Wednesday, July 19, 2017

The loaded 20m MFJ-2220 dipole on the fiberglass telescopic pole MK-6-HD, to be exact.

Here is the short review of the pair:

I have two MFJ-1620 loaded hamsticks for 20m band and two MFJ-1640 (the same thing for 40m). I put them in MFJ-347 mount to work in dipole configuration. These dipoles also sold as kits (MFJ-2220 and MFJ-2240), but I decided to go with just one mount and different band hamsticks. I cut the wips so they would resonate where I wanted and tested the antenna(s) in the little patio of my condo unit. I used MFJ-1918EX tripod with light fiberglass telescopic pole to bring them up a little, around 10ft or so.

At that height, neither antenna worked very well. While the SWR had been low, neither receive not transmit worked good. My attic "cobra" was way better.

Now, this configuration still may work out in the open and I am going to try it one day, but propped against 2-story building it was useless.

The antenna itself is well constructed and the mount is solid (the bolts rust easily, that's the only complaint), so I decided to try it on a higher pole. I ordered MK-6-HD fiberglass push-up mast from Max-Gain Systems, along with guy rings, guy rope tensioners and rope.

The mast has 7 sections and can go up to 38 ft. Some assembly required, but after I completed the simple steps I could easily push it up to 30+ ft with MFJ dipole on top in less than 5 minutes and bring down even faster. Now, at this height the antenna is above my roof and works very well. Just yesterday the 20m version rewarded me with some QSOs across the US and in Canada while the attic antenna was unable to raise the very same stations from the noise floor.

The additional advantage of the antenna, and this distinguishes it from my beloved attic "cobra", is the simple fast that it is rotatable, so it can be pointed into the desired direction and also noise can be nulled out. The orientation of the maximum signal is somewhat moot subject at this height and so close to the roof, but it definitely reacts to the rotation and I was able to raise some stations this way and bring the noise down.

And now...The Word of caution: When raising the mast, be extra careful as it is extremely easy to pull the pole out of lower section completely; with the antenna and all the cable, at this length of the mast, it becomes unmanageable and could fall to the ground.
Been there, done exactly that, just without the last "fall to the ground" part.

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