| N2QGV |
Rating:     |
2010-07-02 | |
| 5 years + |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I carry the MP-1, Par 10-20-40, and a Miracle Whip in my backpack along with a IC-703+. The MP-1 for its size is very hard to beat when looking at other portable verticals. Always takes a little tweeking, but I have worked all over on 5 watts and less using SSB. I also purchased a Buddipole, but compared the the above three, it is a monster to pack along. Granted the MP-1 is touchy to tune; patience and some knowledge help. I am always amazed when a Ham gives an antenna a rating based on how tough they are to tune because of(hand-capacitance). Yes the hand is used to adjust the antenna, but I would suggest that the antenna be adjusted and you step away from the near field and check your tune. I have yet to see any antenna perform with a hand wrapped around it.
To sum it up, if you are looking for really small when broken down, easy to deploy, and performance you will be hard pressed beating the MP-1 for a portable vertical.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N2QGV on 2004-06-12
Members of our local ARES group grabbed my MP-1 antenna one day and attached it to a FT-817 running 2.5 watts battery. The antenna was on the corner of a shed at 7 feet with supplied counterpoise thrown on the shed roof. They worked the East Coast of America (Maine, NY, Virginia, etc) from central Florida both SSB and CW (using the hand mic as a key) with many contacts. Several contacts were running 500 watts + and had not much to say after describing their stations and giving 5/8 - 5/9 reports, and receiving 5/8's and 5/9 reports back along with a description of the little manual vertical antenna at 7 feet with 2.5 watts. Easy set up and tune, about five minutes and working stations.
As far as some other comments "I'd like some of those reviewers who said it was easy to adjust to frequency to explain how they did it, how long it took, and what quipment they used":
"difficult to adjust to frequency without using an SWR bridge, and I don't want to carry one of those"
The FT-817 has a SWR bridge built in. No need to carry around a seperate SWR meter. Also listen to noise/audio, as a rule of thumb it increases as your SWR gets lower and the antenna becomes more resonant to the frequency you are listening to.
"as I moved my hand near the coil it was detuned"
Yep, any antenna will do that. Don't believe you can accurately tune any antenna with your hand on it, and for you safety this is not a good thing to do.
I would suggest - adjust, move away, listen, key transmitter, watch SWR meter, when close, move one coil at a time (up or down), move away, key transmitter, check the SWR on the 817. When the 817 shows no SWR bars on the meter, you are good to go. The coils on my MP-1 have been marked with a black magic marker to show the relative starting position for various bands. Fine tuning from these points is very quick.
Equipment used - FT-817, MP-1, ears (one pair), eyes (one pair), hands (one pair), brain, and mouth (one each).
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| KB0RIF |
Rating:      |
2010-07-01 | |
| works great for me |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have had the MP-1 for 4 years and am amazed how well it works. On field day this year it was mounted on a High Sierra tripod with 8 radials.Using a Yaesu FT 450 In 6 hours I made 80 contacts on 15 and 10 meters with many breaks (it was 97 degrees and humid. I was running on a marine battery and using 75 watts. i periodically set up on my back deck and on 20 meters have made contacts into europe. I have made contacts on 40 meters though it is tougher than the higher bands. It breaks down into a small computer case. Highly recommended for portable ops. |
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| K4DZR |
Rating:      |
2010-06-24 | |
| WORKS GREAT! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
VERY HAPPY!
I am making contacts. Set it up in my back yard with an Icom 706 MKIIG running 50 watts and made stateside contacts on 40 MTR SSB, 20 MTR SSB, 17MTR SSB (also one DX qso Europe - DJ6) and an SSB contact on 10 MTRS. Not bad for the first day. It will be FB in the campground. Tried it with the included mount to a metal surface and mounted on an Outpost Tripod using included radials. Low SWR with both mounts. Vern was helpful when I called with a question on tuning -It is simple. No, it is not my 3 Element quad but will get the job done! 73, Jerry |
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| HFHAM2 |
Rating:    |
2010-03-21 | |
| It's just okay. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've had two MP-1s and an MP-2 (screwdriver version). I fail to see how the previous reviewer gave it a 5/5, as he (correctly) felt the need to replace the supplied counterpoise/radials, and also to replace the (poorly made) telescopic whip; on my last one, the top section would come off when extended. What then is be basing the 5/5 rating on? The coil, sleeve and aluminum tubing? I had properly cut copper-wire radials on mine, but they were both touchy to tune (hand-capacitance) and never good performers with 5-20 watts portable; even on hill-tops. Yes, it's a neat design, the coil and sleeve is well-made and it's easily transportable. It just doesn't perform particularly well in my experience. There are better portable antennas out there. |
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| KB3FLZ |
Rating:      |
2010-03-21 | |
| Best bang for the buck! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have had this as my portable for the beach qth for about a year now and after some modifications in set up, I am VERY impressed with performance. Granted I am on a canal by the bay and my ground is over salt water, but after experimenting with other antenna types over the same ground, the MP1 is the best performer by far. First, the supplied counterpoise should be taken as a suggestion only that you need one. It is not adequate for anything really. Second, the supplied whip is another suggestion that you should have one. It's flimsy and pulls apart with little pressure.
That said, here's what worked best for me. I purchased an inexpensive 102" whip from Radio Shack. I also made up a dozen radials from 12ga insulated wire, all approx. 35' long since that fit in my open space well. My guess is the longer the better if you have the room. I soldered the short broken whip to use on 80 and was ready to try it out. With the 102" whip, 20 and 40 were 1.4 to 1.6 across the band (with coil adjustments). Contacts on 20 with a 440s at 100 watts include CA, Vancouver BC, Australia,eastern Europe, and my furthest DX yet with RK0UT in Chita Russia just above Mongolia!He was 5/8 and I was 5/7. 40 was just as impressive. For 80 meters, the additional coil and the short whip provided a bit higher (1.8-2.3) SWR, but again solid contacts with all. The 102" whip handles wind load easily, much better than my crappy MFL 12' whip that broke on a mildly breezy day! This is definitely a keeper. |
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| KG7RS |
Rating:      |
2010-02-24 | |
| Attention Deed Restricted, HOA, Limited Space Hams |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Hi Folks,
I left a very favorable review of this little antenna in November 2009 and since have been really enjoying it. I recently discovered another way to enjoy this antenna. We recently moved to a very nice home where antennas are not welcome. This is not a negative for me as most of my operating is field portable anyway. I seldom operate from home and don't want to bother with a large antenna system. Recently, I got a hankerin' to work some CW from home and setup my MP-1 on it's little matching tripod on the ground in the backyard. Then I started experimenting by replacing the supplied counterpoise set with four 20' lengths of 1/2" wide tinned copper braid. Surprisingly, the match worsened. Hummm...
Well, lets snip 'em down to 15' each. The match improved. Then 12' OK, moving in the right direction. Finally it occurred to me the manufacturer may have chose 10' for a reason. I snipped them down to 10' each and noted a great match with negligible SWR. This counterpoise made a marked difference in efficiency over the supplied one. Shortly after playing with this setup, I decided to buy a second MP-1 and install it semi-permanently in the backyard. I remember owning one of those Alpha-Delta Outpost ground-coupling tripods several years ago and the success I had using it with an Outbacker Outreach antenna. Good grief...$275 for this hunk of aluminum nowadays! I finally justified buying one after considering how much all that T-6061 aluminum stock would cost to build my own! I bought one along with a 4-1/2' Hustler mobile mast to replace the shorter mast sections supplied with the MP-1. The resulting performance was quite surprising both to me and the fellows on the other end of the QSO when I described my antenna lash-up! I've made a dozen or so phone contacts so far on 20-meters, many of which are DX and two successful pile-up break-throughs with 100-watts. Even on 40 phone it radiates a surprisingly effective signal. It certainly doesn't 'feel' like a compromise stealth antenna. The resulting package doesn't exceed 12' at the tip of the antenna and is hardly visible from across the backyard. When I'm finished operating, I can quickly fold down the Hustler mast and it's not visible at all below the fence. Even if a neighbor saw it, I doubt it would even cause curiosity.
Some notes about the Outpost tripod: This thing can be used for portable ops, but even folded, it's fairly large and heavy (15lbs or so). This characteristic is desirable for backyard use though. I doubt that a stout wind would affect this thing. The Outpost ground coupling plates need to be sitting on the ground for proper operation. It doesn't matter if the 'ground' is grass, soil, gravel or asphalt. If the Outpost is elevated above ground, the user will need to use elevated 1/4-wavelength radials for each intended band of operation. Fortunately, for those of us who are antenna space challenged, ground mounting is preferred. In summary, I can't think of a less imposing, more convenient, better performing antenna lash-up for stealth backyard use. Yes, that Outpost is pricey, but it's the key component to getting the most from a short compromise antenna. It does this quite well. For those who are already smitten with the versatility, convenience and performance of the MP-1, wait till you try this MP-1
"Super". I hope those of you with similar QTH challenges will give it a try. It's the perfect solution for me and I'm thrilled with it. 73, John, KG7RS |
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| K5FFO |
Rating:      |
2009-12-27 | |
| Good for apartment use |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
When I first received the antenna, I set it up on my 2nd floor balcony, on the tripod that I ordered with it. Its performance was fair, but not exceptional. I could load it to my 817 and get fairly close to a match on 40, but 15 was out of the question. I looked at some other reviews dealing with counterpoise wires, and replaced the wires that came with the unit with a set of wires (3 per band) cut for each band. Only takes a couple of minutes to change. Easy tuning and excellent signal reports! I found the easiest way to tune is to move the coil to the proper band by speaker noise (I use heavy gloves and they don't interfere with the coil). Once set, I then make slight adjustments with my 941E tuner. From Reno, NV, I have worked the east coast, west coast, Hawaii, and some Canadian stations. Not too bad from an apartment, using CW and under 5 watts!
I haven't tried it yet for portable use, as I do 40m CW while traveling and my hamstick works fine for that, but I will try it in 2010 on an extensive trip as I plan to work 40/15/10 and 6 while traveling. |
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| AA1OV |
Rating:     |
2009-11-12 | |
| Good compromise antenna |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I have owned three of these over the years. All of them for FT-817s. They arrived well packed, and with instructions. It assembles easily but if you buy the 80m coil, there are no instructions for where to mount it on top or under the slider.
The antenna works as advertised, with the following caveats. While your hand is adjusting the coil you cannot tell by the RX sound if you are close to frequency because as soon as you move your hand the sound changes.
Then too, if a breeze blows your antenna over the collapsable whip usually self destructs.
Having said all that the antenna does work well as a compromise antenna or a great packable antenna for backpacking with a QRP rig. |
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| M6KAR |
Rating:      |
2009-11-12 | |
| Holy Grail of portable antennas |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Quickly. I bought this antenna from ML&S with optional tripod. I live in a flat - no trees, no garden, small loft - no dipole then. Then I found this baby! Tune on 40m (SWR no bars)and after few minutes I had QSO with: SU, EA, SP9, DL, OE! This antenna is in my bedroom and I am using only 5W with my FT 817nd. Monday I had contact on 6m with my local radio club mates - 7 up to 9 miles no problem at all. I added little longer wire 1/4 wave on 40m and 20m - other bands no probs at all on supllied 4 wires, choke balun and thats it. Worth every penny. |
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| M6RDP |
Rating:      |
2009-08-29 | |
| Fantastic! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I had already had the opportunity of trying out this antenna before buying it and so I knew I was getting something that worked. That initial test was at my radio club in Torquay using 2.5W and 5W on my Yaesu 817ND and the MP-1 antenna. Got into France and European Russia on just the 2.5W SSB on 20M and couldn't believe it. I used the stock radials spread out on the ground and mounted the antenna on a little tripod.
I bought my own MP-1 shortly afterwards and set it up in my back garden clamped to the picnic table, again using only the stock radials spread out in a star shape on the patio. I had been a bit worried about tuning the antenna after reading some reviews, but following the advice of the Yahoo Group for the MP-1 I tuned up for max noise on receive first by sliding the coil sleeve up and down (touching only the little nylon lock not as touching the actual coil affected the tuning). This got me within about 2cm of the best position for lowest SWR. I had it tuned up in no time to either nil or 1 bar SWRs on the 817 meter and the whole procedure was a doddle - certainly no need for expensive analysers.
I was soon getting contacts all over Europe on 5W SSB on both 40M and 20M: Holland, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, even Kazakhstan. Remember this is at the bottom of the solar cycle with no sunspots and low solar flux of around 67-68.
I had previously tried a Miracle Whip over a 10-day period with not a single contact so you can imagine how delighted I was with the performance of the MP-1. It is a smashing little antenna and I am so pleased I bought it. It is very liberating, taking the hobby out of the shack and into the fresh air.
73 from M6RDP (Adam) QTH SW England, UK |
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