I just used it for the first time put it up on a spider beam pole about 30 feet up ran it at 25w on 2 meter ft8 and it fried a hole appear in the j pole trace and the swr went really high.. it was worth a try i wish it would have worked
Hi Travis, I’m sorry this happened on your first use. We’ll get a replacement out to you as soon as possible. We are out of town until the 15th but will get one off to you on the 16th.
The burn appears roughly circular and about the size of the screw. A short may have contributed to the damage by the antenna folding over itself, but we can’t confirm the cause from the photo alone. Could you tell me if you fold the antenna over with teh screw head to the inside of the fold, if it lines up with the burn mark?
We’ll also include a small piece of Faraday tape that may help repair the damaged trace on your original antenna. We’ll provide instructions so you can check the repair before using it again.
Thank you for sharing your experience. We’ll be doing more testing with digital modes, including FT8, to better understand what happened.
Very pleased with my 2m Fara-J! Used it recently to check in on a local simplex net and repeater net used by local ham club. Got good signal reports from net controller. 👍👍
I used my 2m fara-j most recently while operating a relay station for a 100 mile endurance race. Had very good reception reports from other operators around the course, even better than my mobile antenna. I might have to get a second one for next year's station!!
Great antenna
GREAT PRODUCT!! Initial testing went well, looking forward to using it!
I finally got to use this antenna at a parks on the air activation in Colorado. Easily talked on a 70cm repeater with it even though it is a 2m antenna. I made 4 20 mile contacts on 2m simplex so it seems to have the distance. Would be a lot farther reach on a summit. Is so lite weight however that it stays almost at a 45 degree angle in almost any wind. I had to clip it to a rope to keep it vertical during use in the park. I should be publishing a video on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@Ham-Solo if you would like to see it in operation sometime around May 25th, 2024.
IT WORKS, IT COMPACTS VERY SMALL, IT BUILT WITH QUALITY & ITS VERY LIGHT. It’s worth every penny but I wish I could’ve saved some pennies on it.
Wow I love this antenna. It folds up so small that I keep one in my IC-705 go bag and another on the wall at my HAM shack for quick use. Ben has made a wonderful product and you will love it also. See if you can find mine on the wall in the image of my shack.
This thing is cool. Craftsman ship is great. A new take on a classic antenna. Definitely will keep this in my go bag.
Video review below
https://youtu.be/C7aqsjk8etM
Great antenna! Easy to roll for transport to wherever (POTA, SOTA, etc). Needless to say, it's much more efficient than my rubber duck antenna of my HT. Very innovative design. A special thanks for adding my callsign to the antenna.
Great job Ben, looking forward to your next venture!
73
Jim
VA3HFD
Awesome compact antenna for portable operations. Thank you Ben!
Nick, W8SEG
I love it
KC7OLT
73
Alan
Amazing piece of equipment. Easy to use and deploy. Perfect for my activities.
I am a member of Search and Rescue team member as well as the Incident Commander for a K9 search team. I recently had a chance to use my 2m antenna on a K9 search and was easily able to maintain contact with 5 dog teams in extremely technical terrain with only a handheld radio. The antenna was positioned 15 ft high in a tree and I felt it nearly doubled my effective range despite the mountainous environment.
High quality build, folds into a very small space, and is light enough to always carry in the kit! The most important part is that it helps the radio reach out to a distant APRS repeater that cant be reached with the rubber duck antenna. Paired with RG-316 make a nice light kit for improving reception and range!!!!
The Fara-J 2 meter antenna is terrific for rapid deployment, It is easy to stow, easy to set-up and works very well. Great product and the seller is easy to work with. I am 100% satisfied.
I'm using the 2M Fara jay on my Explorer POTA 20 mast with Messi Stealthflex 7 and the signal quality from the 2M repeaters in my area in the front room of my house is excellent. I can't wait to test this out a local park. Saving my pennies for the 70 cm antenna now.
These antennas work wonderfully. The lightweight design and compact nature of the antenna allows for ease in transport and setup. I use this antenna with a 19' carbon fiber telescopic pole for quick setup and getting on the air. I also like having my CS emblazoned on the antenna. Please support this great team.
Have used this antenna on at least one SOTA activation so far.
I purchased these antennae after spotting them in a YouTube video, where someone was packing them in their go-bag. I wanted something I could use for POTA and SOTA and emergency communications and these looked perfect. They worked even better than I expected. Hoisting the antenna up on my 20' Tankara rod, they using a slingshot to pull a string over a palm tree, in both instances I had amazing performance with a cloth antenna that roles up in a 2" bundle and weighs almost nothing!!
Took a while to arrive but I guess its a long way, so hay ho.
I have used the 2m version several times and its great. Works well, packs up very small and light. Nothing not to like.
Thanks very much
Easy and lightweight
So far this antenna has worked great for my need. Currently running it with a Chinese fishing pole and an HT which has really uped my ability to run digital modes on 2m.
Excellent antenna. I really like my call sign on it… a nice touch.
VNA testing doesn't show it as resonant on 2m, but will try adjusting the strip as suggested on some of the youtube videos. About as portable as one could possibly want an antenna to be, so even if not great, good in a pinch.
Where is this one resonant? and what it the SWR along the 2m band? I would like to make this right if it is not usable.
Great antenna. Now have 2 gave one to our community's CERT team.
