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

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by KM9G, Sep 1, 2021.

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  1. KI4POT

    KI4POT Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    I end up doing a lot of my activations on 2m using an HT and an improved antenna as well. In fact, many of my 8-10 point summits have been on 2m with only a contact or two on HF, if at all. I'll default to HF if there are radio towers on summit as those tend to wreak havoc on VHF, or if the summit is deep in the mountains, but many of the ones in the Shenandoah Valley are very doable on VHF with a mere HT and a j-pole or half-wave whip. As with you, my KX2 with a whip (MFJ-1820t or MFJ-1815t) is my backup plan. When HF is the primary goal, I use a proper wire antenna.

    Chris
     
    G0CIQ, KA1YBS and M1WML like this.
  2. 2E0TWD

    2E0TWD Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    A bit disappointed in the Thumbnail from someone in a house full of ladies.
     
    WN1MB, KA1YBS and M1WML like this.
  3. G8ADD

    G8ADD Ham Member QRZ Page

    It strikes me that many of the posts in this thread are predicated on the assumption that because a ham is using QRP he cannot afford to waste any power. This is not necessarily so. Very often when running 5 watts I am getting such good reports that I could drop the power even to 0.5 watts and still maintain contact. Sometimes it is sensible to accept some compromise for the sake of convenience. For instance my 20m vertical with elevated radials has a loading coil about a third of the way up, which makes it a good fit to my roach pole. Yes, a loading coil compromises efficiency, but if I can still get my 5 watts of SSB across the Atlantic, as I can, who cares? For 40/60/80m I use the ancient W3EDP antenna with a tuner. Perhaps it wastes power, but the important thing is that it works, and all I have to do to change bands is operate the band switch and turn one knob. Simples.

    By the way, my main antenna at home is a 40m long doublet, matched with an MFJ-949E. The MFJ-949E never gets warm.
     
    G0CIQ, W1LJ, KI4POT and 1 other person like this.
  4. M1WML

    M1WML Ham Member QRZ Page

    ok well done... but i,ll stick to my 10 element log periodic and my acom 1000.. :D:D:D
     
  5. G8ADD

    G8ADD Ham Member QRZ Page

    Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut!;)
     
    PA0MHS, K9GLS and M1WML like this.
  6. M7BLC

    M7BLC Ham Member QRZ Page

    Full disclosure - as an M7 Newbie restricted to 10 watts my ignorance on antenna matters is legion. In my ignorance I have found a large umbrella base with mounted 10 meter collapsible fishing pole and a suitable length of wire (30 ' seems to work well) is fine for mono band and with an added unun does a passable impression of multi band if required ? Sets up and takes down in minutes and no huge radials required. Having lit the blue touch paper stands back and waits for the explosion of derision :) . 73
     
    G0CIQ, WN1MB and AJ6KZ like this.
  7. G8ADD

    G8ADD Ham Member QRZ Page

    No derision here, mate! If it works, it works, so enjoy it and ignore the Zed jockeys!
     
    G0CIQ, M1WML, KE8QFP and 1 other person like this.
  8. KQ1V

    KQ1V Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    I say use whatever you want to use. If you are combining hobbies, such as rock climbing, hiking, & etc. use what you can afford and carry with you.

    I have two BuddiPoles, but I tend to se my wire more as it is less set-up time and the results are pretty much equal.
     
    G0CIQ and M1WML like this.
  9. N1IPU

    N1IPU Ham Member QRZ Page

    Use whatever works for you and go about your business but please try and expand your knowledge base because it can be a lot of fun. I have probably tried a hundred antennas for portable work and this Comet was actually a good performer for me done right. I ended up giving it as a gift to a new ham starting to go portable. I showed him how to set it up and we discussed the thought process in making it work best. I used to do a ton of portable but my mobility has gone so I am strictly a mobile operator land and maritime now. Soon enough will be rigging a wheelchair so then a new antenna adventure begins. Maybe making compact air powered masts will be my first go. ;)

    Your going to find that selecting a new antenna to try comes down to personal choice and experimentation. A lot of hams cannot make some outstanding antennas work and I have found it's mostly due to laziness or lack of understanding. Take the BTV for example. You will find as many deriding them as praising them. One just has to know its all in the install and how hard you will work to balance and tune them. They can work exceptionally well done right but few do that.

    The big issue with this thread though is you have someone who isn't interested in getting better but instead wants to bring others down to his level by promoting this garbage on youtube. No shame at all.

    There were no inquiries about if he was doing it properly or trying to gain an understanding of the design. Just " I am a goof and will do goofy things" and use a clikbait title to gain views. These clowns cheapen the hobby for everyone.

    One just has to watch the movie Idiocracy to see where this is all heading. "I like money" What's really sad is this site has no problem promoting them which boils down to the intent overall which needs to be questioned.

    Like I said above it all boils down to "I like money"
     
    G0CIQ, N4CAX, WN1MB and 2 others like this.
  10. W4SIJ

    W4SIJ XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    upload_2021-9-2_9-8-18.jpeg
     
    M1WML and AJ6KZ like this.
  11. K9GLS

    K9GLS Guest

    No derision here from someone that has worked Germany, Spain, France, Poland, Slovakia and others SSB with a $20 fishing pole and a strand of wire and some radials... and 6 watts. I'll take your setup or mine over any of these worthless CHAMPAS-MOUSE $500 piles of scrap.
     
    WN1MB and M1WML like this.
  12. WB9QVR

    WB9QVR Ham Member QRZ Page

    Actually there are any number of non-resonant antennas which are highly efficient (some are even more efficient than their resonant cousins and can have gain over them as well). However, as pointed out in the ARRL Antenna Book, the trick is feeding such antennas properly as that is where the largest portion of the loss occurs. Using balanced line feeders and locating a tuner at the antenna feedpoint are two such methods of avoiding loss. The reason many hams believe that non-resonant antennas are inefficient is because they are used to locating the tuner at the radio end and then using coax between the tuner and antenna - a very lossy configuration.
     
    K0TWA, KI4YTV, G0CIQ and 7 others like this.
  13. W6BRP

    W6BRP Ham Member QRZ Page

    all above data is incorrect
     
    KM9G, M1WML and (deleted member) like this.
  14. W2STF

    W2STF Ham Member QRZ Page

    ALF is still using his V 80 antenna and is getting good results.

    73"s to all

    W2stf
     
    M1WML likes this.
  15. W1LJ

    W1LJ Ham Member QRZ Page

    Incorrect assumption that all tuners waste significant power through resistive or inductive core losses.

    My tuner inductors remain cold to the touch. Wasted power?

    You are just trolling.
     

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