MFJ Extends its Cobweb Antenna to 40 Meters (

[@goodfriend6428]

David Casler = Superb, generous, personable teacher. Thank you for all you do. Wonderful!

[@hipal2271]

I am now looking at adding this antenna. Thanks for the video

[@pd1dmodanny72]

Great review !

[@tixilx]

Excellent as always Dave ...... Thank You... Happy Easter

[@sincerelyyours7538]

Thanks for this and your other reviews. To save on international shipping during the Covid era I plan to build my own 20 meter cobweb, and then a loop antenna for 40 meters. They'll probably overlap but between one or the other I should be covered for the middle HF bands.

[@dwightanderson5872]

Hello Dave, great summary. I purchased the MFJ cobweb and also the 40/30 extension some months ago. You cover all the points very well. Mine seems to do very well by the signal reports I've seen, and I've been thinking of getting the WSPR lite to see how well it does. Much Thanks! Dwight (WM5F)

[@davecasler]

I am quite impressed by the MFJ implementation of the cobweb.

[@francismcclaughry3794]

Dave I like your videos they explain things real well. I know what you mean about the radials sagging. I have a gap. and I can't seem to get a coax soldered on the cord. I have new ones coming. just got to wait amazon

[@peterstratikis]

As always Dave, a brilliant video which communicates information with perfect timing! Thank you very much. AC4PS.

[@davecasler]

Thank you.

[@radiolinux45]

Hello, Dave, I have dual call signs here in the UK & USA In my loft I have the original Cobweb aerial. It was invented by a Britsh Radio Amateur a Mr. Steve Web his call sign is G3TPW who lives in North Yorkshire UK. I met Steve at a Radio rally (Hamfest as you call them ? ) at the racecourse York in North Yorkshire UK many years ago. Please give credit to Steve Web, not MFJ when you doing more videos about The Cobwebweb Aerial. the best height for the Cobweb is about 10 Meters (33Feet) above ground and it is small and compact aerial and you do not need a rotator for the original specification for 20 meters.17 meters.15 Meters, 12 meters & 10 Meters. I have thought to add 6 Meters and 4 meters 70MHz feed with a separate coaxial feedline best 73's Laird Nigel (by the way Laird is my title) please reply soon Ps please do your research about the Cobweb by Steve Webb G3TPW

[@davecasler]

Thanks for the info. I don't think MFJ claimed invention. MFJ is the manufacturer of the version I reviewed. I'm not reviewing the fundamental design or making comments about the inventor, but rather the antenna as manufactured by MFJ. Please point me at some websites or original articles that Steve published. I'd like to read them.

[@MoTown44240]

Another great video Dave. Snowing eh? My area has a day and one half heatwave. All the snow and ice has melted. Rain is expected this afternoon. With the plunging temp returning to the teens. Yesterday, last night, the temp rose above freezing. That system giving you snow will soon be here on Saturday giving my area freezing rain. Hope the damage is not too severe. Later. Looking forward to your next video with feet on the ground. 73

[@davecasler]

We rarely get ice storms here--in fact I can't remember one. So my antennas are pretty safe. It's lightning I have to fear!

[@G3PWP]

Love this review Dave thanks buddy

[@G3PWP]

I’ve built my own but with speaker wire they work really well

[@KevinModerow]

Great job, David

[@davecasler]

Thank you

[@ricktutor8456]

That's what am thinking about doing iam not shure what wire to use so the small stuff might be just the thing

[@zodiac_qld8018]

Good job.

[@thewind-ne8rh]

how does it do on receiving out side of the bands ( general coverage type) thank you Tim

[@SuperAWaC]

if they're gonna use locknuts, you simply cannot use phillips bolts, even non-camming JIS/cross head are a pain.. nylocks are a nightmare as is unless they're being put on studs or carriage bolts. i guess it doesn't matter too much if you're never gonna take it down again... but they're only saving less than a penny per bolt using the phillips over hex head cap bolts

[@davecasler]

Indeed.

[@hopefuldad]

What’s an Augi?

[@joecraft4409]

Are the "ropes" UV resistant?

[@RobDTom]

Is there another current manufacturer who offers a Cobweb antenna? I'm interested in a Cobweb, but MFJ quality concerns me (and this video did nothing to alleviate my concern!)

[@davecasler]

Yes, I think there are. I liked my cobweb, but a deer ran it down in the dark and trashed it.

[@larryweed12]

Dave great video and antenna unfortunately my HOA would not appreciate my putting up a cobweb. One question, what happened to the parabolic shape that was in the original video? KI5ACA

[@davecasler]

Not sure. The cobweb has always been pretty flat. My hex beam is another story.

[@ondrejpovalac9811]

Hi, Dave, thanks for a great review! I am thinking about buying this antenna. I have a flat roof on my house so I would like to install it on top of my house on 10ft mast (max). Is the 10ft mast enough? What mast did you use? And please, can you provide EXACT dimensions of the assembled antenna? On MFJ page, there is mentioned, that the size is 12feet each side. Does it mean that the antenna is a square 12 x 12 feet or does it mean that each of the fibreglass spreaders is 12 feet which means it is 24feet total? Thanks a lot! 73 de Ondrej, OK2TOP

[@davecasler]

Your suspicions are correct. The antenna is in the form of a square with a diagonal of 24 feet. I went out and measured it myself.

[@F41Driver]

Hi Dave... I have the 1838 still in the box out in my garage waiting to go up. I'm a bit anxious as I think it will be quite a bit of work to get this big thing 20FT above the house. Have you run much power through this antenna? I use a 700W Collins 30L-1 at the moment, but may upgrade to something that does legal limit in the future. I'm just a bit worried about the balun MFJ uses and if it will honestly be able to handle 1.5KW or perhaps a touch more on peaks. Also, I'll be mounting this on a tripod in my driveway to assemble and tune it, but it will be going up 20FT above my house on a piece of top rail attached to the chimney. Should I tune for the lower edge of the bands to get a tune in the air that's somewhere around the lower side of the SSB portion of each band? Thanks & 73, KD5FHW

[@davecasler]

Mine tuned fairly easily and is about 20' off the ground. I got the high-powered version. Basically, add a choke balun by coiling some coax before connecting to the antenna. I've run 500W through it with no problem.

[@dougtaylor7724]

What is the longest DX you have achieved?

[@redneck6879]

73!!! RT9TM Sergey

[@LukePurdy]

Hi Dave, I'm looking at the 1838, but I don't need the high power. Should I save a few bucks and buy the 1836 with the add-on kit, or is there an advantage in going with the high power model even though I don't plan to buy an amp? Thanks for all you have done to help our hobby grow. Luke N5LXN

[@davecasler]

I think the lower power version will work fine. Just don't go above 250 watts or so or you'll burn out the balun.

[@cqc2238]

Can somebody comment on the survivability of this antenna in snow and ice?

[@davecasler]

In an ice storm this antenna might have a problem. It certainly did not stand up to the deer who plowed it down one night. The deer ran right up one of the (black) guy ropes and ripped it to shreds. I was sad to see it go as I rather liked it. The antenna was damaged beyond repair.

[@myradiovideos]

Dave Question.... So you get the antenna tuned for say the middle of the band, say 14200.. And you have a 1.1:1 match.. So now you decide to move off Voice to the 14070 Data portion .. Will most built in antenna tuners tune the antenna back to 1.1:1 ration??? Not sure how fast the SWR rises as you move away from the perfectly tuned spot?? Robert WA6PHN

[@davecasler]

In general, if the antenna SWR is below 3:1, most radio's internal tuners will tune it fine. Dipoles and verticals often cover the entire band, but some multiband antennas, such as the cobweb, can't cover the entire band.

[@myradiovideos]

Thanks Dave!!!!

[@FernandoDiaz-pj7gd]

I have the standard 10-20 mtr MFJ Cobweb mounted in the standard, horizontal plane configuration. Has anyone modeled or try out the Cobweb in a vertical plane mounting configuration? I would like to know experiences or the model outcome. Luis KP4DX

[@bubbajeph]

Wonder what is the chance MFJ adding 80 meters to the antenna. Would that be too big & heavy?

[@davecasler]

Yes, it would be huge. Over 30 feet on each side.

[@G3PWP]

Hi David can you tell me what the balun transformer ratio is im suspecting its 6:1 /300 to 50 ohms

[@davecasler]

Not sure. I'll have to look.

[@dannyfivefifty]

Dave I have the original MFJ 1835 cobweb.I would like to know if you installed the high power kit to your antenna,and do you think it was worth the extra cash..

[@davecasler]

MFJ gave me the high power version to start with. Recently, they gave me the 40/30 upgrade kit. Having not seen the low power version, I can't compare.

[@varoujan78]

how big is this antenna? how long each spreader?How wide each side?How heavy?

[@davecasler]

You can get the rough dimensions from the MFJ website.

[@larryb.6973]

Recently moved from a home with a big tower out back to a townhome where no external antennas are allowed. Am considering a cobweb antenna for the very large attic I have however am concerned about the comment in your video about it picking up lots of man made noise. I'm guessing you mean electrical interference - can you expand on your comment a bit and help me figure out whether or not a 20-6m cobweb antenna would be a good investment for me? Anything I can try to determine the amount of man made noise I might experience such as, putting up a hamstick dipole or other antenna arrangement to see the noise level I'd be subjected to first?

[@davecasler]

If you have the room, put up a dipole for 40 or 20 m and see how well it performs.

[@tommyd22277]

What are the benefits of a cobweb antenna over different styles of antennas?

[@davecasler]

Six of one, half dozen of another. There's no "best" antenna. It's lightweight and performs well with a pretty small footprint.

[@tommyd22277]

Thanks Dave, appreciate you!

[@rogerm8557]

How does the cobweb antenna compare in performance to a hex beam?

[@davecasler]

The cobweb is a compromise antenna and thus tends to perform a couple dB down from having individual dipoles on each band. The hex beam is a gain antenna with about 6 dB gain over a dipole. Night and day.

[@TheOpenAirGarage]

How has this antenna held up to wind!!

[@davecasler]

I think it's fine for the wind. The only issue might be icing, because the antenna materials are pretty lightweight.

[@FreemanWithrow]

I can’t believe they are charging $400 for some pvc and wire and some nuts bolts and a two metal plates

[@davecasler]

...what the market will bear... I think the spreaders are actually fiberglass.

[@tedder42]

Did MFJ send you the antenna or did you pay for it?

[@davecasler]

This one I got gratis from MFJ. In fact, both Martin F. Jue and I were guests on the W5KUB show, and he remembered I had reviewed the 20-10 cobweb, so Martin said on the show that he'd send me the expansion kit.

[@tedder42]

David Casler cool. They make good stuff.

[@JosephNievesTech]

Cobweb design essentially "folds" a dipole unto itself, so the amount of space taken is compressed. With proper spacing, this allows a dipole wrapped within another dipole multiple times. Even though this is a square design, think of concentric circular rings when viewing this antenna from above. You wind up with a compact design with minimal physical beam width. In addition, you only need one feed line and single center support.

[@varoujan78]

These are not booms Dave these are spreaders

[@eurobimmer635]

That antenna is pure garbage

[@davecasler]

I wouldn't say garbage, as I rather enjoyed mine until a deer took it down. It is a compromise limited space antenna, and my rough estimate is that it is about 3dB down from a standard dipole.

[@eurobimmer635]

@@davecasler mine collapsed like a cheep umbrella (literally) after one snowfall