Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: JK Antennas JK-1217 Antenna WARC Yagi

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

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : JK Antennas JK-1217 Antenna WARC Yagi
Reviews: 3MSRP: 1,250
Description:
JK1217 - 4 Elements on 17M / 5 Elements on 12M / 24 Foot Boom
Product is in production
More Info: http://https://jkantennas.com/index.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0035
W4PGM Rating: 2023-02-12
Excellent performance Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I’ve had the antenna up for ¾ of a year and it has performed flawlessly. I have had no bigger challenge to working DX than 3Y0J. I’m sure most if not all who work DX know of the circumstances that changed the operations of this DXpedition. The JK-17/12 performed better than I could have hoped. My only shot was Long Path some 16000 mile against all VOACAP predictions. I was able to work 3Y0J Long Path on 17M CW. Thanks, Ken, for a truly excellent product.
K2SG Rating: 2022-09-25
Outstanding WARC 12/17m Yagi Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have owned and used Telrex, Hygain, Mosley and Force 12 antenna's over the years. The JK-1217 is the best of all the WARC band antenna's I have ever owned. It performs as a monobander on both 12 & 17m bands and I found the swr to be as advertised which is extremely good on both bands. It is very well built with quality hardware. It has 3 elements on 17m and 4 elements on 12 meters. It is a real pleasure to work so much DX with very little effort or power. Every owner of a JK antenna will tell you that the customer service provided by Ken is outstanding. He is dedicated to having happy customers and provides whatever assistance is necessary to achieve that goal. I have never met Ken and have no interest in JK antenna's other than a happy customer.
K9XD Rating: 2017-03-04
Performance - Quality - Support - Results Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I wanted to take a few minutes to praise JK Antenna and it's owner Ken for their outstanding performance, engineering, and construction of the JK-1217 antenna. In one year from Jan 2016 to Jan 2017 I jumped from 134 band countries to 254 on 17M and from 121 to 145 on 12M when 12M is dead. This antenna performs amazing with signal reports you will only believe when your in the chair. The construction is truly a breath of fresh air to the industry with extremely high quality machined parts, aluminum tubing, stainless hardware, and packaging, all of the highest quality. Assembly did not require any forcing, bending, drilling, all hardware was sorted and labled and yes it came with extra hardware so when you drop the nut into the abyss you have more. The engineering in this antenna is forward thinking in ways you have never seen, trust me. When you build a JK Antenna you will only then understand this is the Maserati of antennas hands down. I recently worked XX9D 9M6XRO XT2SE JY9FC all on 17M and T32CO, ZD7VC, 5T0JL, TL8AO T31T on 12M.

The performance of the JK far exceeded my expectations. After we installed the antenna NX9G and my self sat down and called CQ Asia, at 5:30 PM. The sun still out we ran JAs for over an hour with signals in the S7 to S9 and some as high as +10 this was an eye opener. We had stations telling us they couldn't hear them.. You've heard the phrase opening and closing the band, this antenna will do it. Are you in the mid west waiting for the east coast prop to move west? Here's your sign! You have no idea the satisfaction of working DX when the east coast is dominating the pile. Unlike other MFR antennas, the antenna posses no problems being mid mounted on the tower. I have my JK-1217 on a 120 foot Rohn 45 tower at 75 feet on a TIC-Ring rotor. The SWR is 1.08 on 17M and 1.22 on 12M accurately measured with an Anritsu VNA.

If your interested here's a little history of what drove me to JK Antennas read on... In the summer of 2015 I started shopping for a 12 / 17 meter antenna. Like most hams I started with the brands we are all most familiar with. After doing some home work on, Force, Hy-Gain, Mosley, Cushcraft and M2 who I have 4 of M2 big mono band antennas. I feel these are all the same 25 year old designs just re-brand and new marketing. Having spoken to the MFRs directly they were unable to answer basic questions regarding interaction and mid mounting on the tower with my existing antennas. Their suggestion was to buy the antenna and try it, really...

Disappointed I continued my search and found JK Antennas. I called Ken who assured me there would not be any problem mid mounting and explained the interaction with the other band antenna I own, how cool is that. You can't ask for a better answers and support than that. This was a brand in 45 years of radio I had never heard of. After a few phone calls with Ken I found he has a passion for antenna design second to no one! Ken answered every question I could throw at him in detail. This is because your dealing with designer and owner of JK Antenna. This is customer service you will not get from other manufactures or a dealer network. I was so impressed with Ken I went to my first Dayton ever to meet him in 2013. Over the last 3 years I have gone every year to spend time with him at the booth. JK Antenna is paving the way to a higher performance level in antenna design and quality raising the bar. I've been a ham for 45 years a DXer and contester for 30 years. The first place you spend money is in the air, antennas first. For get the big amp's for now and spend the money on a high quality antenna that will improve your receive levels and SN as well as your transmit beyond expectation and with out the TVI problems that come with amplifiers.. Look no further the answer is clear, if you want to hear and be heard then don't mess around with old design over priced antennas, buy JK Antennas! You get what you pay for guys! Watch for my review after we get the JK-303 up.


73's

K9XD Dave