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Copper J-Pole Antenna

bigal46563

Member
Jul 1, 2010
64
1
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Just got this J-Pole antenna. It works great. I am picking up frequency's that i have never heard before on the Centerfire antenna i had in the air. If you are looking for a good VHF or 2 meter antenna i do suggest you get one. You will not be disappointed. Just to let you know also this is the very first J-Pole i have ever had and for a great price. Here is a picture of my two antennas in the air
 

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J Pole antennas are just so-so. They work, but have very little gain.
For a tough antenna you can throw in a go kit, they are fine, but for your home, there are far better.
To save some money and have an antenna that really gets out there, 8.3 db gain on VHF and 11.7 db gain on UHF, get the OPEK UVS-300.
It is a fiberglass vertical and sells for about $100.00. It is basically the same as the top of the line Comet and Diamond verticals that sell for over $200.00.
This antenna talks further than any other vertical I have ever had up.
Right now the base of it is at about 40 feet.
My favorite repeater is at 146.940 and this antenna has a perfect SWR on that freq and very low towards the edges. The numbers from my antenna analyzer show it is putting 97% of the power to the antenna and radiating it. MY amp meter confirms this also.
I dropped it from 50 feet and broke the base and cracked the top fiberglass pole, just super fine cracks you could hardly see. I fixed the base, straightened out the radials and put it back up.
Slowly the SWR went up.
I took it down, found the approx. 4 in small cracks. They had let water in which messed up the 3 capacitors in the antenna.
I called OPEK to buy new parts. They sent me a new base, new radials and new capacitors and would not take a penny for the parts or the shipping, even though it was my fault. I have never seen another company not charge for parts that you broke. The top piece, they did not have, so some of the stretch tape covered the cracks. It's a good idea to tape the two joints where the fiberglass rods screw on to make sure no water gets in.
Back up on the pole and it's been working like a champ for the last 6 months.
I hit a repeater through a small opening in the mountains that sourround me at 60 miles away with total quiet, this antenna is by far the best duel band on the market for the price. You can buy one like the 300 from the other big 2, but you will just pay twice as much and they are all the same basic design.
It has survived wind gusts of over 70 MPH and continuous wind of 45 to 50 MPH and no breaking off at the base as happens to all of them every great once and a while, but not often at all, not to worry. It will bend like all fiberglass antennas in heavy wind, but mine has yet to break in some really bad winds. I've had it up over 1.5 years.
The J pole is way down on the list of good antennas. The good thing about them is that they are small and hold up good. Be sure to coil up wire under the antenna, they are known for putting a great deal of RF on the outside of the coax, they have to have a current limiting balun or they really lose a lot of range because they radiate so much RF from the outside of the coax.

The OPEK UVS-300 is by far the best buy on the market. I have never had customer service like I got from them and the distance it transmits is fantastic. Buy one and be the envy of your ham friends.

73's John KF7VXA
 
Just some thoughts about a 'J-pole' antenna,
A 'J-pole' antenna is an end fed 1/2 wave vertical antenna, and as such has no gain at all. It's 1/2 wave antenna and that's the 'standard' everything is compared to for gain.
They d work, aren't all that difficult to tune, and are pretty cheap/easy to make. They will typically perform 'better' than a 1/4 wave antenna (they have a negative gain...or a loss). They typically will not do as well as a 5/8 wave antenna that's properly tuned (5/8wave has something like 1.5 dbd gain). Those performance comparisons mean that the various antennas are mounted in the same place or same height. The height thingy is a biggy.
How about aluminum instead of copper? Makes no significant differences at all. Which do you find easier to work with? And those fiberglass antennas? The radiating parts inside are typically copper (easier to solder than aluminum). No, they do not -draw- lightning! Water sealing them appears to be the 'weak' point with -some- of them.
What 'size' antenna to get? The longer (depending on how they are made) the better. The 'longer' antennas are typically a vertical array of shorter antennas (typically either 1/4 waves or 5/8 waves stacked on top of each other). They tend to have a 'flatter' and 'larger' radiation pattern, so have a better chance of hearing other stations.
All of this is NOT 'written in stone', there are a huge number of variables that will affect any and all antennas. But it's a sort of 'rule of thumb'...
Paul
 
Just some thoughts about a 'J-pole' antenna,
A 'J-pole' antenna is an end fed 1/2 wave vertical antenna, and as such has no gain at all. It's 1/2 wave antenna and that's the 'standard' everything is compared to for gain.
They d work, aren't all that difficult to tune, and are pretty cheap/easy to make. They will typically perform 'better' than a 1/4 wave antenna (they have a negative gain...or a loss). They typically will not do as well as a 5/8 wave antenna that's properly tuned (5/8wave has something like 1.5 dbd gain). Those performance comparisons mean that the various antennas are mounted in the same place or same height. The height thingy is a biggy.
How about aluminum instead of copper? Makes no significant differences at all. Which do you find easier to work with? And those fiberglass antennas? The radiating parts inside are typically copper (easier to solder than aluminum). No, they do not -draw- lightning! Water sealing them appears to be the 'weak' point with -some- of them.
What 'size' antenna to get? The longer (depending on how they are made) the better. The 'longer' antennas are typically a vertical array of shorter antennas (typically either 1/4 waves or 5/8 waves stacked on top of each other). They tend to have a 'flatter' and 'larger' radiation pattern, so have a better chance of hearing other stations.
All of this is NOT 'written in stone', there are a huge number of variables that will affect any and all antennas. But it's a sort of 'rule of thumb'...
Paul


All very true. I usually just grin and shake my head when some operators start bestowing the fantastic performance they get from their home made J-poles. They usually have nothing to compare it too and therefore the J-pole definitely is about 90dB better than nothing. LOL

BTW nice to see you back. (y)
 
Thanks all for the welcome. Why so long? Computer failures, other things you don't want to hear about, and couldn't remember the @#$% URL! Oh well, what else is new...
Paul/Doc/w5lz/MD/PHD/ret.
(MD = Mazzio Driver; PHD = Pizza Hut Driver)
 
"To save some money and have an antenna that really gets out there, 8.3 db gain on VHF and 11.7 db gain on UHF, get the OPEK UVS-300 ."

only seen those kind of omni dbi claims on cb antennas ....... like when they're talking about how their omni beats a beam .......
 
"To save some money and have an antenna that really gets out there, 8.3 db gain on VHF and 11.7 db gain on UHF, get the OPEK UVS-300 ."

only seen those kind of omni dbi claims on cb antennas ....... like when they're talking about how their omni beats a beam .......
Wavelength on CB is 11 meters long, on 2 meter is 2 meter long. Makes it possible to get a lot more out of the same size package.
 
I have to laugh when people say the JPole is just a so so antenna. I have a copper 2m jpole mounted at 20 ft above ground 34 miles to the nearest repeaters. I also live in a very mountainous location in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I have a ridge behind my house to the East approx 700 ft above the roof. In front to the West I have a ridge that is approx 900 ft above my house.
I have absolutely no problem reaching and activating these repeaters with full quieting with a Yaesu 2900 (as a base). I even hit and hold QSO's in a town that's 20 miles from me and in direct line over a 6,000 ft mountain. My QTH is at 3,000 ft, so don't even tell me a jpole isn't a very good antenna. Not to mentioned this holler gets severe wind, lots of rain and freezing sub zero temps in the winters. So far its been up 3 winters, and I haven't touched it. That's why I bought it. Its just plane Tough, and will no doubt last a very long time.
I built a 1/4 wave ground plane 2m antenna, and it performs well also. About the same as the Jpole, but its pretty fragile. The JPOLE had a swr of 1.2- 1.3. The Ground plane I built has a low swr of 1.2. Both work well, but I'll take my solid Copper Catus any day. 73

I also have a confirmed QSO of 25 miles on simplex, and that was through a very tough path of mountains , and Hollers.
 
It's a half wave antenna. Nothing more.....nothing less. What I laugh at is people claiming how wonderful they are when then have not really compared it too anything else other than their HT's duckie antenna. It's a good BASIC antenna but nothing special nor spectacular about it.
 
Just got this J-Pole antenna. It works great. I am picking up frequency's that i have never heard before on the Centerfire antenna i had in the air. If you are looking for a good VHF or 2 meter antenna i do suggest you get one. You will not be disappointed. Just to let you know also this is the very first J-Pole i have ever had and for a great price. Here is a picture of my two antennas in the air
I have one that's been sitting in storage since I moved 5 years ago.. and I will concur with you they work well..
 
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