Half-size, but same performance possible?

Well, here's a few pics of the new HSL Yagi people have been asking about (stands for Half-Size, Loaded).

Since first showing it up at the Partridge Fest, and having guys there use it in the Telemetry Foxhunt, we've been getting a lot of messages here wondering when it will be available.

The answer is: in September. It's completely compatible for existing Customers with Stealth or Field Marshall receivers. Remove two screws, plug in the new coax cable and immediately reduce the size & weight of your receiver!

And, it'll also be an optional upgrade, from September forward, for those getting new receivers. Price yet to be determined.


http://i883.photobucket.com/albums/a...newantenna.jpg

Here we see Alan Harvey of South Africa, out in the field with his 216 Field Marshall retrofitted with an HSL Yagi.


http://i883.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/_MG_8804.jpg

Closeup of the new Beta Match assembly on the driven element, at bottom. It's smaller, much more durable for field use. The current Gamma match design, which almost all directional yagis are normally designed with, is shown above for comparison.


http://i883.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/_MG_8900.jpg

Dave Knutson, expressing his feelings after holding, playing with and using the new HSL Yagi.


You can see a few more images by going the the Marshall Radio FaceBook Page.

RB

looks nice....but around these parts(suburban Maryland) it's looks ALOT like a gun. i can guarantee without a doubt that if i were to use one of those receivers i would get a visit from local law enforcement. i have had this happen with an MN-10, i know it would happen with one of these....

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Originally Posted by GONEHAWKN

looks nice....but around these parts(suburban Maryland) it's looks ALOT like a gun. i can guarantee without a doubt that if i were to use one of those receivers i would get a visit from local law enforcement. i have had this happen with an MN-10, i know it would happen with one of these....

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You have a point.

So for those who are hawking in Industrial Parks or other busy areas, we've made the handle detachable, so in an instant you can just be holding the receiver case without the pistol grip just like in the first image shown, so it doesn't look like a gun or weapon anymore.

Unless you've found that it's the three-element yagi, combined with running around, sweeping in all directions, pointing at bushes and power poles, that causes the suspicion?

RB

RB

Robert

It looks great.

I am thinking very hard about adding one to my gear this season.

Keep up the great work!

yeah, i have not ran into any issues in a few years( i may have just jinxed myself) but i have also been using a Tracker Maxima unit in those years. BUT i am a die hard fan of your transmitters.....

Robert

So the HSL does have the same performance as standard Yagi ? That would be great.

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Originally Posted by rrcoati

Robert

So the HSL does have the same performance as standard Yagi ? That would be great.

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Yes, indeed.

Same as the existing Marshall Radio standard Yagi, that is, which is already slightly above the common standard out there even though it can mechanically be reduced to half it's fully open size (fully collapsible).

So now, the fully open size as the starting point is smaller still, reducing it by half again.

Yet with the same performance as the full size version. That was achievement, that was the goal all along.

The HSL Yagi antenna is now in production and available as the standard option for the Field Marshall 800 receiver on the American Falconry Section of the Marshall Radio Website.

We'll have a few with us at the NAFA Meet, and they'll then be more widely available to the rest of the world soon after that. The HSL will be a $100 upgrade option for those buying the FM100 receiver starting in December. They'll also be added to the Accessories page as an upgrade item for existing customers, at $225.

Also, there's an Interview posted here, about the HSL Yagi and it's development, that some might find interesting.

Anyway, that's the news for now.

RB

I have been using one of these little guys for about a month now and have a couple of observations from my usage

1. So far just as much range as the full size antenna and equal the sensitivity - I got a lot of gyr tracking practice this season
2. Works much better in the truck - don't have to worry about poking an eye out. This is especially helpful when the gry has turned on the afterburners and it is -10 degrees out
3. Great to use from an airplane - Had a pickle this season and needed to get in a plane FAST - didn't have time to rig up and external mounting system for the antenna which would have been difficult in the retractable gear low wing plane we had available short notice. This was small enough to get good directionality in the cabin.

I really encourage anyone thinking about one of these to upgrade plus you will have your old antenna as a back up. I am thinking about turning mine into an easily airplane attachable antenna and have a kit already to go on short notice.

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Originally Posted by GONEHAWKN

looks nice....but around these parts(suburban Maryland) it's looks ALOT like a gun. i can guarantee without a doubt that if i were to use one of those receivers i would get a visit from local law enforcement. i have had this happen with an MN-10, i know it would happen with one of these....

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Just curious. What would you have them make it look like?

In addition to the 216-219 HSL Yagi that's now in production and available in the US, there's now a version finalized for 173 (used in the UK and Australia) and even the venerable 151.

The 151 is going to be an interesting creation because it will end up being the same size as our regular 216 Yagi.

Remember how falconers slowly, and I'd say reluctantly, moved away from the 151 frequency in the late 70's and early 80's when the smaller 216 telemetry option came along as a much more portable size. But they were reluctant because the 216 was also more "line-of-sight" in its behavior, whereas the 151 "hugs the ground" and diffracts around objects which made it such a great performer in hilly terrain. Falconers using the 151 equipment always maintained that it performed better than their new 216 stuff.

So, now that the 151 yagis can be reduced to a reasonable size for the first time, while maintaining the same performance, and if we made versions of our transmitters down in the 151 band to match, I wonder how many falconers would be interested in switching back?

Just a thought.

As it is, we're going ahead and producing these for the Hound and Pointer people around the world, as we already make the dog tracking collars down in these lower bands.

RB

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Originally Posted by wingnut

Just curious. What would you have them make it look like?

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for lack of other designs, something along the lines of the Tracker would be a good start.

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Originally Posted by GONEHAWKN

for lack of other designs, something along the lines of the Tracker would be a good start.

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Yes, ever smaller is the ongoing goal for a great single piece field receiver design. Hence these new HSL Yagi efforts.

So far, we have actively resisted giving up the superior performance of the three-element yagi, just to get smaller.

However, you might note that the Field Marshall with the HSL Yagi installed is now essentially the same length as a Tracker, which is made in Finland, and only 50% wider. And that's including the full-performance three-element yagi there as part of the overall package, so you don't have to then plug in some secondary full-size yagi to make it work beyond shortwinger ranges. If that's what was required, then you're right back to the old days, carrying around a two piece set-up with a huge yagi connected by a long coax. Both hands full again.

Instead, with the Field Marshall design you get the best performance possible right there with you in that new small package, at all times.

And, best of all, you can use it with the pistol grip attached to the Center of Gravity (like most people love to do, out the car window, on long walks. etc.), or you can remove the handle and hold it just like the Tracker design, so it looks nothing like a weapon. You could say we're "pro-choice" in that regard.

(that's our current thinking anyway, as a partial reply)

RB

I had done some comparative testing of the new Marshall Radio half-size loaded yagi. Jim Robison and I have the FM4000 receivers.
My receiver has the smaller half-size, loaded (HSL) Yagi and his has the older full size larger yagi.
I couldn't see any difference between the two as far as the reception, just that the yagi was so much smaller than the other.
When tracking a bird it is so nice not to have to open and close the antenna every time you get in or out of the car. Also because of the small size, it fits in one's hawking bag or vest.

Way to go.... Marshall Radio..... always one step ahead.

indeed i think by the time i am ready for a new receiver, Marshall will be a vendor i give a hard look at.

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Originally Posted by RLBagley

So, now that the 151 yagis can be reduced to a reasonable size for the first time, while maintaining the same performance, and if we made versions of our transmitters down in the 151 band to match, I wonder how many falconers would be interested in switching back?

Just a thought.

As it is, we're going ahead and producing these for the Hound and Pointer people around the world, as we already make the dog tracking collars down in these lower bands.

RB

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Hi Robert,

I'm not saying I would switch; I didn't throw my 216 stuff away when I bought 433 gear, but if you could make the antennas on 151 transmitters short, and still retain good output, and produce the Field Marshall in 151 with the center loaded antenna, I would probably buy a receiver and at least one transmitter in 151.

It's nice to have options, depending on the terrain. Since I fly with two transmitters anyway, I might use one 433, so I can carry the smallest receiver/antenna combo with me in the field, and also use a 151 transmitter and leave the receiver in the truck for use if the bird gets off into terrain where the longer wavelength would be advantageous. If a bird was off where I couldn't get a signal with the 433, I'd need to get to the truck anyway.

If I was still running hounds on bear, the 151 would be the obvious choice.

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Originally Posted by GONEHAWKN

looks nice....but around these parts(suburban Maryland) it's looks ALOT like a gun. i can guarantee without a doubt that if i were to use one of those receivers i would get a visit from local law enforcement. i have had this happen with an MN-10, i know it would happen with one of these....

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Bill, if I could jump in here for a second, I may be able to offer some advice that could help manage the possibility you've mentioned.
If one were to wrap a piece of brightly colored tape around the body of the receiver, it would go a long way towards easing suspicions of the falconer's intent. Very few guns have fluorescent colors.
I tend to not use my pistol grip. Not because I have the problem you mentioned above (I'm in Japan, which means NO GUNS anyway) but rather, I just find it more comfortable and convenient to hold the receiver in the palm of my hand.

I also believe in being pro-active, perhaps a visit to your local law enforcement office to show them your telemetry could save some headaches.
For that matter, I think if enough folks asked, Marshall may offer a receiver wrap or a paint scheme in a bring color. But $1 of yellow tape would work just as well.

The Tracker Maxima, though small, and decidedly un-gunlike (see that, I just made up my own word) has nowhere near the performance of the new FM receivers.

I hope this helps.

Justin

Thanks for the input Justin. Definitely some things to think about. But at this point i have been using my Maxima for 3 season or so and love it. For what i do, mostly shortwinging(except with the Merlin) the Maxima does great and i have not a single complaint about it. In the event it fails, i will go to my back up MN-10. When both of these take a crap on me, i will look a little closer at Marshall's line up. Until then, i am just providing some input on things that have happened to me in the field.

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Originally Posted by GONEHAWKN

looks nice....but around these parts(suburban Maryland) it's looks ALOT like a gun. i can guarantee without a doubt that if i were to use one of those receivers i would get a visit from local law enforcement. i have had this happen with an MN-10, i know it would happen with one of these....

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it's our constitutional right to bear receivers:D

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Originally Posted by bgibson

it's our constitutional right to bear receivers:D

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THATS A FACT!! but man i hate having my hawkin' interrupted by the boys in blue!!;)