| PY2NMB |
Rating:  |
2015-04-18 | |
| built to last |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I purchased one unit.
People from M2 were very nice, once it was an international purchase. they helped with best freight cost. Packing was perfect.
This antenna is a professional grade one, built like a tank.
Instructions are very clear and detailed.
Assembled at 70 ft. tower in two days with 3 people.
NOTE: This antenna is not for small lots.
The antenna is really broadband and shows its professional efficiency from 10 MHz and up.
Forget Yagis if you want a broadband antenna.
It worth every dollar and it's made in USA.
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| K4AAV |
Rating: |
2013-08-19 | |
| Fantastic Antenna! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Moving to a new location and installing a new tower, I decided to find an antenna that is 5 band capable. I missed 17m when I went to a tri-bander. Hunting high and low and looking for an antenna that was maintenance free (as possible) I was led to the LPDA. I wanted to stay away from traps and the SteppIR. Too many mechanical parts to fail... Looking at all the LPDAs out there lead me to the most robust designed antenna, the M2 7-10-30.
I contacted everyone I could find who owned one to share their experience. To my surprised everyone I contacted responded! They shared there thoughts and answered all my questions to include sharing their SWR graphs of their antennas!
As they say, "you get what you pay for". That saying rings true with this antenna. You pay more for this antenna, but it is robust in design and WELL designed. I sustain winds from 15-40 mph at my location and with mother winter providing snow and ice along with wind, I needed something that was going to last and hold up to the elements.
The antenna arrived in superb shape with all the parts! Not like other brands where you have to call for half the hardware that was missing...
I installed the antenna on a TX-455 crank up tower and also installed the NN4ZZ tilt plate. Wow! what a combination. If you have a tower that tilts over, consider the tilt plate. I assembled and installed the antenna on the tower by myself and assembled the antenna on the tower at waist height.
Once installed, the SWR measurements were spot on from what the manual stated and the SWR graphs others have shared. First contact with 200 watts was Taiwan with a 59+10 signal report! I knew right then I made the right choice. I turned the Alpha 9500 on and it became a joy to hop around from band to band with an amp that did not need an external antenna tuner! Just incredible...
The kicker to this whole thing is, I don't need the amp. Between 35-200 watts from the radio, this antenna just performs and I work anyone I hear on first call. When someone now asks me what I think of the antenna, I just say, "this antenna, It's just too easy".
Anyone looking for an antenna that is trap-less, no mechanical moving parts, built like a tank, this is the antenna for you. The antenna is big, 29.5 ft boom, longest element 50 ft and weight 110 lbs, its needs careful consideration to the structure to support it and the rotor to turn it. I am also using the M2 2800 rotor and controller. Again, another great product from M2.
If you want the best, M2 is the best!
73, and look to hear on the air!
K4AAV |
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| KB1JZU |
Rating: |
2012-04-20 | |
| I love this antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Installed in early 2005 this antenna sits on a house-attached tower, 30feet above the roof peak. Runs from property line to property line on my small lakeside home. Recommend by KC1XX it turned out to be exactly what I needed. Haven't done 6 or 160 so this and a 80 meter dipole gives me everything I need(or can fit on my lot)!
Never a problem with it or the M2 2800PX rotator. Long elements needed to be replaced once due to a really bad NE Ice storm but M2 provided the repair parts.
New dxpeditions are usually in my log on several bands within the first day. 313 DXCCC & 1941 challenge band/countries in 8 years...see why I like it so much.
Great job M2!
Bob |
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| K7NM |
Rating: |
2012-04-14 | |
| Best Kept Secret and Antenna Out There |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Don't know what happened to previous review(s) but will add another. The Log went up in September 2004 and has operated flawlessly for nearly 8 years. It is built like a battleship with stainless bolts and locknuts - no wimpy sheet metal screws here.
It is an "attractive" antenna if that is possible - certainly compaired to others comprised of off color pvc pipe. It made it through the esthetics committee here and she helped assemble the 40m element.
The best part is it "over performs". In a pile-up, the guys with stacked gezillion dollar arrays work the station first - but I get him second at a fraction of the cost (and sometimes first).
It has withstood 90mph gusts and 60mph constant wind in thunderstorms off the Great Salt Lake. The only issue with it has been a couple of times when the linear loading on the 40m element iced during blizzards causing the SWR to dramatically increase (the other frequencies worked fine) until the ice melted off the next day.
If there is a surprise to this antenna, it is the 40m performance. It is modestly spec'ed.
Remember to sort your hardware before you start - some bins are your best bet - and you will have not problems.
Fantastic antenna and performer - Thanks M2. |
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| NZ3O |
Rating: |
2010-08-23 | |
| Ten Years and Kicking! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I just had a reason to pull down the 40 meter portion of this antenna after ten years in high wind and icy winters. I was getting a high SWR on 40 because one of the insulator sleeves on the 40 had worked its way loose from the standoff, so the antenna was free to move within the support. But when they were slid back into place, the antenna works like new (no parts lost). A bit of tape and they are good for at least another decade. And the rest of the antenna looks new. Awesome product.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by NZ3O on 2002-02-21
I have the version of this antenna that includes 40 meters.
I was very surprised at how large this atenna is,
but it gets great reports on all bands, especially
on 17 meters, which happens to match its height.
High wind location here and it sometimes rocks back and forth, but turning it into the wind fixes
that.
It's a little weak into Asia, but that could be the hill I have in that direction, too.
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| KH7Y |
Rating: |
2009-12-06 | |
| Seven years of use.. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Purchased the LP 2001 and installed at our QTH in California Sierra Mtns where we would get heavy winds in excess of 60 MPH, snow and at times Ice. The antenna has been a solid performer. Then removed and shipped here to the Big Island of Hawaii and am located at the south end of the island near South Point. This is one of the best areas in the U.S.A for wind gereation due to the heavy winds. The LP is mounted at the 100 foot level now and is still just like new. Have made somewhere around 200K QSOs. M2 service is excellent and the material used is very high quality. You cannot go wrong with M2. |
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| K1FE |
Rating: |
2009-04-17 | |
| Rugged, solid perfomer |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Have had the M2 7-10-30LP8 for about 3 months and am impressed with it.
Solid performer, very rugged construction, covers 7 bands nicely.
It replaced a 10 element LP from a different manufacturer (broke in half in an ice storm after being up 10 years) so I was looking for something a bit more solid and the M2 fits the bill. Seems to work just as well as the 10 element it replaced and nice to have 30 and 40 meters now too.
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| W1EBM |
Rating: |
2008-11-13 | |
| Initial eval: a terrific performer ! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
For 50 years of hamming, I've used wire antennas; never had a tower or a beam. I selected this antenna based on a strong recommendation from Matt, KC1XX, of XX Towers.
Matt built & installed the beam on a 70-ft. tower, controlled by the M2 Orion rotor, and fed by 350-ft of 1/2" heliax in a meadow I cleared on my 3 acres in the NH woods.
My rig is an Icom-756 Pro3 running 100W.
The antenna has been up 3 days. I easily work into Europe in the afternoon on 40CW, and put very strong signals into Europe & Africa on 30, 20, and 17 meters. Almost always get true signal reports of 599 and 59, and many European SSB stations have told me "you're the strongest USA station"; "your signal is 40 dB over S9..."
Heard and worked rare DX stations in Seychelles, Nigeria, & Senegal on the first call, busting thru huge pile-ups. Excellent front-to-back ratio and side-lobe rejection.
This is one terrific antenna. And it's geometry is beautiful to look at up on the tower.
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| XE1VE3OQC |
Rating: |
2006-07-24 | |
| Excellent Antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased this antenna some time ago and never had the chance to install it until recently.
First of all the antenna is big!Those elements flopping around near guy lines you had better have a good system to mount it on.First don´t let the wide spacing fool you into thinking there is no gain on the system,despite what some readers or bad news junkies may say, this type of system is deployed in a lot of commercial systems.Do some heavy reading before you make a comment.
I assembled the antenna in our community park area,I live in a gated community (before most of the houses were finished) and put it on a 30´crank up.Checked the swr and was a little surprised.
The plotted graph was better than the spec´s from M2 but I gather this is nominal.Forty meters was quite broad banded for this type of antenna,now I know the antenna was close to the ground and this may affect the outcome but we later moved it to 50´and the swr was better.
Unfortunately I don´t have the room for this antenna on my house so I checked with Mike and Wyatt and asked if it was ok to reduce the boom by Tao and Sigma.Apparently it is ok and may only loose a dB or so.This is involves changing the element lengths but with this system it´s ok.I bought a replacement boom to avoid cutting the original one.
I plan on going with a larger roof tower in several years so then I can put this back the way it should be.
Thanks Wyatt and Mike for your support and a nice antenna.
Glenn,XE1/VE3OQC |
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| W1OZDAVIDSANFORD |
Rating: |
2005-08-09 | |
| Professional Grade! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I use the M2 7&10-30 LP 8 for general amateur use as well as for MARS. I am very pleased with it's construction and performance. Marginal stations come right up out of the noise once the antenna is pointed at them.
Not only does it cover all the ham bands from 40M to 10M, but it covers everything between 10 MHz and 30 MHz continuously. Together with my autotuning Alpha 87A, it provides for a hands off system. I can send a MARS station to another frequency, and be there at the touch of one button.
I also use the M2 Orion RC2800PX Rotator which is built like a tank, and has not slipped or let me down yet. Mike, Wyatt, and Mike provide first class customer service.
Building this antenna reminded me of building a Heathkit. It took me nearly 20 hours, but I work at a slow and meticulous pace. At 100 lbs, a 30' boom and 50' longest element, you had better get someone who knows what they are doing to put it up!
When you consider the cost of a tower, antenna, feedline, and the labor to install it, you want the right antenna, and you want it to last. The 7&10-30 LP8 is about as "Professional Grade" as you can get. And it looks pretty cool too! |
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