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Reviews For: Force 12 Ruby 270

Category: Antennas: VHF/UHF+ Omnidirectional: verticals, mobile, etc

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Review Summary For : Force 12 Ruby 270
Reviews: 5MSRP: 89.95
Description:
The Ruby 270 is a compact, single feed line vertical or horizontal dipole for 144 and 440 MHz. It covers 2M and 70cm with a VSWR of <1.4:1
Product is in production
More Info: http://force12inc.com/Force12-bro2002-5-5.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0055
W0RER Rating: 2006-03-03
Solid as a Rock Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had my Ruby up on top of my tower for about a month now and I have to say I am very pleased with it's performance and construction.

The welds used to piece the antenna together are extremely strong and it is one beefy little unit. Putting it up on the mast was a breeze as well.

Performance is great on both 2 meters and 70cm. Hitting repeaters all around the Metro Denver Area and beyond is not a problem.

I would highly recommend this antenna.

David, W0RER
KY6R Rating: 2005-07-27
Superb Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This antenna replaces an X-50, and is:

Half the size
At least as good if not better performing
Built like a tank

N5BSD Rating: 2004-12-16
Extremely Good Performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought this little guy at Hamcom 02, delivered the following thursday before Field Day, since I got it in the air I have had nothing but praise for this antenna, working most any repeater in the DFW area, even working simplex from one side of the metroplex to the other FM from my QTH here in Arlington. Heck working stations a good 20 or 30 miles off stronger simplex than thru a local repeater using 5 watts even, HI HI
Can't really go wrong with this one, and if you are in a CC&R or HOA area, it is small enough to fit in most any attic.
W2SDR Rating: 2003-09-08
Great! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Fantastic little antenna. I have mine at 60 feet right now and have been getting fabulous reports. I got good reports previously in the attic. I have been working repeaters up to 100 miles away and simplex contacts over 100 miles. It seems to be outperforming a Diamond XR-200 I used to have. It seems to be sensitive to feedline length on 2 meters however. Good SWR from top to bottom. Try one you won't be sorry.
Frank, WY3D
W4TME Rating: 2003-02-28
A great VHF/UHF antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I absolutely love the Ruby 270 for numerous reasons.

The construction of this antenna is top notch, exactly what you would expect from Force 12. My XYL even says it looks "cute" (bonus points for me!). The mounting U bolts are much stronger than what is required to support the antenna. I checked the SWR and resonance points with a MFJ-269 antenna analyzer. SWR is between 1.0 and 1.2 for the entire 2M band and 1.0 to 1.3 for the 70 cm band. The antenna showed two resonance points (Z=0) on 2 meters and Z never exceeded Z=10. On 442 MHz it showed the same SWR values I observed on 2M, but with only one resonance point.

Being a dipole rather than a vertical, I don't have to worry about the quality of the ground plane and I can choose the polarization for the modes I mostly work. There are also no traps or coils with this antenna, so loses are minimal, just a balun is used to match the antenna and remove common mode noise. Since I can get the antenna much more than 1/4 wavelength off the ground, the pattern should be close to an ideal dipole.

I live in a CC&R antenna restricted neighborhood, so stealth is a great concern. Also I have a 6/12 pitch roof, so I want to minimize the number of times I have to go up there for antenna maintenance. I primed the aluminum with Sherwin Williams’s marine red oxide (143-0222) and then painted it with marine flat black (143-0016). By painting it flat black it is very hard to see from the street unless someone points it out. Checking the SWR after I painted it showed no discernable change in the antenna's performance characteristics. This is mounted on the backside of my roof on a 15 foot pole connected to one of the larger plumbing vents (a total of 35 feet off the ground). This puts it about 1 foot above the roof line. I mounted it in the horizontal plane because I like to mess around with 2M SSB. This orientation does very well for the local repeaters. I fed the antenna with 9913 coax to minimize the loss on VHF & UHF. I just wish Force 12 had used a N connector rather than the SO-239 type. At my QTH the terrain is relatively flat with some rolling hills. I can reliably hit repeaters 50 miles away using 25 watts. When conditions are good, I can hit a repeater about 120 miles with the same 25 watts. Not to bad for such a low height. I would highly recommend this antenna to anyone.