CUSTOMER COMMENTS

"Richard...

I have at last completed the installation of my new antenna and mounted it on a tripod with a used TV rotator. Everything is working good. My first QSL with it was PY3KN who gave me a 5/9 report. I could not even hear him on my vertical!

I found the assembly instructions easy to follow. The line drawings and the photographs were very helpful. 

73"

"Rich...

Thank you for the UPS refund. You're an honest man. Rich, you said the 10 meter Delta X-Ray should resonate at 28.4. Mine resonated at 28.38 - honest again! So far, when running 100 watts, the least signal report I have received has been a 5/9 and the antenna is not up but 1/2 wavelength at the center of the delta wire. I am real pleased with its performance. When propagation falls, a year or so from now, I will put it up higher.

Thanks for building such a fine antenna,

Bill"

"Hi Rich...

This might be of interest to you.

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to try a Sterba Curtain. They are certainly impressive but are rather large and take a lot of space. Well, this week I put one up for 10 meters as a trial to see how it worked with the idea of eventually changing it to 15 meters, since I already had your delta on 10. The Sterba has eight elements and they are fed by ladder line and has ladder line to the shack, matched to perfection by an MFJ-989C antenna tuner.

This is what I found...

If the distant station was right in the pattern of the Sterba, the signal strength was never better than your delta loop and often an S unit lower. If the station wasn't right in the Sterba pattern, the signal strength dropped as much as 5 S units. Thus the Delta loop equaled the Sterba in performance plus it could be pointed in any direction. The Sterba is limited to a very narrow bi-directional pattern.

. Ten meters has been poor to dead the last week or so and it might be that the Sterba would "come to life" on real DX but I doubt that it would beat the loop.

It seems to me that this proves you have a very fine design and it is obvious, of course, that the narrow pattern of the Sterba is impractical for ham use unless, perhaps, one is interested in poking a signal into one specific spot, (the original idea of this design, when it was used for transatlantic telephony in the '20s and '30s.)

Hope you are able to provide your 17 meter loop as planned. Let me know as soon as you are ready for my check and the total cost including shipping. It will be on the air in short order after it arrives!

73"..............

"Hi Rich...

Let me know via e-mail the total cost on the 17 meter loop, including shipping and I will get a check in the mail to you. I'll bet there were construction problems to work out on a loop that big and nice that you were able to keep the weight down..

I have 4 verticals on 12 meters and five verticals on 15 meters in phased arrays, half-squares with added bays. I also have a Cushcraft A3WS for 12 and 17 mounted on a Radio Shack tripod at about 10 feet above the roof. If, for example, If I am listening to a 12 meter signal on the Yagi and switch to the vertical array, the signal drops about 1 S unit but the noise drops way down! Also, before I took down the Cushcraft Ten3 three element 10 meter Yagi, I compared it with your delta loop and the Yagi was very noisy in comparison. I have never felt that the Yagi was a really great antenna and they sure have to be up high before they begin to function. So, the A3WS will be promptly replaced with your 17 meter loop and 12 meters will continue to be covered by my vertical array. The shortcomings of the array, of course, are that it is bi-directional and cannot be rotated but I will have your loops on 10 and 17. Am also putting up a delta loop for 40 meters to replace a plain dipole.".............

"Have frequent inquiries about the 10 meter loop and have given them both web site and e-mail address. I don't count on them getting that long web site address correct, hi!

73"....................

"Hi Rich,

The antenna arrived yesterday afternoon with no damage. It appears as if everything is there, I'll have a better chance to open up the individual bundles after the contest this weekend. I would suspect that you may be pretty close to breaking even on the materials for this antenna. It also appears that the entire project is hand crafted and labor intensive. If you charged a fair amount for the labor which I see in this antenna, it would probably cost double your asking price. This is all hard to determine from just seeing the WEB page, but I really feel that this is quite a "value added" antenna product."..........................

Thanks es 73,

"Hi Rich...

Shipment delivered at 5:30PM and in good shape.

Looked at your assembly manual. It's the best I've seen. The photos are a great help. Will start assembly tomorrow. I love projects where "Assembly Required", hi! Guess after raising three kids, one learns to put things together.

Looking forward to your delta loops for the other bands. Let me know when they are on the market.

73, ".....................

"Hi Rich,

I got a chance to inspect the antenna this weekend, and of course everything is there. I am impressed by the quality of the parts, even the things which could be bought cheaper, like the hose clamps and U-bolts are of the highest quality. I also enjoy the completeness of the parts, including all the end caps and the anti-oxidization compound was a nice touch. I prefer the "custom" nature of the antenna. If you are shooting for a commercial appearance here are some suggestions:

The manual could go on a diet. (I like it the way it is, but the commercial guys do it differently). ....................."

Thanks es 73,"......................

"Hi Rich,

..................Was on ten meters this afternoon and mentioned to a ham in Tennessee that I was assembling one of your loops. He said that he had seen your web site and was wondering if he should consider one of your antennas. I was very happy to tell him that the quality of the material was tops (which it is) and that you were very helpful, (which is also true.) ..............

73"

"Hi Rich...

How is the 17 meter loop coming? Still looking forward to getting one from you when they are available.

Lots of interest in my 10 meter version. I have sent at least 10 fellows to your web site. The antenna is putting out a splendid signal and had another report of first one to open the band, this time from Venezuela and this was on a very poor propagation day. Said I was 5x7 and no other signals showing. I have consistently excellent signals into Europe and Asia. Mounting is very similar to your web site photo, on a 3 foot tripod with the bottom elements only about 4 foot above the roof."

"Hi Rich...

The loop is doing a tremendous job and arousing a lot of interest. I managed to lose your web site address (again) so I have been taking the liberty of referring interested hams to your e-mail address and trust you will give them the web site address so they can see the information first hand.

73 ..............."

"Hi Rich...

The antenna arrived this afternoon in good condition and all parts present and accounted for.

I see you have marked quite a few of the components for identification and made some locating marks. A good idea!

I am sure that the 17 meter version was quite a design challenge as compared to the 10 meter version because of its sheer size. Looks like we will have a nice sunny day tomorrow and I will have fun assembling..........

73".............

"Hello Rich...

Put the loop together today and it went very well. No problems and all components accounted for. Of course, having assembled the 10 meter version was a great help but I tried to operate as though this was the first one I had put together.

I heartily recommend that you continue to mark the various measurements, etc., in marking pen as you did this one. A great help and time saver. One thing that you marked that would be of particular help to the first-time assembler is the little curved arrows showing the orientation of the 135 degree element sections.. Also labeling the reflector and director elements was very much appreciated. You may recall I had a problem with that on the first one and this should help figure out which goes where.

The pre-assembled items are of help also. ............

I was lavish in the use of the anti-oxidant and still used only a small portion of the tube's contents. If that stuff is expensive, you could include a smaller tube and there would still be more than enough.

As large as it is, the antenna seems quite sturdy. I will get it on the roof tomorrow and, as it will be mounted on a three foot tripod, will be able to adjust it right "on site". "................

73"................

"Hi Rich...

Got the loop up today. Found swr up at low end of band so lengthened director and reflector elements 1" and then showed swr 1.1:1 at low end and 1.2:1 at high end which is plenty good enough in my book.

Called a short CQ at about 4 pm and EA5AUL in S.E. Spain gave me 5x9. Signed with him after fb half hour chat and was called by EA8IB at Tenarife who told me I was very strong signal.

Looks like you have a winner there. Thanks!

73".................