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Reviews For: KMA1330 LPDA

Category: Antennas: HF: Yagi, Quad, Rotary dipole, LPDA

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Review Summary For : KMA1330 LPDA
Reviews: 4MSRP: $565
Description:
14 to 30 Mhz LPDA
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.kmaantennas.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0045
KG4WLA Rating: 2009-12-11
Outstanding antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Wanting a beam antenna that could be used with an amplifier without going through a tuner I turned to log periodic antennas. There are many different ones on the market and I settled on the KMA1330 because of the weight. I can position it on my tower by myself without any additional help. The antenna was shipped in one box and was easily assembled in one day and up the next. It has survived about 5 years of wind and storms on this North Georgia mountain ridge without failing. The coverage is impressive and I am glad I have it and would not hesitate to buy another if I needed a second LP antenna. Support from the manufacture, James Griffin w4kma, has always been quick and helpful.
KD5RGB Rating: 2002-08-15
My first LP/ KMA1330 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Being a new ham, I wanted to purchase products once and be satisfied that it will do as advertise by the builder.
I looked into several different LP's and was torn between them. I spoke to two owners and was impressed with ED Griffin and his KMA1330. He understood I was new to the hobby and was looking for a trouble free antenna. He took his time and addressed all of my questions, in a way that made sense. I know I was a pest, he never let me feel that way. His patience is what sold me on this antenna. The antenna came packed perfect. I was truly impressed, and knew I made the right choice, if the owner took this much care in sending his product, the screws and bolts were all labeled and packaged according to use. The directions were very clear and easy to understand, making assembly that much easier. I seeked the help of a experience ham KL7EQQ, and things went togeather with out any trouble. Parts fit as intended, and the antenna was complete. I did make a few modifications to the antenna with ED's permission, involving the support of the booms and the U-Bolts through the booms. I felt they needed a little extra support. Again this was a project I did not want to mess with again. I wanted it up in the air and forgotten. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed putting this antenna together and Ed was there with any questions I had. He earned his money.
The antenna is up in the air now and exceeding my expectation. My first contact on 20 meters was to a v????. He said something about island and I thought it was on one of the Hawian Islands. I had the KMA1330 pointed a little WNW around 280, his report to me was, 5/7, since I could not understand his QTH I asked for a little geography lesson. When he told me he was on an island, in line with New Zealand, and I should turn my antenna to 230-220, I did and his report came back that I was 15/9, barefoot, and very good. All of the reports from other contacts, have been great. I try to find stations with my G5RV, and will sometimes make contact, it depends on how many other Hams are trying at the sametime, u all know how that goes. If contact is made, I then switch over to the KMA1330, without fail, the reports are great. If I cannot make contact with the station using the G5RV, I then try the KMA1330, and make contact with the first try. I know how phoney this sounds, but its the truth, and I would be happy to give u a call so u can hear for yourself. My e-mail address is rowflo52@yahoo.com . I would like to say thanks to all my friends that came over and helped me with this project, and special thanks to KL7EQQ and KM5UR, you guys are the best.
KD5RGB



N5VK Rating: 2001-08-07
Love this antenna! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The KMA antennas are high quality antennas that deliver outstanding performance. I bought both the KMA 4113 VHF/UHF and the KMA 1330 HF log periodic antennas and I am equally pleased with the quality of construction and the performance of both log periodic antennas.
Construction was fairly easy. All parts were included and I had no major problems. The booms were cut with very high tolerance and it was a challenge to get some of the elements to fit in. A little WD-40 lubricant spray helped and a little very light sanding for the tight ones. This was a good thing. I would not have wanted it any other way. The antenna was solid after construction with no loose fittings. All of the hardware is stainless steel. Care must be taken with the screws because the stainless steel is brittle and will break if too much torque is applied. This is true for all stainless hardware. (I purchased some replacements locally and they did the same thing) The small screws that hold the elements together must be screwed in until they are hand tight and then backed out some and then tightened again until they are completely inserted and tight. This takes a little patience but it is well worth it. When construction is complete the elements are all solid and tight and strong. This is all mentioned in the instruction sheets, which are adequate for the task. I would have liked more pictures and a little better organization but the instruction sheets were clear enough and I was able to ascertain the correct steps for construction fairly easily. The KMA 4113 assembled easily with no problems. The KMA 1330 had two very small things that were confusing. One is that the holes for the screws for the feed line were both drilled on the bottom and top of the boom. I would have preferred that they were drilled on the side instead, in the same way that the KMA 4113 was drilled. The other thing is that a set of spacers with the hardware was included but the holes were not drilled where these were supposed to go. Neither of these things affected the construction or strength or performance of the antenna. And while I do not know why this was done I assume that it may have been last minute design changes. I have installed these antennas on an 8-foot roof tower on my home. The KMA 1330 is on the bottom and the KMA 4113 about 5 feet above it. I clear coated both antennas to keep them looking nice and shiny and corrosion free.
Performance of the antennas is extremely good. I have heard the first ever 60 over 9 signal strength on 20 meters. This was from a station in Florida and I am in San Antonio Texas. Signal strengths on all bands are the highest I’ve ever heard at my QTH. I have logged more contacts in one month on these antennas than I have logged all year long on my previous antennas. I have had several antennas including dipoles, verticals, horizontal loops, and commercial triband beams. This one beats them all although the loop is a close second. The KMA 4113 has opened up a new world for me on six meters. Six meters is an exciting band that I had not had much luck with before. The first weekend after I installed the KMA 4113 I logged more than 60 contacts on this band! I am thrilled with this performance! I plan to use 2 meters and 440 more often and I am considering purchasing a transverter for the 220 band. I am running a Yaesu FT-847 and the rigs 100 watts HF and 50 watts V/UHF is adequate for most QSO’s. Most of the time I get 59 signal reports. I have not had to fire up the amplifier yet, although I might do so just to keep the spiders and dust out of it. After all, “Life is too short for QRP”! The FT-847 is very sensitive to mismatched loads and a relatively small SWR will result in a power reduction from the radio. Using both the KMA 1330 and the KMA 4113 I get the full power out on all bands without using a tuner at all! I think this is great! The front to back is consistent with factory specifications but I may not be achieving the best performance due to the low height of my installation. I am extremely pleased with the performance of KMA antennas and I can recommend them highly to anyone considering a log periodic purchase. There is one thing I would like to point out. These are log periodic antennas. While I speak highly of their performance, they should not be compared to antennas that are designed to produce very high gain on a narrow bandwidth. Generally speaking, all log periodic antenna performance is roughly equal to a 3-element beam on any given frequency it is designed for. I believe that the efficiency of log periodic antennas is superior. I also believe that the construction quality and design of KMA log periodic antennas allows peak efficiency to be achieved.
In summary, I believe KMA antennas to be very high quality and they certainly deliver the performance. Construction is straight forward and actually enjoyable. I am sure I will be using these antennas at my QTH for a long time to come. I can recommend KMA antennas.
W1IKO Rating: 2000-10-17
Well made and works the way you would want Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I will give a full review after I have used it for a few months, I have had the Log in the air for about 3 weeks. So far it has done everything I would want an antenna to do! - SWR is less then 1.5 on all ham bands. - 12 meters has the best SWR less then 1.3 - Antenna is well made and should take all that a New England winter can give it (I hope)..... Front to back is about what KMA claims - no less then 15DB and better as the freq goes higher - 25+ DB 12 and 10 mtrs.
If what other stations say about your signal counts, then the KMA 1330 will create comments. Many hams want to hear about Logs - The lack of Coils, Traps, Tweek this tweek that type of feed systems makes the Log an extreamly easy antenna to build and use. If what you hear and what you work is the guide line for a antenna, then I can say if its out there you will hear it, and work it!
This is just a quick over view, a full review will follow after I have seen the winter weather. I will respond to any e-mail questions.... w1iko@qsl.net - or make a sched on the air and let you hear it.