| 7Z1VD |
Rating:  |
2024-04-06 | |
| best portable and mobile antenna for HF |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Since I arrived to Saudi Arabia three years ago, I have been active in radio mostly on mobile operation, due mainly to some issues to install big antennas but also to the QRN that I have at home after sunset.
I have quite a few spots that I regularly go to, like at the outskirts of the city of Jeddah, the desert, or my favorite one which is by the beach, almost touching the Red Sea. Amazing sceneries, incredible night skies, crystal clear blue waters…..this is what I see while I struggle with the pile-ups sometimes.
Even that I usually operate stationary I like to make a difference between /M and /P, cause while mobile I mean I am inside of my car with the rig running barefoot 100w and mobile antenna, while going portable may mean I am using some kind of external generator, linear and even a bigger antenna.
Saying that, I have tried and still have in my car several types of mobile antenna. The classical monoband hamstick antennas (helicoidal system), the screwdriver, or lately the telescopic mobile antenna.
The hamsticks are good antennas, but being monobanders make them not very convenient if you want to operate in more than one band, and of course you are not going to carry one antenna for each band….On the other side the screwdriver is a compromise antenna, and I have used it some times when it was very windy (in the desert for instance) but this antenna has a very tight wide band, you almost have to retune even working in the same band, so the scope is so small that for instance in 20m you have to retune if you are in the upper or lower part of the band. Performance is below expectations.
After almost two years mobile operation, I can certify 100% that the telescopic antenna (the MFJ-1979) is really a killer. I have got amazing reports all over the world, many people asking me how power I was running and what antenna I was using. To me this is the simplest antenna, the classic ¼ wave antenna, no coils, no screwdriver things, and being telescopic is super easy to change from band to band. After some use I managed to make it shorter or longer for any band just by heart, and little adjustment afterwards. I use it with a magnet base so easy to fold to change bands. This antenna has suffered from extreme weather conditions in Saudi Arabia: very high temperatures, storms o sand, and the salty wind of the Red Sea. And it is still alive and kicking….I have to reckon that some maintenance is needed in such extreme conditions (any antenna should). I clean it up with the WD-40 spray, to remove the dust, salt, sand……hi hi hi. Of course you have to use it with care, making it shorter or longer with care, and not to expose to high winds, though I have use it with really strong winds that even took the magnet off but not bending the antenna.
I hope this will encourage everybody to try mobile operations, being unexpensive and having good fun out from the comfort of our house’s shacks, and therefore something anyone can afford. Regards from the Red Sea.
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| AF6TP |
Rating: |
2023-04-07 | |
| Had this for several years |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased this direct from MFJ. It's very solid and well built. It's fallen over several times and was never damaged. It works great on all bands 20 and below. Just throw several ground radials approx. 12 feet long.
Can't beat it for portability and durability. |
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| KB3NWU |
Rating: |
2022-08-05 | |
| For portable/temporary use. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've had some fun with this telescopic antenna. I set it up ground mounted for Field Day a few times with MFJ's 40M coil and 8 16' radials on the ground for use with my FT-897D. I'm sure any 16' suspended wire would perform as good as this on 20M but the telescopic sections make it easy to adjust for higher bands and the coil gets 40M and even 60M. I've only used this a day or two at a time so I haven't had any durability issues, but I would not use this or any other telescopic antenna for permanent installation. Wind and weather would probably wear out the joints pretty quickly. Why did I not give it 5 stars? Well, the first one I ordered came unthreaded! Just a plain, smooth stud at the base. The MFJ rep sent me a new (threaded) one right away and didn't even want the first one returned just saying, "Oh boy, that's the first I've heard that" probably fearing a whole batch was sent out that way. This system is not as quick a throwing an EFHW over a limb but, verticals do have great range with their low angle radiation. |
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| AA2SD |
Rating: |
2022-03-14 | |
| Excellent Antenna for HOA Stealth Operation |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Excellent Antenna for HOA Stealth Opertaion
This is an excellent portable antenna. I mounted this on white vinyl fence with a ground rod. I live in a restricted HOA environment and can not put up a large antenna. I did add (6) ground radials in the yard which made a big difference. I was able to make contact on 20 meter and 15 meter to Germany, PR, Antigua, Italy, Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. The antenna has a very slim profile and can easily be folded down into the stealth position when not in use. These contact s were made with no coil, I am adding a Wolf Coil to the antenna to help with the other bands. |
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| VE3EQP |
Rating: |
2022-01-22 | |
| Tip section rusts! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The top solid rod tip section on mine has been rusting since I bought it in November. I've been wiping it with rust preventers such as WD-40, some silicon sprays and oil wipes with no slowing down of the rust. It will soon be unable to move in and out of the rest of the whip which is still pristine with NO RUST! I am using it on a balcony next to the Atlantic Ocean, but the telescoping sections are still good.
Original post was 2015, update 2022! This antenna completely froze up and would not pull out about 2017. Just this year I attempted to 'carefully' extend it to full height and leave it there. No go! It collapsed and crushed and will not open completely. Interesting, since I have had many vehicles where the stock AM-FM antennas worked well for the life of them, pulling out and retracting perfectly. |
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| KC3OLR |
Rating: |
2021-09-07 | |
| Still working, but needs stable off-vehicle mounting. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
An issue arises outdoors with its size for portable, off-vehicle mounting - finding a tripod (or quadrapod) adapted to the 3/8-24 fit providing the necessary stability against wind gusts. MFJ mount 342T does not fit on masts wider than 1.18" diam., when converted to vertical (3 cm screw spacing), so inexpensive roof tripods with staked feet are ruled out unless some kind of adapter and thin mast is used. So to keep the 1979 from being tipped by the wind, I poke it through a maze of tree branches while it's on the too-small SuperAntenna TM1 low profile tripod, but use 3 20m Hamstick coil sections as feet for better stability. The 1979 is resonant on 20m nearly fully extended. Three various radials coming off of the TM1 collar, laid on the ground, lowered SWR well.
Additional testing stumbled on the obvious: 1) collapsing is not the same as shortening. I tested it on 6 meters collapsed to 56" and 58", and SWR never went under 3.0. It may best be used at full length only, with an ant. tuner. 2) Steel is not copper. Copper is a better conductor of AC than steel. A copper core random wire may make more sense in some portable outings where trees provide sufficient height, and save a lot of $$. The current issue of On The Air (ARRL) discusses this antenna. |
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| WD4ELG |
Rating:  |
2021-04-18 | |
| Sure looked great, but appearances can be deceiving |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
First one I ordered in 2018, it was slightly bent after falling in a windstorm...and the top section no longer collapses.
So I ordered another. Right out of the box the top section would not hold and remain extended (just like a previous poster).
MFJ doesn't make these things...someone else does and MFJ resells them. Is there no verification of the product before passing it on to the consumer?
Returned for refund. |
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| W5NM |
Rating: |
2021-02-01 | |
| Typical MFJ Junk |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
My new mfj-1979 was stuck together upon arrival.
Finally, using much force was able to extend the
antenna somewhat, but most of the sections would
not move. Later I notice that some of the brass
shims were coming out. I managed to push some
of them back into place. All of this occurred before
I had a chance to even use the antenna. $70.00
down the drain.
I had high hopes of being able to use this whip
on 20 meters when going portable up in the mountains.
If MFJ would manufacture fewer variations of its
products and put more careful effort into good
product quality, they would be a better company.
Carmine W5NM |
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| AI4UN |
Rating: |
2020-10-07 | |
| Good for portable home-brew vertical use |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Over the last 3 years I have purchased 3 of these whips to use in home-brew portable antennas and all three are still in good condition. While I am generality not fond of MFJ quality control, the 3 that I have purchase have been of good quality. When used as a quarter wave vertical with appropriate radials, the antenna performs very well. The design and construction of the antenna is appropriate for a temporary portable antenna, however, it is not suited for long-term or harsh environment use. Care should also be taken to make sure that the antenna does not get bent enough to deform permanently. |
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| N0AN |
Rating: |
2020-01-08 | |
| Excellent Basis for Ground Plane |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
After nearly a year, it has physically failed twice. I repaired it once (bent over), and then it did it again. At that point, I decided to make my own out of a CB whip and an extender, using the same ground plane setup.
If used on 17m, it is simply not strong enough to stay in one piece over an extended period of time. While it stayed in one piece it was a very fine performer.
Price vs RF Performance is Excellent. Heavier than I thought it was going to be, which is a positive, but apparently not heavy enough as it has foled over twice now. I bought a cheap CB Mirror mount (3/8 x 24) and clamped it to the boom of a 70cm yagi (no longer in use) about 7 or 8 feet off the ground.
After I secured the mount, I attached 4 elevated radials 13 feet long at a height of about 8 feet (same as antenna), and spread them as nearly every 90 deg as possible, but they aren't perfect.
At this point I made the antenna about 13 feet long by telescoping the smallest diameter section all the way in for mechanical strength. The slid each bottom section out fully, and using only the last section diameter as little as possible for the final tuning.
After a little tuning of the radiator (I did not tune the radials, leaving them cut at 13'), the VSWR is about 1.5 : 1.
The antenna is near a lot of metal, as the cross boom is part of a satellite array, and coax parallel to it going up to a 70cm/2m J-Pole. (about 5' from it)
Performance on 17m using FT8 has been very good. It outperforms my Carolina Windom 160, except in early afternoon to Europe. Late afternoons the Ground Plane is clearly superior.
Because of the layout of the radials, it is most likely not omni-directional. The CW160 has some wicked high gain lobes that I believe explain the CW160s superiority to Europe around noon.
Results with GP @ 7': (one morning and late afternoon)
CO8, LU4, ZS2, KL7, KH6, JA5, ZL2, ZL4, 80 watts.
Fed the antenna with LMR-400, no choke, no balun. If available, I would use a choke/balun.
The entire antenna was fabricated in a couple hours (making the radials, stringing them out, mounting the CB Mirror mount) . After that it was a simple matter of stretching out the vertical and taping the joints...I taped them so they would not slip. They had very good self resistance, but since this antenna is intended to stay up a while, I secured the sections with black electrical tape.
Anyone wanting a quick 1/4 Vertical or Ground Plane for 20 meters or above would find this antenna suitable. Make sure you have a mount that accepts the "standard" 3/8 x 24 stud. ...and expect that it will not stand up to wind and ice.
73, N0AN |
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