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Reviews For: MFJ-1712

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

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Review Summary For : MFJ-1712
Reviews: 7MSRP: $14.95
Description:
Metal Dual Bander for 144 and 440 MHz. 1/4 wave for 2 Meters and 5/8 wave with gain for 440 MHz. 7 1/4 collapsed, 19" extended.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-1712
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0073.6
KC9YWV Rating: 2013-07-14
Specs have changed for this Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased one of these for my FT-60. However, when I received it, the size was considerably smaller then the specs listed. After talking to AES about it they suggested I contact MFJ. After talking to them I was informed the specs for this antenna have been changed. It is now 4" collapsed and 15 3/4" extended. In addition, the antenna I received was a Nagoya NA-773 the identifying marks had been painted over. Before I sent it back I did some testing, below is my experience with and impressions of the antenna.

As I said I purchased this for my FT-60. I live in an area of North-Central Indiana close to West Lafayette, so I have 4 or 5 repeaters near to me. There was little to NO difference between this antenna and the Rubber Duck. There were a couple of Repeaters around 15 or so Miles away that gained a single bar on the S-Meter, but it was at the low end of meter, around the 3-4 mark.

I was disappointed in the significant size difference and that I had to talk to someone at MFJ to find out the Specs had changed. I was also VERY disappointed that the antenna I received was from a different manufacturer that had simply been re-painted.
KG4OLW Rating: 2013-06-16
Great little antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this antenna thinking it was a short stubby antenna. I have a Diamond srh77ca antenna, and while that antenna is great, my cats go nuts for it, and knock the HT out of the cradle and attack it. So I figured a little stubby antenna was just the thing for working Dstar in the house of a DVAP. Little did I know that this antenna actually extends. I tested several of the local repeaters and WX stations, this antenna seems to work just as well as my diamond. It is made of black aluminum and looks very sharp. The action of extending and collapsing the antenna is smooth and has a lot of friction. The antenna seems very well made. I think this antenna will last me a long time, and if it doesn't its only $15.

Another side note, is now I can take the HT to work, without getting the weird looks I get when I walk in with an 18" whip on the ht. Hi HI
KE5OYZ Rating: 2011-09-30
Much too fragile Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I owned this antenna for a fairly long time, and it worked far better than my IC-T90A's stock duckie... that is, while it lasted. The telescopic feature is both a blessing and a curse. It makes the use of this antenna far more convenient when carrying a radio in a pocket or on a belt, but repeatedly extending the antenna apparently puts a lot of strain on the glued-together antenna components. The SMA connector on my MFJ-1712S snapped off after about a year of light use, and because of quality issues with this and other MFJ antennas, I won't be buying another.
KF7LCE Rating: 2011-06-03
Good for what you pay Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This rating is all based on price. The 1712 isn't the best device ever built, but it only runs you $15, and for that you get a quality antenna. I bought this out of a catalog where it was advertised as an "HT range extender" and that nicely summarizes what it will do for you. This antenna will allow you to get rid of the horrible stock ducky that come with most new handhelds, access a few distant repeaters, and allow you to run low power on your favorites. It will do this well and do it cheap; if that's what you expect, you won't be disappointed.
W9HAN Rating: 2008-10-24
Great for VHF Marine Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I put my MFJ-1712S onto my MFJ-269 analyzer and found the bandwidth to very broad and good VHF SWR at the "sweet spot" and horrible UHF SWR. Got SWR readings of about 1.8:1 at 155.350 and 3.1:1 at 418.250. Obviously, the frequency centers at the sweet spots are not in the HAM bands! Since the bandwidth is broad you can reach the 2M band at 2.0:1 SWR or so.

This is a good Marine VHF or MURS antenna, but I bought this antenna as a HAM dual bander as stated on the label.

I would not recommend this antenna to anyone due to the SWR centering, which indicates poor engineering and/or manufacturing. You need a club for each golf shot, but this antenna is like a wood #3 made of wood or a left handed club for a right handed golfer. The club needs to go! I will use it on my VHF Marine radio.
WB6TNB Rating: 2008-02-17
A great antenna for not much $$ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had several of these for at least ten years. Kenwood used to make an identical antenna but when it was discontinued MFJ came out with the MFJ-1712.

I've used them on numerous amateur HT's and scanners and in all applications I get a very noticable increase in signal strength. Fully extended to 19 inches it's 1/4 wave on 2 Meters and 5/8 wave on 440. I've found that it provides some gain on 220 by partially collapsing the whip. It collapses to 7 1/4 inches and performs the same as a 2 meter rubber duck at that length.

I use two very local repeaters and when using the MFJ-1712 I can drop down to low power with no loss of signal strength. As a result my battery packs last a lot longer.

If you need more signal on the cheap this is the way to go. They make both BNC and SMA versions.










KC2FTN Rating: 2007-01-06
GREAT ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Reference station was about 4 miles away using a Diamond X-200A verticle, and a Kenwood 2-meter base radio. I was using a Radio Shack HTX-202 HT fully charged inside my house.

Stock rubber duck:
S2 on low power, S5 on high.

MFJ-1712 (collapsed):
S6 on low, S8 on high.

MFJ-1712 (extended):
Full scale on low, Full scale on high. (30/9)

This antenna works GREAT for me.