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Reviews For: True Ladder Line

Category: Feedlines (coax, ladder-line, etc.)

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Review Summary For : True Ladder Line
Reviews: 12MSRP: 00.60 cents per foot.
Description:
Ready to install 600ohm open feed line.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.trueladderline.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00125
N4SJW Rating: 2021-07-08
160-6M is under 6 seconds Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Went back to a ladder line after a short stint with an OCF that didn't work on 30 or 15M (I knew that when I bought it). Bought the 80M ladder line and have it set up as an inverted V then comes down to entry point through lightening protection then to an Icom AH-4 antenna tuner then into the shack to an IC-7610. What a great combo, i can tune from 160 to 6M in just a few seconds and working the world FT8 on 25 watts.

I had a prior ladder line that I used through an old Palstar tuner with the ceramic twin lead posts and an Acom 1010. Apparently I had twisted the ladder line to where the amp actually fused the crossed part of the feedline. So if you are working with an amp, just consider how to keep the ladder line straight. With the new antenna, I made some standoffs using PVC pipe that keeps everything straight this time. And I sold my Acom so have much more flexibility changing bands on the fly.
N6AQ Rating: 2021-04-10
Well that was a waste of money.. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
********* UPDATE*********
Not too long after I wrote my initial review below I received a telephone call from a gentlemen named Gary from True Ladder line. He insisted that he send me a new antenna using 14ga instead of 16ga and we discussed several physical and technical aspects of the initial installation that failed and discussed some matching and recommended guidelines to using 600ohm feedline.
My approach since the initial attempted install had changed, I put up a 50’ Rohn 45 and decided to use that as the support structure instead of a tree. So I only needed a 10-160 with 50’ of ladder line and not 100’
The antenna arrived about 1 week after my conversation with Gary and I managed to get it installed post haste. The center of the antenna is at approximately 48’ and each leg is horizontal to the ground at about the same height.
My setup is not ideal and I use 30’ of RG213 to a 10kw DX Engineering 4:1 Balun. I figured the best way to check the performance was to start @100watts on the low bands 40 through 160.
I use a IC7300 with a ProII auto tuner, It has found a flat match everywhere even at 1.900mhz. It should be said that I have an extensive ground system in place.
With 100 watts 40-80mtrs I managed 20+ signal reports up and down the east coast, on 160 I received 59 reports with 100 watts, which is much better than I expected due to my setup .
Speaking with Gary it became very obvious that he is passionate about his product and is very knowledgeable about antennas and matching sections.
I appreciate the call from Gary after my initial not so flattering review and it speaks volumes of his business model. The performance of the antenna speaks for itself and I am glad that I accepted Gary’s offer of a replacement antenna, I have had all sorts of antenna’s for low bands over the last 30 + years and the True Ladder Line antenna with the 14ga wire is a solid performer, if you have the space you won’t go wrong.
I will be putting up pictures showing the install at n6aqDOTcom.
Frank “N6AQ” Sellers

******* Previous Review********

So I probably should not be writing this review right this minute because I am about as pissed as I have been in a long time.

But here it goes, I spent the last 5 hours putting up a 100' 160 meter doublet 80' went straight up in a white oak on my property and 20' ran horizontal at 8' above ground to the 4:1 balun.

I had the center of the doublet supported and both legs were also at 80'. Looking at the pictures on the trueladderline.com website with the snow and virtually no sag I thought this wire was capable of some moderate abuse like copper clad. Boy was I wrong...

I had everything where I wanted it, I was making minor adjustments with no more than usual pulling and the southern leg of the doublet snapped at 80'.

Needless to say I would be a moron to fix it and put it back up, the first spring storm here in VA would just bring it down. The wire does seem flimsy for that size of antenna.

I have had much bigger wire antennas up in the air, like cage dipoles, full size 80 meter loops etc. with no issues at all, I have been putting up antennas for 30 years and if it can't stand against the forces of being put up then don't expect it to stay up at all.

Its not a complete loss I have a bucket full of plastic standoffs and a few more ground radials for my vertical.
ECALAPIZ Rating: 2020-12-23
Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Blown away by the quality of this product. I've had it up for 3 months and have had no problems, even with several strong snow storms. Not to mention the quality of the support and advice I received from the company. Thank you True Ladder Line!
W0LEN Rating: 2020-09-02
Best balanced feed line hands down. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am a big fan of balanced line due to it's extremely low loss, and TLL 600 ohm open wire line is the best I've found in 50+ years of hamming.
Brian is a great guy to deal with, and you just feel good when you can buy a top notch product from someone who supports those who need help and encouragement.
It's a True Win-Win for everybody!
(Antenna is a 360 foot 3.5 MHz Extended Double Zepp fed with 160 feet TLL from a 4:1/1:1 hybrid balun - perfect match via KAT 500 on all bands 160 - 6m).
W5BE Rating: 2019-10-15
Simple design... great product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Simply stated... this is a fantastic product. It's much more stable in the wind than 450 ohm window line which has a lot of surface area that causes wind drag. Also, I find that I don't need to re-tune my antenna tuner when it's raining like I often did when using window line. With the conductor spacing being about 3.5 inches you'll need to be mindful of the need for a little more spacing between it and any metal objects you may encounter when routing it to you shack... not a problem with a little planning.
KB7TT Rating: 2019-04-04
best solution for open wire line Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have used this line on my 80M vertical delta loop for 2 years, no isues. Just put up 200+ ft. of it for my new 160M dipole @ 90 ft. Superb quality, easy to work with. If I need more I will buy it.
KA5DJS Rating: 2019-04-04
Best Decision Ever Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I wanted to take the time to write this review for True Ladder Line. Recently we decided to build a 2 element beam. In doing doing so we selected True Ladder Line 600 Ohm. We would like readers to know that if you are thinking of making a switch to use ladder line (if you can) it will be the best decision you could make. The loss in the line is so negligible it is not even worth talking about. I can tune tune 160 - 6 meters with flat matches all the way across the spectrum. When building the antenna it was no more than 3 feet off the ground while doing some testing and I was working Europe on FT 8 very easily. Once I put this up about 20 feet if I can hear then I can definitely work them. This is only using the radio. I have tested this using 600 watts on the antenna with very negligible rise in SWR. Again nothing to really note since it never hits more then 1.2 to 1.3. If your thinking of ladder line I would highly recommend that you contact Brian at True Ladder line. I also ordered their Dacron rope for the antenna build which works very well. Very well pleased with the purchase and I will be purchasing more in the future.
KA1IS Rating: 2018-12-24
Excellent 600 ohm line Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Over the past two years I have replaced all my 450 ohm window line with 600 ohm True Ladder Line. Quality is excellent. No problems. Slightly lower loss than window line and SWR doesn't change with rain. it looks cool too, like vintage wire antennas from early days of radio. Great customer service.
WA4AM Rating: 2017-11-19
lasts in the Florida sun Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Over two years ago I installed a TrueLadderLine 240' dipole near Tampa, Florida.
No problems.
OH5YU Rating: 2013-11-29
Worth the price Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had about 150 feet of True Ladder Line installed for over a year feeding a 160 m doublet. I am happy with the quality of this feed line and would buy again. I run 5 W to 1 kW through a tuner on all of the HF bands without problems. After having used this product, I will not go back to using window line on permanent installations any more. If velocity factor is important to you, I recommend actually measuring it before installing.