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Reviews For: Slim Jim portable 2 meter antenna by N9TAX

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

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Review Summary For : Slim Jim portable 2 meter antenna by N9TAX
Reviews: 46MSRP: 19.99
Description:
Portable, efficient, high quality antenna for two meters
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.2wayelectronix.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
35464.8
K2BEW Rating: 2010-01-27
Great performer Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought one after reading the reviews here and have this just on the side of my house outside my shack window and I'm able to hit all the local repeaters within a 20-30 mile radius with no problem. I got the one with the feed line and it is very well made at a great price! I will be buying another one to use portable this summer, with the great design it will make a great portable antenna to take camping and hiking and hang in a tree.
As an outside base antenna here in the Buffalo, N.Y. winter weather it is holding up just great. I highly recommend it.
AB9QU Rating: 2009-11-12
Well Made Works great Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Got one at a swap fest. Didn't really need another antenna but it looked good and the price was right
and thought it might come in handy one day. It is very well made. Outstanding craftsmanship. I stuck it on a nail in the rafters in my garage and hooked it to an FT-2800 I wasn't useing. Finally something I got at a swap fest that wasn't junk.
You can't go wrong with this antenna. Well made and works great.
WB9QVR Rating: 2009-11-02
Great Value and Performance! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I ordered one of the dual band versions on Wednesday and received it on Saturday.

I was first struck by the quality of the workmanship. Unlike many similar ladder-line J-poles that I've seen the connections appear to be clean and neat. Heat-shrink tubing covers most of the exposed connections. In the one place where a joint is exposed the solder work is smooth and shiny. The SO-239 connector itself appears to be of good quality.

In order to run a quick test I suspended the antenna with a tack to the drywall in my ham shack. Received signals using this antenna are very nearly as strong as when using a Tram 2m/440 fiberglass antenna in my attic (which is several feet higher). The SWR on both bands appears to be quite low as well. Obviously this 'installation' is far from ideal but it does show that this antenna performs at least as well (and probably better) than many other antennae that I have used. It is good choice not only for temporary use but could also be a very good permanently-installed antenna.

When one considers the above along with the VERY reasonable price of approximately $26.00 (including shipping in the US) it is quite a bargain!
KD8DVR Rating: 2009-10-26
Superb Antenna at a great price. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased this antenna, since I needed an antenna for travel, as well as something to play with at home... you all know the drill.

A Godsend with my HT on vacation. Stick it up in the condo and go to town.

At home, in the basement shack, I just hang it up on the wall, and it still performs.

N9TAX takes a "simple ladder line antenna" and does it better. Shrink wrapped connections, AND a ferrite bead for an RF choke.

It performs and it is constructed with pride. I'm Proud to use one!
KJ4LXW Rating: 2009-09-16
Outstanding Product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I will agree with and mirror the comments of the previous review.

This antenna is well made and the small details are what set it apart from others. There is even a small velcro tab for holding the antenna together when you roll it up to store or transport.

I would reccomend this antenna to new hams such as myself. It will get you on the air and hitting repeaters straight off the bat.

I also just bought a SWR meter and get the same readings as the other review stated.
I emailed N9TAX and he told me that the antenna should handle up to 100 watts.

When I got it I just couldn't believe how well made and sturdy it was. I weather proofed mine by applying super glue over the exposed metals parts (at top where it is shorted and the ends where the cut is made to define the shorted element). Everything else is covered with shrink wrap.

I paid a little more and got the version with 16' of feedline. I got it running out of the window and hanging from a piece of pvc thats 15' tall so it breaks the roofline.

I have used it at work too and got better results than using my magmount. It rolls up so easily and is very light to carry.

Just go to ebay and check them out, just put "jpole" in the search and it will turn up in the list. You can get N9TAX's email addie from QRZ and he will answer any questions promptly, as has been my experience with him.

I am getting ready to buy another one to keep in the car as my "traveling antenna" to use for QSO's at work. I have been telling my other friends who are new hams to get one. Try to get it outside if you can to get the full potential out of it. It could also hide well in trees and bushes.
There is also a review on hamuniverse that is very detailed if you want to see more.
KB9YNJ Rating: 2009-09-06
Real solution to 2 meter portable antenna issue. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Starting this Spring 2009, in the Ohio Valley area near Louisville, there were a lot of thunderstorms. Living on a high hill and having a 30 foot metal mast with an aluminum J-pole at the top made me very nervous. I was growing tired of having to disconnect the coax every time there was a threat of thunderstorms. I saw an eBay auction site that advertised a portable antenna that was very different from the run of the mill twin lead j-poles I had seen advertised or ones I had built in the past. The explanation of the design and description of the construction and materials used, along with the clear photos (with a cost of only twenty dollars )was enough to cause me to order one.
In a couple of days it arrived in my mail box nicely packaged in a padded envelope. I was impressed with the construction and the fact that it was made of very tough black window twin lead. the male 239 connector had a ferrite bead above it and quality black shrink wrap covering all connections.(same as advertised) Total length was about 67". I found a place to hang it from the celing in a corner of my radio room hooking it to a 6'length of coax, then to my MFJ 862 swr/power meter. The swr was 1.2:0 at 146Mhz and a little over 1.1:0 at 147.500! This was putting out 45 watts. At 10 watts, it was flat across the band!
Performance was unbelievable! I was able to hit repeaters that I couldn't reach with my j-pole at 30 feet! I only use it when there is lightning around and I need to monitor or communicate with skywarn and other repeaters that tend to communicate flood and storm conditions. This is due to the closeness to my operating station and danger of RF exposure.I may weatherproof one of these and get it up in the air outside because it is better than any other antenna I have tried over the last 8 years. The builder is a great guy who responds to questions quickly and builds a quality product. He will cut these for 220 or other freqencies by request and makes a dual bander version too! I am very pleased with this product.