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Reviews For: Unadilla Antenna Traps

Category: Antenna parts, accessories, incl. baluns, hardware, etc.

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Review Summary For : Unadilla Antenna Traps
Reviews: 8MSRP: $49.50 per pair
Description:
W2VS traps are available for 80 meters and up in two versions. A FREE trap design guide is provided to aid multiband dipole construction. Rated for 2KW PEP. Built from stainless steel and aluminum hardware to resist corrosion, these rugged traps have a pull strength of over 600 lbs. Trap coils are waterproofed and condensers are epoxy-sealed.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.unadilla.com/pricelist/traps
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0083.1
K3RW Rating: 2022-05-07
They all crack apparently Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My first HF antenna was a trap dipole, using several of the Unadilla traps.

The traps performed reasonably well and kept the antenna where it needed to be. However, as many have complained, they do seem to crack over time. Whether that affects the operation, I don't know. Unlike a coax wrapped design, the wire traps seem to have higher Q, greater power handling capacity, and are less lossy. That's good, but their durability has always been questionable. Tree sap, acid rain, and freeze/thaw cycles seems to beat these up.

The traps aren't overly heavy for the upper bands, but using a bunch of these will create sag. Since the traps are all but gone out of stock, I'd recommend building a fan dipole instead, or even easier--a ladder line-fed doublet.

In recent years the Unadilla company has suffered numerous setbacks and remaining stock at HRO and other sellers is down to almost nil. These are still in demand but no one has rushed to fill the niche.
WB0NPM Rating: 2016-01-07
Never installed and cracked Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Lately I have been redoing my antennas and decided to finally put up a dipole for 40 and 75. I bought a pair of kw40s, the blue ones, several years ago for another location and never used them. After reading the previous reviews I pulled them out and sure enough they were both cracked. Will probably build a couple of coaxial traps and give them a try.
W5NM Rating: 2015-05-30
Money's worth Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Recently I lost a KW-40 trap. The unit had been up less than 2 years and the coil form had split all the way across the unit. Unadilla states that this will not affect performance under normal conditions. Well is Rain normal?
Right after a light rain the unit began to arc over due to the split in the form. Right where the 2 different size pieces of aluminum tubing come together. Once the carbon tracking takes place the trap is shot. I found that if I did not use more than about 75 or 80 watts I could still use the antenna without arcing but amplifier use was out of the question. At no time did I ever use more than about 500 watts on this antenna and only a few times doing that. The rating system on ham radio related gear needs some serious changes. Unadilla rates these traps at 2KW PEP, but I personally would not rate them over 500 watts. Trying to utilize the entire band on a trapped antenna is problematic anyway. I believe if the coil formed had not cracked that my problem would have never occurred. Incidently the other trap was fine even with the crack.
W2DHB Rating: 2015-05-08
New traps Good but... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
30+ year (white form-rust/brown coating) old KW-40 traps still running great at my vacation location. I purchased new KW-40 traps (light blue coil form) in 2008 for my QTH and in less than two years the form showed cracking and spliting. Unadilla said the cracks won't affect the perormance and under normal use I have found that to be true. In 2014, I added KW-80F traps (dark blue form) to get on 160 meters (so far no cracking). However a single KW40 and a single KW-80F trap failed recently (both on the same leg). Good trap but have concerns.
K6USN Rating: 2015-04-21
Simple and effective Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My 17M traps have been through four Wisconsin winters and perform well above expections for a modest dipole. I do get some varience in the SWR if it's raining or snowing or if they are encased in ice.

I can generally tune this out with the radio's built in antenna tuner.

I would purchase them again.
KS4TL Rating: 2015-04-21
Mine have worked fine for 2+ years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have a set of the 15 meters traps that I used to make a 15/20 meter dipole back in 2012. The traps resonate where they are supposed to and continue to work fine after more than two years exposure to the elements in a very corrosive environment (salt water spray).

Another user commented on power handling problems - all I can say to that is that I've run RTTY at 600 watts into mine without issues.
WA4DOU Rating: 2013-12-04
A second consideration Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Several weeks ago, I wrote a review of these traps in my 30/40/80 meter inverted vee. Looking back and allowing things to focus, I believe these traps were working fine when I became inactive and probably were damaged by lightning induced currents in the period thereafter. I performed a destructive inspection of each trap to ascertain the cause of failure and found them all with the capacitor dielectric split open and carbon tracks therein. It's my opinion that the "arc over" caused the traps to split open and cause water entry. Therefore, I cannot condemn the traps or their manufacturer. These traps fill a certain need that I'd describe as convenient and seemed to perform fine for that purpose. I raise my numerical evaluation of them to at least a 4.
W6WRT Rating: 2013-07-02
Will not handle 2kW as advdrtised Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Unadilla's power rating for these traps is wildly over rated. I ordered two sets in order to make a trap dipole for 30-17-12 meters. After carefully trimming the wire lengths for a near perfect SWR on all three bands using an SWR analyzer, I called CQ on 17 meters running 1kW RTTY from my Icom IC-PW1. Each CQ lasted approximately ten seconds. After the fourth CQ, the SWR shot up to extremely high levels. Testing the traps on the bench showed two of them were blown. I contacted Unadilla and they refused to refund my money. They admitted the traps should be rated for a 10% duty cycle at 2kW, but there is NO MENTION of that in their advertising. By any definition of PEP I was operating well within their specifications. I filed a complaint with the Massachusetts BBB and Unadilla responded with all kinds of wild defenses, including "wide band dispersion" and other nonsense, claiming the damage was all my fault. They are a DISREPUTABLE company and should be avoided by everyone. If you want details, email me at dezrat1242@yahoo.com

73, Bill W6WRT