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Reviews For: Lightning Bolt 5 band 2 element quad

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

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Review Summary For : Lightning Bolt 5 band 2 element quad
Reviews: 43MSRP: 340.
Description:
NOTE: I AM MIKE DUDDY FORMALLY LIGHTNING BOLT ANTENNAS. WE ARE NO LONGER IN BUSINESS. WE ARE OUT OF BUSINESS AND WE DO NOT WISH TO SELL THE BUSINESS OR THE NAME. WE HAVE REMOVED OUR WEB PAGE. THANK YOU.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00434.9
KC7MM Rating: 2004-03-24
Still going strong Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is another update. I love this antenna.

I have been trying to get 3B9C in the log for the past couple of days. Finally got a chance to run home near noon PST today. Within 1/2 hour had Rodriguez Is. on both 15 & 17 M SSB. The pileup on 17 was pretty heavy but no one else seemed to be hearing them well on 15. Well, I heard them well enough, and they heard me!

This 2 element, five band quad on an 8 foot boom continues to amaze me. At only 35 feet up and with only 100 watts, it does wonderful things.

The front to back is not it's strongest point, but the gain with this antenna is great. And it is quieter than the Mosley Pro-57 it replaced. If I can hear them, they normally end up in the logbook.

Now, to get that 3B9C on CW!!

WU7X, ex-KC7MM
KE6RAD Rating: 2004-03-15
Problem with snow loading Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Assembly was straightforward. I did strip one or two hose clamps for the wires from overtightening. Backed them up with additional clamps. Recommend using a battery operated drill with torque control, to get consistent torque (and not too much!) on clamps.

Antenna was great while up. Until: QTH at 4500' elevation in California. Got freak heavy ice/snow storm. (first storm of the winter).

About 12" snow on the ground. Seemed to be about 4-5" snow accumulation on wires (plus unknown ice?). Next morning went out to find the boom had bent and snapped on both sides of the mast clamp. (a little bit out from the U bolt). The resulting shock loading caused the aluminum spiders to break also. What a mess.

Failures were symmetric. Boom both sides, one pipe on each spider. Antenna was at 25' on a
cranked-down tower. Trees blocked wind at that height, and calmness may have helped snow
accumulation.

Fiberglass was fine, as were the wire clamps.

Took it all down and replaced with a yagi.
Didn't know the spiders had lifetime warranty. But even so, I wouldn't replace with those spiders or boom. Too lightweight. Maybe just for this location.

With 5 bands, the amount of wire is substantial.
Can accumulate a surprising amount of ice and snow. I don't think that with snow and ice loading, the boom is of sufficient thickness. The spider failures was secondary. Don't know if they'd be okay with a sufficient boom.



K6VMV Rating: 2004-02-04
Best Bang For The Buck! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been a ham since 1957 and have had the opportunity to use many antennas; wires, verticals, beams, homebrew and commercial. It is my opinion that the most important component of your station is your antenna. I have never had an amplifier so my antennas are crucial to my success on HF. I used the Lightning Bolt 5 band 2 element quad for some time before I had to take it down. It performed flawlessly. In less than two years I had over 200 countries confirmed. I worked India long path on 20m, XZ0A (Myanmar) on all bands 10m through 20m often breaking the pile-up on my first call. Many DX stations thought I was running a "gallon" and were amazed when they learned I was only running 100 watts (FT-990). No, I'm not on a hill top, I sit in a small valley with no clear horizon and the quad was only up 30'. I built the quad using the exact dimensions provided and the swr was almost flat across all the bands. I did not even use the built in antenna tunner. The antenna is very quiet allowing me to hear, and work, many stations other local hams can't hear at all. I was pleased to find out yesterday, 2-4-'04, that Lightning Bolt is stll in operation. He sent an email stating that it was no longer cost effective to advertise in QST and CQ. I am looking forward to getting another quad very soon. Bottom line, 5 bands, no traps, 8' boom, fantastic performance for under $300. The Lightning Bolt quad has earned my rating of "5" without any reservations. For more info, check out his web site. In my opinion, it's the best bang for the buck! Good DX es 73's, Ed K6VMV
IK8HBA Rating: 2004-01-08
Great Antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I replaced my Hy-Gain TH3jr with this wonderful antenna. It is roof-mounted at an overall height of 20mt and I'm top-of-hill (800mt) located with 270 degrees free. The signal reports I receive from others are wonderful and often "vy strong signal" 59++. There is no comparison with the 3el 3band beam.
I use it with a single coax and the transformer, only 100w even if I'm going to buy an AL-811H. I would like to know if someone has tested it with the trasformer and an ampli and with which power on RTTY/CW and SSB. Please send e-mail to lunan@inwind.it tnx to all.
My thanks to Mike for haveing given to me the opportunity, at a very honest price, of going in the "planet quad".
73!!!
NA6Z Rating: 2003-12-22
In a word - WOW! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I live on a small (50x100) suburban lot. I started out with a Butternut HF-6V, which was a perfect fit even with the roof mounted radials, but noisy because of the local QRN. I moved on to a home brew 20-15-10M fan dipole, which was a little quieter and with some gain. My mind moved on to the great yagi vs linear amp debate. The yagi won. I looked at the various tri band yagis until I stumbled onto the cubical quads. Tight turning radius, good gain, low price. I bought the Lightning Bolt 3 band 2 element quad for 20-17-15M during the down side of the solar cycle (you can pick the 3 bands at assembly time).

Ordering and shipping was a breeze. I'm the independent type, so I decided I was going to do it all myself (more on that stupid decision later). After all, what's 35 pounds? I assembled the two elements, attached them to the boom, then attached a 20 foot alumninum mast. I was going to prop up the antenna against the house for tuning. I tried to raise it pole vaulter style - wedge the base of the mast against the house and driveway, then walk up the mast. It was absolutely hysterical! That 35 pounds at the end of the aluminum mast was like a pole vaulter who never quite got off the ground. Results: one bent alumninum mast and one embarrassed ham. Clearly I was doing this all wrong.

I disassembled the elements from the boom and hoped the trash people would take the mast. I dragged the elements and the boom onto the roof. I went to Radio Shack and bought their heavy-duty 19 foot steel push up mast and plopped it into the tripod left from the Butternut, leaving the mast collapsed at the 9 foot length. Then I attached the boom to the mast. Finally I tilted each element up and attached it to the boom, the 9 foot mast/boom height being just about right. Voila!

Next I tuned the driven element. The VSWR was higher than the modeling would indicate, so I had a chat with Michael. He offered some good suggestions on how to figure out if it was being detuned. Since the VSWR was within the tuning range of my FT-890's antenna tuner, I decided not to deal with it for a while. Both the HF-6V vertical and the fan dipole exhibited the same behavior, so it's definitely not a problem with the quad itself. It's probably the metal rain gutters within the near field of the quad. No, I haven't tried tuning the reflector yet either.

Back to the one man job. If you've never put a quad together before, ask for help. Another set of hands are helpful in cutting the wires to length. Another set of hands are almost essential in getting the elements onto the boom in the final location. Another helpful hint is to keep the wire holders really loose until you install the reflector stubs and the driven element balun; then snug up the wire holders.

Future plans are to tune the reflector, add a rotator, and raise the mast another 9 feet. But the bottom line is the antenna performs great as is - quiet with 1-2 S-units of gain, even at a height of 20 feet. And only $265 plus shipping. This is a "best-buy" antenna.
W1AJT Rating: 2003-10-30
Simply Amazing!!!! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
It is now three months since I bought one of Michael Dudley’s great quads. I read all of the reviews beforehand and selected the Lightning Bolt for its turning radius, performance, and the reviews about its construction. To say I am happy is a gross understatement.

My 20-year-old daughter helped me with the toughest task, cutting the wire. I assembled one element a day on my driveway. Once I got the knack of Mike’s unique way of mounting the wire to the supports it was a breeze to put it together. I could easily assemble one in 6 hours now although; I probably will never have to. The components are of excellent quality and the machining very professional, as is the support.

I was putting the antenna up between the trees, literally. The boom is up 31 feet and I have about a foot of clearance between some quite robust trees. I took the easy way and hired a bucket truck with a 60 ft boom so installation was a snap and quite entertaining for the neighbors.

I had a full size Thunderbird 3 el beam in the “old days” but in my recent ham life used only an old Mosley 10m – 40m (no WARC) vertical. Mike said it would be like a “night and two days difference” with the quad, another understatement. The performance is amazing. I cut the wires exactly how Michael said to and never tuned anything, as he advised. I have gone from 95 to 187 DXCC countries in three months only on weekends and only few hours each. I can usually break any pile-up within a couple of calls. I have broken through European pile-ups talking with Africa and Central Asia. I get reports like “strongest NA station on the band today”, or “first NA station heard today”. My SWR is less than 1.8:1 everywhere. I use it on 30m, 40m, and 80m with an old antenna tuner with great DX results. It holds about 1 S-unit advantage over my vertical on 40m pointed very generally in the desired direction. I could ramble on but in essence it is an amazing high-quality antenna for the size and price.
WS4Y Rating: 2003-10-01
EXCELLENT! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
We used 3 of these antennas on our DxPedition
to Cocos Island, TI9M. I was so impressed with
this antenna I bought one for my Kansas QTH. I
have it on a 55 foot tower and it performs great.
Great value for the money. I recomment it without
any reservations. Bill - WS4Y
WK9L Rating: 2003-09-30
Great Antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have always heard about the wonders of the quad.
I bought this antenna used for $125.00, And honestly think this is the best money I ever spent
on a antenna. I own a A-3, A-4 and a mono band for 17 meters and many others. The Lighting bolt will stay with the best of them, The front to back may not be as good, But the quad will open it up and close it as well. And what a delight to jump from band to band and no switch to turn, or give it thought about the SWR from the low end to the top of any band from 20 to 10 meters, You can spend alot more for a little bit more of gain but for under $300. I dont think you beat it.
EA5CLL Rating: 2002-12-27
Amazing Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After more than a year, of using this beauty, i only can say this: i couldn't imagine my ham radio without it.

Easy to set up, lightweight, and with only 100W output i worked all the DXpeditions like a big gun. Never used the antenna turner.

Mine was mounted rooftop on a 12 meter tower.
ZL3RG Rating: 2002-10-27
Great Performer Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This antenna is a winner! Although having owned it for a short time, it has already proven the performance claims made by Lightning Bolt to be very accurate. It certainly ,opens up the band' and is 'reluctant to let go'!

The main reason for my purchasing this antenna was to have good access to 17/12 meters. With a tri-band yagi, this was not possible. The Lightening Bolt 5 band Quad out performs the yagi on all bands and now I have a real performer on 17/12 meters as well! 5/9++ reports are now very frequent and of course, I can hear stations I would have never picked up before. The antenna is up on a 50ft tower and will pick up the faintest hint of a signal! This antenna is lighter than the yagi and moves around less in a windy situation, therefore being better for the rotator and tower alike!

Assembly was easy as were the enclosed instructions to follow. The wire element holders to the spreaders is an excellent idea and very simple to adjust by sliding in or out for desired wire tension. Although I assembled the antenna by myself, at times it would have been good if I had a second pair of hands! After checking and re-checking measurements, assembly time was about 5 hours.

I would not hesitate to reccommend this great antenna to anyone who wants extremely good performance and value for their dollar. Michael Duddy is a great person to deal with and answered any questions I had very quickly. He even phoned me to sort out a small problem I had!! What a great guy! No other company I have dealt with in the past would go to these lengths to insure customer satisfaction. All they are interested in is grabbing your dollar and forgetting you - not Michael.

Congratulations Michael on a fine product- I already have a friend in the UK that will contacting you!