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Reviews For: Super Antennas MP-1 Portable Antenna

Category: Antennas: HF Portable (not mobile)

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Review Summary For : Super Antennas MP-1 Portable Antenna
Reviews: 155MSRP: 150.
Description:
Covers 40 thru 6 Meters. Will cover 80 Meters with accesory coil MP-80. Capable of QRP thru 150 Watts. Coil Size 10.5x 1.25 inches.
Product is in production
More Info: http://newsuperantenna.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001554.4
WY7AC Rating: 2019-03-30
4 star Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Tripod never worked right straight out of the box, threads were jacked, and NEVER use it mobile unless you Loctite the screws first! You WILL lose some coil screws. Other than that it's an "ok" aerial. Not in the same class as the Wolf River SB1000 coil, but much more packable & kayakable.
KB1TCD Rating: 2019-02-23
Great for portable use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought it from a buddy of mine who hardly ever used it. Came w/80m coil, small tripod and railing/picknick table mount.
Didn’t come w/radial set so I did some research...You don’t need a radial set, a single counterpoise per band you are using will do. Cut one for 20m and one for 40m. Played w/length of counterpoise on 20m for a few minutes till I got it right. 1.1:1 SWR. I had 40 ft of wire meaning I had 26 ft left after making 20m counterpoise so I just went for it. Under 1.5:1 SWR on 40m. Set up Yaesu FT-897D on the back deck where the antenna was also located. Called CQ on 20m and got a station from IN (I’m in ME). Next to 40m called CQ and got a station from PA.
Taking MP1 on holiday to Costa Rica in a week and a half to use w/Kenwood TS-480 which is my mobile rig...
I would not use it as my baser antenna but for portable work it’s fine. I used the antenna about 8 years ago w/friend I bought it from portable at a park in Augusta ME and got a station in Greece, so DXing not a problem.
W5MIL Rating: 2019-02-12
Only Works In The Open Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It only works in VERY open areas. It does not work indoors or on a balcony. I gave it a 3 because it does work in the open...in perfect conditions and the radials have to be spaced perfectly. For me, it was a waste of cash I could have spent on a good endfed or dipole.
If you contact their customer support, prepare to be ignored.
2M0AYZ Rating: 2019-02-06
Very good for QRP portable. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have the latest version, with the big tripod, radials etc.

I was surprised by how small the whole system packs down to. It really is very portable, and light enough to walk into the hills with. The overall build quality is very good. Nothing is likely to break or fail. I use it with an extra extension arm to give more height.,

It tunes up very easily by use of the swr ruler. I've had no high SWR problems at all.

Have had numerous contacts using my Xiegu X5105 and this antenna.

All in all a quality product which will last for years, unless abused.
KG6TR Rating: 2018-07-11
it is what it is Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Don't expect miracles - it is a nice setup for what it is. What I like is that everything packs up small and light for SOTA activations. What I don't like is that I have very little luck so far running a KX2 with it. At home the Buddipole setup as a vertical with 2 counterpoise beats the MP-1, but admittedly it is a much larger setup.

It is pretty easy to setup and tune with an analyzer. I can be up and running in less than 5 min. It will cover pretty much all bands though you have to retune every time and it isn't particularly efficient. If your expectations are properly managed you'll be happy with the antenna. If you go in thinking it is going to equal a bigger/heavier setup, you likely won't be impressed.

I compared it directly with a HyEnd multi-band set up as a sloper and the HyEnd won. I will say that if you don't have a tree around then the HyEnd becomes problematic while the MP-1 with the tripod will deploy anywhere. I have a Chameleon MPAS coming that I'll compare as well and at some point I'll pare down to maybe two portable antenna systems. I suspect the Chameleon will edge out the MP-1 but time will tell.
K7EXJ Rating: 2017-06-06
Updated Review after 18 Months Time Owned: more than 12 months.
It's been almost two years since I bought the MP-1 and I have some further comments.

The MP-1 loves being mounted onto a large metal mass. I usually use it clamped to the steel bumper of my Jeep Wrangler and it's very happy there. It also loves being mounted to my chain-link fence in town. Doesn't like wood all that much.

The MP-1 also seems to prefer wide open areas; preferably next to a body of water. I have attributed this to its low angle of radiation where buildings and even trees can be an issue.

The 40/30/20 meter radials also work well on 15m.

The clamp is so good I bought a second one so I can use the MP-1 easier in the back yard.

Best DX is 7100 miles on 15M in heavy QSB from the Jeep using 5-watts CW parked at the northeast corner of a very large reservoir on sandy soil.

The only time I've been "skunked" (no QSO at all) was when I set the MP-1 up in my mother-in-law's mobile home park on a wood fence. This antenna likes being in the clear, up high, and/or near water!!!

Not the cheapest antenna but for any ops where there is nothing to hang a sloper or EFHW this is simple, quick, and multi-band.
WA2ZQX Rating: 2017-04-28
Excellent Product Time Owned: more than 12 months.

Have worked 63-DX entities with the MP1 Antenna in the past 15 months, which I am thrilled about considering current band conditions. My QTH is a few feet above sea level, sandy soil, high winds and adjacent to water. Operate with 22-ground radials and a good antenna tuner...40 through 6-meters. Transmit power 100 or 300 watts. Piece of cake to transport and set up. Yes, tuning is critical but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it...provided you own an SWR meter! I would recommend the titanium whip...less wind resistance. At home QTH I elevate the antenna base 6-feet above ground on a tripod and adjustable mast, weighted with bricks. No mechanical issues except I used ring terminals and stainless hardware to affix my radials...didn't care for their quick disconnect connectors and finger lugs on the base...couldn't connect all my radials! Own two MP1's and would like to see Super Antenna produce a similar product that could handle 1-KW.
KG5QHX Rating: 2017-04-09
My Super Antenna works OK Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have to say that my Super Antenna MP-1 works fine for my purposes. I use it as a quick setup out in the field antenna. I was quite surprised i that it let me contact others over a 1,000 miles away OK. I used it on 40 meters through 20 meters this last weekend for the "Texas Radio in the Park" event and it worked well. I also found that the antenna stayed upright fairly well in the wind too. It only had a problem when the wind gusts were over 30-35mph and then it would get knocked over. But it helps to arrange the legs to give better support with the wind direction, otherwise it could tip over more easily. The thin titanium whip tended to flop around a lot with the wind though. But the regular extendable antenna handled the wind better in this case.
VE3IPS Rating: 2017-03-03
Ok but understand limitations Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought the older version at a hamfest and the build quality was very poor - garage made. Its just a short antenna and tends to work better on 20m to 10m. For QRP (like all short antennas) the efficiency is low and a simple vertical or dipole will get more signal out. I found it worked better with 20W running the FT-897D (battery mode. I sold it as my home brew Pac-12 and commercial Buddistick worked better with the longer antenna length in its design. Again, I bought a more current version at the hamfest and the build quality is a lot better and they seem to be working hard to create a better product (adding a MC-60 coil and Titanium whip are great innovations). However a short antenna is still a short antenna and will be a worse performer against the reference vertical antenna. This antenna with the titanium whip would be the ideal choice for man-pack operations as no other options are functionality available and in this use case works best for this design. Picnic table operators will find the PackTenna or just a simple fishing pole and a quarter wave of wire and a counterpoise will work better and be more efficient running 5 watts. I also had good results with this antenna when running 50watts in the go-box and set up takes 2 minutes. The extra power will make up for the inefficiency of the short antenna (mobile antenna). However, the ability to use this on a studry tripod, table clamp (worth buying for any mobile antenna), mobile bracket, magnet mount or even mix and match with the Buddipole components or Hustler. The carry case is a great item as well. So as long as you understand that short antennas can be inefficient and a poor choice and may be the only deployment choice for your radio operation then you will be happy with the SuperAntenna system but if you expect to connect this to your FT-817 or KX3/2 and make easy contacts (especially during a down solar cycle) you will be very disappointed. I would be very curios to see how their new 2m antenna module works because they are thinking in the right direction. maybe they will look at a beefier version of the YP-3 yagi
K4ECD Rating: 2016-11-14
Pratical, compact long lasting Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had this now for 4 years with weekend use in various spots on the East Coast, and occasionally the Caribbean. Product has a simple no-frill design that IMHO makes it the better option over competitors. SWR is very good on all bands under 20, but the adjustments are very very sensitive.

Cut radials to your band! spread them out at least 6-8 feet apart at the ends (if possible).

It is my go to antenna for portable work.