Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: EZNEC Antenna Design Software by W7EL

Category: Ham Software/Apps - Other than logging

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : EZNEC Antenna Design Software by W7EL
Reviews: 22MSRP: 99
Description:
EZNEC, the all-new, completely rewritten Windows version of EZNEC.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.eznec.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00224.8
KZ1X Rating: 2008-09-26
Pays for itself in ONE use Time Owned: more than 12 months.
With the cost of materials so high these days, one simply can't afford to do 'cut and try' on anything but plain dipoles anymore ... and even that can be dicey from a dollar perspective. EZNEC *does* have a learning curve, and it certainly isn't for everyone. Hams who don't have a fundamental understanding about how antennas work will probably not benefit from EZNEC without some additional education. Basic operation of the program is not complicated, however. If you have ever made a doublet from scratch, you can enter the basic data into EZNEC in just a few minutes ... or you can use the canned examples, which are included with the program. For those who want to make their stations louder, with or without an amplifier, EZNEC is THE ticket. And, with the saving in wasted time and materials, the program easily pays for itself - in many cases, the very first time you use it.
MAZZ1232002 Rating: 2008-09-26
Could not be without it Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have modeled hundreds of VHF UHF yagis and stacked systems using EZNEC. Also many HF type antennas. It is the only way to design antennas as far as I am concerned. Yes it does take some practice and understanding before one can become proficient using EZNEC, kind of like using good 3D CAD programs takes practice first.

Pete
WB4CGA
W4HH Rating: 2008-09-25
I'm too stupid to use EXNEC Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I assume EZNEC is a great piece of work; after all, I see lots of references to it in QST and ham forums on the 'net. I must be terminally stupid because I could not make it work -- couldn't figure out what information it was asking for, couldn't figure out how to get data into it.

I was building an off-center-feed dipole and, on the suggestion of several other hams, I installed the demo version of EZNEC v. 5.0.

Try as I may -- and I fiddled with it for several hours -- I could not figure out how to enter date into the program and had no idea what it was asking for. The HELP function did not exist. I have no idea what most of the information is that the program asks for and could not make it work.

I gave up and removed it from my computer.

I'm going back to cut-and-try on the antenna.

My experience was with the demo version. Maybe if I had paid for it . . .
N3FT Rating: 2007-10-04
Good program for simple antennas Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Its not Roy's fault, but it seems like every antenna I design in some way breaks the thin wire kernel in NEC. I won't go into detail about the thin wire kernel as you can readily look it up.

Wires in parallel touching each other, small loops, etc.
K0IZ Rating: 2004-08-19
Great program Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I spent a year designing and building an antenna the hard way: books, articles, cutting wire, tuning, etc. Tried the 3.0 version demo and had a hard time getting started.

Now have purchased 4.0. A good number of antenna configurations have been added and allowed me to look at how these were done, make changes, and finally launch out on my own.

Great program. Fun to try different things, such as different grounds, heights, etc and look at difference in SWR, radiation patterns, etc. I have learned a lot and also verified my real-world designs. Highly recommend.
K0LTB Rating: 2004-01-26
your antenna is the most important part of your station! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Your antenna is a major factor in determining your ability to have contacts (which is really the essence of ham radio). But for most of us it's almost impossible to decide what would be best, given the many constraints of lot size, feedline location, and so on. Until recently, antenna modeling software seemed pretty daunting to the average ham -- but EZNEC solves that.

I downloaded the software after work one evening, and had made several successful models before bedtime. The time I spent with EZNEC over the next week was the most valuable investment in the whole planning process for my new shack. Thanks to EZNEC, I figured out a wire antenna configuration that loads on 40 through 10 and delivers just the pattern I wanted on all bands.

I installed it, fired it up, and it performed just as predicted; and to top it all off I was able to work DX in pileups with my 35 watts!

Many kudos to Roy for bringing sophisticated and powerful antenna modeling within reach of any ham.
KB8JVH Rating: 2003-09-01
Simply the best Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After spending much time and effort writing NEC cards with a word processor and considering writing a GUI for NEC2 I discovered EZNEC3.0. If you're into modeling antenna this is the program for you. Very easy to use, with good graphics and results charts. Excellent job Roy! A deal at twice the price.
KG5FTK Rating: 2002-08-28
Very usefull program. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This software is an excellent tool to try out the antenna you want to build that is still in your head. However, some understanding of antenna concepts is required to understand the data you will get from the program. This would make a great learning tool to use while you use an antenna book. Results from the use of eznec 3 will give the user a ball park answer to questions like, what is the feed Z going to be, what is the likely pattern, what effect will loading coils or caps be, ect, ect ect. If you like to play with antennas this software used with an antenna analyzer to see actual data from a test antenna will keep you busy for years designing trial antennas.

Also, you can't lose with the free demo download you can try before you buy it.

One caveat---learn how to draw 3 dimensional drawings within a x,y,z coordinate system on paper before trying complicated antennas.
NB6Z Rating: 2001-05-31
The Best... Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Don't let your RF leave home without it! ;-)
N6PC Rating: 2000-07-20
Excellent modeling of antenna options Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I upgraded to the windows version after receiving the previous user announcement of EZNEC 3.0 from Roy.
I downloaded the software over the Internet after sending credit card info. I also received the CD (as a backup) mailed for $10 more in about 3 days. The upgrade installed easily. The new windows version is a pleasure to use.
I modeled an existing 160M G5RV (102ft each leg) that was “slapped up” a few years ago and is used daily. Compared the results to the directions of actual contacts during a recent contest. The peak directions were the same as the majority of contacts made. Made some changes in both the apex height and the “ground” types. There is little change and the present set up appears the best choice. As indicated in a previous review “You'll be surprised how little an extra ten foot of height at lower HF will do and how much changing a feed point can change your patterns to favor the desired directions”. It is nice to see just how “lucky” I was in the installation configuration of my 160M G5RV. Modeled all bands 160 to 10 meters. The software is very representative of my actual operating observations. Excellent software.