Best antenna for the Icom IC-705 JPC-12 Antenna
Вставка
- Опубліковано 13 лис 2022
- Testing the JPC-12 portable resonant vertical HF antenna with Icom IC-705. Is this the best antenna for the Icom IC-705? Perhaps it is, since Chameleon Antenna made their own version of it called the CHA PRV.
The JPC-12 ( older models also known as the PAC-12 & JPC-7 ) is a coil-loaded quarter wave vertical antenna covering all ham radio bands from 40 meters through 50Mhz, including CB Radio. It is small, lightweight, extremely quick to deploy and very easy to setup. This was my first portable deployment with the JPC 12. I was operating QRP to 10 watts with the Icom 705. The JPC-12 was sent over from PileupDX for testing and review.
73
Julian oh8stn
Share URL: • Best antenna for the I...
There's even more information about the JPC-12 on my blog. oh8stn.org/blog/2022/11/14/jp...
Want more video? Check out the JPC-12 playlist: • JPC-12 PAC-12 Antenna
Buy the JPC-12 from Pileupdx oh8stn.net/jpc12antenna
#oh8stn #hamradio #jpc-12
____________________
Want something interesting to dive in to while waiting for the next video?
- Visit my blog and website: oh8stn.org
- Latest deal, offers or support the channel? Visit oh8stn.org/blog/2019/12/17/de...
- OH8STN on Patreon community:
/ oh8stn
- Become a UA-cam channel member:
oh8stn.net/3G8LaQl
- Buy me a rootbeer: PayPal:
oh8stn.net/2ZGAEjy Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. - Наука та технологія
There's even more information about the JPC-12 on my blog. oh8stn.org/blog/2022/11/14/jpc12-antenna/
Want more video? Check out the JPC-12 plsylist: ua-cam.com/play/PLKMrdrsNkFA4gkcJP8P_l3aDnge6Og64F.html
73
Julian oh8stn
nice piece Julian - its about time everyone who is stuck in the 1900's went metric :-)
Another great video! Thank you for all that you are doing out there brother!
Thanks Julian....Always a pleasure watching your vids....Happy Birthday...Semper Fi.
Semper Fi brother
Excellent video, I like how you show the ease of turning the antenna. That coil design with the slider is how it should be. Less fiddley when you hands are cold.
Thanks for bringing the JPC-12 to my attention. I'll have to give it a looks.
No worries Phil.
Thanks for watching.
73
Julian oh8stn
I appreciate what you have shared with us and I thank you for your time. Have a great day.
You are very welcome. It's a bless to share. 👍
Great job as always, Julian!
I got my JPC-12 over the weekend. Set it up in the backyard and tuned up for 15m, got it around 1.7 SWR. Tested with FT8, got Sweden from Oklahoma on 40 watts. Pretty impressive for the cost and ease of use.
Great job as always Julian, I've learned a lot from you.
Thanks Jeff. Greatly appreciated. Definitely not the perfect antenna, but the results were better than expected.
Thanks for commenting, watching and for the kindness.
73
Julian oh8stn
I have had my eye on this for a while now, thx Julien, The thread info is important. 73
Nice review! Thank you. I've just ordered mine :)
I've got one. I use it all the time portable
I ordered JPC-7 with components allowing setting it up in JPC-12 configuration and it is a great antenna, really bang for the bucks. Changed only ground plane wiring to something better manageable :D
Thanks for sharing.
73
Julian oh8stn
Great video Julian!
I bought this antenna as a portable POTA or SOTA vertical. I think it works well with radials.
I bought this antenna a couple of years ago now and it’s still going strong. I use it on occasion just to experiment. I also use it on 100W on a 7300 with no issues. I’m still pretty impressed with some of the DX contacts I make when using it. My only recommendation is to make your own counterpoise as the ribbon cable it comes with is a little light and flimsy for my liking. Great antenna to have in the kit as a spare or to put up in a hurry and get very decent performance.
yes! I got a few 10mm eye terminals that will accept banana plugs.
Thanks for the video!
Dued i have been impressed with your dedication and fortitude
Thank you for this review.
Cheers,
You're very welcome.
Happy Birthday Marine. I have noticed also over the past couple weeks that 20m has gotten short as well. With the big openings on 10m, 20 is starting to feel closer to 30m during the day than the DX band it was during the solar minimum.
Always like your reviews
I love your reviews and channel. I have to be honest, though; my hands down favourite antenna for off grid comms is the TDL from Chameleon. Yes, it has some weight. And yes, I often (but not always) bring the Chameleon mil extension pole to mount it on to get some extra height, even when backpacking (my kids and I divvy up the load between us). But the TDL just works. No adjustments or fine tuning, which is what I like. I like to be able to swap bands when searching without having to go to the antenna in question. I can go from 6 to 80, I get great reception, and transmission is excellent on my 10W transceiver.
Julian, Yes I would like to use the antenna with my Icom 705, I think that it would be an effective antenna. I do agree that the improvements you suggested would be nice. Thanks again for all your efforts and time that you put into your very informative videos. Eric
Thank you Eric.
73
Julian oh8stn
I just passed my Tech&General. Thanks for inspiring me to keep going. I’m going to emulate your HF data modes operator setup for the ICOM 705. Thank you again. Just have to save my pennies for the radio haha.
I truly enjoy my jpc-12 antenna but recently 😮destroyed my stock whip. I have ordered a stock replacement & accidentally found a 5.2 meter telescopic whip with the necessary m10 thread. Tried it out this morning & am happy to report it is awesome. Money well spent. Amazon is your friend - sometimes!
I enjoy your YT content. 73 KK7BN.
Great video. I love my PAC-12, quick setup with my RigExpert antenna analyzer. I use a Christmas tree stand for support as needed. Needs weather stripping foam wrap to fit the stand.
I purchased a spare telescoping vertical plus a second coil, 17ft telescoping vertical for 80M and a spare ground spike. All from China of course.
Been using one for several months, it's sold as the PAC-12 by Martin Lynch here in the UK.
For tuning I used just the whip and base section on 6m and used it as a 1/4 wave. I used the four metal tube sections plus the telescopic whip without the coil for 10-15m also as a 1/4 wave ground plane. For 17, 20 and 40m I had the coil in - 20m and 40m will work with the whip fully extended and the tap on the marks on the coil and to get 17m band move the tap on the coil to the second from the top winding. It won't do it without that coil even though it feels like it should with just the whip with the coil removed and just using the bottom sections and whip.
I've since replaced the counterpoise wires made from ribbon cable. The thread on the ground stake is 10mm and I found that 10.5mm crimp ring terminals were great for this.
The spike won't be hard to get into the ground. Here where I live we've had quite a dry spell so the ground was rock hard. I had no problems putting the spike in the ground or removing it. You actually don't need to put the ground spike in all the way, I found it quite sturdy with it placed in the ground just around 10cm/4 inches.
Thanks for the ideas!
Looks a lot like the buddipole kit. I like the idea of the slider on the coil; the little clips on a buddipole coil are easy to lose and if not careful, can damage the coil winding by over-tightening. These short loaded (or unloaded on higher bands) verticals definitely have their place in the antenna bag.
Indeed, the clips on the Buddipole coils are a total, total PITA. It's also like the Wolf River and at least one other USA brand that's now defunct I think (sorry, can't remember the name right now).
Looks like a well designed antenna. I like the way you can change the taps on the coil.
Barry, KU3X
Thanks for the video, I'm a new HAM here, running my IC-705 with this antenna and 10W. I love the ease of setup/takedown and tuning it. My furthest FT8 QSO so far was 4271mi away with a signal report of -17. My furthest Phone QSO was 1244mi with a 5 by 3. 73, W3DAR
Excellent work! Yeah this combination works extremely well. It's kind of surprising actually. Thanks for watching, commenting and telling us your story.
73
Julian oh8stn
4271 miles that’s insane . Can’t wait to get this radio and play with it
@@DARTHDANSAN2 days ago, 18111 km to NZ... with 10 W, IC-705 and this antenna on 20 m.
Outstanding 👍
@@OH8STN especially when considering it is not so easy to reach north Scandinavia from OM.
I also made 2 Australian stations which were only a bit closer.
As always, an excellent review and I always enjoy watching and listening to your operation. I am near Wichita, Kansas, not as exciting as Finland etc. lol. I do have the IC-705, it is an excellent radio, receives excellent. I am surprised how far 10 watts will go without trying very hard. 73 n0yg
super thanx!
tnx
I have It, really great antenna
Awesome. The performance was a very nice surprise.
73
Julian oh8stn
Thanks for the review. I've had my eye on one of these for a while. I bought a DX Commander Classic intending to you use it for QRP and emergency backup use but I'm probably going to have to use it as a permanent antenna at home as one of our trees had to be cut down. This looks perfect for my intended use until I can afford to buy a Chameleon MPAS.
I have a jpc12, above 20 meters I removed the loading coil and then screwed the telescopic whip back into the antenna and then adjusted the whip to resonance on the bands being used, I've also made a different ground anchor for use in harder ground also use a comment mode choke with this antenna.
My ancestors are from that very area of Finland. Semper Fidelis.
Using this antenna also. With Xiegu G-90.
Hello neighbour. How do you like it with the g90?
Thanks!
Thank you 🙏
I just used by buddistick, and they definitely have a better approach using a radial instead of a ground spike. There’s also a clamp style mount that isn’t going to compete with the frozen tundra. That being said, I’d take this slider adjustment system any day is the week. If the parts were interchangeable, I’d mix them together to have the best of both worlds.
73.
De, K9DEM
Longer whip at aliexpress (and with a second coil it works on 80m - I own this config)
Nice, how long is the "longer" whip?
@@christianboning2732 4,77m
@@oew586 thx
I like the antenna, but I broke the very thin and flimsy Chinese whip on the second outing. I ordered a metric to SAE adapter and now use one of my favorite 9.5' whips from Buddipole. For the higher bands, I run the shorting block all the way up, then lower the whip as needed. It packs easy and was my antenna of choice when I traveled to Belize.
Last night I used my JPC-12 to transmit data on an 80m net using FLDigi. SWR was a little above 2, but it worked. The receiving station was in the next state, over 100 miles away.
Outstanding 👍
Woowee, "best" is a bold statement!!
It's a question. Still an amazing performer.
73
Julian oh8stn
@@OH8STN sorry, I didn't see a question mark, I'm glad it's performing admirably, 73.
@@VE9ASN no worries. The question was written on the thumbnail. Not on the title. Performance was somewhat surprising. I'll need to get it out in the field a few more times to validate. So far so good. Thanks for calling it out :-)
73
Julian oh8stn
A great antenna, but like you, I like to chop & change things to make them work in many varying situations, although, it is not impossible to make an adapter, it is inconvenient having different size connectors 'out of the bag'. It would have been a nice touch to have either the same connections as other manufacturers or an adapter included for such purposes. Maybe an email to the maker could prove productive. Thank you for the video.
Hi Julian. Thanks for the video. This is a nice antenna, which comes in a really great little compact package. I use a similar type of antenna system, based on the Slidewinder by "M1ECC Antennas". While it is nowhere near as compact as the JPC-12 system, it taught me the value of having something you can set up and be ready to operate in literally less than 5 minutes. OK, it's not a 20M Yagi on top of the Eiffel tower, but who cares! :-) It's great to have a way to just chuck all your stuff in a bag and to go play radio away from all the QRM. The preparedness angle is of course another thing we cannot ignore. Thanks again for a cracking video! 73, Jan (M7HNK)
Awesome
Thanks. That antenna was surprising..
Love the JPC12 on SOTA trips on the high mountains. If you are someplace else where you have trees or carrying the 10m glass fibre mast, you can put up an inverted V that outperforms the GP on most bands. I highly recommend the spiderbeam Aerial-51 Model 404-UL for a test. It is an awesome wire antenna if you are bringing such a pole on the trip
Thanks Kalle. The 10m Spiderbeam works well. The Aerial-51 antennas are legendary, but have one issue. The coax is attached permanently on one end. Hoping that gets updated with a bnc for lighter coax at varying lengths.
@@OH8STN Less connectors = lower losses.
True Stephen but not practical. It means they assume we will all operate according to their preconceptions. It also forces me to use coax cable that isn't necessarily compatible with the climate I'm operating in. They should offer options, allowing the operator to decide what's best for his or hers on station.
I agree, the Arial 51 is great and i would say (depends on hight) an NON compromise antenna compared to a dipole!
I've always enjoyed your videos. 73 from vk2
I like it just fine...in its place.
I have a Chameleon MPAS and it's great, but it'll never surpass the TD.
Like my old Sri Lankan boss used to say - "Horses for Courses".
Thanks for the video.
Shop for a “CB mirror clamp.” With that, you can mount this antenna on any tripod, park bench, smallish diameter pole, etc. I use it with a tripod made for Husky brand lighting (Home Depot). Any tripod should work on frozen ground.
I thought the JPC antennas were buddipole knock offs, and they might have been until they improved how tapping of the coil was done. I went both feet into the buddipole setup, and while it works well, there are a lot of small parts that are hard to use in the cold and wet. I would expect this JPC setup to be far easier to use than the buddipole gear because of this. I have since replaced all the buddipole gear, first with the wolf river coil setup then finally with the chameleon setup. It’s hard to beat the ease of set up and take down when compared to the CHA EMCOMM product line. But results don’t lie. Maybe a head to head test is in order.
Happy Birthday / Veterans Day and Thank for your Service Brother! Semper Fi OORAH de WV1Q
Great to see You doing real World testing and giving an honest opinion of equipment and antennas You get to try out in the field. Simple things like can it be used easily wearing gloves or having to remove gloves and fiddle with things with cold, stiff fingers would never be noticed in 'studio reviews'. I hope that the designers of antennas and equipment take Your findings on board as when operating outdoors in all conditions it is often the simple things that become awkward which can be most frustrating. Keep doing what You do Sir, Your Real World research is invaluable. 73 de MM7WAB
🙏👍 Thank you.
73
Julian oh8stn
Jpc12 the best sota antenna
nice video thanks
Thanks for the video. I would love a portable antenna like that. 73's zs1we
I absolutely love that antenna with my IC705 in my Decathlon soft sandwich box for beach work. My example of the JPC-12 has standard M10 threads. I'm currently in the process of 3D printing some upgrades (that go along with some lengths of off-the-shelf carbon fibre rods) for my Chameleon F-Loop to make it lighter weight and more portable. One of those upgrades is a small-footprint wide-angle tripod that replaces the humongous aluminium plate at the bottom of the tuner box. I was thinking a similar tripod for the JPC-12 might work well, made with the idea that you can just load some rocks, sand, whatever onto the wide-angle legs - the centre-piece could be 3D printed and accept a M10 screw to attach to the standard JPC-12 lower connector thingumy.
Consensus supports that the threads are truly M10. Now: what is the thread pitch? Looking at UA-cam videos, it appears it may be 1.5 mm; i.e., M10-1.5. Can anyone confirm?
@@DaDitDa Mine are M10 standard i.e. cheap, not fine. That's perfectly adequate, especially if the parts tighten up to a shoulder. Plus slightly less time assembling and tearing down - less screwing.
@@marcusjenkins Okay. thanks. M10 course thread (i.e., "cheap, not fine") is 1.5 mm pitch. I found a nice looking SS 3/8-24 to M10-1.5 adaptor at SnakeClamp products -- currently sold out.
@@marcusjenkins Just discovered that the coil wire is 1mm stainless steel! Acceptable when only a few turns required for resonance, but significant resistive loss when a large number of turns required. Taking skin-effect depth into account, one (1) linear meter of 1mm SS wire yields about 14 ohms resistance at 7 MHz. Ref: OwenDuffy's skin depth and wire resistance calculators. Edit: just realized a data entry error when performing resistance calculation. The corrected resistance is 1.7 ohms for 1 meter of 1mm SS wire.
@iseethou this is the reason for using a longer vertical whip, reducing loading!
Boy I'm frozen just watching. You have guts. Or no nerve endings. Lol
Our wolf river is doing fine for us, but some of these other packed up kits sure look handy.
Thanks for the comment and for watching. Yeah, normally we would be in a tent or some type of bivouac but the wind was too extreme on this day. I'd love to complain, but we deploy in the weather we are given. 😂
Thanks again.
73
Julian oh8stn
For the winter ground spike problem what i used is a lighting tripod that can go 2ft or less when lowered so the radials aren't too high off the ground. most lighting tripods have a 3/8th treading on them which is 9.61mm just big enough that a male 3/8th can thread into a female M10 and get tight. though its not ideal it'll work. Im also sure there are some places that'll make 3/8th to M10 thread adapters.
Sounds like a really good idea. I thought about shooting tripods. They have low profile and can be fitted with a variety of different thread adapters. They work really well but m add some weight.
73
Julian oh8stn
Ground attaching could be some sort of screw with hexnut base. Then could use bit more force screw that in or out of frozen earth. It’s not concrete, but it’s hard. Surely some hammer drill could be useful too. Or impact wrench. But that do ask more carrying capability.
I confirm the best antenna for SOTA or POTA
While the loading coil with slider approach in itself is not a bad idea and is used by several HF antennas, I would have a similar problem to you with the spike and the sharp but small slider "button" when activating SOTA during the winter down here in the Alps. My personal choice, which seems to work very well is the Spanish Komunica HF-PRO2-Plus-T and a tripod plus radial wires. It does not have any issue with frozen ground and on it, the barrel moves to adjust the position of the tape on the coil, which is adjustable while wearing thick gloves. The HF-PRO2 is also small enough to pack in my rucksack as my backup antenna if I cant get the linked dipole up at some location.
73 Ed DD5LP.
Thanks for the insight Ed 👍
73
Julian oh8stn
Очень хорошая и удачная антенна. Использую её с опционным телескопическим штырём 5,6м. В качестве приёмо-передатчика это ic705, FT817 или G90. Удавались межконтинентальные связи и связи с радиотрассами свыше 10 тысяч километров.
Замечательный! (Outstanding!)
Try using a Long Masonary bit on a cordless drill to you make your hole, I was given that tip by a local ham at field day this year. Find a long bit ( my bit is about 36 inches long and somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 inches in diameter).
The accessories you described would be so easy to make yourself, however yes, if your paying high prices, maybe they should be with it
Loved it 👌
Hi Julian!
Thanks for the Video. Love your content.
I've seen reports about this antenna and it looks fine. For SOTA I use a Superantenna MP-1 (on a cheap tripod). Very simmilar design. Shorter Antenna, longer coil. So i guess, the JPC-12 performs a bit better. For me the long telescopic part is a problem, it will break sooner than later (wasted two with my MP-1 before I switched to a wire whip).
73 Stefan
FB Stefan, thanks.
I use the collapsible whip from the MPAS with my MP1, withhold results. Hadn't considered a wire whip but sounds like it would work.
Honestly, this antenna is probably based on the MP1.
73
Julian oh8stn
@@OH8STN I tried the collapsible whip too but results where not bad also not convincing. And its kind of heavy.
Thank you! Very well done and interesting. 73 DE VY2MJ. Atlantic Canada. 😀
Julian, Henry here N2YDD. I'd like to comment on your observation of 20m sounding like 40m with regards to the 'skip zone'. What is happening now is simple - sunspot cycle 25 has been hovering at an SSN of 100. You are subconsciously holding a band prop table in your mind for SSN=0. So here is what happens in the simplest of terms that is not covered well in radio books. Due to more reflective ionospheric layers, the bands are 'shifting up'.
In the simplest terms, it looks like this
80m NVIS SSN = 0 become 40m NVIS SSN100
40m become 20m
20m become 15m
15m become 10m
How come we are hearing regional chatter on 20m during the day in North America? simple - 40m becomes 20m. Want some DX ? Go 15m and up..
Yes, we used to NVIS chat in the carib on 80m in the mornings, but lately 40m is much better..
A little 3D printed thumb thingie could sort out the slider on the coil. Easier than the buddipole for tuning with its taps, but I agree they should of kept of it all the standard thread size for antennas
If that is salt water, put your counterpoise in the water! the high salinity levels in the ocean make for a great counterpoise! 73
In cold and wet the buddipole coil is also an issue, getting that clip on the coild. Wolf river with the grabbable collar seems a really nicer solution. From an engineering perspective, like the buddipole, the machines and fit looks really nice.
Agreed. The super antenna mp1 coil slider is the simplest so far. It's got that slider on the coil to increase or decrease the loading. You can do it with mittens on if you have to.
73
Julian oh8stn
@@OH8STN The Slidewinder DX coil,by M1ECC also has the sliding ring over it’s coil,similar to the Wolf River Coil antenna.
Indeed m1ecc integrated that feature from the MP1. Unfortunately, it's 3d printed. Far to brittle and fragile for these Arctic conditions.
@@OH8STN I’m in the extreme opposite climate here in Arizona.We have to watch the UV rays,and find cooler days to operate on.Summer field operation is non existent,with our 105-115F temps,but the other 3 seasons are ideal.Great video,Julian.Thank you
Spent a few years in Yuma dodging scorpions, rattlesnakes and working on my tan 😂
Fun times.
Thanks for the great review. What PC hardware are you using for your FT8?
Thanks. Here's a video of the computer setup. ua-cam.com/video/xIrd2l8t4l8/v-deo.html I'm using jtdx for the software.
Nice video.I use this antenna and it works great.have also a long telescopic element above the coil.
Made card to make easy tune the coil and set telescopic length for the frequency. 73 Robert pa3geo
Great idea robert. Thanks for the info👍
73
Julian oh8stn
A general question concerning these types of shortened vertical portable antennas: I see that the mast blows around in the wind, does this affect communication? In other words, does the takeoff angle of the signal continually change with wind gusts?
Clearly, one could attach some guy lines to minimize flexing in the wind. The question is would it improve performance?
Great question. If there's a lot of flexing back and forth, you can clearly hear the fading of the incoming signal as the antenna moves. The antenna is quite rigid normally. The problem here was deploying on very Rocky surface , with very little soil. Some flexible cordage as guy wires might be a great idea.
I'd have to track down the video, but HOAHam found an M8 to 3/4-24 adaptor that he liked. Stay warm over there.
great review. what ft8 software / addons is that you are running? 73
It's called JTDX.
Thanks for watching 👍
I will stick with the buddistick pro and buddipole mini. Its compatible with chameleon 17ft whip.
I replaced the telescoping whip with a folding military whip to stand up to the wind better, but have lost out on the ability to fine tune.
EI7INB
Greetings from southern New Jersey - thanks for pointing out the screw thread mismatch issue. That’s a real problem .
How do you feel about elevating “spike in the ground” antennas - such as this one or the chameleon ? Will they be less ground plane / radials dependent if they can be positioned instead say 5-6 feet above ground ?
this is the better option. unless I use a vertical dipole. not horozontal.
YES! I am looking for an HF antenna to use when we are out in the RV traveling. I am using the MFJ-2289PK. It's a little big to use in an RV Park/Campground. BTW, what software are you running on your tablet and what tablet are you using? I am using a MacBook Pro now but your tablet looks much easier to use.
Thank you 4 sharing 🙂 N6WIP
Hi Jullian, I would say the most iinteresting part of that antenna is the way the coil adjusts. Otherwise its not much different than the Buddipole. The Buddie pole dosent have the spike but does address the the above ground mounting via the tripod. One other observstion did you put out radials for this antenna?
Oh heck. I forgot to mention the radials. 5 radials on a single ring terminal, at the base. Like the buddipole, I think this is a near likeness of the super antenna mp1. What do you think?
If the tuning tab had a knob on it to make it easier on the hands and fingers, I'd say it would be a keeper. Some of the pew pew low profile tripods seem interesting. Probably too expensive though.
@@OH8STN I am fascinated by tht adjustment on the coil, I would agree putting a zipper pull of sorts so it doesnt stick out far to become snaged on something or broken in the field would be a great improvement. Lastly a field repairable / replaceable would be great.
As for your radials, I would say it looked rather challenging outside since you rarely shoot videos from the inside of your car. and you looked cold, so I appreciate you for getting out there for the benefit of us all. I do have a suggestion Perhaps we could run a drill of sorts this winter with the goup to see how we could actually put skills in play to run a series of messages through several timezones acroos the planet. Thoughts? I think it would be really cool to bring your ideas and skills to life eith your subscribers.
Great comment
I used a m10 bolt to make a adapter for a 3/8 telescopic anttena but not tested out in the field yet
Let us know how it goes👍
with that I say... lam lam lam lam... OMG you had me laughing hysterically there! Yes I would enjoy using that antenna if in the field. 73!
Certainly a good idea. I am seriously thinking of getting one. Thank you Julian! 73 de W4BTK
Bought the antenna for my 705 thanks to your video.
Have you found if it makes any difference to signal strength how you arrange the radials?
Have you kept them as one ribbon or split them?
I think that signal strength is stronger along the line of the ribbon.
Have you found that? John, G3UCQ
Glad to hear you like the anthem. When I'm not trying to work in a particular direction, the radials are dread out equally around the base of the antenna. If I'm working a particular direction, I'll arrange them favoring that direction. Elevating the radials also improves performance.
Great. That confirms my findings. 73 John
Thank you for the video, considering this antenna. Also, what is your ‘tablet’, please? 👍
Thanks. It's worked out quite well so far.
Take a look at this video for my tablet ua-cam.com/video/xIrd2l8t4l8/v-deo.html
I think I like my wolfriver antenna better it has legs that hold it up. in windy conditions I just put small sandbags over legs or rocks that are around me.
Not sure if I want to manipulate that tuning slide when I want to change bands. My MPAS lite I don’t have to do anything additional other than admittedly I use an external tuner and retune to the new band. But, it’s from wherever I’m sitting. I don’t know maybe I’d get used to it but this is just my initial observation. As usual I dig the vids…thx again. de AD8EV
Definitely a trade-off . It's nice not having to go outside to change bands. With that said, the quarter wave vertical will outperform the MPAS light on lower bands. The flip side is the MPAS is much easier to use if we have a tuner. This one is just an option.
Thanks for the feedback and for watching.
73
Julian oh8stn
Can you mount it on a tripod? I’m a technician class wanting to buy the Icom 705 for doing HF. Planing on going for general. What is the cost for tue antenna?
I'm curious to know which one do you recommend, JPC-12 or CHA MPAS 2.0? I'm trying to decide between the two.
For me, if using a radio without an antenna tuner, it's nice using an antenna which is resonant on the bands I'd like to operate. The MPAS is incredible! It's easy to deploy, requires no manual adjustment, but is less efficient on lower bands unless we add the MIL EXT 2.0. I use them both but think of them as different tools in my toolbox.
73
Julian oh8stn
Thank you very much for your reply to the question, which is very helpful for my choice. Thank you.
BG0DAP
73
I'm wondering that you even got any contact, as you have mounted the base part the wrong way around. The groud spike has to be screwed into the metal part with the so-239 connector and the "fiber tube" part needs to point up because this is the isolation between ground (radial) and center (radiator)!
Julian- Thank you for an informative video. I just received my Tech's license and purchased a JPC-12 and want to use it in the 10 meter band. I looked online and a submitted photo shows the slide position for 21 MHZ just one ring down from the top. I am under the impression to go to 28 MHZ should I just remove the coil and adjust the whip to give me the best SWR at 28MHZ. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you TenBears KQ4FLZ
From 18 MHz up you don't use a coil at all!!! It is needed only for 20, 30 and 40 m.
That makes sense as those were the only bands I was using on this trip.
What is that tablet computer and software?
hi mate i made a tool to put the spike on the floor hit a ruber hammer and a tool to remove is easy as and i made a coil that operates in the 80 meter band with the rest of the components
Can you make a post showing and tag me? I'd like to see it.
73
Julian oh8stn
What gauge and length of coax cable did you use to connect to your IC-705? How does it compare to Chameleon's?
10 meters or 32ft of RG-316 with a homemade choke balun at the antenna feedpoint. It's lighter, more flexible, and relatively lossless on HF. I use the same coax for my Chameleon antennas to reduce weight and size.
@@OH8STNif you move the choke to the radio side, you'd get one more radial :)
Minus the coil, I believe my Buddistick Pro is better. If this coil had a sliding collar, it would be more adjustable and you wouldn't need to touch the whip until you reach maybe the 10 meter band and above. I do love the small form factor though
Agreed. Take a look at my Super Antenna MP1 setup. It's almost identical to your description. ua-cam.com/video/t_wzggM7-0E/v-deo.html
@@OH8STN I've substituted A Wolf River Coils Mini on my Buddistick and it works great now. I also created a Radial system instead of a counterpoise.
Interesting antenna, nice and compact
Do you need to make any config changes on your IC-705 when you switch between FT8 and WinLink-VARA
Many Thanks...
Thanks, it was a pleasant surprise. The settings are different on VHF for Winlink with VaraFM. On HF winlink with VaraHF, the configuration is exactly the same.
73
Julian oh8stn
@@OH8STN Many Thanks...