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Reviews For: Edison Fong PVC pipe 2m/440 omni antenna

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

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Review Summary For : Edison Fong PVC pipe 2m/440 omni antenna
Reviews: 41MSRP: 22
Description:
What appears to be a piece of PVC pipe with an SO-239 on one end, little do
they know........
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00414.8
K4XXX Rating: 2014-10-23
Awsome antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was looking for a cheap, good antenna to purchase real quick for the house I'm renting. I Google searched for such antenna and landed on the review here for this antenna by Mr. Fong. Purchased on a Sunday night and had it in my hands Wednesday morning. Excellent shipping speed. Received an email on Monday morning from Mr. Fong thanking me for my order and explaining the PVC I needed and who built the antenna, etc. Got the PVC for $2.44 at Lowes and just hooked the antenna up and I'm impressed. I have it mounted off the gutter on a 1 story house and I'm hitting repeaters 50 miles away S-5 to S-8+ RX and good TX reports with an Icom IC-7100. SWR was 1.1-4:1 on 2m and 1.2-5:1 on 70cm depending on what part of the band you're transmitting in. I'm glad I purchased this antenna and probably will purchase another one for my TM-V71A and the 220 Mhz one as well.
WH6ST Rating: 2014-10-19
not a walking stick! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
First, kudos to Ed for fine customer service. My first antenna had a defect which I tried to remedy, and ended up ruining the SO239. Ed sent a replacement with an apology and genuine concern for my satisfaction.
I used the antenna for my 1st SOTA activation (1 point!) and decided that the antenna would make a fine walking stick. That was months ago, after making clear contacts on VHF on the summit. Well, just today I decided to take apart the antenna for unknown reasons, and after removing the top PVC end cap, found a 13" long piece of copper wire wedged into the foam plug I had put in the pipe to keep things secure. Turns out that the constant tapping of the pipe on the trail had dislodged that wire conductor from the top part of the 300 ohm twinlead section. I put a bit of hot glue on each end of the wire hoping that will keep it in place. Onward with the torture test!
K2GRG Rating: 2014-06-25
188 miles on 4 watts!?! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The antenna arrived quite promptly with all the instructions needed to complete assembly (put it in the correct PVC pipe). That was easy. Today I took it on a 6 a.m. road trip on my ATV around Southern Utah. At Strawberry Point, Kane County, Utah I was able to activate the KB6XN repeater, 188 miles away on Potosi Mountain SW of Las Vegas using my Baofeng at 4 watts. I'm looking at the mileage on Google Earth as I write this as it seems quite extraordinary, but the repeater tail was there. Discount this if you wish, but the following also happened in the same test. I was also able to activate the Navajo Mountain repeater at 103 miles without any problem, and the Jacob Lake repeater at 58 miles like it was in my back yard. I was also able to reach the Monroe Peak repeater at 80 miles. For grins, I brought along the standard Baofeng antenna and a cheap magmount unity gain antenna, neither of which hit repeaters greater than Jacob Lake/58 miles. In other words, this antenna is well worth the $30. I can't imagine better performance from an antenna of this type unless someone flattens the earth. Granted, for this test I was at 9,016 feet working repeaters on peaks from 10,000 feet, 11,000 feet, 8,500 feet, etc, but I was using a $40 HT at 4 watts.
KC9WJA Rating: 2014-01-28
Another success story! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is my third order from Dr. Fong. I have two base 2m/440 and a roll-up emergency antenna for my FT817ND The other is on a FT897D and one is loose for portability with a splice in the center for QRP or bug-out. Put a ring-eye on top of the portable and another total win-win ! Great TX RX low SWR on all the antennas… I just can't find a single flaw anywhere- This is the best least amount of money you can spend for a awesome VHF UHF solution and they are also available in GMRS… Dr. Fong has spent more time on the phone giving me an "Antenna education" and other tips and help that you will never find from a big antenna co. It's discreet. It works incredible the platform is flexible for your needs. You won't find a better antenna and the technology is stellar as well as the proceeds go to the students--- This is the better "mouse-trap!!"

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Earlier 5-star review posted by KC9WJA on 2014-01-19

I ordered the antenna via eBay and the hardest part was actually finding the pipe needed. Not too popular here in IL. I put it together. I had to use a Radio-shack cable so that's the weak point. I just ordered a 25' RFC-400 cable for it. Even with the cheap cable the SWR was minimal- I did not hang it I just leaned it against the wall. It lowered further when hung with fishing line to a light on the ceiling. It's on my FT897D and I could not be happier. my usual contacts noticed a huge improvement in my signal and I was able to lower my clarifier finally! You simply can not go wrong with this setup. I am using it for home and QRP while camping and hunting. I will likely buy a few more so I can mount one to the roof of the house and put one with the FT817ND… I am only curious if painting it will have a detrimental effect on the reflected energy, Wanted to camo it. Not a need but I did sand off the markings on the pipe to make it more attractive. No detrimental change on the SWR. This is so great It's worth trying given the minimal cost and I am pretty critical and this is just fantastic!!
AF5DN Rating: 2013-12-10
Great! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I needed an antenna for remote operation I the field. I purchased this antenna and fitted it with an adapter to screw on top of a buddy pole mast. I operated a repeater 20+ miles through downtown metropolitan area on 4 Watts.
Inexpensive, easy to put together, and it works!
I could not ask for more.
AB1LT Rating: 2013-12-10
Great antenna from a great guy. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had the PVC antenna in my attic for years and it works flawlessly. They are built by his students so what little $ he makes goes to a good place. His roll-ups are excellent too.
KC7GQM Rating: 2013-12-09
Great coverage in Southern California Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I use this antenna mostly for packet. On 2m, 50w, 15 foot mast, 50 feet of RG-8X I can reach other valley floor stations 70 miles away. Nearby packet stations with other (commercial) antennas use me to reach the far away nodes.
N3HFS Rating: 2013-09-16
Both the rollup and PVC-housed versions of this antenna excel! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought four of these antennae, 2 of the PVC-housed and 2 of the roll-up versions of this antenna.

I have the rolled-up ones in my go-kit, and have used them temporarily in several remote mountaintop settings, with performance particularly noteworthy when I have set up a simplex repeater combo (an Argent Data System's ADS-SR1 and HT) for co-ordination of super-hikes (25+miles) through the mostly unimproved Tuscarora Mountains in central Pa.

Even more successfully, I have used a pair of the PVC-housed dual-band antennae frequently on the many public service events I participate in throughout the central PA area each year. As long as you buy exactly the type of PVC specified (NOT schedule 40!), the work of cutting, capping, and (optional) painting of the antenna is nearly brainless.

Antenna performance is on par with similar "professional" models of similar size. Both 2m and 70cm bands work extremely well across all of the standard FM bands, and the appearance and fit/finish of both models are perfectly fine.

Kudos to Mr. Fong for making this home-brew project easily accessible via eBay, and saving me lots of time in implementing this excellent design!
N2QQE Rating: 2013-09-16
Happ with Ed Fong antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this antenna a while back, but just got it up and have it connected to a Alinco DR-610 with a SO-239/PL-259 using 75" of Davis RF Bury-Flex mounted 35' up. I have gotten good reports on this using just 5 watts! Ed was helpful during the purchase of this and sent along detailed information on the complete build of it using the PVC he recommended. I would look into getting one or 2 more since the current antenna works so well, is well built, and is not costly. Very impressed with this antenna.
W3SR Rating: 2012-09-08
Great antenna!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a GREAT antenna! I have it mounted in a corner of the closet and hit the repeater all the time. The XYL doesn't even complain about it. I wish he'd make other ones for different bands so I could mount it in my HOA restricted area.