Is the HF vertical antenna magic carpet magic ? Ham radio antenna test with the Super Antenna MP-1

[@zimmerking2323]

Wow - a real side by side evaluation. Thanks, Survival Comms!

[@survivalcomms]

You are welcome ! Thanks for watching !

[@Swamp-Fox]

I wondered how well the "magic carpet" actually worked. After watching this, I think I will stick with wire radials. I do like the modifications you made to your faraday cloth. It is always nice to have options in your kit, so I guess it does not hurt to have it. Thanks for the real-world test results!

[@survivalcomms]

I wanted to try it out as well and it was sitting in the pending project box for sometime. It is a cool idea and if one had 800 sq foot of it it might well be the cats pajamas but from a man portable perspective I'm going to roll with wires myself. Thanks for watching !

[@BackwoodsLaw]

Someone I trust to give me the straight scoop on things. Good to see ya still playing with RF Brett. I was dancing with lighting about 2 weeks ago. Replaced the Main Panel at the house and finally have grounding in the entire house and also put in full house Surge protection. AFI/GFI breakers throughout the house too... 🙂

[@survivalcomms]

Good to see you ! Glad you got your electrical squared away. Thanks for watching !

[@KN4VA]

Nice evaluation. Nice thing is the cloth does work, and has a place in a kit. Would be interesting to see you do window screen vs radials as well. Thank you for your time in the testing.

[@survivalcomms]

Thank you and thanks for watching !

[@johnk23705]

Outstanding video ! I'm so tired of the YT "Experts" who just roll out an antenna or something like "The Magic Carpet" and test it against nothing else. They make some contacts and gleefully tell you what a fantastic item it is that they are "Testing". Everyone go out and buy or make this item. Ham Radio Pimps, the Tweekers of the radio world. You take the time to do real world tests that actually show the true performance of every item you test against similar technology. You are one of the few YT'rs I trust when doing a review. Ham radio YT has become a total cluster. Marketing instead of showing people what really works. Videos for clicks. What few people realize is that there are few "New" things when it comes to antennas and antenna theory. Mostly just rehashed designs (many of which were never great to start with), packaged with Chrome and Sparkles. Thank you for what you do ! 73 P.S. If Captain America thinks he is going to save the world with his radio because it took him two minutes less to set up, I got a boat anchor for you.

[@Jamey_ETHZurich_TUe_Rulez]

Well, that boat anchor can be better counterpoise then this cloth, so...

[@survivalcomms]

Thank you very much ! You are right radio on YT today is mostly marketing. I train every day with some sort of radio tech and what I film is just scratching the surface. Oskar is correct an old micor cabinet (which I have one of :)) would make a dandy CP. Thank you for the support and thank you for watching !

[@bruehlt]

Can't beat physics, it wins every time! I've used a Super Antenna on the beach with 10w, and wow the ocean works wonders to help get the signal out!

[@survivalcomms]

Conductive soil works wonders ! Thanks for watching !

[@vironpayne3405]

I think that perhaps one advantage of the groundclothe over radials in well trafficked areas is a smaller footprint with higher visibility. This I believe could translate into potentially less liability from potential tripping hazards. I have been in the habit of using two sets of the SuperAntenna 17m-10m ground radials with my EFHW 80m-10m antenna. Normally I choke and ground at the feedpoint as suggested by Steve Ellington's RF ammeter and field strength meter testing. I haven't done any real testing, but the addition of radials doesn't seem to hurt, and when I cannot ground they seem to offer some improvement.

[@survivalcomms]

Thanks for watching !

[@lowrybrock8272]

Interesting as always Brett. I’ve been reading a bit, when I have the time, about double bazooka antennas. Supposedly they have some gain over a standard dipole and are supposedly to be good at keeping noise down or out. Wonder if maybe you could venture down the rabbit hole on these sometime? I know you put a lot of work into these and it shows. A shame more people care about the beholding to someone creators than they do seeking out a channel like this where with some effort can make some cool stuff and not break the bank or even with stuff lying around the garage. I am a huge tuned dipole fan. Seen the benefits first hand and made several with minimal effort and darned good results. 73 buddy!

[@survivalcomms]

I have never built a double bazooka before . I wouldnt hold my breath over gain over a dipole but It sounds like a cool project. Thanks for your support and thanks for watching !

[@philipwells2793]

Good experiment. If I have one request it would be to repeat the experiment with a larger (longer) magic carpet.

[@survivalcomms]

Thank you ! Adding another yard of fabric would probably squeeze a tad more performance out of it. Equivalent cost analysis of 2 yards of faraday cloth = 500ft of 18ga silicone wire. My money is still on the wire. Thanks for watching !

[@daveN2MXX]

I always find it funny that folks will drive over an hour to get to a park, then use a compromise antenna because it can be setup "quickly". Antenna comparison youtube videos typically lack the type of objective comparison shown here. Thank you for your video!

[@survivalcomms]

You are welcome ! Thanks for watching !

[@IndependentNewsMedia]

Nice experimentation video, God bless.

[@survivalcomms]

Thank you and thanks for watching !

[@Jamey_ETHZurich_TUe_Rulez]

Lets try it on 2m/70cm ! Just putting antenna on top of this magic cloth, laying on top of a camping table can be beneficial.

[@survivalcomms]

I prefer to use a little ground plane made of bicycle cable kzbin.info/www/bejne/ameal4p-i813l5I Thanks for watching !

[@stephensussman-fort5786]

What is the size of the fabric? Also please describe your radials: length, number, layout; all on the ground (i.e. not elevated)?

[@survivalcomms]

No elevated radials were used. I gave the radial lengths and number in the video. It was 3 yards of fabric before hemming so 36" x 108" . Thanks for watching !

[@stephensussman-fort5786]

@@survivalcomms Thank you

[@survivalcomms]

@@stephensussman-fort5786 Any time !

[@axi6ne8us]

Where can I find a magic carpet like the one you used?

[@survivalcomms]

Amazon is the easiest option. I did the hemming and grommets myself. Thanks for watching !

[@johnnorth9355]

I have been told that spraying the Faraday cloth with water improves things (unnecessary in the UK where rain does it for you most days). Not sure why ?

[@Jamey_ETHZurich_TUe_Rulez]

Ground (plane) refracts/drags your radio wave, modifies your radiation pattern, can even add or remove lobe (depends on freq, antenna length etc ). More conducting ground plane, stronger / different effect it has. So marketing theory is - If you do not have good ground plane, 10" x 10" cloth can help your 20m (780") long radio wave..... Watering helps even more. (sarcasm)

[@survivalcomms]

I dont think thats going to help. Good soil conductivity does however. Thanks for watching !

[@richbattaglia5350]

Can I ask, what’s the practicality of radio communications with a grid down scenario? How can it be sustained without the US infrastructure?

[@survivalcomms]

Point to point it can help you communicate to a limited degree its like taking a step back several decades . Learning to live without the internet is going to be tough for a lot of folks however. Thanks for watching !

[@johnk23705]

Most hams and preppers shudder at the thought of living in the dark, no info coming in, like mushrooms with crap shoveled over us. A great deal of us have generators and batteries for the short term and a decent solar back up system for the long term. Back up gear protected in EMP shielded boxes. Having comms during grid down won't just be practical, it will be a necessity. Most believe it's not if, but when the grid goes down. But not to worry, Uncle Joe's got this .

[@survivalcomms]

@@johnk23705 I keep my "smartphone" muted most of the time. There is a good reason - nothing smart comes from a phone :)

[@richbattaglia5350]

Yo that’s weird!!! I’m only seeing your comment to mine and no body else’s! This beaer guy isn’t showing up!!