The TP-link antenna is held to its base by only some feeble glue.
I have now had 2 of them fail, by pulling loose from the base.
It MIGHT be possible to repair them, by taking the innards completely out of the tube,
straightening everything out, and carefully putting it back in the tube.
And using superglue.
The Lcom is much more rugged. The TP-link is less expensive.
But strangely the Lcom is a lot shorter than the TP-link, so how can it have the same gain?
Bob W8ERD
I haven't seen the insides of the two but a quick guess would be a simple colinear (tplink) vs a slotted waveguide(L-Com) meaning better accuracy and shaping of the signal.
I had one fail in the same manner. I didn't have to take it apart as the wind did that for me. I created a new mounting system from PVC pipe. It is much stronger. One piece of pipe goes half way up the antenna. Another houses the Bullet radio and it is that pipe that now mounts to the stand-off.
John
kf7nqw
I sent a complaint to their support dept which did nothing.
Best advice is DO NOT BUY TP-link antennas!
If you already have one that is not broken, wrap wide heat shrink tape around the base and shaft and heat it as norrnal. That may prevent the
antenna from coming apart. Do the same if it is just mildly broken, such as twisting in the base.
If it has come out of the base somewhat, glue it with superglue and tape it.
If it has broken off internally at the crimp point, replace the crimp shaft with a short length of braid, so you can solder it. Then as above.
If a lot of it has come out of the tube, remove the top cap (easily done, same poor glue as the base), and pull antenna completely out. You cannot push it back in from the bottom because that is like pushing on a rope. use a still wire to pull a nylon fish line thru the tube. Tie the fish line onto the top coil, and carefully pull the
antenna back thru the tube. Reattach the connector as above.
See the attached photo for how bad it can get.
Bob W8ERD
Stay away from cheapo TP-Link antennae. I had one that came apart from a mildly windy day. It amazes me that they still sell these pieces of crap.
Joe AE6XE