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Reviews For: Elk Antennas 2M/440L5 5-element log periodic

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

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Review Summary For : Elk Antennas 2M/440L5 5-element log periodic
Reviews: 90MSRP: 124.95
Description:
2M Gain 6.8 dbd (8.9 dBi);440 Gain 7 dBd (9 dBi);20 +dB Front to Back Ratio;24 Inch Boom
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.elkantennas.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00904.9
KC6KIM Rating: 2009-09-07
!! BUY ThIS BEAM !! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Hello Anybody,

Purchased this antenna in 2005 and just love it! You will be suprised to see how well it performs on the air.

Bang for the buck it is a hard deal to top. Light weight, simple, and easy to deploy; feild or permanent install, as well as easy tto carry.

I have mine installed here at my hilltop location in Western Marin County (North of San Francisco). I am able to talk a hundred miles and more ground wave, on SSB or FM simpplex and repeaters.

As my install is horozontal polarity, I was so suprised to be able to work most Bay Area repeaters (which are vertical) with very little loss of signal as compared to my vertical !!!
KA6OSX Rating: 2009-05-06
works great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
put this up at around 10 on a pvc mast(turn it by hand)i am using a ft-817nd,and with 5watts in the sf.bay area,with all the hills and valleys.talking 100mile plus on 2m/ssb and 430/ssb.great antenna,kent(ka6osx)
WB5UOI Rating: 2009-03-26
Worth every penny !! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought two of these antennas. Put one up above my house and one above my shop. At the same time I had a M2 5WL with one and a M2 18XXX with the other. Hurricane Ike relieved me of both M2's and the Elk's remained in tak with the exception of one element. I called the folks at Elk antenna to order another replacement and they sent one out to me without charge. Excellent folks to do business with and those little 24" antennas will surprize the dickens out of you on performance.
I can work 200+ mile stations regularly with 300 watts at 50' with similar equiped stations. YMMV
WD9EWK Rating: 2009-03-04
Great for portable satellite work! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I received my Elk Antennas 2M/440L5 log periodic as a Christmas gift in 2006. In the past few weeks, I finally got around to making a PVC handle for it, and now it is my antenna of choice for portable satellite work.

Before the log periodic, my directional antenna for portable satellite work was an Arrow Antennas dual-band Yagi. A good antenna, and one I have used for over 3 years (and owned for at least 6). In January 2009, I made a PVC handle for my log periodic, and decided to try working the satellites exclusively with that instead of the Yagi.

When working the same types of passes I would try in the past with the Yagi, I could hear the satellite closer to the horizon with the log periodic. I have been able to turn shallow passes, with maximum elevation of 5 or 6 degrees, into productive passes - something I would rarely, if ever, do with the Yagi.

On the FO-29 satellite, I would need for the satellite to be at least 25-30 degrees above the horizon to hear it clearly on my dual-band Yagi. I would probably need a preamp to improve on that. Using the log periodic, I have been able to hear FO-29 closer to the horizon (between 5 and 10 degrees). This satellite is now fun to work, and may let me have some success on the old AO-7.

This is a great little antenna, and not just for satellite work. It can be a antenna for a home station, used for VHF/UHF contesting, as well as for satellite work. It is now a permanent fixture for my portable satellite station.

73!


Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK
http://www.wd9ewk.net/
KI4ZUI Rating: 2009-03-03
Super antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Just returned from 2 week medical mission trip (as radio operator) to isolated area in Honduras with International Health Service team. Put my Elk 2m/440 log periodic thru its' paces. Worked great! Set up atop @15 ft mast of lashed-together saplings. Enabled our team to keep 2m simplex contact with our HQ 22 miles away, even with intervening hills, even using 5w hand held. Survived 30+mph winds swaying back & forth on poles. Later, used it on an 8 ft pole tied to a fence post and established usable voice with HQ as we coordinated extraction using light aircraft. Great product. Small enough to pack in our equipment boxes. Steve, KI4ZUI

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Earlier 5-star review posted by KI4ZUI on 2008-01-31

This Elk really pulls in & sends out. Greatly extends the ranges and repeaters we can operate on in our very mountainous terrain. We tested it at our local amateur club using antenna analyzer and got essentially flat SWRs across both 2m & 440 bands. Seems to have about a 30° wide front signal lobe. Also often pulls in weak but readable reflected signals off the hills. You often get the best signal reception from a reflection, not directly from the compass direction of the distant station. Lots of us now have purchased Elks, mainly for ARES use. Mount mine atop a 6-to-12 ft telescoping painter pole (perfect fit on the top for 1” PVC pipe), then slip the pole handle into a 1.5 inch ID PVC ground mount (bolted to an angle iron stake, driven into the ground). Simple nylon web ring with three attached nylon guy ropes slips on to the pole, kept in place with a wire safety snap thru pole. Helps to keep rig vertical when it is windy and still lets you rotate/aim the guyed pole by hand. Sets up in 5 minutes. Elk antenna, 1 inch PVC pipe, base mount/stake, guy ropes, tent stakes, hammer, etc, fit into a slender, homemade, padded-cloth drawstring case (with shoulder strap) for easy transport. Throw everything in the back of the truck and go. Super piece of equipment.
WD40 Rating: 2009-02-27
Better then advertised Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ordered this antenna sight unseen solely based upon user comments. All I can say is you won't be disappointed. I've purchased many antennas over the years but few have impressed me as much as this antenna. Whether you use it for portable use, fixed station use, it's a keeper. I'm ordering another next payday just to keep in the trunk of my car for special events and emergency use when I need to reach out and work those distant or fringe repeater systems.
KI6OQU Rating: 2009-02-21
Fantastic Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just wanted to comment on my first day results with this antenna.

Today from DM13, I listened to the ISS crew talk with a class of kids. On the next pass, I made contact in Arizona. A few hours later I made contact with Kansas City on AO-51 (on a 15 degree pass). This was as exciting as my first HF contact.

I aimed the antenna by hand and used it with my FT-60.

I had attempted working the birds for weeks with various antennas but could never even hear them.

This is a great antenna and I would recommend it to anyone interested in working satellites.
N3TL Rating: 2009-02-17
One Awesome Antenna! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I'll be brief.

At 19:26 UTC on 16 February, 2009, I broke a pileup to work astronaut Mike Fincke, who was operating NA1SS on the International Space Station using the Mode B UHF/VHF repeater.

The contact is significant because I achieved it with my handheld station - a Yaesu VX-7R at 5 watts rf out on UHF and my 4-month-old Elk 2M/440L5. It's my best amateur QSO ever. In the interest of full disclosure, I also will note that I made this contact standing in my master bedroom on the second floor of my home, hand-holding the Elk (yes, inside the house) and manually tracking the ISS.

I use my Elk in this fashion (i.e., hand-holding it inside my home on the second floor and manually tracking the satellites) to routinely work all of the currently available voice and CW amateur satellites (AO-7, AO-51, FO-29, ISS, SO-50 and VO-52). Its performance is astounding.

Contrary to comments I've read posted around the Web, the 2M/440L5 performs wonderfully well with full-duplex radios. If you doubt this statement, email me (my call at amsat dot org). I'll send you an MP3 of the 4+ minute recording I made last October with a full-duplex radio (Icom W32A HT) and the Elk during a pass of AO-51, which included contacts - literally - from Canada to Mexico.

My Elk works very, very well - and it's a great value.
K3JVB Rating: 2008-11-12
It just works ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I run a very modest 2 meter/440 station.
Yaesu Ft-767-GX, with Te-syst. Amps.(170watt)
I wanted something a little better than loops to give me a little more performance than loops.

This little 2 foot boom/ 5 ele. works..and works very well
Side by side comparison to a single loop,on 2 meters, indicates a seat of the pants "6 db" gain.
About the same on 440.

It also has a better signal to noise ratio on 2, which helps a lot too. I use it in the horizontal plane. But I have hit repeaters 100 miles or so.

If you need a low profile beam to get on 2 and 70 cm. Try this one ! Elk is easy to deal with, and offers a good product!
73
John-k3jvb
KC7MG Rating: 2008-10-04
SATELLITE REVIEW Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
i HAVE HAD THE ELK 2/440 5 ELEMENT ANTENNA UP AND WORKING BOTH SSB AND FM WITH FANTASTIC RESULTS. I THEN TRIED WORKING THE LOW EARTH ORBIT SATELLITES WITH THE ANTENNA MOUNTED ON A ROTATOR. THE RESULTS WERE AMAZING.... THIS ANTENNA IS PROBABLY BETTER THAN THE ARROW SAT. ANTENNA AND DOESN'T NEED A DUPLEXER WHICH SAVES PAYING AN ADDITIONAL 60 BUCKS... THE ELK 2/440 LOG PERIODIC ANTENNA ACQUIRED A SIGNAL ON AO51 AT 8 DEGREES AND STAYED THROUGH THE ENTIRE PASS WITH VERY LITTLE FADING. THIS WAS ON A HORIZONTAL PLANE. LOSS OF SIGNAL WAS ALSO AT 8 DEGREES ON THIS PARTICULAR PASS. THE PERFORMANCE IS AMAZING FOR SUCH A SMALL ANTENNA. IT WILL ALSO ACCEPT A HIGHER POWER THAN THE ARROW ANTENNA.. I THEN QUESTIONED RAY AT ELK AS TO THE POSIBILITY OF A HANDLE TO USE WITH A HANDIE TALKIE .. RAY SENT A PROTOTYPE HANDLE WHICH WAS ATTACHED TO THE REAR OF THE 2/440 AND I TUNED A PASS OF AO51 SAT. THE RESULTS IN BEING ABLE TO FOLLOW THE SAT. THROUGH THE ENTIRE PASS WAS ASTOUNDING.. I WORKED IN A 14 MINUTE PASS WITH THE APEX AT 79 DEGREES, A TOTAL OF 5 STATIONS IN 5 DIFFERENT GRID SQUARES. INCLUDING AN XE2 STATION...THIS WAS USING 5 WATTS OF POWER. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NEVER TRIED THE LEO SATELLITES, THIS IS A VERY ECONOMICAL WAY OF GETTING INTO THE BIRDS. WITH AN ELK 2/440 5 ELEMENT LOG PERIODIC AND A DUAL BAND HANDIE TALKIE YOU CAN GET INTO THE SATELLITES....THIS ANTENNA DOES IT ALL.....SSB FM REPEATERS AND SATELLITES .. TRY ONE AND YOU WILL BE A BELIEVER..I ALSO TUNED THE INDIAN SAT. VO52 ON SSB WITH THE ANTENNA AND IT WORKED GREAT... I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THIS FINE ANTENNA.. EASY TO INSTALL AND A GREAT PERFORMER... I USUALLY USE MINE ON A ROTATOR BUT WITH ELK'S NEW HANDLE IT WILL DEFINITELY GIVE ARROW A RUN FOR IT'S MONEY...THIS IS NOT A PAID COMMERCIAL . THIS IS JUST MY HONEST OPINION OF A GREAT PRODUCT.....