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Reviews For: JK Antennas - Navassa 5

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

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Review Summary For : JK Antennas - Navassa 5
Reviews: 20MSRP: 1,185.00
Description:
HF Yagi for 10, 12, 15,17 & 20 Meter Amateur Radio Bands
Product is in production
More Info: http://jkantennas.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00205
NJ8M Rating: 2020-07-01
Great beam at 38 feet Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I live in Kansas, the middle of the US. For domestic contests, having an antenna with 25db front to back makes your rotator into a helicopter motor. I point this baby East and the West coast guys work me off the back easily. Granted I follow the sun but for the most part, I dont turn the beam much. The front to side is maybe 30 db, which is fine. At 38 feet on my tower it works great. The band width is excellent. Tune it on the ground first. It will be close. I changed the elements on the tips of the yagi on 20 meters because I work CW and the swr was a bit high, 1.5 to 1 at the bottom of the band edge. I wanted it lower because I use Band Pass filters and a triplexer for SO2R. The Yagi has performed in a word GREAT. This is not my first beam. I have had mono banders, 3, 5 and 7 element tribanders and I much perfer this beam for central US. I have tested it on RBN and at 38 feet, compared to a rotatable dipole, it has a solid 6db advantage. I added the 2 element 6 meter add on kit and it works GREAT. What more can you ask for, 20,17,15,12,10 and 6 meters all on one feed line. To work the WARC and 6 meter bands, because I have bandpass filters/triplexer in line for 20,15 and 10, I have installed a bypass switch to the filter stack and it works great. When contesting, the stack is in line with a 2 by 8 Hamation switch and controller.

Build Quality:

Be prepared to take some time putting the yagi together. Get a large bottle of permatex for the stainless steel hardware. Coat all inside elements with the permatex, yes it is messy but, one and done. I tuned this on the ground and was happy with every thing but the 20 meter sweetspot. I increased the elements of the driven by about 2 inches. I first used some copper wire to get the length right then I cut the aluminum tubing, which I supplied, to length. Had I installed this beam at 60 feet, I don't think this would have been necessary. All the tubing is standard inch dimension tubing. There are no Metric tubes to deal with unlike some of the German/Spanish/Italian/Australian/Japaneese/English beam companies. If you ever needed to repair it, it would be easy access from any American supplier of aluminum tubing. All the other bands with complete coverage are under 1.4 to one SWR, easily. All the parts are well machined and fitment is excellent. No burs. No off center holes. No redrilling necessary. Take your time. I took about 20 hours in the garage over 3 days to put this together. Read the directions and do not over tighten the element clamps. It is a mechanical construct capable of withstanding WWZ. It has been through 90 mph winds---NO damage---NO element bending---NO deformity or change in SWR curves. Yes the antenna is expensive but in this case, you get what your paid for. It is built like a tank. Unlike the original Force12 stuff, this is over built and each element is directly fed. All driven elements are connected by parallel 1 inch angle aluminum strips. These are bolted strongly to the elements. When you assemble, keep the fitment loose till you get the feed line strips mounted to the driven elements. Then, tighten the elements down once the feedline angle aluminum is attached to the driven elements. The C3 uses an 18 ft boom where the Navassa 5 uses a 12 foot boom. Having used both, I see no noticable difference. Possibly because of the Navassa's feed system, the boom is able to be made shorter. One thing for sure, the original Force12 are not even remotely close to the build quality of the JK line antennas. The driven elements are joined at the center with solid fiberglass rods. These are white. Once the elements were assembled, I coated the fiberglass rods with liquid electrical tape and then while it was still wet put 2 coats of Scotch 88 tape over it. This provides a UV protection that can not be beaten. It does not change the frequency of the antenna. It just adds protection from Kansas UV damage. There are no rivits any where that loosen in the wind and oval hole with element movement. Solid Capscrew stainless hardware is supplied and extras are included. Nylock nuts on all hardware is standard here. Use the right tools to put it together. Buy a set of Nut Drivers and allen wrenches and a few deep well sockets and ratchet driver and you will have an easy time. After all, don't skimp on tools putting together a $1600 beam (shipping included in price). Do it right the first time. $40 for tools is a small investment for correct hastle free assembly.

Putting it up:

It is heavy for a small antenna. It goes up easily with a walk up and Jin Pole. There is space enough to slide it up Rohn 55g easily. It balances well. My son and I were able to mount it easily. I turn it with a Yaesu 1000 rotator with Green Heron controler in the shack. 6 feet above the antenna is a 13 element horizontal 2 meter beam. No interaction noted, either by VNA analysis or by RBN testing. One thing really nice about the beam is that the feed point is easily reached at the boom to mast plate. It is right there. My antenna was supplied with a BalunDesigns balun. This makes replacing feedline coax a breeze. No tower acrobatics. But, make sure that the boom to mast clamp is tight and stopped because, if the yagi slips down, it will grind the balun and feed point off when you rotate it. Because the BalunDesigns balun is under rated (it will take abuse) this system laughs at 1500 watts from my KPA1500 amp. No heating with key down modes and no change in feed impedance. The KPA 1500 reads impedance all the time. I dont have to use a tuner anywhere on the bands with this antenna. It is resonant.

Conclusions:

Would I buy one again? For sure. Would I want to assemble another one? Hell No. On the other hand, this beats the hell out of putting together the M2KT34 or KT36XA and there are no trapped caps to fill with water and crack and come apart or short out. Both of which, I have done and experienced. Nothing really good is easy. Be patient and if you are tired, stop, take a break and come back. Read the directions again and then start back. Overall, after having built, owned and operated the Navassa5/6, from JK antennas, I would not hesitate buying any product from JK. They answer the phone. They speak great english, easily understandable. They are patient and answer questions. They are prompt in delivery with REAL time lines. JK is just a great company. They will make anything that you want. No one in the US has a product line as inclusive as theirs. Check them out. 73, Morgan NJ8M.
K3NQ Rating: 2020-05-07
Can I leave 6 stars? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It took me three years to buy this antenna. i was convinced that for its size and weight, nothing could rival my trusty 25 year old Force 12 C-4. The siren allure of the WARC bands finally got to me, and a conversation with Ken Garg convinced me that with the passion he demonstrated for his product, i had made a good choice.
I was bowled over by the quality of the parts. The materials are superb. My F12 had used split PVC tubing as element insulators... Ken has lifetime polyamide, purpose built insulators. My F12 had galvanized U-bolts- Ken has gorgeous stainless units. The JK elements are assembled with SS bolts with Nyloc nuts that are UV resistant. Everywhere you look, the quality is self-evident.
The assembly was straightforward, but not trivial. Allow a few days of spare time, and plan to definitely take your time! Don't try to rush by not going through and checking off each part. I used Home Depot 5 gallon tubs for each band, and labeled each element tubing part. Each element uses a unique center and tip, with the meat of the element assembled from tubing segments that are shared.
Labeled each element with an easy to remove piece of white painter's tape- I did the same and it worked beautifully. Although there is a ton of hardware, it arrives clearly labeled. Use a bunch of plastic cups to sort it so you aren't fumbling during assembly. Also, be sure to use quality tools. As an amateur motorcycle mechanic (and surgeon) my Snap On 1/4" service set was invaluable.
I used Ken's idea of a small 5' mast to support the antenna during assembly. I was able to level the mast, and then level the mast clamp, so that each element clamp could be tightened with a level resting on it to avoid the dreaded cattywumpus element syndrome.
Measure your element positions on the mast carefully (as per K7AGE)... this antenna will not suffer fools gladly. Check and double check element lengths and mast position of each element while the antenna is on the ground. In addition, I spent a few hours after assembly aligning the elements so they were perfectly parallel... this could not be done if you added the elements after the boom and element center sections were on the mast.
Happily, the antenna worked great first try! The very best part was Ken's aftermarket support. I spoke with him several times, and he was always happy to cheerfully dispense advice and wisdom.
It's a real bargain at the price, and I'd advise you buy one before Ken realizes he's giving them away!
6 stars and three thumbs up!
VE7AX Rating: 2020-03-25
Excellent quality and works great! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I especially like that the JK-Navassa 5 (with the JK-401 40M rotatable dipole) on a 56 foot Trylon tower is small enough and light enough to be easily managed, to conform with the local by-laws and not to overpower the neighborhood sight lines. These antennas are expertly designed - broad banded and very well constructed. The telescoping aluminum elements with stainless fittings and hardware were easy to put together. The manual was well written and clear. JK Antennas is expanding on the reputation for quality earned by Force 12, the company they took over a few years ago.

I have also been amazed by the fantastic customer service from JK Antennas. Ken has been a pleasure to work with; he has been very prompt in returning my several phone calls and e-mails and always offers useful advice. For example, one of the parts from the JK-401 shipment was missing and it was air expressed arriving in two days - not bad from the US East Coast to a small town on Vancouver Island. Thanks, Ken!

Now to performance. All I can say is, WOW! At the depths of the sunspot cycle with the solar index below 70 I am able to work stations from all over the world - on low power (100W) without turning on the amp. This set-up is perfect for my amateur radio lifestyle - some DXing, light contesting, emergency prep and general radio fun. Not a "big gun" and not much space to work with but I appreciate quality. I highly recommend JK Antennas. Don, VE7AX
N4DJT Rating: 2020-03-23
Navassa 5 - Great decission Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After fooling around with "toy" Hex Beams and being less than pleased with them. I decided to go with a traditional yagi style design.
I am very impressed with the Navassa 5 construction!
All the parts were labeled and and extra hardware was provided.
The short boom makes it easy to handle solo and if you have a fold over tower it allows you work on it from the ground without the need for a mast tilting bracket..etc
It took me about 2 weekends to assemble, I really wanted everything to be exactly right. Assembly is pretty straight forward, just make sure you read the instruction manual carefully.
The performance is typical of a 2 element yagi and I've been extremely happy having 10 thru 20 with some nice gain. F/B is also typical for a 2 element yagi, but enough to null out stations to the rear. side rejection is really good also. SWR across all band is excellent mine was under 1.7:1 on the ground and is less than 1.5:1 every where once I got up at 45ft
I elected not to get the 6 meter kit since I already had a 5 element yagi for that band.
One last factor for my situation is the YL likes the "look" of this much better than "that ugly floppy upside down umbrella" which is what she called the Hex Beam.lol
Can't say I blame her there.
So if you're looking for a 2 element yagi with full sized elements, no traps, no floppy fiberglass arms, droopy wires and built like a tank.. I recommend the Navassa 5 and JK Antennas great customer service.
K4DGJ Rating: 2019-05-25
Navassa 5 is a outstanding antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
My introduction to the Navassa 5 came when my rotator failed. I hired K4ZA to do a swap-out, and he suggested replacing my old Mosley TA-33, that I enjoyed for 20 plus years, with something a little bit newer in design. I read the specs on the JK and agreed to that work as well. Don and Gary, K4MQG, built the antenna in my front yard and used a manlift to take down the old beam and replace it with the Navassa. Don also supplied a short run of Heliax into my shack. I was not prepared for the performance difference! While I am always suspicious of claims like this, I was immediately hearing stations I'd been unable to copy previously. And I work everyone I hear, usually with a call or two. There simply is no comparison to my old beam. For the casual operator or DXer, you cannot beat the performance and price-point of the JK Navassa 5 in my humble opinion. My new Navassa 5 with 6 meter capability is "KILLER"

Sam Hawes, MD K4DGJ
K5AV Rating: 2017-07-31
Working Great! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This antenna continues to amaze me. More on performance later.

While the antenna was in-transit, I read the instructions which are available in PDF on the JK antenna page. That was a huge help as it prep’d me for the assembly which went smoothly. Had it done by my self in a few days. Aka 6-8 hours. I did get the balun with it (optional) and only 5 feet off the ground, all bands were below 2:1. At 50’, everything came down even more. At less than 50 lbs, it was very manageable as I did the entire install solo.

Now for the good part; let me disclaim I was using wire antennas prior to the Navassa 5. I am hearing/working stations during the same time/same band that I could not even hear with the 20 meter inverted vee. If I can hear them, I can work them. At first I was skeptical regarding the 12’ boom but not anymore. I can hear an EU station at 57 to 58 and go 90 degrees and he is barley a whisper or noting at all. With F/B, it will go from 57 – 58 down to little movement on the meter.

So I now have 5 bands on one feedline at less than 1:5 across. Or another way to say it is a 2 element monobander but for 5 bands that share the same boom. The element config is Driven/Reflector for all but 10 and it is a Drive/Director.

I have no amp and so far with this antenna, I have not needed one. If I don’t get them on the first call, always the second.

Also Ken at JK antennas was very personable and customer service driven. He did not give me the hard sell which I dislike. Only gave me the facts and answered all my questions. Kudos to Ken!

Anyway, I love this antenna!!!

de John K5AV
W1LGU Rating: 2017-07-19
My Dream Antenna! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had spent many hours researching antennas when a friend, who had purchased a Navassa 5, introduced me to JK Antennas and this amazing yagi. After a thorough investigation, a lot more searching, and a lengthy conversation with Ken of JK, I decided that this antenna was the one for me. And I have not in the least been disappointed! I had help putting it together, but my team commented throughout the assembly how clear the instructions were, how well the parts were machined to fit, and the excellent quality of the materials. When some bolts that were not the correct size were encountered, a quick call to JK and we had the replacement bolts the very next day! Can't get better service than that! My Navassa 5 is now situated on an 8 foot tower on my roof, and I have had outstanding results. I opted to get the 6 meter element added, and have also enjoyed my first experiences on that band, as well as having a great time working many new DX stations. For quality construction, U.S. made, and incomparable personalized service, this is the antenna for which I had been searching so long.
N8RU Rating: 2017-05-08
Excellent Design Time Owned: more than 12 months.
When a catastrophic storm in 2015 took down my tower and excellent Bencher Skyhawk tribander, a good friend suggested I consider rebuilding with a stacked pair of short Yagis, as has been popular in past years with the Force 12 C3. The Navassa-5 surfaced as being well suited for this purpose, with material improvements when compared to the C3, including the bonus of WARC-band coverage.

The installation I chose was two Navassas on a rebuilt 70’ tower. The top antenna rotates, while the bottom is fixed on EU. A WX0B Stack Match switches the combination. After two seasons of use, both in contests and chasing DX, this has proven to be an excellent antenna in all regards: with ease of assembly, quality build, engineering, and performance.

Fit and finish are exceptional. Everything goes together as it should, machining is precise, holes are aligned and deburred. The instruction manual is well illustrated, clear, and unambiguous. Components are of outstanding quality; especially notable are the boom-to-element assemblies which have substantial CNC-machined aluminum clamps (rather than the usual U-bolts). Elements and components are clearly marked and packaged separately. As a result, putting the antenna together was straightforward with no surprises. Also, when it came to making adjustments to my favored operating frequencies, JK’s Ken Garg was quick to advise the necessary element lengths to make things work to my preference.

Under current sunspot conditions, performance has been excellent. This has been true both in the stacked-pair configuration and using a single antenna.

As a stacked pair: The combination yields consistent reports of excellent or superior signal strength against those for other NA stations on 17, as well as 15 meters when open. For 10 and 12, conditions have not been consistent enough for an objective assessment, but experience to date suggests one should expect the same kind of performance on those bands. While the stack height I am using optimizes for 17 meters and above, 20-meter performance has been very good. Once settled to a 20-meter calling frequency, I have held position and sustained long runs in the contests I have entered. (If not constrained to use existing guy anchors spaced for a 70’ tower, my preference would have been to rebuild the tower to 90’ for optimal performance on all bands.)

Single-antenna performance: Using a single Navassa-5 switched out of the stack, DX performance has been surprising for such a compact antenna. By the consistent success I’ve had making DX contacts - including getting through some nasty pileups - it has exceeded what I’d expect from two elements per band on a 12' boom.

The JK Navassa-5 should be an attractive choice for anyone looking for a compact, five-band Yagi. It is a quality, solidly engineered antenna, performing very well in both stand-alone and stacked configurations.
KB0SS Rating: 2017-05-04
Great 5 Band Yagi Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
After spending months reading specs, comparing antennas, reading reviews and comparing again and talking to the manufacturers, I finally bought a JK Navassa-5 + the 6m add-on antenna. I have not been disappointed!

The Navassa-5 Antenna is a best of class antenna and is a 5+ in my book.

If you have a question, you call or leave a message and your phone rings 5-10 minutes later. That's great customer service. I've never experienced customer service this good.

The antenna comes in 2 boxes. The assembly instructions are well written and it goes together easily. It is very well constructed and solidly built. There is ALOT of aluminum in this antenna. With stainless steel bolts/nuts for element joints and mounting, this antenna is going to out last many other antennas. The element section joints are predrilled so it is impossible to get the element dimensions wrong. The antenna transmission line is a nice design to give you 20-10M and with the 6M add-on – 6 bands – single coax. During assembly I mounted the antenna on a 5 ft pipe. I verified all measurements, element positioning, and made sure the SWR on all bands was reasonable this close to ground – and to verify I made no mistakes in assembly. After that we lifted the antenna off the pipe and walked it over to the tilted over tower. We got it mounted to the mast and coaxed in about ½ hr – then raised the tower – and remeasured the SWR on all bands – right on specs!

My Navassa-5 is mounted on a Heights Tower Systems 100mph 60 ft aluminum tilt over tower – 200 ft from the shack. We did have a nasty high wind front move thru – 65 mph gusts. I was worried about the antenna. The Navassa-5 is designed to withstand 100mph winds so it took the wind burst just fine. This antenna is the most well built antenna I have seen.

The antenna works really well! No tuner needed – I work SSB mainly. Rapidly switching bands is a very nice feature when you have 6 bands at your fingertips. The Navassa-5 can also take the power. With legal limit just rotate, transmit and be heard on usually the first or second call even in those most crazy pileups. Really nice combination. I have not had any problems making contacts on 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10m

The performance measured so far is right on the specs from the factory. It is a strong, light, broad banded antenna. Like others comments, I am seeing 1-2S units on the edges depending on the distance, and maybe 3-4 S units 90 degrees to the ideal heading.

You won't be disappointed with this antenna!
W1AST Rating: 2017-04-26
Great Antenna! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
After spending 3 months reading specs, comparing antennas, reading reviews and comparing again and talking to the manufacturers, I finally bought a JK Antenna Navassa-5 + the 6m add-on. I have to say I have not been disappointed!

I ordered it while at Dayton in 2016. It arrived a few days after I got home and then unpacked it and started assembling it. The directions are easy to understand and well written. AND if you have a question, you call and Ken, the owner answers or you leave a message and your phone rings 5 minutes later. That's exceptional customer service.

Ken listens, asks his own questions and if you don't understand what he's asking, he rephrases it and then answers your questions. I've never experienced customer service this good for anything, ever.

The antenna comes boxed in 2 boxes and once it's all laid out it can be a bit overwhelming seeing all that aluminum. But it goes together very easily. It is very well constructed and solidly built. At my antenna party, all my helpers were very impressed by the workmanship.

I did have some freaky winter wx this past year and I was worried about the antenna. 2 very heavy snow storms and some freaky 70 mph winds and the Navassa-5 is still up there in it's normal configuration.

It weighs 60 lbs assembled, which was heavier than my antenna party friends on the roof expected. But it went up easy. Mine is mounted on a 8 foot roof tower and just a few feet above that on a pole. total height around 35 feet up.

I have to say it works fabulous! No tuner needed on any band and I work cw and ssb mainly. Rotate and point and be heard in all but the most crazy pileups. Whether I run 25, 100 or 500 watts. My signal is heard and I get great signal reports. This antenna works!

It's been up nearly a year now and I am still thrilled by it's performance and workmanship. I made the right choice.

What's nice is I've wanted something on 6m and the warc bands for years and now have it. When 6 opens, I just point and shoot. I've had some fun as my KPA500 amp does 500 watts on 6 and that really makes 6m shine when it opens!

My friend W1LGU just bought one and I started helping her assemble it the other day. We had a question before we even started and Ken answered right away and answered our question right away too. Then we found that we had the wrong bolts for the boom and he next day shipped them to W1LGU.

When I operate I band hop and mode hop all the time. Being able to go from 20 ssb to 17cw to 20 cw without needing a tuner has me completely spoiled. For years prior I used a Mosley TA-33 and the Navassa-5 completely destroys the TA-33 performance.

You won't be disappointed with this antenna!