Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Yaesu YA-30 Folded Dipole

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Yaesu YA-30 Folded Dipole
Reviews: 17MSRP: 269.00
Description:
This is a Broadband Folded Di-Pole, similar to the B&W folded Di-Poles. The difference being size and construction I believe. The wire portion is a coated wire, that seems to be a slightly larger gauge than the B&W and the fit and finish seem a bit better.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15174.5
AB6SY Rating: 2009-03-29
Very easy to get up and running Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Very easy install on push-up pole inverted V. Mine is only 28' at the top and have worked across USA on 80, 40, 20 and 17 at 1.1:1 SWR using transmitter's internal tuner. Tuner in my IC746 Pro can't seem to get SWR below 2.5-3:1 on 15, 12 and 10.

Resistor is a little heavy for smallest fiberglass push-up pole piece (3/4"), so recommend mounting it on at least 1" if using fiberglass.

This is a no-nonsense, easy-to-install-and-get-on-the-air antenna. No trimming at all necessary. I'd give it a 5+ except for the tuning difficulty mentioned.
ZL4TGH Rating: 2008-12-10
Conveniant Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is such a good antenna if you understand it's limitations. To be able to go straight to any part of the HF band and just start transmitting is such a bonus. I used to use it with my marine HF license as well as the Ham bands never a problem. I even checked out it's real pep power rating, goes a bit pear shaped around 400w with all sorts of interesting stuff going on. The spacers need to be more secure as they will fall of if not secured before putting into service. The power rating is not high enough, what would it cost them, a dollar or two to up-rate it, shame they didn't do it as it would have a '5' from me. Anyway, if gone camping or at my QTH the YA-30 and my old 757 don't miss much DX :)
KF4VGV Rating: 2007-09-26
Very Good Antenna! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I love this antenna! My SWR is flat across much of the HF band and that includes 60 meters! No tuner is necessary! Even at 10 meters, my SWR is only 1.4! Another point is that it is only 83 feet long! Even though the antenna is somewhat pricey, it is worth the money! The only drawback on the YA-30 is that it is only rated at 150 watts. Thats no drawback with me though because I only run 100 or less watts when DX'ing!
GW4PJQ Rating: 2007-07-17
A very good compromise antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
If there is one thing I have always kept well clear of is any antenna that has a terminating resistor. In order to prove my point I obtained a Yaesu YA-30.

It is erected as an inverted V with the terminating resistor at 31’ AGL and the ends are 8’ AGL. So does it work? Does it ever! On 160m the results are as good as one would expect from an 80’ dipole but in this case no ATU is required, the VSWR is 1.4:1. This is the antenna’s worst band with the terminating resistor dissipating 30% of the transmitter’s power. Bear in mind however that only represents 2db. On 80m it works every bit as well as a dipole cut for that band and again no ATU is needed. On 40m the results are truly outstanding with all signals at least 2 S points higher on the YA-30, but what really impressed me was the antennas ability to reject locally generated noise and this applies to all bands.

Even on 10m this antenna continues to astonish me. Recently I was listening to a beacon on 10m; it was S9+10 with light QSB. My friend who lives 5 miles away could barely here it on his cushcraft 3 ele mini beam. To be fair this isnt really a good comparison as the received signal was via sporadic E, but it served to prove that this antenna is a very good all-rounder and a much better performer than the dreaded G5RV. And no ATU is required!
HK5CAG Rating: 2007-02-23
Very good reports Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Its working good and I did locate it just 4 meters above mine roof.
The only thing that need a bit more attention is the seperators, so the 4 plastic ones that seperate the upper and lower wire.
They can fall down after a visit of a bird.
73´s bye
Marcel HK5CAG
LA6NNA Rating: 2004-06-12
Works very well Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just got this antenna up and it works great.As previosly review says..It`s a bit heavy but compaire to my ECO Array AVT 25 vertical its working better.On vertical Japan and Guam was an S3 and on the dipole it got S8.Ofcoarse is better working dx horizontale but this is really a good antenna.A bit excpencive but worth it.
It has to be a good one since the Norwegian army using this one.

Swr are in average 1,4:1 except on 15 and 17.There it is 2:1 but this is stated in the info about the antenna.

Now its only to see if it handles the hard WX around the arctic circle.
Well done Yaesu!!!
N5BSD Rating: 2003-06-24
Works Rather Well mounted fairly Low Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Since I have only had this on the air a few days, but have gotten good reports using only my FT-100D, I am very pleased with this antenna. I have it mounted about 10 feet off the ground, here at my QTH. It is a tad heavy and I would suggest anyone hanging one of these, do it as an inverted v as opposed to flat toping it. the center is a bit much to leave unsupported IMHO, since mine is so low, I used a piece of PVC pipe to form a center support, more to keep sway down than anything else, but it does take a bit of the stress off the whole thing. For being as low as it is and feeding it with coax of unknown quality I think it is working quite well.
It is a tad cheaper than other Broadband Folded Di-Poles I have seen on the market as well. Haven't made any contact on 160 yet, but the 80, 40 and 20 meter contacts have been good.