Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: JDC ANTENNAS

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : JDC ANTENNAS
Reviews: 4MSRP: $80
Description:
JDC ANTENNAS 160 meter
Product is in production
More Info: http://JDC ANTENNAS>COM
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0041
N4KXO Rating: 2011-01-08
Poor Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is the worst 10 Meter antenna I've ever had the mis-fortune to own. Poor workmanship. It will not tune properly or really not at all. I realize 10 meters can be a difficult band to work. I tried this antenna side by side with a jetstream hamstick style antenna. There was nothing to compare to. The JDC was deaf.
VA3MPM Rating: 2010-05-26
The 80 meter version works well for mobile. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Purchased 2 of these at 2010 Hamvention. Both are 80 meter coils. The construction is somewhat rough, but the antenna performs well in a mobile operation. I had no problem working VA3UI near Ottawa from our mobile in Dayton Ohio. I will also mention that I was running QRP 10w from the mobile.

Tested the antenna again tonight with KC1MR near Boston and he heard me well from my mobile in Ottawa (Running 100watts).



Very low cost antenna....Enjoy!

Mike
VA3MPM
K7WBC Rating: 2009-12-30
Tunable dummy load! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Junk! Beware all Hams looking for a stealth antenna that won't attract attention.This antenna is just a tunable load turning your feedline into an antenna. They claimed because of heavier wire for coil & bigger diameter stinger was their secret for such a small (8")tall antenna that performs.they even admit that father & son who live 20 miles away could not talk & called it skip when I mentioned that I could not talk to a fellow ham only 8 miles away.we all know that with electrical length for that band this is possible,a person could turn a mobile whip into a base & talk that far.
Antenna is very cheaply made & when you ask for troubleshooting Ideas their replies are very vague.I guess there trying to sell something portable that you can run the legal limit of power through,& we all know when conditions are present a person could run power through a coathanger & make a contact or two. Don't waste your time & money this father & son team is a scam!!
K2DGR Rating: 2009-12-26
trash Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This antenna is trash.
To start with poor packaging to customer, antenna wrapped in Brown paper NO BOX!!
Now to the antenna:
I tried it and it is garbage in short, mounted it and compaired it to a 102" whip in same mount the results are: on a signal that is 40+ over on 1.9 mhz in a group that I talk to all the time
The JDC antenna recieves S7 ,102 " whip S5, inverted L 124' long S9+40
With 100watts output swr would not come into range with setting supplied and other station could not hear me.Radio here TS-940SAT.
Quality:
Very poor I dismantled the antenna to see how bad.
outside jacket is poor quality plastic the type flowers come from a florist or a fruit basket comes wrapped in.Running my hand on plastic makes static noise in reciever, How bad would it be with wind rain and snow. NOT long in UV
Next is a plastic liner with foam around the coil, great to hold moisture( maybe helps antenna work better.
Now the coil THHN # 14 solid copper wire good quality used here with 600 volt jacket but the coil is wound on the worst type of form, Black ABS plastic pipe very lossy for RF and High voltage break down.
End caps PVC machined and screwed on glued with hot melt gun glue.
THE bottom cap is drilled for 3/8-24 steel bolt and not drilled straight plated steel washer with copper wire just under it no water proofing or drain hole on bottom.
Top cap is also screwed on with a 1/2 brass pipe bushing with a 3/8 hole drilled in it and a tapped hole in the side for a set screw to lock the stinger in place. set screw is steel into brass.This bushing I thought would have been screwed into the top cap, NO, instead a oversized hole is drilled into the cap and a steel electrical nut for a romex connector was used with the other end of the coil wire under the nut ,neather end connections weather proofed.
The Stinger a piece of 3/8 aluminum rod to losely slid through the top bushing with no warning or info to water proofing around the stinger. Water can enter by running down the stinger and around and through the bushing with a very poor fitting stinger, fill the coil and freeze(here in North, in the south just fill with about a gallon or so of water)( water slug tuned maybe)
In short for a new antenna company ,get back to the drawing board and don't waste our money on JUNK.
I Have been a licenced ham for almost 35 years and now I know why I build my own antennas.