| KA2UUP |
Rating:      |
2009-01-21 | |
| Going on 9 years |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
9 years later, it is still working great. Finally, after getting an antenna analyzer, I tuned the antenna to the center of each band. Bandwidths are as advertised, no problem there.
Only thing found was a deterioration of the fiberglass standoff insulators due to UV rays. However, the structural integrity is still excellent. I would recommend this antenna to anyone, without hesitation. |
|
| G0HCI |
Rating:     |
2009-01-21 | |
| Mod |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Oh well, it had to happen. Storm broke ally mast which had a weak point. But the 1798 bounced and only damage was two c'poise arms (bent up bad).
I re-mounted on a steel pole and rather than use the original raised counterpoise, left two 'far' arms supporting the c'poise wire on far side from house and securely soldered and clamped down an insulated earth cable as replacement for counterpoise on closest side (wire has a slight angle down to house entry point).
WOW! The reduction in noise, 80m is now far superior than my long wire and there's little movement of the antenna now.
|
|
| VA3NBM |
Rating:      |
2009-01-05 | |
| DXCC in first year! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I put up this versatile antenna in 1997 (my first and only HF antenna so far) and I achieved DXCC status in less 1 year (at the bottom of the sunspot cycle) operating 100w almost exclusively on SSB. I am still using it although it is a little "worse for wear" now and and I am considering replacing it with the same antenna. It is a wonderful 'limited space' antenna with a great operating range. |
|
| WG5J |
Rating:    |
2008-11-15 | |
| It is an OK product once you get it working - QC issues |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have a MFJ-1798 and I have worked a bunch of countries on it. Overall, it is a decent antenna. The instruction manual is OK, but needs more diagrams. Mine was missing some bolts and nuts and some holes were not drilled. The bolt holes for the top hat were not drilled and only half the hardware was there. Better QC and a manual with better diagrams would make it a much better product. |
|
| DAVEW5LP |
Rating:      |
2008-10-14 | |
| A great investment |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Since I got in to ham radio some 13 years ago, I have used antennas of varios different types, some store bought and some hand made. When I bought this antenna, I was unsure what I was getting into. After using it a year now, I feel it was well worth my investment. It took far less time to construct than indicated (about an hour). I started at 7 in the morning and by lunch time, I had made my first contact on a fully tuned antenna. I have used it on my IC 706 transceivers (all 3 flavors) and on my IC 7000 with great signal reports. If your looking for a great multipurpose antenna or need something for limited space, this antenna is for you.
BTW, My antenna is ground mounted with the base in the clear, up 15 feet from the ground which puts the two meter tip at 35 feet in the air. |
|
| N9XAW |
Rating:     |
2008-09-06 | |
| proactive step |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| We have had two of these antennas. The wind destroyed the first one. The second one has the same problems. The thin wires at the top easily are pulled loose in the wind causing SWR to hit the peg. You might beef up these wires and connectors with something more sturdy before putting the antenna up. Taking it down to repair these wires is time consuming. This seems to be a common complaint on this otherwise good antenna. |
|
| former_WA6L_JG |
Rating:    |
2007-10-29 | |
| Not without its problems . . . |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
From a design perspective, this is a unique and interesting antenna. It has the advantage of being top-loaded, it does not require any radials, and it covers every band from 80m to 2m. That is a heck of a lot of features in one antenna!
To get that much capability in a single antenna, you would expect some compromises. There are some, but nothing horrible. The 80, 40, and 30 meter bands use loading coils, which introduce some loss and which limit the bandwidth on those bands. Still, with an antenna tuner it works fairly well across each band.
Any judgement about performance is going to be anecdotal, and it will depend on how and where you mount this antenna. My experience has been that it works as well or better than other verticals on the 20 through 10 meter bands. It performs adequately on 80 through 30 meters. I did compare 40m operation against a sloper that I have, and perceived signal strength was about the same.
Rating this antenna strictly on features and performance, I would rate it at least a 4, and possibly a 5. However, there are some other issues.
Constructing this antenna is not for the faint of heart. The instructions are vague at best. Several helpful Hams have created web sites that provide additional help, pictures, and instructions. If I didn't have those I think the antenna would still be in its box. Even with this additional help, it is a good 8-12 hours of actual construction time.
Secondly, and more importantly, this antenna just does not hold up to any sort of weather. The capacitance hat is held together by small screws at the end of each spreader. Any time that you get a wind of more than about 30 mph, the whole top hat comes apart like a cheap suitcase. The antenna is very sensitive to any break in the capacitance hat, and SWR goes up drastically when wires come apart.
In a year's time, I have taken the antenna down a half-dozen times for repair. Most recently, we had some 80 mph gusts that not only tore up the capacitance hat, but actually bent the lower section of the antenna's mast. This time, I drilled small holes at the end of each spreader, then used a #6 sheet metal screw to attach a solder lug. Then I replaced all the wire on the top hat (yet again) and soldered it to the lugs. I hope that this latest incarnation lasts more than a couple of months, but I am not optimistic.
I've made some great contacts with this antenna, and had a lot of fun with it. However, I have also cursed at it countless times during its construction and during its continual repair. I think that if I had to do it all over again, I would have gone with a vertical that was better constructed. Even with the hassle of installing radials, I think I would have spent more time operating and less time working over the last year.
73,
John, WA6L |
|
| AD5ZA |
Rating:      |
2007-05-15 | |
| Better than expected! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| Great performance for a vertical. Much better than expected. If you have limited space, this antenna is for you. Worked 62 countries first 60 days including N8S, Swains Is, on 40, 20, 17, 15 & 12 Meters. (Check online logs.) Instructions could be better but a little THINKING will solve the problems. No tuning problems for me. Bandwidth is poor on 40 & 80 M so you will need a tuner for these bands. This antenna has survived 80 MPH winds and I'm very happy with it. |
|
| N4IJS |
Rating:      |
2006-04-22 | |
| Excellant Ant! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased this ant. several years ago and have never questioned that purchase!
I live near Cincinnati, Ohio, and this ant. has been out in the elements for 6 years now. Never have I had a problem with it and it has stood up against all kinds of WX, including high winds, snow, ice, heat, you name it!
It has been a consistent performer and works as advertised!
If you are looking for a all purpose HF (and 2 meter) ant., this is an excellent choice!
|
|
| W1BAK |
Rating:      |
2005-12-26 | |
| Great !!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| This is my first manufactured hf antenna. Before this, I ran home brew wire hf antennas. The MFJ-1798 blows them away! Assembly was tricky because I ended up disassembling and reassembling some of the sections more than once due to my being in a hurry. Tuning was easy, just time consuming. 1.2 to 1 or better swr was accomplished from 2m through 20m. However, 40m and 80m have such a narrow bandwidth, that I must use either my rig's onboard tuner or an external tuner for full band coverage. So far it has withstood a recent snow/ice buildup and high winds. I would not hesitate to buy this same antenna again. Why? NO RADIALS! I live on a very small lot and the MFJ-1798 is ground mounted on a 10 foot mast in the back yard and is currently fed with 60 ft of RG8 joined to 10 ft of 8X (which runs into the shack). That puts the top of the antenna at 30 ft. Plus, I'm located in the lowest section of my town. But..so far, I have worked 5 countries and 10 states across the 17m, 20m, 40m and 80m bands on phone. In state, 2m and 6m work as good as my old verticals. I have not worked anyone on 30m, 10m and 12m yet but testing shows 1.1 swr on those bands and when they open, I'm sure I will have the same success as with the other bands. There may be other multiband verticals out there, but if you're like me and hate running ground radials, get yourself an MFJ-1798! |
|