Qtenna
Antennas & Ham radio
40 Meter Spider Quad
May 16th
Could be the world’s first ever 40-10 meter 2 Element Spider Quad hub. Shown is the standard model of 20-6 meter beside the much larger and heavier 40 Meter hub. Will be at Dayton Hamvention 2013 on first display in flea market. To find us, just look up!
4 Element Spider Quad
May 16th
Announcing brand new 4 Element Qtenna Spider Frames. These are on either 13′ or 17′ physical boom. However, the spacing on 20 meters will either be 24′ or 20′ depending on model. This new design has a solid aluminum shank that goes through the center of the hub and allows the 3rd and 4th element extensions to slide over and overlap 12 inches. This is thick walled and very heavy duty. These are brand new and will be displayed first time at Dayton Hamvention 2013.
Dayton 2013
May 14th
Check out Qtenna at Dayton. We’ll be in the flea market area. Just look for the Quad in the air.
Qtenna at Dayton 2012
Jun 12th
We set up a Qtenna Quad at Dayton 2012. Shown is her laying on her side while we completed the assembly.
Then we stood her upright on a mast pipe. (pic by W8TLS).
Qtenna Spider Quad Hub
Jun 12th
We are now selling the Qtenna hubs for $119.95
Qtenna is the only manufacturer in the USA for Quad Spiders. These weigh just under 2 pounds and accommodate fiberglass quad spreaders.
These are made from high quality, thick stock aluminum, commercially made in the USA.
Once assembled these cover 20 meters to 6 meter on a single antenna. These take a few hours to assemble and will be similar to a 3 element Yagi on each band. They are very quiet being a closed loop, have typically 8db forward gain and 25db front to back. They can be installed on a small TV type tower and rotor. These have a boom plate that fits 2″ U-bolts. Fully dressed, they weigh 43 pounds and have 3.6sq ft of wind load.
To purchase the fiberglass spreaders we buy all ours from Max Gain: http://www.mgs4u.com/fiberglass-cubical-quad-spreaders.htm
They are easily shipped, low cost and very high quality.
Follow @Qtenna
Qtenna Quad building info
Jun 11th
There are 2 main type of feeds. One is simply a single feed of 50 ohm coax to a 2:1 balun and will feed all 5 bands. Another way is to individually feed each band with either 75 ohm stubs or toroid baluns and then fed into a remote coax switch at the top of the tower. I’ve fed them both ways and personally I like method 1. You will lose 2-3db on your front to back but its hardly noticeable. The advantage is never having to change your antenna switch going from band to band. Buxcom sells 2:1 baluns reasonably priced and full legal limit power.
The formula will depend on your wire size. If using 14ga wire, use 984/F to give you your driven element length. For the reflector, just add 5% more. This will get you pretty close. I designed mine in the middle of each band and get full band coverage under 2:1 SWR.
For fiberglass arms we suggest and use Max Gain type 1 for under $20 each. However, for northern climates (ice) we simply buy 1.5″ fiberglass tubing from them, cut them in half, and slide over the bottom of the top arms. This gives additional strength for 4′ up on each of your top arms. For the bottoms, they are not needed since they hang down.
For wire to arm attachment, Max Gain has a neat idea that we implement and works perfect. Hose clamps are used with copper tubing crimped with a piece of air brake tubing inside. Once you put your wire through the tubing, it allows the wire to move in and out and allows the fiberglass arm to flex in wind and ice.
EI7BA is using and building his own version of a multi-band Spider quad and shows some good info for using separate feed method:
http://www.iol.ie/~bravo/Cubical%20Quad.htm
He also has some nice charts for his measurements of elements and explanations.
Shown below are stacked Qtenna Quads for added gain. Bottom antenna is fixed on Europe. Each antenna weighs about 43 pounds and very little wind load, but lots of gain.
About qtenna
Aug 30th
We are now selling Qtenna spider Quad hubs for $119.95 USD.
These are a boomless hub that allows full no-compromise operations on the following HF/VHF bands: 20M, 17M, 15M, 12M, 10M, and 6M.
Fully dressed out with 6 bands, these weigh about 43 pounds and have 3.6 SQ FT wind load.
So a small TV type tower and small rotor will handle these antennas.
Unlike Yagi’s, Quads are a full closed loop and don’t couple with the ground for losses.
So you can mount these antennas much lower than Yagi’s and get the same or better performance. Also with Quads (closed loops) they are very quiet in comparison to other antennas. Many have said these antennas “open and close the bands”.
Being a spider Quad, all bands are optimally spaced. For example, on 20M spacing is 9.5 ft and on 6M is 5 ft. Planetary Quads, and most type of yagis are compromised on the element spacing.
With our Quad design, you’ll see over 8db forward gain and 25 db front to back, which is on par with a full sized 3 element yagi. All this is built on a small easy to handle antenna.
Unlike Quads in the past that come down in high winds and northern climates, we design ours to withstand the elements. Our main proto-type has been up for 5 years inIndianawith 3/4″ ice and up to 85mph winds and held fine with little movement when other antennas came down.
I am sure once you start using Quads, you’ll too see the difference and wished you made the jump long ago.
We accept paypal and money orders. To contact: qtenna@gmail.com
Picture of Quad
Aug 30th
Shown above is my personal 5 band Qtenna Quad I’ve had up for 5 years in Indiana weather. Works and looks like a new one and breaks pileup’s on first call with 100 watts.
She’s low noise and lots of gain.
I have been a ham operator for over 30 years and just love the hobby.
Many times I have said this is more of a way of life than a hobby.
I simply love Quad antennas. They are quiet and hear more than other antennas.
Quads also work better at lower heights than do other types of antennas. Since they are a closed loop, they are not subject to ground losses in the same manor as would a yagi antenna.
Therefore a Quad at 40′ can match or beat performance of a yagi at a higher level.
My first Quad was a homebrew 4 element made from bamboo. This lasted till the first major thunderstorm.
Next a friend had fiberglass arms I picked up from him and rebuilt. Unfortunately, they were thin-walled and destroyed in first ice storm.
With all the failures, I was convinced a Quad could be built to hold up.
Qtenna Quads are designed with strength in mind with quality.
I hope you enjoy Quads as much as I do.
Steve Narducci W9SN