Is this the worst antenna for portable use? - Comet HFJ-350M Toy Box

R E S O N A N T--- please look up the meaning.... and I'm still looking for the "tuner" in the video

 

After 19 pages and God knows how many factually incorrect statements and unscientific falsehoods, I'm still wondering how some people here even managed to pass their Tech test, much less General.

 

MEH..Though I do agree with your statement.

But chew on this: how many old-timers actually know how to use FT8 or other digital modes? Some of the old-timers have not kept up with the technology either. Something you would expect of an "Extra". BTW: I only care that the person is licensed and has proper edict when communicating and abides by (in the US) FCC rules.

 

Why was he pointing at the MFJ Analyzer and saying antenna tuner.? It did not make sence to me. de John - G0WXU

 

In many cases, it is the old-timers who are the source of the wrong information. Most people will believe the beautiful lie instead of the ugly truth.

 

I dabbled with CB in the seventies. Many of the myths I heard back then, are still being regurgitated today, by hams no less.

 

AM/SSB CB was the bee's knees back in the late 1970s and early 80s, and I'd assert that is it even better than 3910 KHz today!

 

Be AWARE OF CHINESE FAKE BRAND ANTENNA'S.
I bought a mobile vhf/uhf antanna that was supposed to be a DIAMOND 7000 but turned out to be a knockoff copy made by happytalk? Ran tests using a VNA, and it was not useable.. Worse than a piece of wet string. Luckily A****N reimbursed without hesitation.
Beware of fake antennas..

 

My experience differ. Fake antennas were pretty good on analyzer but were built of the worst material ever. Having being installed on a car, they worked approx one year (if had not been broke mechanically) until become completely rotten. Everything was rotten: the antennas themselves, magnet mounts, even cables. Taxi drivers loved them as they were damn cheap and nobody cared what will happen in year or so: many drivers changed company and thus changed their radios and antennas to a different band, many drivers abandoned the job, etc. So acceptable performing, cheap, still unreliable antennas had good sales.

I personally dislike genuine Diamonds and similar antennas from other brands for their mechanical complexity. Sure they perform pretty well still I'd prefer antennas like Lemm AT-28 or AT-09 that could work dozens of years w/o any maintenance. So for myself I'd neither buy genuine nor fake Diamond.

 

Mine works well, I use two of them set up as an L dipole. You have to use an analyzer every time you set it up. I run 100 watts SSB and I make contacts every time. I've use it for POTA and I've never failed to activate a park with it. Does my sotabeams 4 band dipole work better? no doubt it does.
BUT The Comet HFJ-350M is so tiny and easy to set up. It doesn't get in anyone's way for POTA. It's not a dummy load, it's a compromise.

 

A wire dipole can be made of much thinner wire and still work efficiently. Wire such as PolyStealth-22 (22-AWG), PolyStealth-26 and Wireman CQ-534 (26-AWG) are all very lightweight, yet strong enough. And, HEIGHT = MIGHT. Keep it lightweight and fly it high.

 

Using a G90 with this antenna on a magnet mount on the roof of the car or on my ladder mount on the camper is a breeze, stationary of course. With the antenna at full length just push the tune button and you are good to go. No painstaking adjustments are necessary using this radio, that's one of the joys of the G90 tuner.

 

I'm an old timer, licensed at age 17 in 1973. I was using FT8 just a few days after it was released, and had used JT65 and JT9 for years before. There were no tutorials at that time on how to setup FT8. We had to figure it out for ourselves. Now, I coach young hams on how to setup the digital modes. So, be careful not to paint with too broad a brush. Chew on that.

 

I said "some".