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Reviews For: Maldol MH-510 6m/2m/70cm HT Antenna

Category: Antennas: VHF/UHF+ Omnidirectional: verticals, mobile, etc

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Review Summary For : Maldol MH-510 6m/2m/70cm HT Antenna
Reviews: 16MSRP: 38.00
Description:
Tri-Band HT antenna for 6m/2m/70cm. On 70cm it has 3.2db gain. It can handle 10w out. It also recievs on 80mhz/120mhz/300mhz/800mhz/900mhz. It has an sma antenna connector and is perfect for the Yaesu VX-5 and VX-7
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00164.3
KG4NCK Rating: 2006-08-08
Great Performance Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been using the Maldol MH-510 Active Hunter on my Icom T90A for about 4 years now and it's still going strong and looks like new. The Maldol was a major improvement over the stock antenna, allowing me to pull in signals with good clarity that couldn't even be heard with the stock antenna. My transmit signal vastly improved on 70cm and 2m as well, allowing me to come across repeaters 20 to 25 miles away at full-quieting that I couldn't even key up with the stock antenna.

The antenna can be cumbersome for extended carry, and doesn't work well with a belt clip. Nothing like sticking it on your belt and having the antenna whack you in the head every time you move. But I didn't buy the antenna for carry comfort, I bought it for it's performance, which it delivers quite well.
KA5VFI Rating: 2004-08-13
Great reception and transmission Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've tried a few antenne on my IC-T90A and found that they all "work." I'm saying work is they can make contact and receive some signals. I've specifically used the stock, a Maldol MH-511, and this one.

While the Maldol MH-511 is very sensitive, it's transmission was only lukewarm when compared to the stock. Both the stock and built in could not receive any sattelite transmissions (specifically Echo). I bought this one after days of frustration just trying to find any angle I could pose the radio and try receiving any signal from Echo. This one I put on the HT and all the sudden a S7 from Echo ... I held Echo for at least 15 minutes as I kept with it's path.

A local repeater I normally use I'd get an S3 report back with both the stock and the MH-511, but the MH-510 returned a S5 signal (20-ish miles away).
VE0FK Rating: 2004-01-22
MH-510 does work well on shortwave Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just bought a 510 and it's possible the design has been modified in the last year. In contrast to the previous review, I'm getting surprisingly good shortwave reception using the 510 on a Yaesu VX-2 handheld xcvr with shortwave receive. Signals are good from 3 to 16 mhz, at the very least. Signals are also quite reasonable on AM broadcast, FM broadcast and VHF TV bands.

Performance on 2m is comparable to other whip antennas of this size. The construction of the 510 is heavy, and it definitely looks odd on a microhandheld, but that's true of any of the longer whip antennas.

All in all, I'm very impressed. Cost at Bytown Marine in Ottawa Canada was CAD $85.00.
NJ6F Rating: 2002-12-18
Perfect for VX7 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This one is a keeper. Good gain on all bands and fairly firm, whip wise. About $35
3.2dBi on 446MHz stated on cover
RX on 80/120/300/800/900
SMA-P connector/ 10 watts max
W7RJR Rating: 2002-11-14
Excellent performance, cumbersome to use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this antenna as a substitute for the stock antenna for an ICOM T90A handheld transceiver. While the stock antenna seems to work well, I felt an after-market antenna might perform better.

The MH51 comes with an SMA connector. I would have been happier with a BNC type connector. It's about 21 inches long with a slender loading coil at the top.

Positive aspects: This antenna really works well on the three bands it supports, e.g. 2m, 70cm and 6m. I noticed a signficant improvement on 2m and 6m especially. I did not notice much improvement on 70cm for some reason. The improvement noted was in the area of 2-3 S units on receive. Some of these 'long' antennas tend to sway when you move resulting in a fluctuating signal. This effect is minimized because the antenna is a bit firmer than most.

Negative aspects: This antenna is cumbersome to use! It literally dwarfs most modern day HTs and basically looks and feels kind of silly and overkill. I can't imagine anyone attempting to put this on a belt clip. Oddly enough, this antenna did not work as well in picking up shortwave broadcasts as does the stock antenna. I would have thought the reverse simply due to its size. This is not a flexible antenna.I can envision it getting caught in a car door or something similar and likely would not survive the incident.

Conclusion: This is an excellent performer! If you can put up with its size and clumsiness it is well worth the money. Don't get it for improved SW performance.

73 de W7RJR
KC2IFH Rating: 2002-07-31
Great Ht antenna for VX-7 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just purchased this antenna yesterday. I am using it on my VX-7. In short this is a great antenna. On 440 it performs like a dream come true. In comparison to the stock rubber duck on 440 this antenna is 3 "S-Units better then the rubber duck on a 440 repeater 70 miles away. On 2m it is average but still it is much better then the stock rubber duck. I have no 6m repeaters in this area that I know about so I can't test preformance on 6m. The only negative drawaback is the size. It is 20.35 inches tall, but what do you expect from such a great antenna, something the size of a quarter.

Alex KC2IFH