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Reviews For: MFJ 2289 Big Ears Portable Dipole

Category: Antennas: HF Portable (not mobile)

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Review Summary For : MFJ 2289 Big Ears Portable Dipole
Reviews: 18MSRP: 179.95
Description:
Portable Dipole, Big Ears, 8 Band, 7-55 mHz, 1 kw
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-2289
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
11183.5
VK6WB Rating: 2014-10-01
Exceptable for portable antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
G'day All
I have this antenna MFj-2289 for about 1 months,I install the antenna 3M above ground on telescopic pole.
SSB, CW and PSK31 performents was exceptable But you can not run lots of power on CW and data mode as VSWR
all over the place. I recomment not to run more then 15W on the CW and Digital modes.Plan to replace the
Current Balun to Ugly balun, or cormecial made balun your choice .the balun that comes with is look to me made by 6 years old kid
I replace The original coil to Wolf river silver bullet Mini Antenna coil far superior to the original coil.
thinking to order more telecospic whip for spare.

I give it score 4 of this antenna , as need bit biger the Bracket as well the balun need major update.
I don't think so this antenna run at 1KW. its bulldust. 73s
N5RWK Rating: 2014-09-20
Good Portable Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased an MFJ-2289 Big Ear antenna recently, as I needed a portable, multiband antenna that could handle 50+W output from my Hardrock-50 amp.

The antenna I received was defective; the feed point connector was not bolted on, and the wire wrapping the balun was loose.  Rather than return it, I elected to fix it by supplying the missing bolts from my junk box. I also replaced the SO239 feed connector with a BNC, and prior to soldering it on, I tightened the loose turns around the balun toroid. 

Other than these issues, the antenna seems to be well built.  It sets up quickly, and you can mark the proper telescoping lengths for each band.  I did not purchase the MFJ tripod, instead I am using a four section 16-foot Ettore painters pole I got at Lowes for $27.  The pole has a twist lock feature and the tip of the pole is plastic so it does not interfere with the Big Ear.

Today I got out the KX3 and worked Hungary, Tennessee and Iowa on 12W SSB from Central Texas, so the Big Ear seems to be working well.  

Changing bands is fairly quick, just untwist the pole sections to bring it down within reach, change the length of the telescoping whips and re-extend.  SWR is good on each band if tuned properly; in most cases it is well below 1.5.

So, I'm giving the Big Ear 4/5, the antenna performs well but I was not impressed with the unbolted feed point and loose balun winding (although these were easily fixed).
N6BOB Rating: 2014-08-30
Works Well! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I love this antenna for portable work. It works very well above 40 meters. On 40 m it tunes well but does not hear as well as a full sized antenna. On field day 2014 we used it mostly on 15 m with a low swr and could turn it to get best reception. If you can see the photo at the top of the reviews I included a small rope to keep the antenna pointed in the desired direction. The antenna tunes very quickly and covers the full SSB part of the bands. I use a tape measure to record the "correct length" and then in the future tuning is even quicker. The build quality is not up to Buddy Pole standards but MFJ has a good customer service so I'm not worried. Mine takes about 5 minutes from start to finish the setup.
The BP took me about 20 minutes to set up and this is much faster... changing bands takes about a minute or two to adjust and then you are good to go.
Bought a metal speaker stand from Musicians Friend and then used 30 inches of 1/2 inch pvc pipe in the top to mount the antenna. My antenna at the low point of the V is about 9 feet off the ground and the tips are about 15 ft up. You can see it in the photo above on FD.
W6GF Rating: 2014-08-30
Great antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This was one of my Field Day antennas. It worked great. Easy to tune, low SWR , and good construction. I had no problems putting it together or using it. I bought it with the mfj tower and mast. Both of these were ok too.

George w6GF
K5ADL Rating: 2014-08-30
Another piece of junk from MFJ Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the MFJ 2289 antenna and associated fiberglass mast for use as a temporary antenna at my QTH since I live in a HOA restricted community. First the mast: The knob on the mast used to secure the legs connects to a bolt through a fiberglass ring designed to tighten the legs to the mast. As I turned the knob by hand with only slight pressure, the threads in the fiberglass ring stripped so that the bolt no longer tightens the legs.

Secondly the antenna: The antenna consists of four pieces: two whips, a coil, and a mounting bracket for the whips. The sections of both whips included with the antenna I received were jammed together so tightly that several sections could not be extended despite hours of effort. As a result the whips could not be extended to full length rendering the antenna worthless. I discarded both whips in the trash and substituted accessory arms and whips from a Buddipole antenna I own so that I could get some use from an otherwise worthless antenna. Do not purchase this antenna or mast. There are other products on the market which might cost a little more but are not just pieces of poorly manufactured junk.
N3WOH Rating: 2014-05-16
The best high power portable antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This product is quite possibly the best high power portable antenna in the market at this price point. I finally have a 40 meter dipole that tunes in seconds , assembles in minutes and operates at high power. This dipole offers easy and reliable performance on 40 meters and every high frequency band above plus 6 meters . I do not have any reason to dismantle the coil as it is working perfectly . This is great product from MFJ at a very good price
KB9HHI Rating: 2014-03-29
Point of failure and collateral damage potential Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
When I saw this, I had to share it. Just took the Big Ears coil apart, which is the same coil used in the 2286, and in true MFJ fashion (though not on every product item) there are some corners that are cut and at least one major construction flaw that can cause collateral damage to your equipment when it fails. Under the shrink tubing at the base of the could you will find a ring made from a very flimsy (almost like heavy aluminum foil) metal. Here there is a glob of solder holding a hard stiff wire on the ring. When the long whip sways in the wind, the solder glob disconnects/breaks free of the ring due to forces placed upon the stiff wire as the coil sways even just slightly. As the coil experiences greater stresses the plastic, which became brittle over my last year of ownership began to break.
KK4OVW Rating: 2014-03-22
Excellent Antenna Purchase Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This a great product from MFJ. I bought it last summer and set it up in the back yard for a mini field day. I heard a person calling CQ on 20M and I responded and got a 59 signal report from Mexico City using 5 watts on a Yaesu 817 QRP rig. Answered another call in Slovenia and numerous stateside contacts. Just played Radio today outside and made many stateside contacts on 20 and 40 with 2.5 watts and Ukraine and Slovenia on 5 watts. Antenna is directional pointing the broadside in the direction of the QSO. I heard a fella call CQ and i responded and he couldn't hear me. I looked up his call sign QTH and pointed broadside towards Roanoke, Virginia and he gave me a 59 report on 2.5 Watts. I am extremely happy with this but be careful and not let the wind pull it down because it will ruin it. Just follow the directions and it will work great. Make sure all connections are tightened down.