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Reviews For: Chameleon MPAS

Category: Antennas: HF Portable (not mobile)

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Review Summary For : Chameleon MPAS
Reviews: 6MSRP: $330.00
Description:
he Modular Portable Antenna System is a concept allowing the radio operator to configure and deploy the antenna system in a variety of configurations. Some of the possible deployment configurations:

• Vertical
• Horizontal
• Sloper
• Inverted “V”
• Inverted “L”
• NVIS
• Balcony
• Vehicle (Stationary)
• Man-Pack
Product is in production
More Info: http://chameleonantenna.com/CHA%20MPAS/CHA%20MPAS.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0064.7
K4SHP Rating: 2022-04-24
SIMPLY AWESOME!!! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
FIRST I must say that I have only used the vertical antenna in this kit. It works VERY, VERY well! I have used it for quite a few POTA activations and without a tuner it has worked on every band between 10 & 40 meters without a tuner. I have only used it QRP but still make contacts all over the globe. If you are serious about being portable and need something quick to set up and get on the air this is it!
W8BYH Rating: 2018-01-18
A Great Antenna System That Really Does Live Up To The Hype Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned the MPAS system for over a year now, but I didn't buy the entire system in one shot. I built it component by component as my needs changed. I like this so well that I've off-loaded a Buddipole Buddistick setup and will likely also sell my Wolf River coils. It's that good. Yes, you need a tuner on most portions of most bands, but the antenna (with the proper counterpoises) is resident enough across all bands that modern tuners will have little trouble finding a match. The system I put together includes the ChaMil Whip Extension and four home made 60' counterpoises.

All components except the vertical antenna sections fit nicely in an ammo box or a backpack and the setup gives you incredible flexibility.

I've used it as a vertical, an end-fed and an NVIS. I keep planning to try an 'inverted-L' setup but just never seem to get around to it.

Are there any negatives? No, not really but there are some of what I'll call misconceptions. First, this thing is not 'milspec'. I did 23 years in the Army and I know what milspec is, and these antenna components are not quite there - particularly the vertical elements. But they are exceptionally well built. Next, the matching transformer is not waterproof - it's not something you can plan to leave up year round. Would I leave it out in the rain? Yes, for short periods, but I wouldn't put it up and expect it to last through four seasons. If you need guaranteed water resistance check out several of Chameleon's other products like their EMCOMM antenna, which is advertised as being waterproof.

To wrap this up, from a performance perspective this system really is as good as the fanboys say it is. I give it the highest praise I give any of my gear that performs as I expect: "It just works".

W8BYH
VE3IPS Rating: 2018-01-18
Excellent Antenna Kit Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is avery well built antenna kit (milspec) that offers many different configurations from NVIS to DX capabilities. I frequently make NVIS contacts using 10 watts with 5x9 reports. I have also used it for SOTA with great success. You can choose what bits and pices you wish to use depending if you are picnic table operating, backpack or fixed mobile. Do not use this while driving around as I doubt its intended for that.

I have also used it with other brands components (MFJ 10 foot whip, AT-271 antenna) with great results.

You do need a tuner!

I can be up and running in a few minutes regardless of the configuration I want to use.

This stuff works and no worries about something falling apart.

KK8ZZ Rating: 2017-09-19
Performs well ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Like the KD2XXX gentleman before me, I've found this multi-band multi-setup antenna to be reasonable in price (if you're REALLY going out in the boondocks) and can be arranged in quite a number of different configurations to be operate in several bands under various conditions. If this sounds cryptic, check their website for the multiple configurations that this antenna is capable of... I admit to being an "early adopter" of some ham gear, so perhaps I'm still an early adapter of this one too, but I'd say that I am very impressed with the quality of construction and the web site details that the maker provides. I'm a deep wilderness operator, so if it does not meet its reviews/specifications I'll certainly let you know based on "on the ground" setups.....
KD2LXQ Rating: 2017-07-23
Exceeded my expectations. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Chameleon Antenna Review, Paul Brown AC2UQ, July 2017

Below is my experience with the Chameleon Antenna MPAS portable antenna system in July of 2017.

I purchased the following.

1. Chameleon MPAS CHA HYBRID - Micro with CHAMIL whip and Dipole Jaw Mount;

2. Chameleon MIL EXT WHIP;

3. Counterpoises Kit;

4 . Chameleon Spike Mount;

The Chameleon antenna is the heart of my first HF portable rig that I have been planning (and saving) for during the last several months.

I am using the antenna package with a Yaesu 857D and LDG Z-100 Automatic Tuner. Power is supplied by a Bioenno Power LiFePO4 1215A lithium-iron-phosphate battery the heaviest piece of equipment I have to carry (4.2 lbs, however has provided over 13 hours of power with about 20% tx duty cycle).

Since I am relatively new to Amateur Radio (Tech-September 2016; General December 2016 and Extra in January 2017) you might understand why this septuagenarian (born 1942) was somewhat trepidatious about proceeding with a portable HF unit that I could use when ‘walking in the woods’ and using many of the trails in and high spots in our local hills and mountains.

Prior to purchasing the Chameleon antenna package I consulted their website site, benefitted from replies to my emails directly from Carl, the owner, and watched dozens of YouTube videos. I was particularly impressed and ‘sold’ by those of ‘Survivor Tech Nord’…his clear explanations, gentle manner and tough field tests convinced me to invest with Chameleon.

I fit everything I needed (plus a sandwich and water) into a 20 year old TUMI travel and laptop bag.

On my first day of portable operation when I was still learning how to assemble everything and worried less about optimal conditions I was able to quickly tune-up on 80, 40 and 20 meters.

I made several U.S. and Canadian contacts over 1000 miles and the best part of the day was a confirmed contact with a chap in Italy. I was only using 100 watts of power and received good reports (5/5 to 5/9 in North America a 4/5 from Italy he was a 59+ here in upstate New York)

N7EJP Rating: 2017-07-10
Awesome Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the antenna along with the Spike Mount and the Mil Whip Ext. My first deployment took about 5 minutes to set up in the Mt Hood National Forest area. Even with relatively poor band conditions, we were able to start receiving on my FT-991A within moments. Signal reports were excellent. I will most definitely be taking this antenna out in the forest a great deal more. It is simple, intuitive and extremely versatile. With the internal tuner of the FT-991A, I'm confident we can reach all the entities we will need to.