Gene,
I've never heard of a whip that could compete with a long wire for
short skip (or any other propagation mode for that matter) There is
nothing magical about the MP-1. It's still just a whip, and will
perform as well as other whips it's size.
Nevertheless, it can and does work the world.
--
Brian N0KZ
--- In FT817@y..., genemarshall@i... wrote:
A few weeks ago I picked up an 817 and MP-1 ready to tackle portable
HF again. After calling and returning to CQs for about three days
across a two week period, I had one contact under my belt: someone
12
miles away. I've tried all HF bands, and the MP-1 adjusted down
below
1.5:1 on each band so I wasn't even using a tuner.
Becoming pretty discouraged, I decided to throw out a long wire and
see where I stood with that. Just as I did, I heard a CQ and the opr
came back to me with a 589 (he was also in CA). Quite a change. Just
as that QSO completed I had another contact and this opr. offered to
wait around while I swapped back to the MP-1. After doing so he came
back and said that he never would have responded to me initially as
I
was so far down in the noise. This station was in Sonoma County.
Going back to the long wire, we completed the QSO.
Needless to say, I'm a little sceptical about this antenna. This
coupled with the fact that the 817 mount doesn't have the holes
drilled properly so only two screws can be used to hold it to the
817. I emailed this issue, with photos, to Vern but it's been two
weeks with no reply. I guess it's going to cost me a return trip to
Livermore to get that resolved.
Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions to offer on the performance of
this antenna I'd appreciate it. At the moment I'll keep it in the
junk box.
