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| Reviews Summary for ATX Walkabout Portable Antenna |
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Reviews: 26
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Average rating: 3.6/5
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MSRP: $59.99 British Pounds
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Description: A portable telescopic antenna covering 80-6M
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Product is in production.
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More info: http://www.wsplc.com
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write your own review of the ATX Walkabout Portable Antenna.
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SV1JRF
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 19, 2011 06:43
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Excellent little antenna!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I purchased this antenna after a fellow Radio amateur operator gave it to me for a test. He told me that it will tune everywhere with no efford and also that i do not need a counterpoise. I could not believe him till i started testing it. I placed the antenna at the rear of the FT-817 with a 90 degree adaptor. 10m first, i placed the little cable at the apropriate holes of the center coil and voila! The swr meter of the 817 showed 2 bar of swr. I lowered the vertical element a little bit and no swr at all! the same thing happened with all the other bands! even in 17m and 12 meter bands. No swr indication on the swr meter of the 817. I also made qso's using 5 watts all around Europe and Russia, Israel and Japan(which really amazed me because i was heard from the JA station through pille up). And all these with only 5watts. Off course we all know that the propagation goes up so this hepled alot. After that i tried to increase the antenna efficiency. What i did about that, i used a tuned counterpoise which worked great.
Amazing antenna for all that like qrp qso's. At the past i was using several antennas at my qth with 500watts power but believe me there is nothing like doing a qso with only 5watts even if it is in my neighborhood(meaning Europe).
I recommend this little antenna, and also i recommend using counterpoises for increased antenna efficiency, it will help alot!
Thank you very much,
73 de SV1JRF
George
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SV2HTC
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 2, 2011 11:42
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very good
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Maybe the performance is not that of a full size antenna, but before purchasing I already knew that and for its price and size I evaluated that 4/5 is OK. It cooperates with my Yaesu 817 mostly in CW mode. Maybe a portable dipole would do better but this is very light and won't need a tuner for different bands. It surely needs counterpoise and as I 've seen on web, I use a metallic measuring tape about max length of 8 meters. Using the mathematical type on the brochure you calculate the counterpoise's length and in 2 min you are set. It was Ok for my cw qsos and for all my HF-SOTA activations. 73 to all
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M0JHA
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 7, 2010 12:56
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it works
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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i was given this antenna to try and it sat for 12 months as i couldn't tune it with the using the 1/4 wave counterpoise at lowest freq method i was told to use. didn't work on my car on any band except 10m 2m.
i then decided to spend a few hours and tame this beast.. i won't go into it here but my website has a page on it www.m0jha.com
does it work? yes i can set it up anywhere with repeatable swr results. RX seems very good indeed ,on par if not better than other more expensive portable qrp antennas.
The little time i have had to use it with it being winter has been very promising with contacts easily made into europe on 20m. 40 as expected is a little harder but still managed contacts with ease.. 80m not tried as i dont really do 80m so it working or not on that band doesn't matter to me.
i think the antenna is well worth the money and if second hand you cant grumble. initial tuning can be a pain but once done this antenna takes minutes to set up and it works..
this one is a keeper . I no longer think the atx is a waste of time and money . check out my web page for an easy way to cut the counterpoise so just one needs taking out with you.
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G0LGB
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 16, 2008 08:23
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Excellent!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Well I got back into radio a few months back after a gap of many years, I bought myself a little FT-817 (a cracking qrp rig)& I read the reviews I bought one of these ATX telescopic whips from a local dealer...(from his comments & price paid F5NZY seems to be confusing it with the Miracle whip??).
£45 for an all band antenna seemed too good to be true but after reading assorted reviews i thought I'd give one a go.
It's unlikely to last very long mobile,its not meant to,so I parked up on my way home, connected it to my mag-mount on the car roof, tuned the rig to 10m fm, dropped the power,plugged the little wander lead into the correct holes, put out a carrier & adjusted the length, as per instructions & watched the swr...sure enough within an inch or two of the recommended length the swr dropped to zero. This procedure only took about a minute or so.
Tuned up the band & found a HB9 station just winding up a qso..I waited a min then gave him a call...5&9 he replied...I was pleasantly surprised , then I noticed i hadn't changed the power setting...I had just worked him on 2.5 watts not the full mighty 5! That's approx 1,000kms!
I changed bands/modes to 20m ssb, again the antenna tuned in very easily, I put out a call or two & got a Dutch station again fine report...
Then i started getting "broken" reception & the swr kept shooting up, the 817 flashing the dreaded HIGH VSWR warning..I wiggled the antenna about slightly & discovered the problem...& to me the only fault with this antenna...the supplied adaptors.
Throw them away & buy some decent ones, they really are lousy very lightweight items.
It seems the centre pin on the 3/82 to PL259 adaptor had been damaged by the small amount of breeze, as the antenna bent slightly, it broke the centre pin so every sway disconnected the antenna.
So back to the shop, £4.50 spent on a quality adaptor & I was back on the air again.
In a couple of hours i had got a wide & varied selection of stations from 80m up to a local 6m repeater, all good reports & the antenna performed flawlessly!
Back home, due to space & neighbours (& no garden!) I have nowhere for a decent outside antenna so it was "stealth mode" time...this involved sticking the ATX back into the mag-mount..this time in my attic(to try to reduce rf in the "shack")...ok not the best location for an HF antenna...but you have to make do with what you have...I use an MFJ931 artificial earth to balance the antenna against a tunable counterpoise...& again I cannot fault this antenna!
In the last couple of months I have got into psk & all the other digital modes with great success with this antenna from my attic...43 countries, all over Europe,averaging around 1500kms but getting as far as 5,000kms at times.
(although last time i was on air we were at sunspot max...this minimum business isn't fun is it?)
I've recently put a small end fed zepp outside, purely as it was such a chore to change bands with it in my attic, so I only use it portable now, but it has had lots of use, works well & i'd recommend them to anyone...just remember spend a little more & buy some decent adaptors & you should be very happy with this little antenna.
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M3OCH
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 21, 2007 06:26
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excellent
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Time owned: months
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Just bought an ATX Mk 2 to go with my Yaesu 817ND
Great little antenna works well with counterpoise no probs £49 great value for the money been into europe from the uk several times today! easy to operate and set up.............if you have an 817 try one of these you will not be dissapointed!
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F5NZY
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Rating: 1/5
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Feb 17, 2007 08:54
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No miracle...
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I took this antenna with my FT-817ND. I paid it 150 euros in France, and it is a bad investment.
This antenna could be use, pedestrian mobile, for RX, but It works vy bad for TX.
I ordered a 12m fiberglass pole, from Spiderbeam.
I will use it as a support for a center fed, an inverted L or a vertical LW. I am sure it will be far better.
Anyway, no miracle.
73,
Steph, F5NZY
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OE3SGU
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Rating: 3/5
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Oct 15, 2006 11:46
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Ok but not great
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The ATX is good built and quite flexible when it comes to connect it to the rig. Either 3/8", PL or BNC connectors are delivered with it which allows it to use it with several rigs. The antenna is very compact in transport and the optional powerport transport bags are a nice addition. Now the bad thing: The fact that you need a counterpoise makes it less flexible (in my opinion) for using it during travelling and for "beddesk operation". I prefer the miracle whip because its easier to tune and just as compact (but more expensive).
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G0DJE
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 20, 2006 03:48
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Very Good Compromise
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Was great for me while I was without a base installation for HF for several months.
Having worked New York state - SSB - at the kitchen table with my '817 and 5watts and rag chewed on 80M from my study desk, also '817 and 5 watts, I have to give this a "5".
Like all things in life there are puts and takes. It took me 2 hours to get the counterpoise and whip adjustments for each band, but they did all work, SSB and CW, on a repeatable basis.
Only comment would be - don't bother with the BNC...get PL-259. And remember to support the radio as it can easily fall over with the antenna attached!!
I sold mine to part fund a power supply and some wire for a base station dipole, but I'd certainly buy another.
Steve
G0 DJE
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OZ1LQO
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 29, 2005 01:47
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So far so good
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I got the antenna as a cheap, easy to store/pack, qrp/p antenna to be used on hikes in southern France in a couple of weeks and the only reason why I don't rate this antenna a clean 5/5, is because I've only used it one time so far.
I brought my 703, the antenna, and a single radial cut for the 20m band (as described in the single page manual) on a days hike in the local hills, set up the station at an open location and immidiately worked a russian station some 3200km away. Not bad with some 5watts output :)
I'll be back with further comments after my trip to France and hopefully I'll be able to upgrade my rating to the 5/5.
best 73 and have a great summer out there
Soren
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AC7WL
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 2, 2005 22:39
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Great for portable operation!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Picked mine up about 4 months ago and a great little antenna when you are on the go. Without a counterpoise it works great on receive, shortwave listening as well. I put together a camera tripod stand as well as some radials. Tuning this with my Z-11 to take out the "slack" gives me a decent performer for the field. Working 40 meters with such a small antenna can be a bear, forget 75/80. Working anything 20 or above is fine, and I get decent reports. Not a bad investment and complements my Yo Yo Tenna deluxe quite well.
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