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Reviews For: M2 40M2LLA

Category: Antennas: HF: Yagi, Quad, Rotary dipole, LPDA

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Review Summary For : M2 40M2LLA
Reviews: 2MSRP: $891
Description:
40M2LLA is a linear loaded 40 meter yagi.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.m2inc.com/index2.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0024.5
K0MD Rating: 2010-12-13
Superb performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have the predecessor - the KLM 2 element LL yagi. It performs much better than I ever expected. It is 12+ years old, has weathered the winters and wind of the upper Midwest quite well and I am able to work a lot of DX on 40 meters with it. The successor from M2 is only better.
K5KG Rating: 2008-03-17
Pleased with construction and operation of this antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have just completed construction and installation of this antenna, and I am generally pleased with the product. I would have given it a rating of 5 except for two things: 1.) its rather limited bandwidth, and 2.) it was delivered with some plated rather than all stainless steel hardware.

The 2:1 bandwidth of this antenna is only 140 kHz and, therefore, will not cover the entire 40m band.

Here are my vswr readings vs. frequency in kHz:
7000 - 2.0:1
7020 - 1.5:1
7040 - 1.3:1 (minimum vswr)
7060 - 1.4:1
7080 - 1.5:1
7100 - 1.7:1
7140 - 2.0:1
7200 - 2.4:1
7250 - 2.8:1
7275 - 3.0:1

It spent roughly 3 weeks, working part time, to construct the antenna. The instructions were quite complete, however, I found a number of discrepancies between the instructions and the diagrams. This necessitated calling M2 Customer Service many times to clear up my questions. In every case, the Customer Service rep, Jeremy, was extremely helpful and quick to provide answers. I felt that if every antenna sold by M2 generated as many questions, Jeremy must be a really busy fellow!

This antenna has a lot of parts. They come carefully packaged in plastic bags, all numbered in accordance with an enclosed parts list. I only had one case of an incorrectly made part; a fiberglass rod was mis-drilled. Jeremy sent me another one with no questions asked. Also, a few 8-32 stainless steel nuts were missing, but I bought replacements a local hardware store.

I live in a salt water environment where corrosion is a problem. The antenna comes with plated U-bolts. I spent an extra hundred bucks or so and replaced them with stainless steel U-bolts that I ordered from DX Engineering. I felt that the antenna should have come from the factory with all ss hardware, but it didn't.

The antenna comes with small aluminum blocks containing stainless steel set screws that are used to connect the linear loading rods. I did not feel that the aluminum blocks were adequate for my environment, and would eventually be eaten away with electrolysis caused by the aluminum being in contact with the stainless steel set screws. I replaced these aluminum blocks with aluminum split bolts that I purchased at an electrical supply house.

The antenna went to the top of the tower without any problems. We winched it to the top, where it now sits at 75 ft. In my first few days of operation, I have managed to work a good deal of dx. I am quite pleased with its performance, especially at the low end of the CW band where I hang out.

This antenna replaces a Force 12 EF240X which eventually fell apart after 7 years due to electrolytic corrosion on its aluminum-to-stainless standoffs. Hopefully this M2 40 will do even better than the Force 12.