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Reviews For: QSO-King End Fed Antennas by NUØR

Category: Antennas: HF Portable (not mobile)

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Review Summary For : QSO-King End Fed Antennas by NUØR
Reviews: 36MSRP: $60-80
Description:
160-6 meters. Very efficient end fed antennas. Quick deployment.
Product is in production
More Info: http://eBay. Search QSO King or end fed wire antenna
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00364.8
WB5OXQ Rating: 2014-03-15
Very good antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have the 120' model I had a 128' space so the full size model is what I chose. The matching box end it hung at 50' and the far end of the wire is t 30' above ground. There is 100' of coax, 50' straight down to the ground and 20' coiled up to make a choke befoer entering the shack. I also installed a ground wire of 14ga solid insulated wire beside the coas and then 450' stapled on the ground in many directions. The results, as good and sometimes better than a 135' doublet fed with 300ohm window line and lots esier to tune. On 40 I dont even need any tuner since the swr is at or below 1.5 to one.
I use this antenna on 80 and 40 mostly with very good results transmitting and receiving. On 20 and up I have a beam so i dont need the qso king up there. My ts-2000 internal tuner is able to tune the antenna when needed except for the high end of 6 meters. Overall I am so satisfied I am taking the doublet down soon. WB5OXQ Jim in Waco
KC8HXO Rating: 2013-12-24
Great!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After a recent move from acreage to a home on a lot in a small subdivision, I decided to try one of the QSO King wire antennas, so I could get something in the air quickly. I have been using it a bit for a month now, and for a rag-chewer like myself, I really don't know if I need anything else.
KJ4YMN Rating: 2013-10-25
Great antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm extremely happy with the 120' version of the QSO King. I live in a neighborhood that would have fits if I put up a multibeam antenna. The QSO King not only handles a lot of power but is very easy to conceal in the backyard. I am getting amazing performance on 6m - 80m, haven't worked 160m. My LDG IT-100 has no problems tuning up anything on my IC-7100. Bruce is outstanding at answering questions and very patient, I'm sure I'll be buying more from him in the future.
N9APP Rating: 2013-07-04
120' is a great antenna for the price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I live in an area with very strict HOA regulations. But worse than the HOA rules are the regulations imposed by my wife for not being able to see any wires. Due to the layout of our house and yard (along with where my radio room is located), a typical dipole would not work. The QSO-King (120') offered the perfect solution. I was able to mount the matching box on the backside of the house near the radio room. The wire then runs into a tree line and then elbows along the property line. It is virtually invisible and not noticed by anyone (including my wife). The performance for me has been great over all the bands (including down to 160M). I did have to replace the wire run (totally my fault). Bruce Beckett has been great about answering questions and supporting his antenna. I strongly suggest this antenna to anyone that has similar challenges as I do (both HOA and spousal).
W6AWO Rating: 2013-06-29
Works For Me Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Antenna: 160-6m, 120ft
Radio: IC-718 with LDG IT-100 autotuner

Application: My objective was to be able to check into the NTS CW traffic nets on 80m with an occasional excursion to 160m in winter. The property layout pretty much dictated an end fed wire. After a lot of looking I purchased the QSO King with 120ft of wire.

Installation: The balun box is installed on a roof beam. The wire goes from an insulator I supplied to the buzzard tree 130+ft away. 25ft of wire is connected to the ground lug leading to a 8ft ground rod. I also used the recommended line isolator.

On the air: The IT-100 tuned it on all frequencies (but have no 6m capability) without a problem. But then it would also tune a 50 ohm resistor. The question was whether any energy was getting into the air. The answer turns out to be yes. The only contacts I've made are on 40m and 80m CW. Signal reports are good. I'm not interested in DX so I haven't tries the other bands yet.

Preliminary conclusion: The antenna is well made and seems perform as advertised. For my application it works great. Plus it will handle higher power than other end fed antennas if I ever decide I need a few more Watts.

Support: Great. All pre-purchase questions were answered quickly. Quick shipping too.
WD4IYE Rating: 2013-04-03
QSO-King End Fed 36 ft Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Been a ham for 36 years at 2 QTHs and mostly used ground mounted verticals at both locations. Been at my present location for 28 years but not real active while raising a family. Vertical fell apart so been experimenting with all kinds of wire antennas and even a slinky dipole. Bought the QSO King 36 foot (Small lot) and put it about 20 foot high between 2 trees with 50 foot of coax. All I can say is my trap verticals must have been junk. First thing I noticed was the reception was great far better that what I have had at this QTH. I was hearing Europe and South America at about S7 to 10 over 9. I have never been able to make a contact to Europe from this QTH so I used my MFJ tuner to give it a shot.(100W) I was able to work about 75% of whomever I heard. It was simply amazing. This antenna is quality built and performed beyond my expectations.
KE0N Rating: 2012-12-21
Solid investment for a compromise antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased the 160 meter QSO-King last year to install at a duplex on a small city lot. Feedline is 60' long and the antenna runs (22' max height) to a pole @ 14' in the backyard then down the clothes line @ 7'. Total length approx 75'

The antenna works quite well (without radical SWR excursions) 80-10. Performance is much better on 10-30 meters. 40/60 an 75/80 are about 1-2 S units down from my previous antenna (Center Fed Zepp). The landlord only allowed the one support forcing the compromise antenna purchase.

I work mostly PSK, JT65, WSPR, and CW at between 5-50 watts output with the occasional 75 or 17 meter SSB qso. Certainly one of the better compromise antennas I have owned with solid construction.

Overall I am pleased with this antenna and would certainly buy one for portable use.
KR4LU Rating: 2012-07-24
Great for HOA issues. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I originally purchased the 36 foot version with the intent of laying it on my roof. It didn't work well due to metallic lined insulation a few inches below it. I installed it on the concrete block wall around my back yard using plastic vine anchors and extended it to 142 feet. It is in the shape of an open box and is only 5 feet off the ground. I have great coverage of North and South America and confirmed contacts in Europe, Japan, Jakarta, Canary Islands, New Caledonia. I operate from my QTH in Southern Arizona, mostly PSK31 at 25-50 watts. Many contacts are shocked to learn it is at 5 feet. I am very pleased with this antenna and reccommend it to anyone with HOA issues.
N4LQ Rating: 2012-05-12
Interesting Test Results Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First of all, I do not own one. My neighbor bought 2 of the 120' models and I got permission to use my MFJ Antenna Analyzer to check the feed point impedance because I was very skeptical. His matching box is mounted on top of a 30' metal pole and the wire runs to a tree and is overall less than 30' off the ground. One antenna was a full 120' and the other cut at some random unknown length. He used about 30' of LMR-400 to a connection where I was able to run my test. The SWR on both 160 and 80 on both antennas was rather high, around 6:1 and 9:1. Obviously a tuner is needed. On 40 through 10 meters, the SWR was amazingly low and varied between 1:1 and 2.5:1 on all bands. With another 100' of coax you probably wouldn't even need a tuner!
There were differences in SWR between the 2 antennas but nothing huge. I did not connect a rig and ask for signal reports and it wouldn't mean anything if I did. Since the match is good on 40 and above and assuming the matching gadget doesn't consume a lot of power, there is no reason think the RF won't be radiated effectively. Also I assume the shield of the coax might radiate to some extent but my simple method of testing was inconclusive. I would prefer using a non conducting mast, running the coax vertically down to ground and installing a good line isolator at the base but some experimenting would be necessary.
The pictures indicate that a 9:1 unun is being used. The quality looks very good.
BTW: When sweeping the analyzer across the bands I didn't see huge excursions, even in the non ham bands. This would make it ideal for SWL work and in fact this design is quiet common. The SWL guys call the unun a "magnetic balun"...Whatever that means!
If I had an installation situation requiring end feeding I would certainly try this design. The price is actually reasonable when you consider the quality of the transformer. Compare to the Balun Design 9:1 alone at $73.
It would seem important to avoid wire lengths that are multiple of 1/4 wavelength. Thus the impedance would be fairly high at the end and provide a better match to the unun.
Finally...The only way to test this baby is to directly compare signals between another antenna connected with your A/B switch and I haven't seen this done yet.
Anyway, I'm impressed until proven otherwise.
K0SID Rating: 2012-02-23
Great Antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Bought this antenna as my permanent antenna for my seasonal weekend home. Got this back in June 2011. Finally was able to install in July and was able to work all 13 Colonies for the Special Event Stations during the July 4th celebration. I even have worked some DX in Europe. This antenna and 100 Watts on my FT-847 surprisingly broke through a handful of pile ups.

Simple setup and totally low key. Love the performance thus far.