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jo-gunn smokin' gun II vs. Maco Y quad

radioreddz

W9WDX Amateur Radio Club Member
Nov 20, 2005
367
107
53
so. maryland
anybody have any input on which is better. jo-gunn seems to be made better and easy to assemble. but don't know much about the performance. have used a Maco Y quad in the past can get a great deal on a used smokin' gunn II it's only a month old for $ 100.00 leads me to believe it may be a mud duck antenna, just want something small to put on my shop, my home away from home radio room. might just go back to the Maco. if the jo-gunn's are not worth the $100.00
 

I'm not a fan of the Jo-Gunn antenna.

I'm also not convinced that having two different element designs will work as well as two matching elements.

However, if you are looking for actual user reports, I can't help you. I wouldn't own a Jo-Gunn.

(although I did get a Son of a Gunn omni for free when removing a tower here in Southern CA. It was damaged so I cut it up to see how it was built.)
 
Master Chief said:
I'm not a fan of the Jo-Gunn antenna.

I'm also not convinced that having two different element designs will work as well as two matching elements.

However, if you are looking for actual user reports, I can't help you. I wouldn't own a Jo-Gunn.

(although I did get a Son of a Gunn omni for free when removing a tower here in Southern CA. It was damaged so I cut it up to see how it was built.)
yup i kind of feel ya on the jo-gunns. i personaly love the sig. eng. lightning 4 plus which i use at home just was looking at the price of the used gunns for something to use at my shop i might just get some scraps togeather and make a little two element quad. i know a couple of guys using jo-gunn so called audio 8's flat side on the bowl they seem to work well during dx but hell with the watts they run so would a magnit mount on a tool box. with all those numbers jo-gunns just don't seem to get out like the macos and sig's. another guy around here uses the star 8's and his signal local just seems flat but on dx he blows pretty good.
 
The Jo-Gunn fame is all about being able to take high power. This is why you find it on the bowl. Almost any other antenna that was designed to take higher power will perform as well, if not better!

The Crusader Beam (with one currently on the bowl right here in Southern CA) can take the power AND is more efficient than anything anyone has seen to date! Now if we can just get Jay to start shipping them.

If you don't need the higher power capability, then the Maco would be my personal choice over the Jo-Gunn.

Even though jay's antenna will handle higher power, it will still perform as well at lower power settings. Jay is using a beta match with a custom designed balun. And what is Jay's claim to fame......lower loss matching networks!

I have argued that the 10KW and 30KW gammas are LESS EFFICIENT than the 2KW gamma when used at lower power settings. I have also argued that gamma match networks are lossy when compared to beta match or T-match networks. So, if you don't need a high power antenna system with high power gammas, don't get one!
 
would be nice indeed
if Jay got around to shipping the crusader beams

even with lower power
his matching network likly will make for increased performance

many ham antennas use that type of beta matching
 
KingCobra_CDX882 said:
many ham antennas use that type of beta matching
You would be hard pressed to find a single ham antenna manufacturer that uses a Gamma Match anymore.

I wonder why?! 8)

I think the last holdout was Cushcraft (go figure) and they don't even use it anymore.
 
radioreddz said:
anybody have any input on which is better. jo-gunn seems to be made better and easy to assemble. but don't know much about the performance. have used a Maco Y quad in the past can get a great deal on a used smokin' gunn II it's only a month old for $ 100.00 leads me to believe it may be a mud duck antenna, just want something small to put on my shop, my home away from home radio room. might just go back to the Maco. if the jo-gunn's are not worth the $100.00

will I to did use a Maco Y quad and loved it man I had the best of both worlds with it! DXing with a nice heath 100watt radio
it was great..I only got rid of it because I built a 5 element beam..looked like a box kite, with copper cable squaring it off on the green fiberglass garden stakes( like the reflector on a beam but without the inside elements) it was a bitch stretching out all that copper..ending up moving and selling that for 350.00 bucks..gota find the pictures for it one day! I never tryed the jo-gunn but i would if i had a 100 dollar deal..after all they been around a long time,and Switchable Polarity is the best of both worlds!
i say go for it..you really don't have nothing to loose after all if you ain't satisfied with it theres always Ebay!
unless you just want to site there growing old and thinking back one day..I should of tried that jo-gunn
:roll:
 
gamma modification for improved symmetry & gain....

most gamma matching devices are mounted to the side of the driven element. this technique is good for matching, but does not provide good pattern. the symmetry of the antenna pattern is distorted to the side of the antenna that the gamma match is located on. several antenna brands were tested with all brands tested showing the same result. the pattern produced by the side mounted gamma is kidney shaped. this shaping accounts for the fact that you can hear a signal on one side of the beam and not the other. the side to side ratio is not consistent. in the case of horizontal beams, the gamma hangs down, wasting gain and affording a loss of signal reception that could otherwise be used.

what would it take to move this lost antenna gain and sensitivity into the area of the pattern that could be utilized? not a whole lot in fact. the entire modification can be done in under a half an hour and for less than a dollar. what results is that the wasted gain to the side of a vertical beam is moved forward and the wasted gain under a horizontal beam is moved into the horizontal plane forward. the average gain increase is near 1.5 dB over the previous gain rating of the antenna. what this means is that if your antenna produces 10 dBi it will now produce 11.5 dbi. your cushcraft eleven element yagi rated at 13.2 dBi will now produce 14.7 dBi. 13 dB is equal to a gain of 20, 16 dB is a gain of 40, so you can see the improvement.

further information available upon request.
 
jow gun

I have a joe gun star four ver plus hor beam. I am moving so I Installed it on my small 40 ft. tower. I also have a imak 2000 up a hundred ft.

the ground plane is great but the receive injects so much noise. I admit the prices are high for the gun....when the storms come through go see what is standing....i live just north of new orleans.


my future plans are to use one of my towers for ham use. My son got his papers at the jackson ham fest and is giving me .....to get mine....
I was blessed to get all the options still in the box for 200...the best i remember. we trade and barter .....it is hard to keep up.


bottom line.....for 11 meter its the cats.

bless all for teaching us that have not been in radio very long. I really learn a lot here.

galyndavis
 

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