[amsat-bb] Re: Fw: ELK or ARROW

28 Dec 2008

      Or you can just lengthen them 1/4" on a side with a threaded spacer....
Jim  KQ6EA
--- On Sat, 12/27/08, Gary "Joe" Mayfield gary_mayfield@hotmail.com wrote:
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From: Gary "Joe" Mayfield gary_mayfield@hotmail.com
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Fw:  ELK or ARROW
To: amsat-bb@amsat.org
Date: Saturday, December 27, 2008, 8:17 PM
Has anyone played with insulating the Arrow elements from
the boom?  It
shouldn't be too hard to do.
73,
Joe kk0sd
-----Original Message-----
From: amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org
[mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On
Behalf Of Jim Danehy
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 8:33 PM
To: amsat-bb@amsat.org
Subject: [amsat-bb] Fw: ELK or ARROW
there is the old adage that you get what you pay for . .
. why buy a 
poorly designed antenna that does not work very well
...
?
If you have a 5 element  yagi that only produces 4 dbi
you are not getting
...
what you paid for . . . most 2 element yagis would out
perform that
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statistic . . . a 5 element yagi should be at least 9
db + or 10 db dbd
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(dipole ) not isotropic  . . . . there is something
that is called
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MERCHANTABILITY . . .i.e., an IMPLIED WARRANTY  that
you are getting at
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least the minimum for your money . . .
4 dbi for an Arrow is way off base . . .  so it is not
just ; you can not
...
afford a Cadillac but you are not even getting a Ford
or Chevy  . .  i.e.,
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the gain of a 5 element yagi on 435 mhz . . .  that is
the issue, not cost
...
alone . . . . . . same comments apply to the ELK but I
have attempted to
...
make the point that there is a minimum performance for
a certain number of
...
elements that is pretty OBJECTIVE and when it is not
met  . . . . well
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that is my point . . . these two antennas have shown
to some testers that
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they do not measure up to the minimum EXPECTATIONS . .
.unfortunately that
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is acceptable to some  . . . . then it becomes
acceptable to many . . .
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and objectivity is abandoned . . .
Jim W9VNE
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Trey Brown"
palintheus@gmail.com
...
To: "Jim Danehy"
jdanehy@cinci.rr.com
...
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 6:39 PM
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ELK or ARROW
...
Thanks for the comments. Realize, though, that not
everyone wants or
...
...
can afford to have the Cadillac.
On Sat, Dec 27, 2008 at 4:06 PM, Jim Danehy
jdanehy@cinci.rr.com wrote:
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...
...
the Arrow antenna has been critiqued by Kent
Britain, WA5VJB
...
...
...
http://wa5vjb.com/references/Cheap%20Antennas-LEOs.pdf
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...
...
he says that some have measured the Arrow for
gain on 435 mhz @ 4 dbi
...
...
...
(isotropic) . . . . and that further analysis
showed that for the
...
...
...
element lengths used on 435 mhz that it peaks
at 457 mhz and not 435 mhz
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...
...
. . . Kent is a well respected VHF/UHF antenna
person who has plenty of
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...
...
credibility . . .
Kent opines that the Arrow, as built does not
have its elements
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...
...
insulated from the boom. It uses dimensions
for insulated elements . . .
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...
...
so much for the Arrow . . . .
Now for the ELK  : a local friend of mine owns
an Arrow and he uses it
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...
...
successfully. He bought an ELK and attempted
to compare the Arrow and
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...
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the ELK . . . . he could not make an across
town QSO on 435 mhz from his
...
...
...
second story window with the ELK , so he sent
the ELK back for a refund
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...
...
.
I have worked and exchanged QSLs with several
hundred satellite users .
...
...
...
. .the majority of the folks that have worked
and QSLed me (close to 250
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...
...

) have been using either the Arrow or ELK

based upon the information
...
...
...
on their cards. So they are popular. Are they
optimum ? A lot of
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...
...
anecdotal information would seem to say NO . .
.
...
...
...
Thirty-five years ago I worked Oscar 6 with a
homebrew 2 mtr yagi that
...
...
...
probably was worse than either the Arrow or
Elk but I worked YV and KL7
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...
...
from Indiana on CW with about 15 watts to the
3 elements which my XYL
...
...
...
waved around at my directions . . . not any
more . . .what do I use
...
...
...
these days : a pair of circular polarity yagis
on 10 foot booms
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...
...
manufactured by M Square . . . .
Folks ask what should they buy ? Maybe a Ford
or maybe a Chevy . . .
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...
...
neither is a Cadillac . . . .
Jim W9VNE

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-- 
Trey -- N5THX
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a
little temporary
...
...
safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Benjamin Franklin

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[amsat-bb] Re: Fw: ELK or ARROW

Jim Jerzycke