An alternative to the M2 6M7JHV antenna for 6m / 50MHz
by Chris G3WOS
If you would like to buy this antenna (LFA2 WOS Yagi)...
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May 2014: As of May 2014 I have, rather belatedly, replaced my original pair of LFAs with the 'H' part of the X-P antenna. These had been in my garden for 18 months so I thought it would be best to get them up! They are much lighter than the pair they replaced ( as you can read in another section of this web site) and I'm pleased to say that the SWR came down to 1.01 after only a short time spent adjusting the width of the loops.
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The lightweight X-P version (H- elements only)
The LFA2 antenna bay version with full elevation installed in December 2010.
The LFA2 original antenna stack version
installed in August 2010.
6M7JHV v. LFA2 stack: it looks good - doesn't it? Now, which is which I wonder?
The M2 6M7JHV is a 7-element high performance antenna that is used by many 6m (50MHz) DXers around the world for terrestrial and EME QSOs. Many hams stack the 6M7JHV and several use a box of 4 to create antenna gains of around 17dBd. It has truly been a one of the market leading antennas of the last decade.
I put mine up back in the dim and distant year of 1998 after interviewing
Mike Stahl, M2 founder, and Dave, N5JHV who
is now sadly silent key at Jimmy, W6JKV's BBQ in Austin, Texas. Mike specifically designed the 6M7JHV for Dave probably back in 1997.
A new design and concept of antenna holds the promise of better performance in a number of areas. These designs are the brainchild of Justin, G0KSC and are called Loop Fed Arrays (LFA).
Chris, G3WOS and Paul, G4CCZ have been using a stack of a pair M2 6M7JHV for many years and we felt the LFA design held so many promises that we felt it was time to try out G0KSC's ideas by commissioning a design that could be used to replace the 6M7JHVs at our QTHs.
This web site shows in detail how to build a alternative 6M7JHV antenna and we hope that 6m hams around the world will find its contents useful. There is an old adage that says "the more aluminium in the air, the better". This is certainly still true, but my new 2010 variation is "the more better-designed aluminium in the air, the better".
If you have any questions or comments, email us: