|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
|
You can
write your own review of the MFJ-1786 Super Hi-Q Loop.
|
KB3KUR
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Jan 29, 2007 07:28
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Better than expected
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
I am quite new to HF, so take the review for what it is worth. I live in a first floor condo. The antenna was my attempt to communicate without an attic or roof. I have made contacts in Idaho and Texas from my NJ home. I was using a TS-2000 at 100 watts. I am sure that I can improve performance as I build experience.
The SWR is positional (when the antenna is next to a wall or ceiling). Sometimes I find it difficult to tune below 4:1. Other times the needle drops down to almost 1:1. Tuning is relatively easy, though I still struggle with the auto tune features.
I am not a fan of MFJ when it comes to support and service. That said, I am still getting decent performance from the antenna.
Lou
W0RWS
|
|
N5EAT
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Nov 22, 2006 16:49
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Very Happy
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I have had this antenna a bit over a week. In that time I've used it in both the horizontal and vertical modes. Each mode produces startingly different results. The good news is that it works very well and is easy to tune once you get into the habit. The loop is fairly directional in vertical mode. I have it presently mounted in the center of a spare upstairs bedroom and have no trouble tuning it in either polarization on any band. The bandwidth is extremely narrow (plus and minus 10 to 15 kc on 20 meters). However, the antenna provides adequate receive up and down the whole band. If you tune from the cw portion of the band up into the ssb portion all one needs to do is apply a bit of power and depress the "up" slow tune button until the swr drops. Same for going down the band. It only takes a few seconds to find the new match on the same band.
Signal reports are good and as others have reported - the noise level on receive is much less than with some of my other antennas. I have not opened mine up to see if there are "production" problems yet. This antenna works a bit better than I expected, and it's actually easier to use than I had thought based upon some reviews.
|
|
DL3MGG
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 20, 2006 01:35
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great antenna,but....
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
I have got my MFJ 1786 in Oktober 2005 and I can`t say anything bad about it. Together with a rotary, about 11 meters over ground I did quite nice contacts,the most of then in Europe (sun activity very low in this times). But than the problem occurs: After a warm autum day with a very cold night, the capacitor within the loop refused to turn on. So I took down the loop, opened the case, put out the motor with the gear, opened up the motor and realised that the copper coils burned away. I think the reason is: the grease inside the gear went hard because of the cold weather and as a result the motor blocked. I phoned the dealer and he told me, that he knows the problem, but it is no problem to order a new motor. So I´m waiting and waiting...
|
|
W7WJ
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Apr 7, 2006 21:40
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Xlnt limited space antenna
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I have used this antenna in two locations, one in Washington and the other in Southern CA. The WA QTH usually has an rf floor of S-9 with a lot of locally generated rf interference using a Cushcraft vertical. The vertical was replaced with the mag loop which was vertically mounted on a mast at 25'.
The CA QTH is an antenna restricted community. The loop is vertically mounted on top of the garage roof about 12' high. Across the street to the north about .2 miles away is a power plant. Distribution lines run just west of our complex. I routinely had noise levels 10-30 db over S-9 using a random wire antenna in the attic. Operating at this location was out of the question.
The loop antenna was situated in both locations for the lowest noise level using the null point off the side of the antenna. In WA I was able to get the typical noise floor down to S3-4. In CA I was able to get it down to S5-6. At both locations the improvement was significant. My subjective impression is that on 20 meters the antenna performs favorably with a dipole at 30'. From So. California I was 577 in Siberia running 5 watts on 20 meters. For the antenna restricted or noise impacted amateur, this antenna is an excellent solution.
If the antenna had not performed so well, I would have given a lower score for the quality control. When I receive the loop, the mounting holes were not lined up properly between the loop and protective cover. I had to partially remove the cover and enlarge one of the holes. Took less than 1/2 hour, but should not be necessary for a antenna costing almost $400. Overall, an excellent antenna, and although expensive, worth the price.
|
|
VR2LH
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Dec 30, 2004 01:03
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
What I Expected (so far....)
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Bought from local supplier three weeks ago. Immediately returned to shop with non working control panel. Supplier fixed the problem (minor internal power connection issue) so I can't complain about the supplier BUT where was the factory QA checking?
Very easy to erect, just bolt on & fix the PL259.
I'm new to HF in Asia & so far I found the biggest issue is hearing any activity to evaluate its performance! ie at 8pm last night I heard only 4 QSOs on 14mhz, 2 on 21 & zero on 28(I listened both with the loop & a random bit of wire 20m long & 5m high) so I'm still trying to learn how effective it is.
Its vertically mounted at 10m above the ground just above a concrete roof & I'm still working out the best 'beam' direction ie E-W? I will try horizontal later but would welcome any comments as to whether the horizontal fixing results in any nulls/blind spots.
I am curious how the Hong Kong sun will age it & how it fares in any typhoons next year.
In summary it SEEMS to work about the same as a dipole & is lightweight.
Incidentally from experience any antenna I put up at a new QTH I use for receive only for a few weeks; let the neighbours get used to it & me before any potential TVI arises! (I once put an antenna up in the UK & used it only for receiving for a while during which time I STILL had two complaints! I was accused of 'sucking up' all the TV signals...)
|
|
K5PAX
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 29, 2004 21:34
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Works well
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I've had this antenna on the air for over a year, and it has worked very well for me. I've worked DXCC, WAS (with a few endorsements) and am closing in on WAS-QRP. I've worked it successfully on all bands 30 meters thru 10 meters. I run barefoot, and stay well within the power limits of the loop.
I purchased a (barely) used MFJ-1782, the bare-bones version of the antenna. I have it mounted vertically on a short mast from a chimney mount, about 25 feet above the ground. I use an inexpensive TV rotator. For me the vertical mounting and the rotator make all the difference. I tried the horizontal mount, but found some dead spots in the anticipated omnidirectional pattern. I've tested the rotation, and can get at least a 2-3 dB difference on a signal with rotation. This is an advantage over a fixed wire dipole with the same bi-directional pattern.
Tuning is second nature for me -- I tune it by ear using the fast controls until I hear the noise generated by the tuning motors come up loudest. I then use the slow controls to peak the noise -- watching it also on the S-meter. I also use the auto-tuner on my rig to tune up. I've found that, in-spite of a theoretical 1:1 SWR, tuning can leave the resonant frequency a bit off. I use it with Yaesu rigs (FT-890, FT-840, and FT-920) and find that the auto-tuners have different tolerances for the tuned frequency. I need to tune most closely for the FT-920 to be able to tune it successfully.
While I work all modes (CW, phone, RTTY...) I am primarily a digital operator, and the loop works fabulously for these modes. PSK sub-bands fit well within the narrow passband, so once I tune the antenna, I can work the entire sub-band with my software without any additional tuning. Only signals on the very edge of the spectrum display will require me to make any adjustments.
The price for a new loop is a bit high -- I am glad that I was able to get a lightly used one for substantially less. Nevertheless, the loop does what it is supposed to do, and for small sites and low impact installations, there are few other antennas that are as effective.
|
|
G0KYA
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 18, 2004 07:26
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great Antenna - very small
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
I have had a Capco AMA loop for HF for some time so I was keen to compare the two. The MFJ 1786 works very well indeed. Fitted just ten feet above the ground it compared very favourably with a full sized loft-mounted indoor dipole system on all of its bands. It is always equal to or never more than one S-point down on the dipoles, although it performs better on 21MHz and higher. Compared with a two element MQ1 TGM minibeam mounted at 20 feet it is never more than two S points worse and is sometimes its equal. For something this small that is incredible. The loop is not cheap, but if you have very little space and only room for one HF antenna it comes highly recommended. It is better than the Capco as it has a welded low-loss butterfly capacitor. Don't expect it to outperform a 3 element tri-bander at 100ft though!
|
|
PH1L
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jun 19, 2004 03:21
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Another satisfied (dutch) customer
|
Time owned: 6 to 12 months
|
Great antenna: easy to use, clear signals, low interference and a good price.
Does everthing I need it to do. Keep up the good work.
|
|
KA2SHU
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Sep 6, 2003 00:22
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Where there is a will, there is a way
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I have used this loop for over 3 years now. Initially, when I installed in my attic, I did not get good results. It laid there for almost a year. I finally decided not to give up so I relocated it to a different area in the attic closer to the center of the house at a height of about 13 feet.. In that position, the SWR dropped and the radiated signal really increased! On the 20M band. it consistantly beats my 20M attic dipole by 2-3db. I have received terrific signal reports with it from over 40 states on 20M, 17M, and 15M. It works very well on 10M as well. You better get in the habit of calling CQ with it instead of trying for a quick tune up to make a contact. When properly tuned, this antenna is effective and you will get out. It could be one of MFJ's better products.
W4SHU
|
|
KF3KWO
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Aug 27, 2003 22:49
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Good but a few issues
|
Time owned: 6 to 12 months
|
I've used this antenna indoors and outdoors, originally with an HTX-10. Now I'm using it with a TS-520SE. I think this is a great antenna for the space it takes up (very little), but it's a bit on the pricey side. The well-known MFJ curse has not struck this antenna, as I've had no problems with it at all. Having to retune when you move a few KHz is a pain though. But, living in an HOA community, I have to trade convenience for stealth. I'm nervous about it being out in the rain (I always bring it in anyway) due to the plastic shell, even though the manual says it's OK.
Can't get it any higher than about 20 feet (2nd floor) off the ground behind my 3-story townhouse, so SWR isn't always the greatest, but is workable with an easy adjustment inside the plastic shell. Worked fine in my attic while I was on 10m only. Made my first 2 contacts on 20 recently with the antenna laying on the deck.
PROS: stealthy, works indoors and outdoors, good quality, good manual, versatile.
CONS: pricey, retuning every few KHz, bulky so not transportable very well, pricey (again).
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
