would be all too easy to run a rod through your hand using this system. To start the keepers you must use considerable force – usually you end up cupping your hand to get enough grip on the push tube. A L or T shape would prevent this or even installing a grip onto it. The keeper system makes accurate element placement difficult and woe unto the individual who puts one too far on, backing out is almost impossible. Without a center mark you must measure the elements for centering, a poor system for such an expensive antenna. Why they put insulators to insulate from the boom I’ll never know, it isn’t necessary. Having just assembled a Cushcraft the day before I may have been somewhat spoiled however as the Cushcraft 26B2 had pre positioned element mounting points and didn’t use a keeper.
The drawing for the M2 was in decimal equivalents. Most users in the US are still using fractional rulers. Why bother with decimals and use inches? Makes no sense to me. Looks like someone at M2 was too lazy to calculate the fractions and put them on the drawing. Lucky for me I have a decimal to fraction calculator handy in my woodshop, I feel sorry for those who don’t.
The instructions gave no indication that the 3rd boom section fits inside rather than over the 2nd one. Looking at the ONLY full drawing it looks like it is swaged and the boom is constant diameter. Seems to me that a few bucks spent on a qualified CAD engineer would be helpful here. Either that or they made a design change and didn’t bother to update the drawing.
No silicone grease was included as was the Cushcraft I had assembled the day before. Also no boom end caps. While not necessary for operation boom caps serve several purposes (hint, hint M2): They prevent insects from making nests (ever had to fight off an angry yellow jacket at 50’ hanging off the side of a tower?) and they prevent ice buildup inside the boom. While not a problem at my QTH for some hams this could be an issue.
While the elements are supposedly stainless steel and the nuts and bolts on the boom are SS the U-bolt hardware to mount the boom to the mast is cadmium plated. It will rust. Seems like the mast mounting was an afterthought.
A boom joining hole had to be redrilled as it did not line up. Glad I have a full shop. In general the holes need deburring and most of the parts appear to have been made at Bubba’s beam-n-BBQ barn.
On Monday I called and they happily sent me the missing balun. It installed as specified. After plugging it in I saw a flat SWR on the entire band, a good indication. It looks like they spend all their time and money in the machined matching block and the whole rest of the antenna was an afterthought. And to second the motion their quality control in the factory sucks. There is much room for improvement in the execution of what otherwise could be an outstanding antenna. The customer service is EXCELLENT.
|
|
K9KJM
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Mar 27, 2002 05:23
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
BIG SIGNALS
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
I have had an M2 440-18 up at about 68 feet for several years now, vertical, and can work stations over 150 miles on 446 FM simplex on a regular basis..... I hope to get one more to stack them for a little more gain..... The one I have up is mounted on a horizontal cross pipe all set for one more..... A great antenna for UHF FM simplex and repeaters.
|
|
AD6W
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jun 28, 2000 18:53
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Well made, rugged
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
I've had arrays of two and four of these antennas stacked and phased using M2 power dividers and have been very pleased with them. The typical M2 machined, gel-filled feed block on the driven element is rugged and head and shoulders above anything else I have seen. The antenna goes together quickly and also looks good in the air.
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
