Ham Radio Wire Antenna: End Fed Half Wave MFJ-1984-MP

[@Scout75PortableRadio]

Great demo, Shane. Really shows how versatile an EFHW can be.

[@K5QBF]

Yea this is one of my favorite antennas.

[@DK5ONV]

The EFHW 49:1 definitly became to be my favourite portable antenna 👍👍👍

[@amateurradiohf]

EXCELLENT QRP ALSO ANTENNA SETTING TOO!!!!!! A+++++++++++++++++++++++

[@KL7ECoutdoors]

Nice demonstration! I’m actually looking at the EFHW for another antenna for POTA. 73 bud!

[@K5QBF]

I highly recommend!

[@DK5ONV]

Brother Helio ...wohooo. PV8AL one of the coolest HAM Radio Guys down in Brazil. It's fun to work him and having a nice qso for a few minutes if there's no pileup ruining it.

[@K5QBF]

Yea I have talked to him several times. I need to send him a QSL card.

[@snotrucker4416]

Great video keep them coming. My portable rig is the G90 an MFJ-1984LP I did the inverted V . My SWR’s were high. That’s when I put the 25 foot counter pose in the opposite direction. SWR’s then we’re flat lined on 10, 15, 20, & 40 no tuner needed. 73’s KC3PMX

[@bobtrester1863]

This antenna is my Go To for POTA. When I set this up and swept it with the RigExpert it shows the same type results but internal tuners take care of this no problem. I use mine as a slope by putting the end as high as I can get it into the tree (typically 40 or 50 feet) and the feed point about 10 feet above the ground. I feed it with a 40 foot piece of RG8X. I also use a 1:1 current pass through at the rig. I also have a 15 foot counterpoise wire hanging off the feed box. I have had excellent results in this configuration both phone and CW modes.

[@ohyeawhosurpoppy]

On the slope, the vert/slop has an angle of less than 90° In verted V your angle was about 60°-70° The angle when folding an wire or adjusting the gnd plane to the vertical you can adjust the Ohm's by adjusting the angles. Good luck and have fun

[@markusberg2770]

Thank you for taking the time to show your SWR reports-helpful.

[@PortableRadio]

Thanks for showing your setup. Some notes for a future experiment: a) The coax braid and all that is connected to it is your counterpoise. b) You measure the SWR at the coax end and not at the antenna feed point. This is fine, as long as you just care about the match of the coax to your transceiver. c) The SWR says nothing about the performance of the antenna. The more losses between the antenna feed point and your transceiver, the lower the SWR. EFHW are very versatile portable antennas that I mostly use doing SOTA. 73 Stephan

[@K5QBF]

I am taking notes for next time.

[@StuartM0TTQAmateurRadio]

I use an EFHW and while it will tolerate being bent into funny shapes, it does push the SWR up on 28MHz. You might find there is a point higher up where the SWR comes down a little, but don't be surprised if it doesn't come below 2:1. Bending the antenna more in the sloping-L alters the current distribution a little at the higher frequency and it alters the impedance.

[@darylw-m9549]

Thanks for showing this Shane. An EFHW is on my shopping list for the portable station. And great to see the IC-7300 in the field.

[@K5QBF]

You can’t be the price or performance honestly. The antenna does really well.

[@bvds2007]

Just the video I needed having just gotten this antenna and looking how to use it - thank you.

[@K5QBF]

Awesome, I really like it. It works very well as a sloper as well.

[@jaymartin7391]

Very informative video. I'm currently playing with wire antennas and just received a ic 7300...havent unboxed it yet. So I really enjoyed this video. Thanks!

[@K5QBF]

Love the radio and the antenna. They are a great pair.

[@thomashardy9994]

Very clear presentation of EFHW.

[@FEPLabsRadio]

Good video, Shane. This is the first HF antenna I bought, back in 2019. I have mine set up as a vertical/sloper, similar to your second configuration. I'm using a magnolia tree instead of a pole, but I go out and up the tree, then across another tree. Just can't really beat an EFHW for cost/performance. Honestly, that antenna for not being "portable" is pretty portable. Easy enough to take along, even on a SOTA. Good job man.

[@K5QBF]

Yea this was my first antenna. I use it at home and portable.

[@lifestylehealthwealthhappiness]

Excellent start with your demo videos, thanks!

[@K5QBF]

Thank you, these are harder than expected.

[@Wonoketingal]

Ham Radio Wire Antenna: End Fed Half Wave MFJ-1984-MP 😋 Trims sobatku infonya sangat bagus sekali 😘😘❤️❤️

[@johnsbikesandblues7174]

The inverted L SWR was higher because of the acute angle between the vertical portion and the horizontal. If you could have raised the far end up near 30 ft you would see very different (better) results.

[@K5QBF]

I also want to see about making that a zero angle at the top and running the wire back down the mast.

[@johnsbikesandblues7174]

@@K5QBF That will effectively shorten your antenna. If you fold it in half then you have a 20 meter vertical.

[@matthiaspobig5614]

THX Shane for your Video, I like your demonstration. 73 & many DX de HB9FZF, Matthias

[@barrykery1175]

Uh Oh ! I did not see the radio transmit above 7300 khz, but 7325 khz is out of the band. Neat antenna. I use a HWEF40 almost all of the time when I set up portable. Mine is a flat horizontal antenna. Barry, KU3X/QRP

[@K5QBF]

The swr check was wide enough to see the whole band. I have my band edges set so that the radio will not transmit outside of the General class privileges.

[@ettsn]

Digging that SCV hat, I’m a Spirit alum

[@mikemiles3068]

Great video❗️I have a 49/1 Unum here beside me I am putting together, Smoking Ape got one from the AARL as a kit so I ordered one and I almost has it finished.

[@efrainrodriguez8722]

Excelente video y demostración, gracias por tomarse el tiempo de ilustramos y animarnos.👌HK3TKI 🇨🇴

[@SmokeSignalsRF]

👍 Nice job and we all learned

[@K5QBF]

Thank you Izzo!

[@TheNoCodeTech]

Looks like a good little antenna. #HLTW #TeamReplay for the win

[@K5QBF]

I really like it.

[@reedreamer9518]

Yeah - pretty good

[@Hamdalorian]

Hey Shane, I think if it’s in the inverted v configuration, it probably follows the same principles of when the wire is at a 45 degree angle to itself, the closer it comes to 5-0 ohm

[@tonyridlen]

Excellent video about the end fed half wave antenna! KC9QVE Marion,Indiana

[@taz9075]

Great video and thank you

[@K5QBF]

Thanks for watching!

[@billholden20]

SCV! Cadets here

[@EA8CVZ]

Felicidades por el vídeo. Creo que sí pones el hilo de la antena en vertical en L 90 grados podrías mejorar el swr y también alargando y acortando el hilo. Saludos de ea8cvz 73

[@mabo4848]

tnx

[@vanuitdeauto]

Thakns for sharing Shane. Just a tip which might be usefull - instead of 14200.87 try that on 14200.00 - you'll take 14050 to 14350 including the very top end. (same for the other bands) Otherwise, great demonstration! (just wondering why it does skip some bands, haven't seen that behaviour yet, maybe because of the new firmware?) I have a 10/20/40 endfed (no 15) and would like to have that band added, but that antenna is quite a bit longer as my current. (11,85m-ish = 38,9 ft), this would be just over 20m thinking about it :)

[@K5QBF]

I have my band edges set for the general portion so I think it skips that part of the band when checking the swr. I have it set to help keep me from transmitting out of band.

[@vanuitdeauto]

@@K5QBF Aah, that makes sense! I did something like that for the bands where my antenna isn't resonant

[@JayN4GO]

I run in the inverted v for pota. Having the unun that close to the car could be causing some issues. Great dx antenna either way.

[@K5QBF]

I’m going to test it with a 20ft counterpoise and see if that makes a difference.

[@JayN4GO]

@@K5QBF it will most likely screw up the other bands as the coax acts as the antenna. Maybe try a 5ft piece. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@mu0chn]

I wander if the car was causing the high SWR. Also would be easy to add a counterpoise using a crocodile clip on the plug.

[@tav9755]

That was very informative. Thanks for sharing. 73 de DD1TA

[@danford7532]

Your feed point is reacting to your metal car.

[@K5QBF]

Possibly so, I’ve use it on the rear wheel with no issues. The feed point is normally lower though.

[@ea1ghwea1antenas43]

Hi...the 49:1 unun have a 100 pF capacitor, that make the antenna work properly on the higher bands. When you put the unun so close to the ground,you're adding some extra capacitance. And the angles lower than 90° seem to affect the performance also. 73 from LU/EA1GHW

[@K5QBF]

Thanks for the info!

[@ea1ghwea1antenas43]

@@K5QBF my pleasure!

[@alvarogaitan2529]

fantastic video 73 from kb2uew

[@tys3456]

Awesome stuff. What was the model number of the mast and the drive on mast?

[@K5QBF]

The mast is the Spiderbeam 12m HD fiberglass pole. You can find it at spiderbeam.us. I don't have a link for the drive on because it was given to me.

[@TheServiciopalm]

Thanks, good video, can you tell me which telescopic mast are you using ???

[@K5QBF]

It’s the Spiderbeam 12m pole.

[@Burkey612]

Thanks for the video. Interesting to see SWR differences in setup. What’s the drive on mast holder you have?

[@K5QBF]

It was given to me, but I think it was from DX engineering. Jason (Ham Radio 2.0) sells one that he builds also.

[@digitaldreamer5481]

I wanna win that antenna!!

[@QSasquatch]

Put the unun on a 3-4' stake

[@RajeshA]

I love end feds. Always works perfectly for me. Nice video and detailed explanations - late to see this :) ... 73 vu3tbu

[@K5QBF]

I’m releasing an EFHW build video on Thursday.

[@kennethherring2918]

While this video is dated, it still holds up today and is a great video on the End Fed antenna from MFJ. What I couldn't make out however, is that while I could see the cords to guy the mast, what I couldn't see however was how they were secured. In other words, did you use a Guy Ring?

[@K5QBF]

I have a video on the mast if you’d like to check it out. Basically I took a hose clamp and put plastic tubing around it. Then just ran some loops of rope through the hose clamp and attached carabiners to the ends. Those just clip into the guy ropes.

[@kennethherring2918]

@@K5QBF Thanks for the response, using a hose clamp is a good choice and inexpensive.

[@MarkDecamps]

I now have the exact same antenna and it has quickly become my favorite and most successful antenna for POTA activations. I have only ran it in a straight sloper configuration, usually about 30ft in a tree on one end and the transformer box lying on the ground on the other end. I have ran it with and without a 15ft. counterpoise wire and haven't seen a huge difference either way. I enjoy the fact that I have low SWR on my most commonly used bands (20 and 40m). I only use the general voice portion of those bands, so I was able to trim it to a very flat SWR. To my surprise I had to remove about six feet of wire to achieve resonance. Did you have to trim much from yours? I'm considering the 80-10 EFHW for home use also.

[@K5QBF]

Yea I trimmed it for 40m and it is pretty solid across the harmonics.

[@jaimeluna8382]

@@K5QBF Hi before you trimmed it what was the resonant frequency on 40 meter

[@K5QBF]

@@jaimeluna8382 it was a little high in the phone US phone portion. It’s trimmed to be resonant in the middle of 40m.

[@ReedAB8AS]

What was the height of the V?

[@K5QBF]

It’s about 30ft

[@ReedAB8AS]

@@K5QBF thank you. Enjoyed the video. Very helpful.

[@K5QBF]

Thanks for watching!

[@wjess3569]

Probably a dumb question?? Does it work on 17 and 30M ??? They aren't even reasonable multiples of 40m.

[@K5QBF]

40, 20, 15, 10 on this antenna without a tuner. A tuner will get you 30.

[@MarkDecamps]

Did you ground the setup or use a counterpoise? I'm new to EFHW and was wondering if it's necessary.

[@K5QBF]

I don’t use one in the video, but I keep a 20ft piece wire with me to use as a ground.

[@mean1flyer]

Awesome antenna setup. questions... what mast are you using? how high is the mast? and last,how much power are you pushing? great video and good contacts awesome radio i own one and love it plus icom released the 1.40 firmware witch makes the radio even better. love the 1.40 firmware 73 from KG6DQL

[@K5QBF]

It’s the Spiderbeam 12m pole around 42ft. I usually run 50 watts portable. There’s a video on my channel on the mast by itself.

[@mean1flyer]

@@K5QBF awesome. i own the spiderbeam and i love it. i havent tryed the MFJ-1984-MP but i will get one. loved your set up though great vid thanks for the quick reply and keep up the good work 73 and hope to catch you on the air waves soon

[@terryjwood]

I wonder if it had a lower SWR on the FM side of 10 Meters (29MHz+) ?

[@K5QBF]

I’ll check it out next time I take the antenna out.

[@AaronMillerVideo]

How long a feed line did you use? I’m hearing that longer lines (20-50 feet) worsen the SWR significantly.

[@K5QBF]

I carry a 25ft and a 50ft run of RG8X.

[@sphexes]

What do you use to attach the end point of antenna to mast? I have a SOTA beams mast that has no actual attachment hardware.

[@K5QBF]

Check out my video on the mast. I use a carabiner and zip ties.

[@sergiocavazos8963]

how much power on the 7300 did you use?

[@K5QBF]

Usually 50w

[@jamesrick7474]

How tall was the mast in the inverted v configuration?

[@K5QBF]

I usually go about 25ft. The wire is 66ft long.

[@CajunFoots]

I have the same antenna. How high was the center in the inverted V setup?

[@K5QBF]

It was around 25-30ft.

[@QSasquatch]

Is this a 49:1 balun?

[@K5QBF]

Yes it is.

[@BlackHamRadioUniversity]

So you dont ground your antennas?

[@K5QBF]

Depending on the setup I’ll run a 20ft counterpoise. Most of the time though just a 1:1 balun at the radio.

[@BlackHamRadioUniversity]

@@K5QBF gotcha

[@scott414b]

This Side of the Radio - No Vanguard yell?

[@K5QBF]

I should have at the end.

[@scott414b]

@@K5QBF - I'll be waiting!!

[@dennisledford9783]

Does this antenna work on 6 meters?

[@K5QBF]

It’s 40m-10m