I have the Arrow II dual band antenna with duplexer, but have been unhappy with the UHF reception ability. I ordered an Elk 2M/440 dual band antenna and tried it on high and low-angle passes of satellite AO-51. Following are my impressions after using both antennas.
Arrow II dual band
Elk dual band
I can work lower angle passes with the Elk than I can with the Arrow, but the Elk is more directional when receiving the downlink. When I get the Elk lined up right on the satellite, reception is very good: I sometimes hear satellite contacts better than conversations on our local club 2M repeater! The sensitivity to direction, though, makes the Elk a bit more challenging to use than the Arrow.
Turned the boom to adjust for polarity can clean up the 70cm downlink on both antennas. With the Arrow, I've found that a 45-degree twist is often enough to let me work the satellite through most of the pass. With the Elk, the tolerance is much tighter, and I have to keep adjusting throughout a pass. The difference in reception quality is remarkable: clear when the antenna is pointed at the sat and the polarity is aligned, but broken if not pointed or aligned just right.
I've also put the Elk up on a 20-foot-tall mast, where it picks up distant stations quite well. In fact, it picks up interference not heard by my Arrow or j-pole antennas. The Elk has good ears.
Some stations have reported a weak signal when I transmit on 2M through the Elk. I've pushed from 5 to 55 watts through it, hitting a station about 40 miles distant, on the other side of some low mountains separating the station from my QTH.
Which one is my favorite? Both
The Elk works better for me on lower angle passes, and it fits in the back seat of the car much better than the Arrow. (I need to partially disassemble the Arrow antenna if I'm going to stuff it in the back seat of the car, but the Elk is easy to toss in with no fuss.) The Arrow works great on the higher angle satellite passes, and seems to transmit better on 2 meters.
I also like the Elk for my EMCOMM kit as I can put it up in the air on a PVC pipe, which can be easily attached to other objects. The Elk strikes me as a more durable antenna for use in varying field conditions, compared to the Arrow.
I will be making some PVC tubes with screw caps for storing these antennas (disassembled), and to protect them during long trips.
Anyway, these are my impressions after using both antennas. As in all things, your mileage may vary!
Tom / W3ROK
P.S.: I bought the Elk antenna directly from the manufacturer, because the price was the same as from vendors, and to me that means a bit more profit stays with the maker. I did correspond directly with Ray at Elk, and he was very helpful.
Arrow II dual band
- Yagi antenna, with crossed elements for 2 meters and 70 cm
- Reports of good quality transmissions on 2M uplink
- Rather deaf on 70cm downlink except on high-angle passes
- Lightweight, fairly easy to hold
- Tripod mounting hole in boom
Elk dual band
- Log periodic antenna, smaller in length and width than the Arrow
- Reports of moderate to good quality transmissions on 2M uplink
- Hears 70cm downlink better, but seems more directional than the Arrow
- Lightweight, but is a bit more awkward to hold, despite being smaller
- No tripod mount
I can work lower angle passes with the Elk than I can with the Arrow, but the Elk is more directional when receiving the downlink. When I get the Elk lined up right on the satellite, reception is very good: I sometimes hear satellite contacts better than conversations on our local club 2M repeater! The sensitivity to direction, though, makes the Elk a bit more challenging to use than the Arrow.
Turned the boom to adjust for polarity can clean up the 70cm downlink on both antennas. With the Arrow, I've found that a 45-degree twist is often enough to let me work the satellite through most of the pass. With the Elk, the tolerance is much tighter, and I have to keep adjusting throughout a pass. The difference in reception quality is remarkable: clear when the antenna is pointed at the sat and the polarity is aligned, but broken if not pointed or aligned just right.
I've also put the Elk up on a 20-foot-tall mast, where it picks up distant stations quite well. In fact, it picks up interference not heard by my Arrow or j-pole antennas. The Elk has good ears.
Some stations have reported a weak signal when I transmit on 2M through the Elk. I've pushed from 5 to 55 watts through it, hitting a station about 40 miles distant, on the other side of some low mountains separating the station from my QTH.
Which one is my favorite? Both
The Elk works better for me on lower angle passes, and it fits in the back seat of the car much better than the Arrow. (I need to partially disassemble the Arrow antenna if I'm going to stuff it in the back seat of the car, but the Elk is easy to toss in with no fuss.) The Arrow works great on the higher angle satellite passes, and seems to transmit better on 2 meters.I also like the Elk for my EMCOMM kit as I can put it up in the air on a PVC pipe, which can be easily attached to other objects. The Elk strikes me as a more durable antenna for use in varying field conditions, compared to the Arrow.
I will be making some PVC tubes with screw caps for storing these antennas (disassembled), and to protect them during long trips.
Anyway, these are my impressions after using both antennas. As in all things, your mileage may vary!
Tom / W3ROK
P.S.: I bought the Elk antenna directly from the manufacturer, because the price was the same as from vendors, and to me that means a bit more profit stays with the maker. I did correspond directly with Ray at Elk, and he was very helpful.
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