Why JK Antennas?

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Why JK Antennas? (Por qué JK Antennas, click aquí para Español)

These are some of the features that makes JK Antennas the best electrically and mechanically constructed products in the market. Some of these mechanical designs and constructions are very unique to JK Antennas products. This information should help with your decision-making process as you compare with other manufacturers. And we are confident that our product lines offer the best value for the highest quality.

Boom

All of JK Antennas antennas come with 1/8" (3.2 mm) wall thickness boom sections. The booms and sleeves are always constructed from 6061-T6 aluminum. They are designed to withstand a minimum of 135-140 mph (217 - 225 km/h), which eliminates the need for side-trussing long boom Yagi antennas.

JK Antennas boom sleeves are 1/4" or 6 mm thick. This thickness and the use of round booms makes the antenna stronger and less susceptible to excessive wind area. Our automated CNC drilling of the boom sections and sleeves make a fit perfect on every boom joint.

**Our smaller boom Yagi antennas - less than 15 feet (4.57 m ) - use 1/16" (1.6 mm) wall thickness.**

Elements

All the 40 meter elements are mounted on a "C" channel, which is a minimum of 1/4" ( 6.35 mm) thick on the sides. The "C" channels are made of 6061-T6 aluminum and all the full size elements even use another 1/8" (3.2 mm) plate on top of these channels for the best support and rigidity. The 40 meters coil loaded elements come with 1.75" (44.5 mm) OD 6061-T6 aluminum tubing at the center and our full-size elements start at 2" (50.8 mm) OD. The 40 meters elements don't need or use element trusses.

All elements are properly sized to withstand heavy winds ....
40 meters Full-size - 2" OD x 0.25" wall (50.8 mm x 6.35 mm) center section
40 meters loaded - 1.75" OD x 0.125" wall (44.5mm x 3.2 mm) center section
20 meters - 1.25" OD x 0.116" wall (31.75 mm x 2.95 mm) center section
17 and 15 meters - 1.0" OD (25.4 mm) Center section
12 and 10 meters - 0.75" OD (19.1 mm) Center section
6 meters - 0.50" OD (12.7 mm) Center section

Element to Boom Mounting

The JK Antennas element to boom mounting is done using custom machined saddle clamps fitted for the boom. The clamps offer the best rigid mounting and helps preventing from any movement at the boom during heavy winds. The element plates for the 20 meter elements are 1/4" (6.35 mm) thick. The 17 m to 10 m element plates are 3/16" (4.76 mm) thick. All element plates are made with 6061-T6 aluminum. Polyamide material clamps are used to isolate the elements electrically from the boom.

Element Overlap

The JK Antennas heavy duty elements use a 6" (152.4 mm) overlap from one taper to the other. Two screws are used at each of these overlaps.
The Navassa5 type tapers use a 3" (76.2 mm) overlap and is held by a screw recessed into a counter-sunk hole on the outside taper.

Coil Mounting

The JK Antennas 40 m and 30 m loaded elements use Hi-Q coils to electrically lengthen the elements. The insulator is made of solid fiberglass rods for the coil mounting. These are pultruded rods that offer very high yield strength. Non-conductive tape is used to wrap the fiberglass rods to protect from UV. The use of solid rod helps in reducing element sag and provides the best mechanical construction for the loaded elements. (Remember... No element truss !!)

Coils

The JK Antennas Hi-Q coils are machine wound. The standoff to mount the coil to the element are TIG welded to give the best electrical and mechanical connection at the joint. The coils are made from 1/4" (6.35 mm) solid aluminum rod.

Packaging

The antennas packaging is broken down and bagged according to the different assemblies. This makes it very easy for the assembler to find the parts and hardware. JK Antennas also provides adequate extra hardware to cover for contingencies. All assembly hardware for the boom and the elements are stainless-steel.

Shipping

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