Create Log-Periodic 5130 IN

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JackTV

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I used to have one until it took a fall.
performance wise really good...VHF, UHF,Air,800mhz.
The one I had went from 50-1300mhz.Nicely made but a little expensive.
Make sure you use some GOOD quality cable like LMR 400.

Good Luck,
Jack
 

brandon

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The Create is a nice antenna but it's very expensive. If I had to do it again I would have probably tried the DPD Log before the Create. It's much cheaper in price and I hear it works very well.

Things I like about the Create
  • Very good UHF performance... allowed me to hear some LAPD stations I could not get before.
  • Airband blew me away... I can dig out ATIS transmissions for Palm Springs (weak), Ontario (strong), Chino (strong), John Wayne (weak), Lancaster (weak), Burbank (medium) and occasionally LAX (weak). I can hear airliners on the ground at Ontario usually with full bars and I am 40 miles away and late at night I can hear LAX ground on 121.750 (weak but readable).
  • 800 MHz is good but really reminds you about the antenna being directional when it's not aimed in the right direction. If you live near cellular transmitters make sure your scanner has an ATT otherwise it may overload (like it does when your driving through downtown).
  • I've had some good results on VHF but also some worse than expected results. My biggest problem is terrain which seems to do some wierd stuff on VHF, so my performance could very easily by messed up by that.
  • VHF-lo isn't anything to write home about but I wasn't expecting miracles down there...plus I got the 108-1300 model. The local CHP offices all come in at full bars so it suits me just well.
  • Being directional you can null out signals which is pretty cool for DX'ing. For example I've been able to hear 2 separate NOAA WX stations on the same freq (162.400). With the antenna pointed northwest I was hearing KIH34 out of Santa Barbara....Swung the antenna south and could hear my usual San Diego station KEC62. If you want I will post a .wav file and you can hear the 2 stations take over when I move the antenna. Of course the tropo was good for me to pick up Santa Barbara but it was a good test at seeing how a directional antenna can be used to elimate stuff.
Things I don't like about it....
  • Having a directional antenna can be a pain sometimes.
  • The price is very high.
  • It will overload GRE scanners (at least the PRO-93 and PRO-2096), so keep that in mind.
  • Your neighbors might have a heart attack when you put it up. I know mine did... :roll:
  • Wasn't the easist to assemble.
Hope this helps answer your question.
 
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tonsoffun

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Hey Brandon,
Are you talking about the VHF 118-175 MHz Scanner LP Gain Antenna from DPD Productions?
Take care
 

MacombMonitor

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I have DPD's UHF Miltenna LP. It works great, and is made very well, and should last a very long time, regardless of the weather.
 

trimmerj

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I got mine w/o the instruction manual and the was a coil with ring terminals included. I never knew where it was supposed to go and never installed it
 

GrayWolfSA58

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trimmerj said:
Works well, but not the mindblowing preformance I was expecting for the price. Can you get the Beam any higher up ?
beam is 45ft ,,,, it's not working for #@*%
 

DPD1

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I've actually been working on a wide band LP. Not sure when it will be done yet... Probably not for a while. Covering such a wide chunk of spectrum is a challenge, and if VHF civi, 225-400, or whatever individual band is your game, then the dedicated LPs are still the way to go, since they are more focused... But there's probably a need for a basic wideband model. I'm leaning towards 118 to 1000 at this point. Personally, I think trying to include the low band and ultra high stuff is a waste of space. Those two bands deserve their own antenna to really work right. Past 1000 MHz is really pointless, since you're only adding one or two little elements to include that, and that high area is so directional, you need a lot more then that to make a dent. Extending the range to include low band would help that area a bit, but it still wouldn't be as good as a dedicated vertical... And then you're also having to beef up the whole design structurally, just to accommodate the stress and torque that will be happening from including those bigger elements. I would rather exclude those two things and use the space for more elements to bump up the gain between 118 and 1000 MHz. To me that makes more sense. So we're probably going to be breaking away from the 25-1300 tradition... I never understood where that got started anyway. :)

Dave
http://www.dpdproductions.com
- Custom Scanner, MURS, GMRS, & Ham Antennas -
 

JackTV

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I have one of Daves LPA antennas. Like I have stated before this is a real nice antenna.Performance wise it is just as good as the Create UHF air wise. I am located in a bit of a valley or a hole with alot of trees and this antenna kicks butt!!!You do loose a bit on VHF air but remember this antenna is tuned for 225-400mhz.

Dave, keep us updated on your new LPA you are working on.I love new antennas!!!


Jack
 

DPD1

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The Mil LP mainly shoots for doing 225-400 well. It does get VHF OK, but not as well as a dedicated VHF antenna will. We also have the VHF LP, but those are out at the moment. And third, we have a VHF Air Band vertical, and also the combo Mil VHF/UHF Omni. Those are less gain then the LPs though.

Dave
http://www.dpdproductions.com
- Custom Scanner, MURS, GMRS, & Ham Antennas -
 

TeRayCodA

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So,I would think that the rail road LP would probably have more of an "edge" on the 136-150Mhz AM air band?(since it is a little closer to that band)
Also,I'm about 40 miles southeast of the ANG base(Tulsa Int'l)KTUL,and would be mounting it up 40 ft in the air,mostly flat terrain.
Do you think I could pick up the aircraft on the ground,or is that a little too far?
 

DPD1

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Yes, the TTLP would be closer, since it's basically VHF. The VHF LP would be best, but I'm not sure when we will have more of those ready.

40 miles is probably out of range for ground transmissions no matter what. Unless you had some sort of high ground advantage or something, but even then it would be pushing it. I've heard them that far away, but it was from 8000' and LOS.

Farthest 'confirmed' transmission I've ever had was from 8000' LOS to the North towards Vegas... It was a tanker giving posit of 35 miles NE of Beatty on the Nellis range. Which was more then 325 miles from my location. But that's confirmed... I've probably heard farther and didn't know it.

Dave
http://www.dpdproductions.com
- Custom Scanner, MURS, GMRS, & Ham Antennas -
 

TeRayCodA

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Actually dave;
I'm more interested in picking up the tower coms.I wonder if any of those would work.Also,are those LPDA's using a balun,or,are they just "wired" into the boom?
Maybe the "scanner"type LPDA may work better for commercial aircraft/tower coms?
Do you make one for 118-136Mhz?
Thanks
 
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DPD1

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The VHF LP covers that, but as I said, those are out right now. The new multi band one will cover it too, but I don't know when those will be ready.

Tower... Ground... Same thing really. 40 miles is asking a lot, unless you have a pretty good altitude advantage on your end. And that would probably have to be in thousands of feet, not just hundreds.

There's no balun needed due to it being receive only, and no mismatch anywhere. A balun could actually lower signals a little.

Dave
http://www.dpdproductions.com
- Custom Scanner, MURS, GMRS, & Ham Antennas -
 

prcguy

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Have you looked at the KMA log antennas? I accidentally dropped a KMA4113 (41 to 1300MHZ) off the roof and it survived just fine, a Create would have been in lots of pieces. I also have a KMA Rover vertically polarized and am very pleased with it. The KMAs are priced much lower than the Create also.
prcguy
 
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