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Reviews For: Maple Leaf Studio Antennas

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Maple Leaf Studio Antennas
Reviews: 21MSRP: 85.00
Description:
Various types of HF wire antennas & accessories. Nice retail store on eBay.
Product is in production
More Info: http://stores.ebay.com/maple-leaf-studio-antennas
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15215
KF5WFL Rating: 2013-10-05
QSO King and G5RV mini Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I just got relicensed in July after a layoff of 20 years. Need a hobby for retirement. Bought a TS520 that I drooled over in the 80s, and realized the house I own now has no room for a vertical (loved my Butternut HF5V)due to the incoming power running smack across the middle of the back yard. Decided to give a dipole a try and settled on the Maple Leaf Mini (46 ft) G5RV. I put it up in the attic and it works pretty well and got me some nice reports. I decided I needed something running N-S as well as E-W, so I went back to Bruce and ordered an end fed 59' QSO King with a 12 turn choke I made up. Put it up at about 20' and wow, the noise level fell off dramatically and I could really hear. I don't know if the G5RV suffered from the attic or not, but I am moving it outside at 90 degrees from the QSO King. This sure looks like it's gonna be the answer for my power line challenged yard. On top of all this, the antennas are well made and the service is really quick. Winner!
WZ3O Rating: 2013-05-28
Quality, price, funtionality.. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have the ZS6BKW / G5RV Multi-band Antenna Antenna that is 90' long making a bit easier to hang in tighter spaces.

It's up abt 25' flat topped with the twin lead perpendicular to the ground except for the last 5 ft or so which is parallel to the ground before it enters this shack.

This is the best height I could obtain, and with this "odd" arrangement I'm DXing from 3 land into Antarctic, Japan, all over Europe, S America, occasional VK & ZL etc.

So I'm not messing with success unless Mother Nature decides to move it from the trees....
K4GHR Rating: 2012-11-25
Great Antenna that Performs Very Well Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased a "QSO King" end fed dipole and have found it to be very easy to use and performs well in contacts around the world. I liked the first one so much I bought another and now have them mounted at about 90 degrees to each other. Works all bands as advertised. Pics at my QRZ site.

The end-fed design is very convenient for placing the feed-line end close to the house and the other end in a distant tree.

Well built, great product.

Brent / K4GHR

KA5USN Rating: 2012-11-25
Fantastic antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Rapid delivery. Excellent instructions. Great customer service.

I purchased a 53 ft. EasyTenna. I could not be more pleased with price and performance.
I've made phonecontacts all over North and South America, as well as Europe, Africa, Western Russia, & the Baltic countries.

All this with 100 watts and the EasyTenna, which is 60 ft up as a horizontal dipole and with 175 ft of direct bury Co-ax.
W0PY Rating: 2012-11-21
80-6m OCF Dipole - Nice! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Attention to detail is obvious, nice weather-proof construction. Easily hung in inverted vee configuration. Flat SWR on all bands; 160 easily tuned. Highest recommendation! W0PY
WD9GNG Rating: 2012-08-29
Great Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have the 80-6 OCF with vertical element. I have had it up for a couple weeks and it works great.
AC5RH Rating: 2012-07-15
Great antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have the OCF Dipole/Windom - 80-6 meters / Ham Antenna / 2 KW with the vertical radiator. It works just as described, and I would recommend this antenna. Since I have a hybrid rig I have made solid contacts on 15 meters.
W5TTW Rating: 2012-06-22
Solid Performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned the 66’ 6-40 OCF for over a year. It is currently mounted at 32’ in an inverted V. It is a solid performer and I wouldn’t hesitate to replace it.
My SWR without a tuner is as follows:
6M 1.1-1
10M 1.2-1
20M 1.1-1
40M 1.9-1
Bruce offers very high quality products and great communication via phone and e-mail.
K8GVK Rating: 2012-04-18
Highly Recommended Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is an antenna system made and sold by Maple Leaf Studio Antennas. Bruce, NU0R has many models marketed on E-Bay. I purchased the 80-6 OCF Windom ($88.00)and received it within 3 days.

It is completely assembled and as simple as attaching your coax feed and raising it in the air.
Construction is quality. The balun is well weather sealed and light in weight so easy to suspend using RG8X. The 135 foot antenna wire is coated 14 gauge and attached to the baluns eye bolts. No connections are exposed to weather.

The performance is impressive. This antenna exhibits low SWR across the bands and no tuner is needed. I have it installed at 35 foot.
The highest SWR I saw was at the top of 40 and 20 meters at just over 2:1. 80 meters is 1.4:1 at 3.5 and climbs to 2.5:1 at 4.0. Less that 1.3:1 across 17, 12 &10....not designed for 30 or 15 meters...those bands exibit out of range match and resonances. There is a add on kit for 15 meters however.

As for contacts, I have made several on 6 meters when its open. Sudan no problem on 17 meters and I seem to work the DX I hear on 20 & 40. It's not a multi-element yagi, however for a wire system, I give it a 10!

Comparative testing against my 40 meter inverted Vee finds reporting stations giving this antenna 1S unit better on average.
Now will it handle power? YES. I put 1.3 KW into it on 20, 17 and 40 just to test it and saw no signs of balun heating. It just seems to sit there and take it. The Balun is rated at 2KW SSB.

There are lower power models as well as some end fed systems available from Maple Leaf but for sheer quality vs price vs performance, this is a winner for me. It survived the harsh Michigan winter without problem. Buy It!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OCF-Dipole-Windom-80-6-meters-Ham-Antenna-2-KW-/140593371850?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20bc049aca
K1TWH Rating: 2012-03-15
Well built antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Purchased a 160M version of the G5RV from Maple Leaf more than a year ago & I found it to be well built of quality materials. It proved to be durable suspended in the trees of southern New Hampshire. Performed as advertised and I'd buy from them again any time.