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Reviews For: Loops-N-More 2/432 loops (formerly KB6KQ loops)

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

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Review Summary For : Loops-N-More 2/432 loops (formerly KB6KQ loops)
Reviews: 11MSRP: 45
Description:
loop 2/432
Product is in production
More Info: http://loopsnmore.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00114.6
KC9OMS Rating: 2017-08-15
Great antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought a pair of KB6BQ-2M, phased loops from a friend and put them up on my mast at 30 feet. I do mainly 2M ssb with them plus a little psk31. They work great. The swr is a flat 1:1 right in the middle of the cw/ssb portion of the 2M band. They have been up over 3 years and I feed them with LMR-600. You can visit my qrz.com page to see a pic of them.
K2EZ Rating: 2016-01-17
Good on 2m not recommended for 70cm Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I like the loops. Having used this loop and the M2 equivalent I prefer these. These are much easier to adjust if you need to.

I've run a set of four loops, 6m, 2m/70cm on 2m, 1.25m and a 2m/70cm on 70cm thru two VHF contests. These being in fairly close proximity I did have to do some fine tuning but this was easy just by changing the gap.

I was very satisfied with the performance. Notes of my setup are on my QRZ page.

Out of curiosity as to what gain the 2m/70cm loop may have at 70cm compared to a 70cm dedicated 70cm loop (LNM doesn't offer one) I did some analysis and discovered that at 70cm the antenna radiates primarily upwards. This expect performance on 70cm to be 5dB to 8dB worse than the loop's performance on 2m or any other dedicated half wave loop.

What is happening here is that a half wave loop radiates in the plane of a loop. A full wave loop radiates perpendicular (broadside) to the plane of the loop. On 70cm, the 2m/70cm loop operates at the loop's third harmonic. The loop size is actually larger than a full wave on 70cm thus it is acting consistent with a full wave loop.

I had some 70cm hardware issues that I attributed to my relatively poor performance on 70cm but it is evident the antenna played a role in that.

For basic utilitarian work to get rather local 70cm the dual band loop is still a viable option as it does provide horizontally polarized Omni signal and close it may be okay to tolerate the lost dBs. Also if you are using loop in the first place, you are many dB down by choice from what even a fairly small 70cm yagi will produce.

For anything approaching weak signal needs like a rover operation I can't recommend the loop. I still think it is a great loop for 2m and much better than the competition.

Interestingly enough, if you rotate the loop vertical and feed point on the bottom it is still horizontally polarized and will be directional broadside to the loop with about 7dBi gain.




N9OH Rating: 2007-01-21
So good... I bought them twice Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased a KB6KQ 2m loop (new) about three years ago and it worked great. The only problem I had with this antenna was that the hardware seems small... the bolts didn't seem sturdy. After about 2 years, the antenna fell off of the mast! It may have been my fault but i did use lock washers behind the supplied nut. I sold the antenna when I took down my VHF/UHF mast and wasn't expecting to be active on VHF for a while due to a move.

In 2006 I put up a 35 foot mast for my dipole support and decided I should get back on VHF for SSB and CW. I naturally thought of the KB6KQ loop that I had before. Here is when I thought "Crud, why did I sell that loop?!" A couple of days later I found out that a friend had replaced his KB6KQ loop stack with a beam and the loops were on the market! Great timing... i snatched them up for great price and got both loops plus the phasing harness for less than the price of one loop new. I put the loops up at about 30 feet and they work great. Its not a beam... but for a compromise, they're great.

The only problem I had with installation #2 was again with the loop hardware: the mast i am using (from TMC) was just too large (diameter) to fit in the included mounting hardware for the loops! I ended up getting larger U-bolts from home depot and then rigging something up to secure the loops to the mast. Still worth the price.... I'd only suggest that they make the included U-bolt (and spacing) a tad bit larger to accommodate larger diameter masts.
KB5URQ Rating: 2006-06-24
Most Rugged Antenna System I've Ever Owned! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Norm, KB6KQ has a winning design in his 2 meter loops. I bought my pair of phased loops back in 2001 and they are just like new despite use, MISuse, and Abuse.

They've traveled over 120,000 miles for over 5 years and they are just like the day I bought them.

If you want to put your money into something that will LAST and stand the test of time, these loops are the answer.

Norm also offers the phasing harness if you want to buy a pair and phase them together. That lowers the radiation angle and allows for better local coverage.

You just can't beat these loops. I've worked many grids and many states on 2m SSB with these loops. I can't praise them enough.

Jason
KB5URQ
KA3NXN Rating: 2006-04-28
Good, but has an issue Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had mine for over 2 years now and I have had in issue with the 2 meter loops from about 3 months after I purchased them and now the 6 meter loops are doing the same thing. What mine are doing is the SWR will go through the roof when it rains. What we figured out was happening was that there was mold building up in the insulator an when it gets wet the insulator became a conductor. The 2 meter loops started doing this after only being up for a few months and now the 6 meter loops are having the same issue . It took the 6 meter units much longer to have this problem because the insulator is much larger. When the loops work they work very well. But now I have to go up on the roof and take them down and clean them. This is not an easy task. Especially because I have to remove the insulator and then replace it and retune each antenna. Then 3 months from now I have to do it alll over agin with the 2 meter loops. I have tried coating them with wax and all other kinds of insulating products, but they only last a short while. I'm sorry to say but I am going to sell the loops and look for some that do not have an insulator. I am using them as base antennas & I live in central VA. Is anybody else having this problem?
K7MBL Rating: 2005-09-11
Like 'em!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just bought a set of loops, $157 for two 2 meter loops and a phasing harness shipped. Arrived in just a couple of days. Mounted 4' apart at about 20 feet. Put the tuner on each one: 1.3 for the top, 1.5 for the bottom at the calling freq. Removed one screw, adjusted the loop, down to 1.2 each. Attached the phasing harness: 1.1 at 144.144 (PSK31) and just breaks 1.2 at 144.2. Made my first contact this morning using my IC-706 and an RFC 2-317 with N6RMJ in DM14. That's about 250 miles. Got a 3/5 report.

Great customer service as well. I emailed Norm a question, he called back in short order. Had a nice conversation, he answered all my questions and then some. I really appreciated that!

Overall, I'm quite pleased so far. Everything was just as described, so surprizes at all! Now, these ain't no Yagi's, obviously, and Norm doesn't describe them that way. But they do a pretty good job for what they are. As a matter of fact, I'm hearing all kinds of SSB traffic into my QTH (DM23) as I write this. Gotta get...!! 73!
WD4MBE Rating: 2005-07-21
Great Performing Omni Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am using a pair of stacked 2M Loops at my home qth. The antennas are located outside, above the roof, approximately 26 and 30 feet above ground. Also, I am using a SSB Electronics mast mounted preamp with the antennas.

I have been very pleased with this setup! To date my longest contacts from this location in EM-96 (NC) has been to FN-01 and FN-11 (PA) both over 400 miles during the ARRL Contest in June. I am using an Icom 275H with 100w out. The antennas are great when in a qso with several stations from different directions...no constant turning of a beam.

These antennas will not produce yagi results but are a wonderful supplement. The mast mounted preamp really helps!
W8IJ Rating: 2005-04-26
Good omni satellite antenna. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the 70cm and 2m loops for satellite work. They don't work as well as my arrow antenna, but I have them mounted on the roof and I have been able to make contacts reliably on AO-7 and FO-29 with them.

These antennas detune in the rain. I had heard that before I bought them so no surprise. I reset the two meter loop to be resonant somewhere above 146mhz and the resonant frequency is below 144mhz in the rain. It still works ok on 145.9 mhz wet or dry. I plan to try putting plastic wrap on the antennas to see if this helps.

Taking the screw loose to retune the loop took some effort! Norm must be really strong.

These antennas are not perfect, but are worth the asking price.

Dave W8IJ
AC5D Rating: 2003-04-05
Best Rover Set Up Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been running 400+ watts to stacked loops on 2m as a rover for more than seven years. I've compared them to other systems that others have bought over the years and never regretted buying the KB6KQ loops. EVERY other rover that I know has gone to Norm's loops for gun-n-run operations. Several of the locals use stacked loops for their only VHF antennas. As ND2X says, verticals are what you use until you get your loops up.
VE3OZ Rating: 2002-06-07
Great product Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought both the 2 and 432 loops as I do not spend much time on 2 / 432 SSB, but wanted to utilize the feature on my FT-817. They both have been flawless performers. Not only have they worked well for general 2 / 432 contacts, but they've performed well on UO-14 and AO-27 as well as reception of the beacon of RS-13. The 432 unit also performed well during some ATV experimentation! Great producs, great support!!!