Is this worth my time, MFJ-1789 ?

[Riverman]

That's weird. It was my understanding they bowled together regularly. Or golfed. Can't remember.

Anyway, concerning the MFJ Dipole/Hustler Vertical debate. . .
Maybe what we may need is a committee, or better yet---one person, selected by the members, to answer everyone's question in every thread. That way, the person posting the question wouldn't have to cipher through several different opinions in trying to make a decision.

I can think of a few highly qualified individuals who would be good in that role.
Let's see . . .on second thought, that list is pretty long. Lots of deserving members with the experience and expertise. Perhaps if we limit the list to those having the experience, expertise, AND a great deal of patience and are not easily provoked. . .
I don't know, there are still quite a few who qualify. Might be easier to just list those who we don't want in that position. Let's see. . .
Didn't really think I was going to do that, did you?

You know. . . a modus operandi of this nature, while useful, would prove to be pretty boring. Lots of great personalities inhabit this site. Guess we'll stick with what we have.

Okay, this thread has officially gone WAY off course. My apologies, Mudduck. Hope whichever antenna you decide on works out for you and does you a bang up job.

Happy thoughts, everyone!
Jim

 

[2RT307]

This one looks pretty interesting...
http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-1835

A couple of my local club's members were talking about it recently.

73,
Brett

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

This antenna has no gain either, it is generally used as a ground mounted vertical. Why not use a 43ft ground mount vertical with a remote tuner at the feed point and lots of ground radials??? No lossy traps or loading coils with those.

I have yet to find out what the big deal is with a 43 foot antenna. It still needs a tuner of some sort to work all bands. Is it better than a 53 foot antenna? Why not use 47 feet instead? Nobody has ever said what it is that makes a 43 foot antenna good. Being a vertical it still needs a good groundplane.

No question that a full size dipole at the right height is best.

Agreed

All these antennas are compromise antennas for people with limited space to have multi-bands with 1 antenna. I haven't looked the Hustler antenna in quite a while and as so, I seemed to recall it having more than 1 resonator by I see it has mostly traps. Traps are lossy too!

Yes all forms of loading are a compromise and traps do indeed have losses. The trick is to use heavy wire and as little as possible to function.

Caphats do negate coil losses if large enough to where it can almost make up for the shortened length.

Example: My 2 ft mobile screwdriver antenna with a 2 ft mast and 15 in diameter 6 radial caphat tunes the 10 meter band with almost no added loading coil (antenna topped out ). It would take a 8 ft antenna with a small coil to do the same. So with the caphat radials and a little coil inductance, I get a 51 ohm impedance tuning with a 4 ft overall antenna length whereas a full 1/4 wave whip for 10 meters, the whip would be a 37 ohm feed-point. Wouldn't that equalize the efficiency between the short caphat antenna compared to the whip on that band?

Things aren't as cut and dry as the example given since the lower frequencies require longer antennas so shorter antennas rapidly decrease efficiency as the frequency lowers.

BTW, I wasn't comparing you to Rabbi, just was a humorous potshot to how he judges radios /antennas tunes and efficiencies to the "Verizon Test"... Can you hear me now!!!

The other thing to consider too is the take off angle. The vertical will have a decently low TOA with a good groundplane but the horizontal dipole must be quite high to achieve the same angle of radiation making it somewhat harder to achieve. It may work like gangbusters out to 600-1000 miles but be crushed by the vertical,especially on 40m, when talking a few thousand miles.

I was pretty sure you were just joking about the comparison to RPC. LOL

OK enough talk..........I have a vertical antenna to go mount while the weather is still decent today.

 

[Tallman]

That's weird. It was my understanding they bowled together regularly. Or golfed. Can't remember.

Anyway, concerning the MFJ Dipole/Hustler Vertical debate. . .
Maybe what we may need is a committee, or better yet---one person, selected by the members, to answer everyone's question in every thread. That way, the person posting the question wouldn't have to cipher through several different opinions in trying to make a decision.

I can think of a few highly qualified individuals who would be good in that role.
Let's see . . .on second thought, that list is pretty long. Lots of deserving members with the experience and expertise. Perhaps if we limit the list to those having the experience, expertise, AND a great deal of patience and are not easily provoked. . .
I don't know, there are still quite a few who qualify. Might be easier to just list those who we don't want in that position. Let's see. . .
Didn't really think I was going to do that, did you?

You know. . . a modus operandi of this nature, while useful, would prove to be pretty boring. Lots of great personalities inhabit this site. Guess we'll stick with what we have.

Okay, this thread has officially gone WAY off course. My apologies, Mudduck. Hope whichever antenna you decide on works out for you and does you a bang up job.

Happy thoughts, everyone!
Jim

The answer to your posting would be just like the antennas. Full of compromises without any one answer being just the correct one.

 

[Mudduckmobile]

This one looks pretty interesting...
http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-1835

A couple of my local club's members were talking about it recently.

73,
Brett

That would work here very well in the summer but winter would kill it on day one here in N.W.MT.
I have been doing some looken and I think I can put up: a long wire (all band)at 50ft, at the feed point, and I can go150yds on way at45 to 50ft., and the other way I can go 50ft out 100ft at 50ft to 30ft. Or maybe a loop, a 160 meter loop at 50ft feed point to 30ft and 50 ft.
I'm going to have fun in the snow this year.

 

[2RT307]

That would work here very well in the summer but winter would kill it on day one here in N.W.MT.
I have been doing some looken and I think I can put up: a long wire (all band)at 50ft, at the feed point, and I can go150yds on way at45 to 50ft., and the other way I can go 50ft out 100ft at 50ft to 30ft. Or maybe a loop, a 160 meter loop at 50ft feed point to 30ft and 50 ft.
I'm going to have fun in the snow this year.

Yeah, for sure your winters are pretty brutal compared to what we get here in Texas. We usually only get freezing rain once or twice a winter, and rarely get snow here. Sounds like you have plenty of property to spread out. I am on a pretty small lot, and have a 40 meter delta loop and an end fed random wire, and they both work pretty good for what they are. Doesn't hurt that I run 500-600 watts the majority of the time, though.

73,
Brett

 

[543_Dallas]

That's weird. It was my understanding they bowled together regularly. Or golfed. Can't remember.

Anyway, concerning the MFJ Dipole/Hustler Vertical debate. . .
Maybe what we may need is a committee, or better yet---one person, selected by the members, to answer everyone's question in every thread. That way, the person posting the question wouldn't have to cipher through several different opinions in trying to make a decision.

I can think of a few highly qualified individuals who would be good in that role.
Let's see . . .on second thought, that list is pretty long. Lots of deserving members with the experience and expertise. Perhaps if we limit the list to those having the experience, expertise, AND a great deal of patience and are not easily provoked. . .
I don't know, there are still quite a few who qualify. Might be easier to just list those who we don't want in that position. Let's see. . .
Didn't really think I was going to do that, did you?

You know. . . a modus operandi of this nature, while useful, would prove to be pretty boring. Lots of great personalities inhabit this site. Guess we'll stick with what we have.

Okay, this thread has officially gone WAY off course. My apologies, Mudduck. Hope whichever antenna you decide on works out for you and does you a bang up job.

Happy thoughts, everyone!
Jim

Those are blogs. Questions and opinions are usually submitted to the author via email. Tons of them about amateur radio on the internet.

 

[unit_399]

I had to laugh at the description using the word "Mini" being14 feet long is longer than the KIA Soul, or my S-10. Be sure you put guy wires on the mast.

Tallman-
If you really are (tall), it must be a tight squeeze for you in a Kia Soul or a Chevy S-10.

- 399

 

[Tallman]

Tallman-
If you really are (tall), it must be a tight squeeze for you in a Kia Soul or a Chevy S-10.

- 399

When I'm going down the road in either vehicle and hit a bump I bump my head on the roofs. I was given that nick name by some of my co-workers in San Antonio. I stand 6'4" which isn't very tall anymore. My coworkers in San Antonio were all under 5'8'. I'm glad the other nick name did not stick which was Giganto Verde.
Actually the KIA is pretty roomy seat all the way back and lay the seat back and it's comfy. The S-10 is tight getting my legs in after that it is good. But I still bump my head on the roof.

I use to have a 1995 SS Camaro getting in and out was an act of Origami, But when you have the go fast bug you are willing to sacrifice.

 

[Don KI5WQF]

Really? At only 14 feet it is less than half size on 20m and less than 1/4 size for 40m. At least a properly installed vertical such as the Butternut or Hustler BTV series is going to be more efficient simply due to length. The 5BTV is 24 feet tall. I'll let you know in a couple weeks how the 5BTV works as I am installing one this week along with the 17m add on kit.. Following DX Engineering's recommendations it is supposed to exceed the performance of that MFJ mini dipole.

Yes but don't forget you MUST have ground radials also, and a lot of them. just to stab a line to bury a few inches 25 / 30 min radiating gp WIRES AND A 8FT GROUND ROD. these do not come with, are an additional expense to the butternut and Hustler.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I

Yes but don't forget you MUST have ground radials also, and a lot of them. just to stab a line to bury a few inches 25 / 30 min radiating gp WIRES AND A 8FT GROUND ROD. these do not come with, are an additional expense to the butternut and Hustler.

It cost me a total of ZERO dollars to install 36 radials each a minimum of 33 feet long. I have LOTS of wire available here that is suitable for radials. Probably a few miles of it actually if I actually want to untwist multi-pair cable bundles. I mowed the lawn as short as I could and pinned the radials down using bent pieces of rebar tie wire. The following spring the wires were invisible, and I mow over them without an issue.

 

[Rwb]

Yes really

Yes really!

The cap hats on the dipole make up some of the losses.

The butternut is mostly all lossy loading coils and the Hustler has multiple resonator coils and some caphats. I've seen pics of the butternut fall down with ice loading, it's a heavy antenna on it's own. I wouldn't use it in ice prone regions.

A dipole at a good height above ground has a most of it's RF energy broadside as opposed to a vertical being omni at near equal dispersment

Plus this dipole can be rotated for best signal direction.

All these antennas will work. If you were to test them side by side at your own station with your soil, terain, and other factors, then the comparisons would be more valid. Other than that, it would be the Rabbiporkchop test!

My opinion on using the MFJ was primarily based on the fact the OP already has a vertical and with limited space, I think that antenna is a good option.

OUCHIE rabbiporkchop DAMMIT BOY thats rough on c.k.