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I’ve just learned via Paul (N0CTF) that Gerry Thomas of Radiosplus passed away on June 19, 2020. Many of you are likely familiar with Gerry’s excellent antennas and accessories, especially the Quantum Loop series and Q-Stick.
Gerry was always very kind to work with and obviously a very talented engineer.
Performance of both was very nearly identical but for now the Q-Stick wins on price ($67.50 vs. $75.78 delivered) and the Q-Stick does both LW and MW.
But Gerry says he’s going to close RadioPlus early next year so-presumably-
that will leave just the RFL-200 and its REA-200 sibling.
The “200” no doubt comes from the length, 200mm or 8 inches…the Q-stick
uses a 7-3/4 inch ferrite bar which is probably why the similar performance.
There is one thing: the small tuning knob is not hard to turn on the RFL-200
as it was on the REA-200 tested earlier but a bigger knob would be nice.
But the tuning cap uses a 1/8th inch shaft so finding a larger knob is too
much bother, most are for 1/4 inch shafts.
By comparison the Q-Stick has a nice big knob and is quite easy to tune.
So for now the Q-Stick would be the better buy, but don’t tarry.
[One more note,] if you want the most bang for your buck, forget both of these, get
a PK Loop for $90.60 delivered (be sure to specify the 155-500 kHz model).