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Reviews For: MFJ-1729 Dual band antenna

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

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Review Summary For : MFJ-1729 Dual band antenna
Reviews: 17MSRP: 34.95
Description:
MFJ's Power Gain is ham radio's most powerful dual band magnet mount mobile antenna!
It gives you outstanding gain on 440 MHz and 2 Meters. Low SWR lets you rig deliver full power safely. Get a whopping 2.6 dB gain on 2 Meters and 6.3 dB gain on 440 MHz.
Perfect for dual band mobiles or HTs. Free BNC handheld adapter. Handles 300 Watts PEP.
MFJ's exclusive 27 1/2 inch stainless steel SlimLineRadiator minimizes wind vibration for less SWR flutter -- gives you longer range and better readability. Includes 15 feet of coax with PL-259 connector, heavy duty magnet mount with scratch resistant rubber guard.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-1729
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00173.9
W2FDH Rating: 2009-06-08
Does really well Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased this antenna to replace one of the so-called better antenna companies dual band antennas. My receiver was way better than before, and I was getting into, and staying into repeaters, that I once could not hold. I highly recommend this mobile antenna.
N4LRA Rating: 2009-06-07
Decent Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
A decent and very affordable antenna. It is very flexible, which is a plus for me since it gets whacked regularly by a low parking garage roof.

Performance is equal to more expensive Comet and Diamond dual band mobile antennas with equivalent gain figures. Time will tell how durable it proves to be.
KE5OYZ Rating: 2008-11-12
Good antenna, needs more bandwidth Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is a good antenna overall, but the bandwidth near the band edges of both 70cm and 2m leaves much to be desired - the SWR at these points is 2.5 to 1 at least. Adding a long counterpoise wire wrapped around the magmount connecter helps a lot, but you'll need to experiment to tune it to the frequencies you want. Also, the PL-259 connector seems poorly made - I often need to jiggle it around in my radio to make the antenna work. However, when this antenna works, it works great! The magnet mount seems quite strong, and the antenna radiator seems sturdy and well-built.

Overall, this antenna seems good, but has enough detracting from it that I am forced to only give it a 3 out of 5 rating.
KC9GWK Rating: 2008-10-04
Very happy Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just got this antenna about two weeks ago. I bought it so my MFJ1724 could be used for my APRS radio in the car. This MFJ1729 is doing a great job of bringing in the stations. Since moving to this antenna, stations that were S3-5 are now S7-9. Is is taller then the MFJ1729 but is more flexible so it fits in the parking structure at work.
Feel free to email me if you have questions on this antenna.
73,
Ed
KC9GWK
K6PH Rating: 2008-04-05
OK. Mostly Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This antenna is fantastic when its 100%. I used my 1729 for about a year and it was awesome. Had QSOs up to 140mi away with 6 watts power on an HT. No problem until the connectors/coax broke.

The connectors/coax/something crapped out 14 mos after I bought it. For the cost of a new one, it's not worth a lot of time trying to figure out what went wrong and try to fix it. I'm just outside MFJ's 1 year "no matter what" warranty.
K1FBI Rating: 2008-01-03
You get MORE than you pay for! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After Super High un-tunable SWR with my Motorola antenna and another Comet antenna, I bought this antenna. I bought it based on the single review here on eHam; yes, even with the MFJ acronym! Well I pulled it out of the package and stuck it on my Toyota Camry....flat SWR over the entire band(1.1 to 1)even at 65 Watts out!
Great antenna+
KG0WX Rating: 2005-08-27
Outstanding performer, well built Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this antenna for 6 years now and it continues to impress me how well it works. I've ran it on the roof of my van, outside on a a/c unit, on a refrigerator, on a motorcycle and now I use a hustler radial kit and run it as a base antenna @ 20' agl.

The antenna, after 6 harsh years of use is now showing a bit of wear - the paint on the base is pealing a tiny bit but you don't see that on a 20' pole. I installed a ground lug and have it grounded to the Hustler radial kit.

Comparing it to my GP-6 @ 40' agl, it seems that MFJ's performance statements are dead on.

What more can I say? It works as advertised and is tough plus the price was right ($27.95 when I bought it new)

For once, an MFJ product that I'm not ashamed to own. Nice!

KG0WX