| W8EZI |
Rating:     |
2022-11-23 | |
| Assembly is a bit** |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Update: I added another star because of the stellar performance I have been getting. I also have a note about this antenna that I am aware makes no sense but happened to me with this antenna. I decided to be safe and use dacron line from DX-Engineering to prevent any wind from damaging my antenna. This detuned all the bands. I had to go back and retune all the bands to raise their resonant frequency back up to where it belonged. I even tried using three insulators at the antenna to see if that would stop the detuning, but not so. Anyway, if you are going to guy this antenna with dacron line, you need to tune the antenna with the dacron line in place. Again, I realize this makes no sense at all.
If it were not for the difficulty assembling this antenna, I would have given it 5 stars on just performance.
I just got my 620 up. I did not give it a lot of stars for the following reasons:
1.One of the hardware bags broke in shipping and so lots of small hardware was lost out the cardboard packaging. I replaced it all with stuff from my local hardware store. Hy-Gain has not yet replaced my missing hardware and I did not expect them to do so.
2. The instructions for assembling this antenna are poor. You must refer to the pictures to get it right. I was told to use the wrong screws in one step then told to use them in another after I had used them up. I had to go back and take out those 1 1/2 inch screws and put them in the right place.
3. Even if the instructions were good, it is quite tedious to do assembly. Count on a long project.
4. It is not as good as a wire antenna and I knew that up front.
On the plus side:
1. It is easily tuned.
2. The tuning does not interact.
3. It is light and can be put up from a low mounting point by an old man of 80 like myself. I used a DX engineering folding mount. I think the antenna weighs about 11 pounds. Remember something that I forgot !!! That 11 pounds becomes far greater in weight when you are trying to lift it from one end. The fulcrum lever principle will work against you. If you try to lift this thing up from a point 1 foot from the base that calculates out to 110 pounds of lift.
4. I changed from a wire antenna that fell down from my trees to this because I just could not keep up with the work it took to keep a wire antenna up and working.
5. This antenna folds down easily to rest on a saw horse for adjustments. Most adjustments can be made from a step ladder with antenna still vertical. The 20 meter adjustment is at the top and you will be forced to lower the antenna several times to get it right.
6. Do not try to use this antenna without 3 guy wires to stabilize it in the wind.
7. It does work and can be easily maintained by an old man.
8. The flimsy description by another poster here looks to be true. It looks flimsy. However, I tried to mount this thing at 10 feet 3 times and it fell over full force against the ground with one side at 10 feet and the other at ground. I expected it to break in half. It did not and had minimal damage. Don't try this break test yourself.
Most of my observations have been covered by other posters here and they were all correct. I will post later after using it a few months.
BTW, I carefully read every review before I bought this antenna.
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| W2RS |
Rating:     |
2018-06-20 | |
| Actually covers 7 bands |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Updated review:
I've had one up for more than five years, and it's a solid DX performer. The low radiation angle really works, if the antenna is mounted in the clear (mine is on a 10-foot pipe mast).
It is rated to cover 6 through 20 meters, but mine presents a load SWR of 4.6:1 on 30 meters, which is well within the capabilities of most automatic antenna tuners. I would not try to run full power on 30 for fear of frying the matching network, but I've had no trouble with 100 watts.
I agree with those reviewers who said it needs to be guyed. In southern Arizona we get winds with sustained speed of 50 mph and higher gusts.
The 4 rating reflects the well known MFJ assembly issues. They do supply replacement parts when needed.
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Earlier 4-star review posted by W2RS on 2011-08-01
{Updated review)
As seems typical for MFJ products, the AV620 had a few assembly issues. One of the two mounting brackets for the 20-meter loading section was missing; a call to MFJ/Hy-Gain's customer service people got one sent out (free, of course). One of the tubing sections did not have the required slotted end, so we made the slots with a hacksaw. There were also a few errors in the assembly instructions, but they were easily identified and resolved.
Once assembled, we installed the AV620 on a 10-foot pipe mast. The SWR was within spec on all bands except 12 meters, and even there it was close: 1.9:1 across the band.
On-air performance is great, very similar to the AV640 (see my review) on the bands covered. Perhaps the ultimate test was ST0R, a brand new country 9,000 miles and 10 time zones away, on 20 SSB. The AV620 worked them on the second day, with my 600 watts PEP. On long haul DX paths, its low radiation angle really works.
My 4/5 rating is due to the assembly issues. Otherwise, it's a 5/5
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| N1RND |
Rating:     |
2017-07-30 | |
| Needs guying. |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
First the bad part. I live in New England on top of hill (great for radio). I did not guy the antenna and it was mounted in a tripod at the ridgeline of the roof. It was able to handle high winds no problem, its snow that was the problem. We had a typical New England "Nor'easter" with heavy wet snow blow from one direction and the next morning the base section just above the fiberglass had a 90 degree bend. I hoped that after the ice melted off that the antenna would stand up again but it did not.
Keep in mind that my antenna came with the updated mounting bracket which did hold up, unlike older versions as noted in older reviews.
I will either repair or replace the bottom section and put it back up and GUY it this time.
Now for the good.
No missing parts or miss drilled pieces. You should have some antenna assembly experience as it is tedious and you must pay attention to detail. The directions are not that bad, better than I've seen with some others. Check to see if the clear protective celophane was removed from the aluminium stand off brackets.
After assembling and tuning the antenna on the ground I installed on the roof and did have retune a few bands.
Operationally I found that if I could hear em, I could work em. Most of the time signal reports were about equal, even when the other station was running a bigger antenna.
I found the noise level to only be slightly higher than my dipole.
I never experienced any RF in the shack.
A previous reviewer said "it won't work below 20 even with a tuner" It's not suppose to and Hy-Gain doesn't recommend using a tuner to make it work on bands its not designed for because you can "melt" things.
If you want 40 and or 80 get the AV- 640/680. Keep in mind those two and bigger and heavier than the 620 and will require even more guying.
All in all I am still pleased with it and will be reinstalling it properly. |
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| PE2KMV |
Rating:  |
2015-11-15 | |
| Good HF performance, flimsy construction |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
According to specs this antenna would stand 128 km/h wind speed. No way... Despite the use of guy-wires, the antenna didn't last one full year. Since the last storm it's on a 90 degree turn on the mast. The construction of the main beam is too thin for the mass of the part above with the rods for the different bands.
HF wise the antenna is really cool: after tuning it on the ground it went on to the mast. Afterward it could be used on 10, 12, 15, 17, 20 meter without tuner. I couldn't tell anything about 6m as I don't use that band. Dropping below 20 meter isn't possible either, even with tuner. |
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| JO7XVL |
Rating:   |
2014-12-11 | |
| Pay your money, take your chances... |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Ordered the AV620 from a stateside retailer that ships internationally. The delivery service in Japan heard loose parts inside, and took the precaution of opening the box to collect and re-bag dozens of nuts, bolt, etc. Without this courtesy, I might have left a trail of parts while carrying the box from work to home, about 2 km. It seems that sharp edges on the mast-mounting bracket cut into a small bag, causing the leak. More than 180 parts go into an AV620, so this is a serious matter.
Assembly takes time. Instructions are fairly detailed, but imperfect.
Hy-gain now uses off-the-shelf hardware store components as much as possible. This is a mixed blessing: more work for the buyer during assembly, but less reliance on factory work in Starkville, which lacks quality control (see my review of the MFJ 2289 Big Ear).
Received signals on 20-6 meters are generally stronger on my roof-mounted AV620 than on a 138' off-center-fed dipole at similar height. "If I hear 'em, I can work 'em" is a common but subjective and imprecise evaluation of many antennas. In the case of my AV620, the signal reports I get are generally 2 or more S-units below the reports that I give to stations in my 100 watt power class. I can't always work 'em when I hear 'em.
Hy-gain recommends Dacron guy lines for windy locations. I do not get the 80 mph winds that the AV620 is supposedly rated for, but I guyed it with some stretchy polyester that was on hand. The antenna has been in service more than one year, during which time the polyester lines have stretched and the antenna has bent just above the upper end of a fiberglass reinforcement at the base. Maybe the 80 mph rating refers to the antenna's breaking point rather than its trouble-free wind limit. |
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| K4TCH |
Rating:     |
2014-06-26 | |
| It's a Vertical! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| This is second one of these that I have owned. I didn't keep the first very long because I had a beam up. The beam is gone (I do not want an antenna that I cannot put up and take down on my own if necessary)so I wanted a simple to mount and effective antenna for all the high bands. This is it! I mounted it on a 20 foot push up pole just above roof level. It provides a dead flat SWR on all bands and is ready to use without any trouble. It seams to get out quite well although the amount of background noise is considerably higher than my dipoles. If you need a simple antenna that works...this is a good one. |
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| VY2REG |
Rating:   |
2013-03-02 | |
| Reconstruction |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I gave up on this antenna 2 years ago, it did not perform very well and finally broke. I left the disassembled antenna in my basement until one day I realized that I could use some of the parts to make a quarter wave 20 meter vertical. I attached it to the side of my deck about 10 FT above ground, used 4 elevated tuned radials. Now I have a really great 20M 1/4 wave vertical. SWR on 20 is almost 1 to 1. My Yaesu FT920 can tune it on all bands from 10 to 20 meters. I have made contacts around the world on all of these bands.
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Earlier 3-star review posted by VY2REG on 2010-12-30
This is a 2 year update. The antenna developed a bend at the upper insulator after about a year. Finally got around to taking it down today. Found out that upper insulation pipe was worn at one end and broken so that it did not extend down far enough inside the antenna pipe. Also one of the loading brackets had snapped. SHODDY MFJ MATERIAL AND WORKMANSHIP
I think the upper insulating pipe should be about 24 inches long and should extend well into the antenna pipe to prevent bending. |
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| DL3MLP |
Rating:     |
2012-06-20 | |
| After 6 Month |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Nice vertical. I owned it for more than 6 month. In the beginning I wanted to buy the AV-640 but the AV-620 was a cheap buy. After the sunspot maximum, I will buy the AV-640. Because 40m is my favorite band for DX.
It was the first try to work more DX. With a little amp it worked very good for me. I'm living in a valley and I worked YB, VK and so on which I never heard before.
The antenna was mounted on the roof at about 30 feet. Every time the wind was blowing, the antenna was very loud in the house. The radials made very much noise.
Now I replaced it by a MA5B MiniBeam. It works a little bit better.
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| K8GCU |
Rating:    |
2012-01-30 | |
| Missing parts, bad solder joints.... |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
The antenna works fine, however the quality control of the required items just plain sucks! Customer service was nice (Ronald), but a day late and a dollar short. Caution when buying one. I would recommend that you open the box and do a complete inventory before you plan on putting it together or you might just waist alot of time like I did.
The following items where missing:
1 each - Part number 810-0620-11, Stub Section 1/4" x 24", ID number "CL"
1 each - Part number 758-9200, 2 1/2" U-Bolt Assembly SS, ID number "UB"
2 each - Part number 808-1785-6, Mast Plate, ID number "MP"
1 each - Part number 738-2602, 180 Degree Stub Spacer, ID number "P2"
The following item was defective:
Part number 80-AV620-1, AV620 Matching Unit, ID number "NW" - the solder joints inside the matching unit on the coax connector were both "cold" and had to be re-soldered
Since the 1/4" x 24" tube was not included the "linear loading assembly" could not be completed.
Since the 2 1/2" U-Bolt assembly was missing it could not be mounted to the pole. |
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| WA2RSB |
Rating:    |
2011-12-02 | |
| Works OK, But...... |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This antenna took the better part of a day to assemble mainly because many steps in the instruction manual were unclear and confusing.
Once assembled, it was mounted on the roof of a ranch home in a very snowy, icey, windy area of the Pocono mountains. After the first very windy icey winter, I discovered that two of the black standoffs cracked into two pieces, and broke away from the antenna. To replace these standoffs meant I would have to take the whole antenna apart. Lucky for me, one of my friends was able to fabricate two new insulators made out of heavy plexiglass. He attached them to the antenna without taking it apart. So far thesse replacement standoffs are working out OK. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
The antenna worked fine once mounted on the roof. All SWR's were within spec for all bands.
I gave it a 3 because of the terrible assembly manual and the problem that I had with these two standoff insulators cracking. |
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