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write your own review of the MFJ-1728B 2M 5/8 Wave / 6M Mobile.
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KD8BQN
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 4, 2012 11:32
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Great Antenna!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I bought this to replace a jetstream antenna that had broken, I was looking for a reasonably priced 5/8 wave on 2m for my FT-2800M and boy have I found one! I have taken this antenna in winds over 100 mph (traveling 75 into a 30 mph headwind) and have had NO problems with it blowing over. It does bend back pretty far, but this doesn't seem to affect performance. It is flexible enough so that if you hit something (branch, drive through overhang, parking garage) the antenna either flexes or falls over, i've not had it bend permanently, just flex and spring back to vertical. LOVE this antenna!
5 rating because it has performed WONDERFULLY in rain, ice, snow, sleet, hail, extreme cold (~ 10 below F), heat (over 100 F) and seems to still give me a great signal!
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N1LQJ
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Rating: 1/5
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Oct 4, 2011 13:30
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Magnet is not strong enough
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Magnet was not strong enough to hold antenna on car at 80MPH, a normal HWY speed in my area. I took the antenna off and replaced it. I placed the antenna on the center of my steel car port. It has been blown off 4 times now!
Magnet is too dang small!
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KD0PBO
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 18, 2011 21:13
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Fantastic Mobile!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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The MFJ-1728B may be 40-someodd-inches tall and very ugly sitting on your car or truck but the truth of the matter is..IT WORKS and does it very well. The mag mount is strong and has held on my truck's roof up to 75mph (im sure it holds past that). Coax is a tad short if you have a bigger truck (think f-250 or 2500) but for a smaller pickup like mine or a car it is fine. Fantastic range for me running a 2m 60w TCVR. Range will vary from me depending on what kind of power you run but this antenna will surely handle most if not all standard mobile units on the market. Im not expecting this to last a terrible amount of time seeing that it was only $30 and the mount is made of plastic, but if i get a year or more out of it i will be satisfied enough to buy a another one. Like some other reviewers stated, FOR THE MONEY IT CANT BE BEAT!!
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N6DLH
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 15, 2011 18:31
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Good Antenna for the price
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Have had this for about 3 months, I can hit repeaters all around that I was not able to hit with a 1/4 wave. Overall I am very impressed.
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KB1TRY
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 28, 2011 16:56
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Best 30 bucks ever.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Had for a few months. I only run a Yaesu Ft 250 HT in the car. this antenna works awsome. on the trunk of our Toyota camry and Saturn LS2 it works great. 5 watts and getting into distant repeaters no problems. great antenna. no 6 meter here. If your going to run an HT mobile, get this one. best buy
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K6JFS
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Rating: 0/5
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Jan 28, 2011 08:26
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One year old junk
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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After one year I started getting loss of signal and noise. (High noise/static that the squelch would not remove.) I thought the coax was crimped/damaged so I replaced it. No dice.. When I unscrewed the antenna from the mag mount I was shocked to find it COMPLETELY CORRODED INSIDE. The thin metal strip/foil contact affixed to the antenna that touches the flat round contact of the mag mount has completely disintegrated. This is my first MFJ product ever purchased. It will guide future purchase decisions for sure.
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AE6ZW
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 2, 2010 23:21
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work fine in normal use.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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the antenna work well with normal use.
however with abused use, it is not as strong as Larsen antenna. after hitting tree brach driving 50 mph, brass ring insert of NMO ground connection came loose. similar Larsen ANT also strike tree brach at the same time did not break.
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W9GAS
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Rating: 0/5
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May 20, 2010 18:41
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Mighty Fine Junk
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Purchased at Dayton from MFJ booth Friday May 14. Connected it for the trip home on 15th. Could not hear anything on simplex or the home repeater when I got close. Took it apart and found the center conductor not touching the contact but had a nice blob of solder though. MIGHTY FINE JUNK.
Great 'no matter what' warranty: you pay to send it back and you pay for them to return it! Mighty Fine Junk, indeed!
MFJ should be considered the Wal-Mart of ham radio. Everything they sell is either China or Taiwan.
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AA5JG
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Rating: 5/5
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May 27, 2009 21:56
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A best buy!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This has to be the best $30 I have ever spent on a piece of equipment. I bought one of these almost 7 years ago, and have put 10,000 miles or so on it at highway speeds. It hasn't failed once. I have probably worked 30 states on so on 6m with it while on different trips. I just returned last night from a 1600 mile road trip using it from Oklahoma to Iowa and back and made quite a few nice 6m QSOs on it. Most people couldn't believe I was running 35 watts to a mobile whip. I have used it on 2m a little and it does fine there also.
If you want to go mobile on 6m just get this and enjoy!
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N4LI
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Rating: 4/5
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May 26, 2009 18:53
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Works as one expects...
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Buying MFJ is like buying a box of chocolates. As Mrs. Gump would say, “you never know what you’re gonna get.” But, with the 1728b, you’ll be happy.
Perhaps the antenna’s simplicity is the key to quality control – there are no springs, matching networks, or coils. It’s just a magnetic NMO mount and a stainless steel whip. If it were any less complicated, it wouldn’t be an antenna.
I just received my latest 1728b. It’s Summer, and I would like to have the ability to run 6m mobile. After completing the easy assembly, I put it on the analyzer, and was quite surprised. On 2m, SWR is acceptable. It dips a bit lower than one might want – around 142 MHz – but the SWR is tolerable throughout the band. But, on 6m, SWR was fabulous. Mine came in at 1.1:1 right in the 6m sweet spot for SSB, and was still OK on the FM call channel of 52.525. That’s pretty broad.
I haven’t had a chance to use the antenna on 6m yet. But, I have worked several stations who were using them. They apparently work as one would expect for a ¼ wave antenna. Physics, it seems, are physics. And, my previous 1728b worked well on 2m, though, I am unsure how much benefit it provides over a ¼ wave in the real world.
My main concerns and complaints about this antenna relate to the mag mount. The glue on my previous version broke down, rendering the mount useless. My brother had a similar issue. But, the antennas worked for quite a while, certainly long enough to justify the cost.
Need a basic 2m/6m antenna? This is a good choice.
Peter, N4LI
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