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Reviews For: Tonna F9FT 9 Element Portable #20089

Category: Antennas: VHF/UHF+ Directional (Yagi, quad, etc.)

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Review Summary For : Tonna F9FT 9 Element Portable #20089
Reviews: 7MSRP:
Description:
Portable 2 meter antenna made in France by Tonna F9FT. Breaks down into 3 ft pieces, perfect for rovering.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.f9ft.com/radioe.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0073.9
G8KHS Rating: 2011-05-28
Ok but needs upgrade Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Good points:

Gain is not bad, lightweight if you use a different mast clamp, clever element mount system.

Bad points:

Rear lobe could be better suppressed, mast clamp too big and heavy, plastic thumbscrews get brittle and break.

Overall:

Still a useful design for portable operation but it really needs a hardware upgrade.

Take care with keeping the relector & directors straight, they are very easy to bend like most 2m Tonna yagis.

73 John G8KHS
F4FDP Rating: 2008-10-29
Good value for the money Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Very usefull for SOTA and other portable situations. Great in association with an FT-817 or 857 transceiver.

73's Jean-Luc
http://f4fdp.vox.com
CT2JJB Rating: 2007-05-10
Don´t buy it Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The antenna performs well for the price.
Low SWR levels on 144mhz-146mhz.

I give a zero points because the antenna started to give high levels of SWR.
I took off the antenna to check and i found water dripping from inside the dipole, which means the poor quality of the antena.
The water inside the dipole it was the cause for the antenna has started to give high levels of SWR.

I tried to contact the manufacturer and no response from Tonna in France.
What a bad custumer service!

I talked to the guys who sold me the antenna and after 3 months the replacement dipole arrived.

Please don´t waste your money in Tonna´s, buy a decent antenna´s like M2.

If you buy cheap...you gonna buy twice!!!!
N5XYO Rating: 2005-10-27
One tough antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I know there are better antennas around but I can attest that there are no stronger ones when used in a rover situation!
I have 2 of these, sort of, where one is in my barn for rover duty and the other is mounted on a pipe in a remote grid out west and it has been out there for over 12 years. (I saw it last year and it is completely intact.)
I have to give it to the F9FT people that they have the most rugged solid elements of them all. This antenna was cheap and it is still around. I wish I could say this about all the other vhf antennas I've bought thru the years...
RICHIE Rating: 2005-10-25
handy and lightweight Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Very light, packs up and puts together in minutes. Performance is great for me, I'm not in a good VHF area, being in a bit of a valley, so the Tonna is just the cure. Up on the hills, it really goes some, great gain, low SWR, easy to turn by hand, and can be carried without requiring too much energy. I also have the 4 element Tonna, which is equally good, although less acute on its directional angle.
G4AON Rating: 2005-10-23
Easy to assemble Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
There is little choice when it comes to a truly portable 2m yagi, the Tonna one fits into it's original cardboard box and assembles in just a few minutes without needing any tools. The antenna seems very directional, has an excellent swr and features a quarter wave sleeve to decouple the feeder.

The only downside, and the reason for a 4 rather than a 5, is the use of a large screw tapped directly into the plastic driven element centre insulator to fix the driven element to the boom. This seems like it could be a problem in the longer term.

The mast clamp seems heavy and awkward, while it doesn't damage the lightweight boom, it is out of proportion to the antenna.

Overall, I'm happy with the antenna and haven't seen any other portable antenna that would be better... Other than perhaps a longer Tonna!
GM0WDD Rating: 2004-04-20
Easy to erect antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The 9ele portable doesn't have any small nuts and bolts to get lost in the grass when you're out portable. The elements are fixed to the boom by big plastic coated screws. It's lightweight so only a small mast is needed.

The gain and directivity are ok, it's a compromise but I've found it a good antenna for portable use. N type socket on the driven element too which is a bonus. Good value for money.