Well, I spent USD 225 on the MP-1, 80m coil, tripod and telescopic
whip, plus about 40 quid on VAT and duty when it arrived, and I can't
use the thing at all. So I'm even more fed up.
Even without a counterpoise, the ATX works well enough for casual
listening around on the bands, which the FT-817 is handy for. It fits
handily on to the radio without needing a stand. It loads up with a
decent SWR on 10m - 17m using a 5m steel measuring tape I bought for
4 quid in the local hardware store. I can get a respectable SWR on
40m using the end-loaded wire counterpoise I made up, though I can't
say I've made any contacts on that band. I'm still having problems
with 20m though.
So I'm happier with the ATX than I am with the MP-1. Since the
antenna supplied by Yaesu isn't even any use for HF listening, it's
probably worth having for that reason alone.
But a dipole up even a few feet would probably work better. On the
Elecraft list there was a report today from a guy who made his first
contact with the K1 he built using a dipole laying on the ground. Who
knows whether an ATX or MP-1 works better than a dipole at ground
level? :-)
Julian, G4ILO
--- In FT817@y..., "David Perry" <david.perry3@v...> wrote:
Glad you said this. I concluded this a week orr so ago and feel
really fed
up that I spend fifty quid on my ATX. Suppose you have to try
though, to
find out the truth as it were. A dipole and a stick is what we
need. Even
alkabout we should use the ProAm stuff.
Don't like the ATX at all.
For Sale...one ATX 30 quid plus postage.
David G4YVM
