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Reviews For: KU4AB E-FACTOR

Category: Antennas: VHF/UHF+ Omnidirectional: verticals, mobile, etc

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Review Summary For : KU4AB E-FACTOR
Reviews: 6MSRP: 79.95
Description:
Dual band (2m/70cm) omnidirectional horizontal loop antenna with single feed
Product is in production
More Info: http://ku4ab.com/_wsn/page2.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0065
KB8USZ Rating: 2008-11-09
decent little aerial Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After getting a Yaesu FT897D I was eager to get on 2m and 70cm with weak signal modes, and found this antenna on the Web. It looked like a good way to get up and running on both bands, using one coax and one antenna. When it arrived I was surprised to see how small the antenna is. It is very solidly built and well-protected against the elements with plenty of waterproofing. Mounting was a bit problematic as the supplied U-bolt was a bit too big for the 1.25" aluminum mast I used, also there was no groove or cradle for the mast to nestle into so I found a sawtooth cradle from an old antenna that fit the U-bolt that filled the gap between the mast and the mounting plate of the antenna, and which also aligned the mast perpendicular to the antenna. After mounting it 6 feet above the peak of the house, the SWR on 2m was 1.8:1. David provided prompt technical support on how to lower the SWR, which in my case was squeezing the 2m elements closer together, and it is now almost a flat match on 2m and 1.3:1 on 70cm, with very little change when it's raining. I've been making regular contacts out to 50 miles or so with 50 watts SSB and no band openings, and so far have made solid contacts out to 250 miles during the rare tropo openings. I can hear a 10-watt 2m beacon 100 miles away about 50% of the time. The furthest contact I've made so far on 70cm using 20 watts is about 40 miles. I have not yet had the chance to use it during full-blown tropo season but my experience with this cool little antenna thus far is gratifying. The small size is a plus--it has negligible wind load, and shouldn't be a problem staying up on a crumbly 100-year-old brick chimney during northern Ohio windstorms. I'm glad to finally be able to participate in the activity on the weak-signal end of 2m and 70cm, and at a very reasonable cost.
AB4BC Rating: 2006-08-02
Fabulous! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Installed the antenna on my apartment balcony at around 40 ft. My first contact on 70 cm while making adjustments was in Daytonna Beach, FL from my QTH in Savannah, GA using a stock FT-857D with no linear. I get a great SWR reading from 144.000 - 146.000 MHz and 430.000 - 437.000 MHz. Its a beautiful antenna and the customer service was great. Ordered the antenna on Monday and received it Wednesday morning. Highly recommend!
KC2FTN Rating: 2006-06-24
Two thumbs up ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have the E-Factor mounted about 7 feet up on my roof here at the QTH and so far it seems to work quite well. Ground wave, I've covered about 75+ miles on both bands with 75 watts or less. A couple of weeks ago, there was some E-Skip on 2-meters and I worked Minnesota (EN35) from my Northern New York (FN24) location. As an added bonus, this antenna also works pretty good with the VO-52 V/UHF SSB satellite. Power rating on both bands is 1000 watts, and the antenna is quite sturdy. Single coax fed to boot!
KG6YRG Rating: 2006-06-18
Good contest antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is a good portable/rover contest antenna.

It is small, sturdy, and easy to set up. You do have to check the open gap between elements, though, because they can change during transport between rover sites. This is not a major problem.

I've had good success working 2m stations with this antenna out to about 150 miles, and 70cm stations about 100 miles.
K7VO Rating: 2006-05-06
Very good for portable operations & very limited installations Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've had my E-Factor for almost a year and it is current on top of the mast in my yard. I rent and have a very limited ability to put up antennas without issues from the landlord. The ability to run a single feedline for two bands is a big plus. This is also a wonderful antenna for portable/rover operations. It's well made.

The only nit I'll pick is that the supplied U-bolt is too large to fit on a small mast (i.e.: the ones you get from Radio Shack). Otherwise it's about perfect: small, lightweight, well built, and with performance close to that of separate loops. I do think the separate KU4AB SQ-144 and SQ-432 do slightly better, and a phased pair of each (nested) will certainly outperform an E-Factor. Still, when small size and a small footprint are key I don't think you can do any better.
K5QE Rating: 2006-05-06
KU4AB Dual Loop for Rovers Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have purchased several of these dual loops for rovers in the VHF contests. They mount very nicely above a tri-magnet mount and require no modifications to your vehicle. The single feedline is a big plus because no switching is required when changing from 2M to 432Mhz. The performance is great too...we have worked these loops out to 200 miles on 2M and 432!! In the last contest, we made over 50 contacts with these antennas. We intend to put out several more of them in the June contest. They work well and are highly recommended for simple/casual rover stations.