| K4LRM |
Rating:      |
2020-09-24 | |
| You need to give this antenna a second look! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| A fellow club member just purchased this antenna, and I helped him set it up. Right out of the box we had a small issue! The 6M radial had a solder blob that ran into the threads preventing us from screwing it in. A little clean-up on the solder allowed us to continue, but this should be caught in quality control. The SWR readings on 6M 1.25M and 2M were all very impressive with none higher than 1.7. We are not sure about 440 because neither of our analyzers cover that band and we are not concerned as no one we know uses it. I noticed many terrible reviews of this antenna which causes it to receive only 1.9 stars as an overall rating. I also noticed those reviews are old and so in the price. This is no longer $119, it's now $149. Did MFJ make improvements and raise the price? After helping a friend and witnessing great performance I plan to purchase one. I'm on a waiting list, and many suppliers have waiting lists. Seems to me this antenna has gotten a raw deal with a 1.9 stars rating! My rating of 5 stars is based on the performance of the antenna and does not take into consideration the issue with fixing the threads on the 6M radial. This test was conducted with the feed point as 21 feet of elevation to the surrounding area on a quality mast and was completed in an open field. The antenna was connected with 50 feet of LMR400 cable with silver plated PL-259 connectors. The cable was also checked with the antenna analyzer at one end and a dummy load at the other. With a dummy load on the cable you should read 1.0 to1 at all frequencies, if not you have a bad cable! |
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| N5CSU |
Rating:     |
2020-05-08 | |
| Better than Diamond X50 |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Edit: May 2020
Back in Dallas and got this antenna back up. Good SWR (below 1.7) on the low end of 6 meters (after tuning), 2 meters and 440 MHz. Replaced an old Diamond X50 at about the same height and very happy with the performance.
Earlier report from 2016:
I replaced my old 2 meter Ringo Ranger with this antenna this Spring. I'm 45 miles from Dallas and could not even hear the Dallas RACES repeater with the Ringo. With the MFJ 1538, the rptr is 80% quieting and I can hit and hold the repeater.
I did check 6 meters and SWR is around 3:1. As others have done, I'll cut the radial down. I don't have 220 or 440 so can't comment on performance there. But I am certainly satisfied with 2 meters.
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| N9MB |
Rating:     |
2017-12-09 | |
| Needs To Be Tuned On 6 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Out of the box this thing sucks. I bought it for 6/220 and found that 6 was unusable, the resonant frequency, if there was one was way too low. After trimming 5-1/2 inches off the "tuned" 6 meter radial the SWR was 1:1 at 52 mHz. The other two radials were not adjusted in any way. 2 meters and 220 are below 1.5:1, I haven't checked it on 440. The antenna performs as it should after tuning.
Summary:
Not a bad antenna, just don't expect it to work out of the box. |
|
| N4NUM |
Rating:      |
2013-05-07 | |
| Good Antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I put this antenna on the side of my tower at 50' and has worked great. Sold my tower and now this antenna is 20' up and still working great. I have checked the SWR's on it and all are at 1.5-1 or less (didn't check 6m) on it. I have NO complaints at all on it. I am also going to get a 2nd 1 for here, works that well.. |
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| WB5ITT |
Rating:    |
2008-08-17 | |
| Update: Eeehhhhh |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I last tested my MFJ quad band a month or more ago...NOW, I find out the Heliax run had a bad connector. SOOO I replaced the Heliax and reran the test...with the new longer radials (60in 1/4 dia aluminum; threaded for 7mm to fit in the base) on the antenna, replacing all 3; 2-20in and one 6mtr "tuned" that came with it), I got the following:
6mtr: SWR below 2:1 across entire band...min SWR at ~51.2 MHz....better than with original radial"s"..yes it does work as a quarter wave GP now INSTEAD of a bent dipole!!
2mtrs: SWR below 1.7:1 across entire band; does hit zero reflected around 146.00MHz..no gain checks YET...but at 10ft out performs Larsen NMO 150 on van 20ft away...so better than 3db
220: Need to fix my 220 test rig...not doing power out for some reason...HEY wait, I have my THF6 HT...ok time to go get it...Ok...the THF6 does about 3.5watts on the weak battery...SWR was pretty good across the band (lower toward 225.0...reflected starts to rise above 0.5 watts at 221)...still no gain reports..but this is better than last test.
440: THIS is where the antenna SUCKS!!! SWR is 1:1 at 432.100 (but this AINT a SSB antenna!!) Once you get 1-2 MHz away, SWR starts to climb..ok in 420 range but above 440?? FORGET IT!! More than 3:1 or worse across entire 10MHz..so much for use on 440! Havent checked gain yet. IF they fix the 440 SWR problem (and I have yet to confirm the gain figures; time to pull out the R2670 spectrum analyzer and some 1/4 ground planes for comparison)
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Earlier 1-star review posted by WB5ITT on 2008-07-20
Ok, I took a chance on this antenna...4 bands looked nice for remote base operation (or maybe even rptr service!)....well it arrived, I stared at it and wasnt impressed....and decided to improve things....took the radials that came with it off and ordered 1/4 alum rod from the Internet...N5STK helped me thread them to the 7MM size to screw into the base...each radial was 60 inches long (a bit overkill but I wanted FULL length radials on 6 and lets see how well it performs)....put it 30ft in the air fed by 1/2 Heliax....6 looked good on the TS680 until I got my FT857 and Bird Wattmeter....CRAP, there is NO low SWR anywhere in 6!!! it does transmit and hear ok (from what little operating I did with it). 2mtrs is ok...low SWR and seems to be decent gain....havent tested 220 BUT 440 SUCKS BIG TIME!!! SWR is all over the place, a 3db gain mobile antenna at the same height outhears this junky thing....MFJ, guess what, YOU GETTTING this back Martin and I WILL NEVER buy another piece of Mighty Fine JUNK....I plan to replace it with a Comet CX333 which I KNOW works and a 6m DB212 loop on the side of the mast...a little more wind load and another diplexer at the antennas, but I KNOW that will work. MFJ, your name is CRAP!!!!! |
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| K6XR |
Rating:  |
2008-07-20 | |
| antenna is very bad |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I have two of them. One is a replacement of the other and both of them have terrible swr on all bands. The swr is good at one or two points and terrible elsewhere. I attempted to send them back to mfj but the ups cost was more than I paid so I ate the lost and have them stored in my garage where I will take my hack saw to them one day. The MFJ rep told me they did not make the antenna, but imported it from another manufacturer. |
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| AI4IJ |
Rating:  |
2007-05-20 | |
| Dummy load in the air! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
This has got to be a contender for the worst antenna in the world award!
First of all, let me say that the idea is GREAT! It would be wonderful to have a quad band antenna that covers 6M, 2M, 1.25M, and 70cm as a back-up antenna. That's why I bought it.
Secondly, the price is attractive. $119.95 is a reasonable price for an antenna that does what MFJ claims that this one does. But, this one doesn't even come close to performing as advertised.
I first attached this antenna to a 10 foot mast for tuning and testing. The SWR was acceptable on 2M, 1.25M, and 70cm; but, it was too high on 6M. I solved that problem by trimming down the 6M radial to resonance in the FM simplex portion of 6M. Not a big deal.
I next attached 100 feet of CXP1318FX coax (comparable to LMR-400) that has been performing well for me. I then pulled it up about 60 feet into a pine tree. I tested the SWR at the installed height and got 1.1 to 1.4 on all bands. I thought, "Great!."
Then, I connected it to my radio and made some calls. The first response I got was from a guy who lives about four miles away from me whose comment was, "Where are you? Your signal is weak. You're usually 60dB over on me; but, you're only putting about S9+10dB on me, now."
Then, one of my other buddies about the same distance away asked the first buddy, "Who are you talking to? Because, I can't hear him. He's not even breaking the squelch." Now, this guy is using the big Diamond 24 foot 2M collinear at 90 feet with LDF5-50A Heliax hardline feeding it; and, I've worked him in my mobile 35 to 40 miles away - and, I've worked him from my HT in my BASEMENT. But, he couldn't hear me AT ALL on this piece of garbage hanging 60 feet in the air.
My guess is that, if I cut it open, I'd find a big fat 50 ohm resistor - and, nothing else! GARBAGE! Pure GARBAGE! MFJ should be ashamed of themselves!
73
Richard
AI4IJ |
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| KG4UAD |
Rating:  |
2006-12-27 | |
| Dont waste your money |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This antenna is one of the worst verticals ive ever owned. Do Not Waste Your Money! Upon installation the antenna was 30ft above ground, away from buildings and trees. It was supplied with a 30ft section of new lmr-400 and tested out at 1.6vswr on 2m, 2.1vswr on 70cm, 2.7-8vswr on 6m. I do not have a meter for 220 so i was unable to test that however im sure it would have depressed me. After playing with the 6m ground radial about an hour I concluded that either the radial needed to be about one inch longer to bring down the vswr or that MFJ considers around 3.0 vswr normal for operation. Day 2 i ditched the 6m ground plane radial and replaced it with a threaded 20" radial and that brought down the vswr for 2m to 1.1 and 1.7 on 70cm so the radial stayed and now the antenna is used for the shack vhf/uhf scanner only. My home brew copper j-pole whipped this antenna hands down in terms of "real world gain" so i made one more for 70cm and a 1/4 wave for 6m. I really bought this antenna for the 6m portion so it was a big disappointment for me.
73's
Matt-kg4uad |
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| KC2NWV |
Rating:     |
2006-04-12 | |
| So far so good..... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I understand the frustrations in the previous reviews, and I will admit it had me worried since I bought the antenna then read the reviews. However, this antenna has performed well for me so far. Packed well, SWR at 1.3 on 2m, and 1.5 on 6m, no weather detune, easy assembly, low noise, and I have worked 60mi each direction ssb polarized vertically to their horizontal. I have no problems on 2m FM with all of the local and distant repeaters. I will follow up with a 6 month review given the past performances of this antenna. |
|
| NS6Y_ |
Rating:  |
2006-04-04 | |
| Quadruple THREAT? |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Come on, the thing's called the Quadruple THREAT? Threat to what, your rig's finals? Shouldn't this give you a clue?
Owned 0 months, better than being 0wned by one. |
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