| N5KFV |
Rating:      |
2015-04-09 | |
| Fantastic results |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Do the the covenants where I live I can't have any outside antennas. I was able to install the horse fence 80 meter in my attic. Without the tuner I got a 1to1:3 match from 10 to 80 meters. With my MFJ 986 tuner 1to1. I've been able to talk all over this part of the country and DX with a report of S9 to S20. I highly recommend the horse fence antenna. Great product and great service. Wish we had more companies like them to do business with. Thanks again Norris.
Don N5KFV |
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| KB3TUO |
Rating:      |
2015-01-27 | |
| Great! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
When I received this antenna, I was a little skeptical. It is easy to see that the antenna is definitely "homebrewed", but I am not sorry that I paid the price I did for something I could have built myself. I'm always happy to support other hams, and this is no exception.
I bought the 80 meter version thinking that I could use it on other bands as well, and I was RIGHT! Want to use it on 40 meters? Just roll up what you don't need at the ends (such that the antenna is effectively a 40 meter dipole) and tighten down the end clamps. Voila! A wonderfully performing 40 meter antenna!
I would have thought that simply moving the end clamps up and down the ends of the antenna would perform the same function as rolling up the ends, but I was wrong. The antenna will resonate on other bands, but only if the ends are rolled up so that the antenna is the proper length.
Since the rolled-up loops were too thick to fit between the clamps, I tightened the clamps onto the single layer of fence material just in front of the rolled-up loops, and then secured the loops from unraveling with zip ties. I was worried that just one layer of the fence material would be too thin for the clamp, but it has been holding on just fine.
My antenna is currently covered in ice and snow, but its performance does not seem to be affected; it still has a very low SWR on the entire 40 meter band!
Even though the antenna is quite long, rolling it up for storage is not a problem as the fence material doesn't tangle easily. The antenna is very light and there is almost no wind load, just as advertised.
I give this one a 5 because it's the best I've used so far! I purchased this after hearing about it from someone on the air. I don't remember who it was, but wherever you are, THANK YOU! |
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| WO4K |
Rating:      |
2015-01-15 | |
| Yes, it's that good! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Recently I put up a mostly home-brewed hex beam, so I needed an antenna that would cover 40 meters. I found the eHam reviews for Norris' horse fence antennas and they were almost too good to believe. But I have always trusted in the eHam consumer ratings and three pages of 5's is pretty convincing. So I ordered one, and it arrived within three days. Kudos to Norris on the fast service. But more importantly, the antenna is just plain great. I have been using a Pixel Technologies RF Pro as my receive antenna, and this dipole, at 30 feet apex, inverted V with the ends 15 feet up, hears better on 40 meters than the RF Pro. Low SWR across the band, too. I highly recommend this antenna. Thank you Norris, for a great product and great customer service. |
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| W1WRM |
Rating:      |
2014-12-05 | |
| Horse Fence Ain't no Horse Feathers |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I was a tad skeptical at first but I threw it up as an inverted V and gosh if it doesn't get out. 1:1 SWR centered at 3.7 MHz or so and I get great reports all the time. Well worth the cost. |
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| KB6HRT |
Rating:      |
2014-06-25 | |
| Very Good! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Brought the 80m HFBA an installed it at 36' to the apex, have a reference dipole that covers 20-40 a the top part of 75m that I checked the antenna against for receive signals. The HFA has more gain than my reference antenna and was slightly clearer and not overly bright sounding audio with 2S units stronger signals, the HFA has a strong signal with 100w. Though it could be an eye sore when in the air, (but its not to my eye) easy to hang and adjust for good SWR, does a reasonable job on 40-20-17-15m & 10m when I tested the antenna using a tuner. For $85.00 an encludes the shipping, This is a very good deal for a 80m antenna. It is also quiter then most 80m wire dipoles.............kb6hrt
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| N4SVD |
Rating:      |
2014-01-18 | |
| HORSE FENCE STILL MAKES HORSE SENSE |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This Horse Fence STILL makes Horse Sense!!! See it at Quartzfest 2014!!! I'll give you a demo!!!
Keep up the good work Norris. This antenna is a winner when it comes to EASY UP/EASY DOWN and it ROLLS UP even easier!!! Definitely 5 STARS!!!!!
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N4SVD on 2012-10-19
This HORSE FENCE makes a LOT of HORSE SENSE!! Thankkkkeeeeeeeeeewwww!! An AWESOME antenna that WORKS for me!! Apex is up 35ft and the ends are up 10ft. GREAT Signals both to and fro. It's the best thing since a CAT got a Climbing Gear!!!
I'm taking it to "2013 Quartzfest" in January and show it to Gordo during the Antenna Walkaround!!
73, A.C. N4SVD "Roughing it Smoooothly in AZ." Full Timer RV'er for 20 years. |
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| KA6GEM |
Rating:      |
2013-02-05 | |
| The Horse Fence Antenna is a Winner! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I purchased a 40 meter Horse Fence Antenna from Norris (KF4BWG) via the internet about 4 months ago and love it! It’s by far the best 40 meter antenna I own. I have tried various antennas at my QTH for 40 meters including a basic wire dipole, a 'random wire" tuned by a Yaesu FC-40, a "double bazooka," a "Cobra-Junior," an Alpha-Delta DXCC and when operating portable, a Buddipole, a Ham-Stick... all pale by comparison. The Horse Fence antenna is very broad-banded and operates very efficiently on most of the 40 meter band. The SWR is so low I don't need an antenna tuner with my Yaesu FT-897D which means that every one of my 100 watts makes it to the air. The ends rolls up and clamp tight so adjustments are drop-dead simple. It is very light weight. I just hoist it up 30 feet using a pulley and rope hanging off the ridge beam at the peak of my roof and secure the ends. It goes up about as easy as raising a flag. It's durable and made from the kind of material that's designed to be outdoors 24/7 facing all the elements including horses, bulls and cows so I'm not worried about it breaking anytime soon. And it rolls up nicely in a Stringliner CordWiz Classic when I change antennas. I've been checking into a 40 Meter net for several years and hams throughout the West agree that they hear me best when I'm on this antenna. At $85 it's a bargain. |
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| W5RHR |
Rating:      |
2012-11-29 | |
| updated review |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
This is an update to my original review.I started having high SWR and intermittent operation of my antenna, especially when there was a breeze.
I took the antenna down a few times , cleaning the metal bars that hold the wire wrapped and tightening them. would work for a day then back to issues.
I finally separated a few inches of the wire strands out of the webbing, wrapped the bare wire around the bars, then the rest of the antenna. I also used some Pentrox on the connections.
Thus far the antenna has been rock solid with a 1:1 match.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by W5RHR on 2012-04-07
I gave it a 5 for the following reasons:
I purchased the 80 meter version
1.Small business Ham product and a FB fellow to deal with
2, Very good construction from the center SO239 insulator to the wire used. There are also feet markings on the ends of each leg to assist in tuning.They are marks-a-lot markings, but I plan to remark them with paint to assist in weatherproofing.
3.Broad banded and tunes up with an tuner easily.Right out of the box resonates @ 3.700 for me.The apex is up only 25 feet and the ends of the legs about 18 feet,legs running N-S.
5.Norris was having a sale so I purchased the antenna with free shipping, and received the antenna via USPS within a few days.
I recommend this antenna even if you dont have any livestock :). |
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| KB0QMF |
Rating:      |
2012-10-01 | |
| Tremendous Antenna! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I'm still scratching my head as to how well this antenna works.
First of all, I placed the order with Norris on a Wednesday. He had it in the mail on Thursday. It showed up at my door on Saturday. Antenna gloriously hanging in the breeze about 30 minutes later!
Until now, the best wire antenna I've ever used is the Buckmaster 7 band 3 kw version OCF dipole. Not any more. I still deeply admire the Buckmaster product, but the KF4BWG Horse-fence is clearly in the same league on both RX and TX capabilities, in addition the fact that there's no balun to burn up on 30 meters!
My antenna (the 80 meter version) is fully resonate from 3500 to 3800 khz and tunes easily on 20m, 40m, 10m, plus the WARC bands with an external tuner. Current deployment is an inverted V with apex at only 18 ft, ends at 8 ft. So far I've had many excellent reports, all running barefoot.
This antenna is QUIET! My antenna would be up higher if possible, but I'm inhibited by power lines on both sides. So far, I've detected NO power line noise.
The Horse-fence is incredibly strong, yet still light weight and very easy to handle, deploy, take down, and store. I'll be getting another to keep in my travel/portable bag, and am looking forward to using it on field day.
Norris, (KF4BWG) is an absolute Jewel! Good communicator, and obviously a brilliant engineer. I really like his website with all the pictures and descriptions of his inventions, contraptions, and radio antics. I mean, seriously. Tuning and using a tree to resonance for an antenna? Outstanding! Norris likes to tinker and experiment, and isn't shy about the fact that he enjoys his hobby. Obviously he's having a lot of fun, and to me, that's so much of what Amateur Radio is all about. We need more like him!
This one's a winner. Thanks for a great antenna, Norris!
Very best 73, and hope to see you all on the bands.
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| K9HKS |
Rating:      |
2012-07-20 | |
| So far so Good! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Just put the antenna up and have had several contacts on 75 meters 3.940 and up swr is 1.5. At 3.894 its zero swr. I could take the time and tune for a little higher in the band. When I put it up I rolled it up one foot on each leg and it worked out the first time! Must say with the poor band conditions the noise level is very low and signal reports have been better then my windom which I thought could not be improved on! Tried it on 40,20 17 and worked fine but these bands have not been good so will write another report later. Very satisfied with the way it performs on 75 meters. |
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