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Reviews For: MFJ Model 1910 fiberglass mast

Category: Specialized Amateur Communication Products

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Review Summary For : MFJ Model 1910 fiberglass mast
Reviews: 19MSRP: $79.95
Description:
MFJ Model 1910 thirty-three foot high telescoping fiberglass mast
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-1910
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00192.3
K6SDW Rating: 2019-12-24
Light duty mast up 12 years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Mine has been up and down for 12 years before one of the top sections split vertically, I'm sure from years of exposure to UV radiation.
The very top section is almost worthless even for wire antennas, it just bends over.
To keep the mast sections from sliding back down I use metal hose clamps from Home Depot and since I started using them I've not had a mast collapse.
So, it is what it is....a cheap way of getting some antenna height for very light duty.
73
AB7KT Rating: 2019-02-28
Have owned it for over 10 years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Wow......some of the people posting reviews on this product are interesting to say the least. I have owned this product for over 10 years and have used it MANY times for portable operation. If something happened to mine, I would buy another one immediately. It should be obvious but this mast will support a wire. Note that I didn't say it would support an entire wire antenna complete with insulators, coax with the feepoint at the top of the mast.........this mast will support a wire. OK, so what does that do for you ? Well, my favorite antenna with this mast is an end fed, half wave dipole; feedpoint at the base. On 20 meters or higher, this mast will support the length of the entire antenna. On bands lower than 20 meter, you end up with an inverted L; again, feedpoint at the bottom of the mast and the wire running up the mast. I also use this to make a 1/4 wave 40 meter vertical with three radials. I use this mast with a drive-on base and also with a base that fits into my trailer hitch.
KM4WSX Rating: 2016-12-18
Light duty mast Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is a light duty 33 foot mast. It is suitable for light duty.

MFJ makes a heavier duty, 34 foot mast, the MFJ-1916. It is stronger, but at almost double the cost. Is it reasonable to buy the light duty mast and expect it to perform service meant for the heavier duty mast?

The instructions say twist lock the mast, starting with the smallest section. Do so. There may be some tasks the mast can perform when the load is placed several thicker sections down, that it cannot perform, or be expected to perform, from its slender top.

My mast is the center support for a 40 meter end fed dipole antenna wire, attached at about the twenty foot level, and is performing good service.

I'm awarding the mast a solid four, and marking five, in part to allow for zeroes or ones that through misapplication it does not deserve.


WO8USA Rating: 2016-01-22
As advertised, good pole for what it is intended Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The mast is not aluminum, expect it to bend. As stated below, to ensure it does not collapse over a long deployment simply use high quality duct tape on the joints, and do not overload with weight. Also, when disassembling, make sure the top does not collapse into the pole....do it from the bottom making sure you do it one at a time. Otherwise it works as advertised.

Mine did break from abuse of using it to get a football out of a tree and using it as a jam to stop a beam from rotating out of control in winds. Good multi-use pole. I would buy it again. Got it from R&L Electronics.
W3BRK Rating: 2016-01-21
Basic but works for the role it was intended. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought an MFJ 1901 mast to use as the center support for a G5RV Jr. dipole. I needed something that would fit in a limited space but still provide decent height.

The construction is basic and solid. It is advertised as a fiberglass fishing pole and that is what it is.

To avoid the numerous complaints with this mast, do two things.

First after twisting the sections together after extending them, wrap some outdoor duct tape around each joint. The mast won't collapse.

Second, collapse the top section with the pole loop on the end. It is too flexible to support anything but a light wire. Tie your center feed to the loop and retract that section into the top of the mast. The section below is much stiffer and will support the weight of the dipole feed.

I mounted the mast semi-permanently to a wooden fence using some brackets and screws from the local hardware store. This allows the bottom two sections to be supported and buy a few extra feet of height to compensate for the collapsed section. I use a pair of shorter painter's poles to support the antenna ends and arrange the antenna into an inverted-V.

The 1910 will bend and sway but it has worked perfectly fine. It has withstood winds of 35mph without issue. A little disconcerting to see the mast bend several feet but that is what is designed to do.

A lot of people are down on this mast. You're not buying a tower. It is a basic, no-frills way to get a wire in the air and as long as you know that going in and give it proper support, it is an inexpensive way to get an antenna 30-40 feet up without a lot of effort. It is light enough to raise and handle alone.

I'd buy another one and I would recommend it to someone with limited space or a small budget. A little bit of site planning and realistic expectations and this mast works fine to support a wire antenna.
VE9CB Rating: 2015-06-28
Light but adequate Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have used this for several Field Day-type operations. It has made setting up a station in the field a quick, easy process.

This is a fine lightweight, light-duty telescoping mast. It sufficient to support a 40m wire vertical at full extension. It is not strong enough to handle any horizontal antenna at full extension.

With a mast like this, you have to respect the trade-off. Something that is 33ft long and weighs only three pounds can only be so strong.

I have used a similar product from Spiderbeam. The Spiderbeam poles are stronger, but they are heavier and more expensive.
W6IR Rating: 2013-06-26
Not as advertised Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this as the MFJ-2980, 40-6 mtr vertical at Dayton this year. Bad choice. First thunderstorm blew through the area and it snapped at the 2nd section. To MFJ's credit, I called them and they sent a replacement section, unfortunately their idea of the 2nd section and mine was off by 1. Used a piece of PVC pipe to slide over the broken area. That worked quite well until another storm blew through and broke another section. Now I have it spliced by the incorrect section MFJ sent. Time to see if they will refund my money as it obviously will only work under no wind conditions.
REMOVED_VK4NR Rating: 2012-02-19
Poor Mans R8 Vertical Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This product has made it possible for me to work DX from a postage stamp sized back yard.
I simply took a 20 metre band dipole and taped it to the fibreglass mast (well actually secured it with skinny cable ties).
The antenna is fed in the centre using 450 ohm ladderline, tuned with a MFJ 974 balanced tuner, and makes a very nice vertical dipole.
The dipole is mounted with the bottom element tip about 12 inches off the ground.
The antenna is kept upright by the action of the ladderline, together with two lightweight guys, all spaced at about 120 degree.
The mast is VERY overpriced here in Australia, at over US$200 plus shipping, but cheaper chinese versions are now available.
The cost of the mast, the 974 tuner, some wire and the ladderline is considerably less than a
Cushcraft R8 (for instance) and, in my opinion, performs much better.
Rick VK4NR
K5TED Rating: 2012-02-19
Works as advertised Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After reading the numerous "0" reviews I bought one based upon common sense, and the description given by the manufacturer:

The MFJ-1910 Telescoping Fiberglass Mast is 33 feet tall, yet collapses to a mere 3.8 feet and weighs only 3.3 pounds! You simply pull out each section and twist to lock. It extends to a whopping 33 feet -- a full quarter wave on 40 meters! The bottom section is 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Its great for portable and temporary use -- traveling, camping, from hotels, hamfests, field day, DX-peditions. Put up a full size inverted Vee dipole or full size vertical antenna in minutes and get full size performance! You can Use to make other antenna like loops and quads! The Telescoping Fiberglass Mast is made of super strong fiberglass flexes to resist breaking. Its black coating resists UV.


I don't find any one claim in the description to be misleading or false.

The internet is full of pictures and despcriptions of these masts in use by hfpackers, bicyclists, boaters, apartment dwellers and so forth. To give the product a bad review because it was pressed into an application it's clearly not advertised nor designed for is silly.

I use it with a common, inexpensive speaker tripod from Sam Ash. Th MFJ slides nicely over the tripod pole, and a bucket of sand, dirt or gravel holds the tripod in place. I use 22ga insulated wire for the vertical, with a 9:1 or 4:1 homebrew unun at the bottom, four 35' radials of 22ga wire, 30' of RG8x, and a LDG Z100 to tune it up. Works fine for my field day QRP setup.

I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect the "inverted V" suggestion is valid, since commonly accepted inverted V calculations reveal that a 40m inverted V apex needs only a little over 12 feet of height above ground. The MFJ-1910 will easily accomodate this, and if light coax (RG-174)at least for the mast portion, light feedpoint hardware, wire and insulators are used, could probably go up to 20'.

It's also possible to construct a simple dual band groundplane with a BNC bulkhead connector and thin steel wire elements that would strap to the 24' mark with no problem, again, using thin coax.

Used as intended and with some common sense, the MFJ-1910 will make a welcome addition to your field day or camping setup.

Too many 0 reviews by underinformed users

I give it a 4 because it is overpriced by about $20, in my opinion.
AE5YJ Rating: 2011-04-15
MFJ advertising ambiguity at its best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This thing sucks. At 20 feet it *might* support the dipole for which it was intended as my purchase but I don't think that I will be using this one anytime soon. I don't even know what I would use it for, maybe to string up a small receive antenna. Last sections are completely worthless and here I am wishing I had just checked here first. Flimsy junk that I can think of no use for.