I just bought my ATAS 120A today at HRO. It's mounted on a hatchback with a Diamond K400. My radio is an FT-991. WOW! I went through all the bands using FT8 (almost a real-time signal report) at 20 watts. From Portland, Oregon I got into England on the 20-meter band with FT-8. SWR was never higher than 1.2. Moist of the time the SWR didn't register on the. Yes. I'm VERY happy with it. 😁
Got my tech+ license a long time ago... when it was still tech+. Then I took about a 20 year sabbatical from ham radio and just kept renewing my license, but sold everything. Anyway, I'm getting back into the hobby and I just bought an 891 and ATAS-120A... haven't mounted em yet though... and working on my general class. Thanks for the demonstration video. Made me feel good about the setup I bought.
I've have an ATAS120 for four year on my car. Its mounted on the luggage rack and a diamond k9000 power mount. So i can lower it to park in the garage. Also no bonding no grounding. Work great! Great video!👍
Good Video Mike. Well done and very informative. I own one of these and use it with my 891. I live in an over 55 HOA and use it mounted to an Alpha Delta Outpost. It is easy to put up and take down and stealth as heck with the antenna black and my Outpost painted Military Olive Drab. For me... this set up works very well. I am mostly a cw operator and have from Naples Florida worked.. France, Spain, The Canary Islands, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Canada and out your way in Texas on 35 watts. Absolutely no complaints. I am getting ok signal reports, which is just fine considering... I would like to clarify a couple of points... The 891 screen with the up and down arrow, is really only good in adjusting the radio in receive, as there is no way to measure the SWR while adjusting it and transmitting unless you have an external SWR meter in the line when transmitting while poking either the up or down arrow with the multi function knob, Instead of stressing the finals looking for a match, I will use that screen in receive and try to adjust the antenna for maximum noise, and then finish off adjusting the SWR while transmitting using the microphone method you covered. I find the manual tuning is the best to get the lowest SWR as the radio micro will let go of the tuning process once it gets an SWR of under 2 to 1. I'd also like to clarify one other point that a lot of hams get confused with this up down button stuff. When you push the "up" button the antenna is moving "up" frequency... THUS the antenna length is actually going down getting shorter. And visa versa. Pushing the "down" button the antenna is tuning "down" in frequency and the antenna length is getting longer... going 'up" in length. This is typical Yaesu interface logic... hi hi. I struggled with that for the longest time when I first got the antenna wondering why the antenna wasn't obtaining a match, until I realized I was tuning it in the wrong direction. Once I realized what I was doing, I have not had a problem with it since. I am very careful with my ATAS. It never really gets wet, so I can't say anything about how well it holds up to the elements, but it certainly has enough rubber seals so it should be ok in that respect. All in all... it is a very nice antenna. Not cheap for sure, but is a perfect match to the 891, and you cant beat if for how fast it can QSY. Also the Q of the 2 to 1 bandwidth is fairly reasonable on 20 and above. It is a really nice antenna. Just as an FYI for what it is worth... The ATAS-100, 120 and 120A can be used with other radios if you have a MFJ-1925 ATAS Controller (actually a Bias T interface), which emulates the control circuit of the Yaesu radios that are design compatible with this antenna. In conclusion... I love your videos! They are always very informative, and I would like to meet you on the air some day. Keep em coming! Best 73's Dan K1YPB Licensed since 1962
Glad you ended up liking the antenna. You got way better results then when I had it. Loved the video I must say that it's one of the most in depth videos out on the tube for the atas
Nice demo and look at the ATAS 120A. I am a Yaesu man and have several ATAS compatible Yaesu radios. I have been wanting one of these antennas and this video may have just persuaded me to order one. Thanks for posting Mike and 73!
I have an 891 and an ATAS on a diamond mount on my trunk. I love it! I am chasing a lot of bonding, but that is an attempt to limit RFI from the engine. When I run in battery while stopped, it’s perfect.
I have these antennas since they introduced them. The first generation had problems with water getting in, Yaesu did repair mine the first time around. After that, I just regularly inspect it and make sure it's sealed with some fresh silicone. Super important for a good ground on the antenna.. I now have one of these on my RV with an 891, the difference between the handling of the 891 and the 857D besides no 2m/440 is that the 857D told you it was initializing the antenna, where the 891 makes it look like there's something wrong. Most of the problems people have with this antenna is issues pertaining with grounding. nice video..
Mike, I have an ATAS 100 that’s about 20 years old. You have motivated me to take it off the shelf and make sure it still works. Thanks for another outstanding video.
Hey Mike nice video, it really goes into great detail. Like you I’ve heard so many people say grounding and bonding is the only way to get this antenna to work good. Spent a lot of extra time taking the trunk apart to ground and bond at least it. The antenna tunes every band but 12m where the SWR won’t go below 2.8-3.0:1. You just plop the antenna on your car and boom it tunes 12m. I’m a bit perplexed to say the least. I’m going to try undoing the ground straps and see what happens.
Good to see that antenna working. I have one brand new laying around for 6 years. I have tried to get it working for 3 days at the time without success. You motivated me to give it another try. Thanks Mike!
Atas is an option. But I can’t help wonder how inefficient the antenna is when 40% of its length is the loading coil. A 3 foot whip doesn’t seem long enough on HF. Now a wolf river coil or Slidewinder DX coil mounted on the car might mean you’ll need to manually adjust bands, but stick a 9 foot two piece cheap CB quarter wave on it and I’d bet it would be pretty superior compared with the Atas. Especially below 15m.
@@frankwc0o not only that but putting a longer whip on it would not allow it to do 6m, 2m, & 70cm. If those bands don’t matter to you, then that’s fine but it’s not how Yaesu designed the antenna.
@timg5tm941 I agree with you 100%. But I doubt that the WRC or Slidewinder DX coils are going to survive with that on the car while driving down the highway, especially if that whip strikes an object. Not to mention the stresses that would put on the K400 mount.
I have an FT-891 in my truck and I'm using a Wolf River Coil antenna. I was actually going to get the ATAS-120 this weekend but I found an amplifier I had been wanting in stock so now I have to fill the ham radio piggy bank back up.
Thanks for mentioning the freezing problem. I was thinking my ATAS-120A was defective because it would go into tune mode but the antenna didn't move or adjust. I would back out of tuning and hit the tune button again, then it would go into the long reset/retune process. Very annoying.
Good video, and good review. I really like what you did with the editing during the activation, we get to hear multiple different QSOs in different locations with the signal reports in quick succession.
Was this what you were using when you worked me on the SOTA yesterday? Damn thing made for an armchair copy to my portable station, and you could clearly copy me easily too. Sounds like you got an effective install! It's working well.
I’ve had one of these and was using it as a base antenna and it served it’s purpose it got me on the air but because of my environment I can’t use any vertical so I can’t blame the antenna for not being what I expected I would recommend it as well
@@randymonch9112 4 wires, 16' long. This is 4-conductors control wire. All conductors tied together at one end and attached to the ATAS bracket. In my case, a Diamond BK-11.
I know ground strapping is the “right” thing to do so I did it. Can’t get it to tune 12m for some reason. This guy just sticks it on his car and it tunes 12m no issue. What gives. I’m going to try and remove the ground straps and see what happens.
For years I ran one on my Honda Prelude with a trunk mount. Used a Diamond mount, scraped a bit of paint and also bonded the trunk lid to the body with a bit of copper strap. Used an FT-857 and made lots of HF DX contacts on my commutes. A friend just got a Yaesu FT-dx10 and the manual refers to using an ATAS-120A, so the antenna is still relevant.
Thank you so much for the review! I’ve had this antenna in the box for a couple years. Watching this video, it is now on my car. Great tip about the antenna having to cycle and find out where it is. So many people on UA-cam have said it’s broken. Thanks again for the awesome review
Hi! I got this antenna recently and tested it with my 991A. During the first checking process I’ve noticed the same “stuck” issue. What you said is absolutely true. It goes all the way to the end and then the motor continues going but there’s a clutch inside preventing damage. Then after 30” reverts the spinning and start going the other way until it finds the match. Another way of getting out of that suck situation is to use the manual tuning. Look where the antennas is and move it consequently. By the way, UP and DOWN on the mike refers to frequency to match, not to antenna position, as you said. 73s
I’ve done 2 installs for my ATAS on different vehicles, the only thing I’ll say about grounding is when I beefed up the ground connection to the body I did get a better match on 40m but it still worked all the same . Great antenna, nice video
@@frankwc0o The radio was only grounded via the co-ax shield to the mount which was in turn grounded to the body. The power for both + and - were directly to the battery.
W0ZRK Thanks a Lot Mike. You just made me spend $400+ for an ATAS and separation kit for my 891. If that isn’t bad enough I need to buy another 891 for my portable setup. Sometimes the G90 ain’t enough. Plus I’m a Yaesu fan boy. Always have been. I’ve already forgiven you though. 73 man.
I want to thank you for your videos. Yesterday I mounted the atas 120a on a comet lip mount then to my Yaesu ft-891. I made few contacts right away. I haven't decided if I'm permanently mounting the radio yet, I was going through the power mini 2 with a 9ah bioenno. I couldn't be happier with this Mobile set up. I had been looking at the 891 for some time now. I know you, Josh, and so many other UA-camrs have talked highly of that radio for Mobile install, the rest is 95% your videos compared with 5% of others reviews. Anyway thank you for sharing you knowledge and firsthand experiences. 73 K0MYK
I want to thank you for this video, I just purchased one from the DX Eng. sale today at 50% off. Almost took it back because it was doing exactly like you said... you have to wait on it to decide which way to tune. Update: I use mainly 10 m in the vehicle, when tuning from 10m to 12, 15, 17, it would go into "wait mode" and never tune. Come to find out those bands were tuned "out of band" and would NOT transmit because the mars mod is not done to this radio and didn't use those bands anyway. Once the frequencies were properly tuned within the bandwidth of each band, it works great. You can jump and tune to any band you want. I am using a FT891 and have the tune on one of the hot keys. Works fine now and making contacts! Thanks!
Great review, Mike. Lots of good info, and now you got me thinking.... One of those would probably increase the value of my beloved Rust Bucket the Jeep by a good 10-15% and at least 4 dB in ham radio street cred. Seems like a no brainer purchase for me!
Running mine with the FT-891, too. Haven't played in quite some time, but about to get it back in a vehicle and on the air thanks to a new job where I travel a lot. Previous Comet mount that was recommended broke at highway speed. I have the ATAS mounted on a steel plate now, and it is solid. It's a compromise antenna, but works very well with the 891. The tuning makes it so nice without an interface/box to add on. Thanks for the video, you have inspired me to get mine back on the air! 73, Brett
Excellent "hands-on" review thank you. I'm about to buy a FT857 so I will probably buy this as well. Just one point - those screws you called "Philips" are almost certainly JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard" heads. Philips screwdrivers will fit but are a loose fit and eventually with many cycles will chew up. JIS screwdrivers fit perfectly and are readily available in the UK and I'm sure they will be in Texas!
Mike. The ATAS (like any mobile antenna) will radiate better with a good ground system. The car or truck is the other side of your antenna. Grounding all the parts together give a better ground and it reduces some of the noise generated by the vehicle. That’s where I learned about it years ago when cars generated much more RFI. And now with all the computers in every vehicle you need the grounding and bonding to prevent interference inside your vehicle. You are lucky with your car but many will have difficulty, especially if they run over 25 watts. I would recommend bonding everything you can together. Dave K8WPE
I did some bonding to the trunk where the antenna is mounted and I tunes every band but 12m. I’m at a loss because I spent a lot of extra time installing the whole system. This guy just sticks it on his car and BOOM it tunes 12m no problem. What gives?
@@hamradiotube I have been around Radio’s for a while mostly 10-12 meter and using my VHF Around Canada for Commercial purposes and using my Baofeng UV5R’s on gmrs ..
I have an atas 120 , that I teamed up with an 857D and I can tell you it performs very well. I bought the system brand new at the Dayton Hamvention, along with a triple magnet mag mount. My previous set up was a 9 foot whip with an antenna tuner mounted right inside the fender well behind the plastic on the car. The trouble I had with the antenna tuner was, it was constantly trying to re-tune the antenna as the 9 foot whip flopped around highway speed. Not that I didn’t make good contacts all over the world with that set up. But when the thing would take off and try to retune drove me nuts. So I literally plugged my radio in to a power connector in the car slaped The mag mount on the roof with the atas and while my wife drove us to South Carolina I was going along through the mountains of Tennessee, working Italy on 20 m and all other European DX that day. As I drove to work every morning on 40 m I had a regular schedule with the guys from Memphis to mid Ohio. The atas antenna performed quite well. I worked DX literally all over the world from 40 m to 6 m I used to separate antenna for VHF and UHF. I still have the antenna I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
Thanks for the review. I was wanting to put a ATAS & FT-891 in for mobile when I first started. I still want to move to them after my hamsticks trial is up. Shoot! I don’t even have mobile radios yet. Am making a tinkertoy carrier to hoist my shack radio into truck for portable. Hardly a mobile setup but it will get me going. Thanks again for the review. All the best!
I had some issues installing it on my tailgate. I installed the mount a little too low and couldn't get 20m to tune up. I grounded the mount and the radio to the same spot on the chassis and could get other bands to tune. Then I moved the mount up to give the antenna more clearance from the aluminum, yeah it's a ford, and voila, works just peachy. Probably would work better mounted off the hood. But that requires a different mount. ;) Keep up the good vids dude!
Good video Mike, I have had one for a number of years with no bonding apart from the mount to the boot lid and have had no problems with it, use it with the 857D.
Great Antenna! Have 2 of them and love them. 525 successful POTA activations in 2 countries since 5-25-2022 just using the ATAS-120 and the FT-891. Works great ! HI8DL - NK4Q - HI8POTA 73's
I've had mine for several years now with my 857d, perfect pair !! The only problem 'Ive ever had is it occasionaly locks up - just have to take it apart & clean the inside tube about every year and a half. I would def buy another one if I ever needed to.
Good info on solving the flashing ATS. I never had the patience to wait. I always just unplugged everything and plugged it back in. Took mine apart to see how it works, because that's the way I work. In the process, I also learned all about the ball bearings in the ATAS...HiHi!!
@@hamradiotube yeah, it probably would have been. But when something is wrong, the first step in tech support is to unplug and reboot. After hearing you say wait, I'm thinking to myself, "well I'm pretty dumb." Lol!
Mike really learned a lot about this antenna from the video! I'm in the process purchasing a FT 891(because of your videos on the 891) for moblie use while RVing several months a year and debating between this antenna and the BabyTarheel ll. Draw to the Tarheel because it covers 80 meters, is where most nets I talk on are located. However not excited about manual tuning and running additional cable for tuning on the Tarheel. Only draw back on the Yeasu is it doesn't tune 80 meters where I operate everyday on nets. Thanks for your great work providing info and education about Ham Radio! 73&Blessings. NM5SP
Alan, I feel you man. That is a very tough call. I've since purchased an ATAS after making this video because I liked it so much. I was traveling a couple weeks ago and wanted to tune up 80 but alas, I had the ATAS and couldn't. 80 is so not important to me though. I'm never ever on it. It's more an "I want it because I can't have it" kinda thing for me. Same reason the first antenna I bought was a Wolf River Coils Silver Bullet 1000. Because it had 80-6. Every now and then I'll get on 80 FT8 but for SSB, I prob only have 2 maybe 3 phone contacts. If 80 is important to you, it's a no brainer, get the TarHeel. I assure you, it is NOT hard to wire. You have 2 wires from the control box. One is your 12v to power the box and antenna, the other is the control wire to tell the antenna to go up or down. Then your coax from whatever mount you chose. That's it. At least for the setup that I have. PLUS, with the Tarheel, it is extremely easy to swap your whip. If I'm driving and doing HF, I'll have the short 3' whip on, but if I'm activating a park stationary, I have quick disconnects for the whip and I can put on either my 6' or 17' telescoping whip in mere seconds. The Tarheel's whip connection is a standard 3/8x24 thread so you can put pretty much whatever you want on it. Not so much with the ATAS. It's whip receiver is a small hole with two screws that tighten down on the whip. Sure, you could put a different length piece of thin metal wire in there, but it's not going to be easy, or readily available. BUT, if you are stationary at your campsite, you could very easily attach an appropriate length of wire the the ATAS stinger with an alligator clip or something, and tune up 80 (I would suspect, I've not done this but it makes sense). I don't know if this answer helped or confused you more, but I hope you have fun with whatever decision you make. Thanks for watching and 73.
I use the same set up FT891 and Atas120. Have called into the HHH net driving around Central Queensland. K9RM was probably doing most of the work but a qso is a qso.
Love my Yaesu ATAS-120A! I've activated parks and got DX from Japan, South America, and Europe. And Thank You for explaining what to do when it gets "stuck"! I've had that happen a couple times and it is so frustrating! 73 de KB9JQU
Hey Mike. Your video motivated me to pull my ATAS 100 out of storage. This thing is at least 25 years old so I plugged it into the equally old FT 100 D and it worked like a champ on another day. I’m going to try to see if it works with an 857 which should I hope. Thanks for the motivation.
Great video! I use one of these with a ft-dx10. What a combo. Lots of mobile (I pull over and park) dx to Europe on it! Hard to believe such a little whip gets out so well. Parking location does matter a lot. By the beach or up on a bluff is best. 73, N7RLV
Using one on my mobile setup with an 991a. Works well.Worked you and KF8IV with it in July. I did bond my truck before mounting to ensure quality tuning. Didnt try to use it without bonding. Thanks for the vid. K7REH
It is a good antenna. I have one ATAS-100 and two ATAS-200's. The freezing I just mike control to get it moving the right direction then autotune. Realize the coil contacts last known are beryllium so watch out for contamination from dust and muck if taking one apart. Not the only brand with beryllium contacts ie. cancerous.
I have the same setup. FT-891, ATAS-120A, and K400 mount. The 1st time I tried it on 20m I had a contact in Austria from the Dayton Amateur Radio Association club house parking lot. At first I had a lot of S7 to S9 noise. Thanks to a voltage ohm meter I realized the door where the K400 was installed was not bonded to the body of the cab of my truck. A few feet of ground braid and eureka! S0 to maybe S3 noise. This setup is crazy fun for POTA! Thanks for the vid Oscar Mike. 73 de N8NMG Dayton, OH
Well that's promising! I just got an ATAS myself used off of a buddy. I need to get the whip for it as he lost it. I watched Josh's (Ham Radio Crash Course) video on grounding his electric car and he said the same thing. Now I really need to hunker down and do it. Looked pretty easy actually. I can turn a wrench.
@@hamradiotube Hy Mike... FYI I know beyond any reasonable doubt that DX Engineering has an OEM whip or 2 laying abound in returns. It took 3 shipments for me to get an undamaged item. The carrier literally destroyed 2 shipments. BUT out of the destruction, I can tell you there is at least 1 useable whip in the "sent back" remains. Good luck, have fun, and keep up the good work. 73 es gud POTA de N8NMG
Awesome comprehensive review Mike! I love that antenna. I have had the ATAS-100 and the ATAS-120A. IT PERFORMS! I use to use it routinely for VHF and UHF contacts, on my F-150. My best HF contact was when I was waiting for my wife in a parking lot in Aliso Viejo CA. and making a contact to Finland on 20 meters. Keep up the great work bro! 73 - KF6IF
Hello, just to contribute to your list of compatible radios, ATAS 120 works with FTdx-10 too. By the way, YAESU has also FC-40, which is a "long wire" tuner system. It is a good alternative to ATAS 120, as with some small tweaks in form of 1:4 autotransformer, can tune ~7m long wire to 80m without any trouble, and considering the length of the radiating element, it is much more effective than the ATAS system. The only setback of FC-40 is that it has a control cable too. By the way, the ATAS is not dedicated for use in motion or at least this is what the manual says. 73 de LZ5RG
Would you consider making another video with the ATAS-120 mounted on a balcony railing (maybe even with some counterpoise)? That would help a lot of us living in condos (or people living in HOA areas) decide whether it is a good investment (two for one, mobile and base station antenna).
On a balcony, the railing may or may not be enough of a "counterpoise". It is just too big of an unknown. I suggest dropping a quarter wave counterpoise for the band you are operating. The antenna will operate as a vertical OCFD, and you may get a good match, a good 2 to 1 band width and fairly decent signal reports.
I am in a small apartment and use a 120A for my base (and mobile). I put one the goliath MJF triple mag mounts on a metal table on my balcony, then screwed on the 120A and ran several radial wires of varying lengths all over the balcony. It gives me great SWR from 70cm to 20m, and about 2.0:1 SWR on 40m. I haven't DXed yet but I'm very new to the hobby. Talking around the US isn't a problem, though. I run an FT991-A. For mobile, I have another of the same mag mount, on the roof of my SUV. When going mobile, I just unscrew it from the mag mount on the balcony and screw it onto the mag mount on my vehicle, and use the same radio.
I had a Yaesu Rep tell me not to use it as a mobile antenna. It's good to see it can be done. But all that wind deflection is going to take a toll. I may try it in the bed of my PU. I do use mine in the RV when we are parked. The antenna does work well.
A Yaesu rep tole you not to use their mobile antenna as a mobile antenna? That's just crazy. I've seen so many cars and trucks with this antenna at different ham fests and swaps. Its sole purpose in life is to be a mobile antenna. Sure there can be better, more rigid ways to mount it, especially if you have a truck, but the wind deflection isn't that bad. Keep in mind, I'm going 90 MPH in this video. With a trunk mount.
In this situation, are you using the battery in our car? Also, is the radio grounded to the car? I have the same mount and got rid of the paint, but I'm running via a bioenno battery and my radio is not grounded. thx.
I had an 857 and ATAS antenna. Totally hated that set up in my F-150. It always had problems tuning, RF feedback, and other issues. I bonded the truck, radio and antenna to the frame. All body parts to the frame. Always had the problems. Switched to the Icom 7000 and a Scorpion antenna and NEVER LOOKED BACK!
Because you discovered that the ATAS is a piece of excrement bundled in a nice little Yaesu box. I am glad you can admit the pathetic and horrible design of this antenna. I too have a Scorpion and I have a LT II. ATAS is filth but so many people are suckers for buying this and Yaesu should be utterly ashamed they market this garbage.
I've been running an ATAS with my 891 since spring, I'm shooting for DXCC and I've got..uh...about 25 countries so far. Picked up Algeria on 10m(!!) today. I've got a 3-magnet mag mount, no bonding/grounding (so far). It definitely isn't as good as a "home" antenna so I understand the comments about it being "deaf". I haven't ruled out something bigger/more efficient. (Taheel's website still looks active,, fwiw.) I _do_ love the 1-touch tuning and I have encountered the antenna becoming "lost". Mostly during the few times I try 40m. I might swap out the 891 for a Kenwood TS-480SAT just because the 891 is so controlled by its menu system which is a 5-star PIA if you're in motion. I'd give up the 1-touch tuning for easier access to functions. Anyway...the ATAS is far better than the one-off Diamond antenna I ran about 12 years ago. My drives are typically 10-40 minutes so the ATAS quick band changes are a winner. "Someday..." I'll bond my hoord, doors and rear hatch plus semi-permanently mount it on my roof rack (with proper grounding to the body). Maybe that'll help. It's a compromise antenna on a compromise mount - it is, what it is. Thanks, as always, for the video! One of these days, I'll catch you on the air. Did hear you a week or two ago but, so did everyone and their brother. HiHi! 73's WB3CFN/Mobile
Great Review. I was waiting for the review. I remember you mentioned that in a video some months ago. i have the ATAS and have no problem running it off the roof rack of my 4Runner. I just added a braid from the rack to the body. I do plan to replace the 3-foot whip with a 6-foot one and see if there is any improvement. It's a little hard to find a 2 mm diameter SS whip but I see McMaster-Carr has something that may work. 73 de KF6LU
Your car must be really well bonded together. I still maintain that you need to do so to most vehicles to make sure this antenna works properly. Could not get it to tune on my GMC truck until I took the time to bond all the quarter panels to the frame and the mount to the bed. These antennas preform well as did mine until a vandal came by one day and bent the whip over
@@sbateson67 never did. There is still a piece of the whip left inside the antenna where it broke off flush and was unable to get that small piece out.
I have a Atas 120A and considering it size, it works well enough to be useful for many urban POTA activations. I use it with a tri-mag mount on the top of my truck (static, but not mobile). No issue tuning it. VA3KS
This thing is an absolute dream, but it is pricey at just shy of $400, but the signal quality from what friends have shown me is pretty darn good. FT-891 is highly recommended with the ATAS.
It's actually on the low end of the price range for motorized screwdriver antennas. Not to mention you don't need to buy a separate control box to use it like my TarHeel. That'll cost you at least another ~$100 for a basic one.
I just bought my ATAS 120A today at HRO. It's mounted on a hatchback with a Diamond K400. My radio is an FT-991. WOW! I went through all the bands using FT8 (almost a real-time signal report) at 20 watts. From Portland, Oregon I got into England on the 20-meter band with FT-8. SWR was never higher than 1.2. Moist of the time the SWR didn't register on the.
Yes. I'm VERY happy with it. 😁
Heck yeah man that's awesome! It's a great little antenna. Congrats on making it all the way to England too!
@@hamradiotube Look at PSK Reporter in the last 6 hours. Call sign is K7JBL. After a second look I see that England was on 17 meter. I was shocked.
Got my tech+ license a long time ago... when it was still tech+. Then I took about a 20 year sabbatical from ham radio and just kept renewing my license, but sold everything. Anyway, I'm getting back into the hobby and I just bought an 891 and ATAS-120A... haven't mounted em yet though... and working on my general class. Thanks for the demonstration video. Made me feel good about the setup I bought.
using one with an ft857d in my 2022 chevy spark. it's great! As a fairly new technician, I'm thrilled to be logging 5000 mile DX on 10m while mobile!
I've have an ATAS120 for four year on my car. Its mounted on the luggage rack and a diamond k9000 power mount. So i can lower it to park in the garage. Also no bonding no grounding. Work great! Great video!👍
Good Video Mike. Well done and very informative.
I own one of these and use it with my 891. I live in an over 55 HOA and use it mounted to an Alpha Delta Outpost. It is easy to put up and take down and stealth as heck with the antenna black and my Outpost painted Military Olive Drab. For me... this set up works very well. I am mostly a cw operator and have from Naples Florida worked.. France, Spain, The Canary Islands, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Canada and out your way in Texas on 35 watts. Absolutely no complaints. I am getting ok signal reports, which is just fine considering...
I would like to clarify a couple of points...
The 891 screen with the up and down arrow, is really only good in adjusting the radio in receive, as there is no way to measure the SWR while adjusting it and transmitting unless you have an external SWR meter in the line when transmitting while poking either the up or down arrow with the multi function knob, Instead of stressing the finals looking for a match, I will use that screen in receive and try to adjust the antenna for maximum noise, and then finish off adjusting the SWR while transmitting using the microphone method you covered. I find the manual tuning is the best to get the lowest SWR as the radio micro will let go of the tuning process once it gets an SWR of under 2 to 1.
I'd also like to clarify one other point that a lot of hams get confused with this up down button stuff. When you push the "up" button the antenna is moving "up" frequency... THUS the antenna length is actually going down getting shorter. And visa versa. Pushing the "down" button the antenna is tuning "down" in frequency and the antenna length is getting longer... going 'up" in length. This is typical Yaesu interface logic... hi hi. I struggled with that for the longest time when I first got the antenna wondering why the antenna wasn't obtaining a match, until I realized I was tuning it in the wrong direction. Once I realized what I was doing, I have not had a problem with it since.
I am very careful with my ATAS. It never really gets wet, so I can't say anything about how well it holds up to the elements, but it certainly has enough rubber seals so it should be ok in that respect. All in all... it is a very nice antenna. Not cheap for sure, but is a perfect match to the 891, and you cant beat if for how fast it can QSY. Also the Q of the 2 to 1 bandwidth is fairly reasonable on 20 and above. It is a really nice antenna.
Just as an FYI for what it is worth... The ATAS-100, 120 and 120A can be used with other radios if you have a MFJ-1925 ATAS Controller (actually a Bias T interface), which emulates the control circuit of the Yaesu radios that are design compatible with this antenna.
In conclusion... I love your videos! They are always very informative, and I would like to meet you on the air some day. Keep em coming!
Best 73's
Dan K1YPB
Licensed since 1962
Glad you ended up liking the antenna. You got way better results then when I had it. Loved the video I must say that it's one of the most in depth videos out on the tube for the atas
Excellent review Mike. Thanks for showing how the ATAS-120A disassembles. I think these do a good job for their size and convenience.
Nice demo and look at the ATAS 120A. I am a Yaesu man and have several ATAS compatible Yaesu radios. I have been wanting one of these antennas and this video may have just persuaded me to order one. Thanks for posting Mike and 73!
I have an 891 and an ATAS on a diamond mount on my trunk. I love it! I am chasing a lot of bonding, but that is an attempt to limit RFI from the engine. When I run in battery while stopped, it’s perfect.
I have had an ATAS 120A for over 5 years now. That dang thing just works and preforms very well. Always great RST reports.
Good to hear your review changed from the last time we talked. Definitely want to get one for the Tahoe.
You need one!
I have these antennas since they introduced them. The first generation had problems with water getting in, Yaesu did repair mine the first time around. After that, I just regularly inspect it and make sure it's sealed with some fresh silicone. Super important for a good ground on the antenna.. I now have one of these on my RV with an 891, the difference between the handling of the 891 and the 857D besides no 2m/440 is that the 857D told you it was initializing the antenna, where the 891 makes it look like there's something wrong. Most of the problems people have with this antenna is issues pertaining with grounding. nice video..
Mike, I have an ATAS 100 that’s about 20 years old. You have motivated me to take it off the shelf and make sure it still works. Thanks for another outstanding video.
I have had my ATAS antenna for several years now. I replaced the stinger with a longer one. Works very well. Thanks for the great video.
Hey Mike nice video, it really goes into great detail. Like you I’ve heard so many people say grounding and bonding is the only way to get this antenna to work good. Spent a lot of extra time taking the trunk apart to ground and bond at least it. The antenna tunes every band but 12m where the SWR won’t go below 2.8-3.0:1. You just plop the antenna on your car and boom it tunes 12m. I’m a bit perplexed to say the least. I’m going to try undoing the ground straps and see what happens.
Good to see that antenna working. I have one brand new laying around for 6 years. I have tried to get it working for 3 days at the time without success. You motivated me to give it another try. Thanks Mike!
Atas is an option. But I can’t help wonder how inefficient the antenna is when 40% of its length is the loading coil. A 3 foot whip doesn’t seem long enough on HF. Now a wolf river coil or Slidewinder DX coil mounted on the car might mean you’ll need to manually adjust bands, but stick a 9 foot two piece cheap CB quarter wave on it and I’d bet it would be pretty superior compared with the Atas. Especially below 15m.
I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps having a longer whip on the ATAS might give us better performance.
@@frankwc0ogood luck with that. The whip is so thin and a specific size that think you’d be hard pressed to find a longer whip of the same diameter.
Hi Mike Do you still use the atas 120 as your primary antenna? If so do you still like it?
@@frankwc0o not only that but putting a longer whip on it would not allow it to do 6m, 2m, & 70cm. If those bands don’t matter to you, then that’s fine but it’s not how Yaesu designed the antenna.
@timg5tm941 I agree with you 100%. But I doubt that the WRC or Slidewinder DX coils are going to survive with that on the car while driving down the highway, especially if that whip strikes an object. Not to mention the stresses that would put on the K400 mount.
I have an FT-891 in my truck and I'm using a Wolf River Coil antenna. I was actually going to get the ATAS-120 this weekend but I found an amplifier I had been wanting in stock so now I have to fill the ham radio piggy bank back up.
Man it’s a delicate balance isn’t it? Congratulations on your new amplifier! And good luck on filling the coffers again for the next radio purchase.
I love mine so much i bought 2. Great for POTA activations!
Thanks for mentioning the freezing problem. I was thinking my ATAS-120A was defective because it would go into tune mode but the antenna didn't move or adjust. I would back out of tuning and hit the tune button again, then it would go into the long reset/retune process. Very annoying.
Good video, and good review. I really like what you did with the editing during the activation, we get to hear multiple different QSOs in different locations with the signal reports in quick succession.
Was this what you were using when you worked me on the SOTA yesterday? Damn thing made for an armchair copy to my portable station, and you could clearly copy me easily too. Sounds like you got an effective install! It's working well.
It sure was. Seems to be working quite well. I kinda want to keep it.
@@hamradiotube I'll give ya mine for a steal. I don't plan to use it.
Great review!!!! Thank you for taking the time to do a thorough inside out review which also included performance.
I’ve had one of these and was using it as a base antenna and it served it’s purpose it got me on the air but because of my environment I can’t use any vertical so I can’t blame the antenna for not being what I expected I would recommend it as well
Using one on my balcony with my ftdx-10. Worked the world on 40,20 and 15 meter
What are you using for mount and radials.
@@randymonch9112 4 wires, 16' long. This is 4-conductors control wire. All conductors tied together at one end and attached to the ATAS bracket. In my case, a Diamond BK-11.
Extreme grounding is the key to it working properly.
Grounding is the key.
I know ground strapping is the “right” thing to do so I did it. Can’t get it to tune 12m for some reason. This guy just sticks it on his car and it tunes 12m no issue. What gives. I’m going to try and remove the ground straps and see what happens.
For years I ran one on my Honda Prelude with a trunk mount. Used a Diamond mount, scraped a bit of paint and also bonded the trunk lid to the body with a bit of copper strap. Used an FT-857 and made lots of HF DX contacts on my commutes. A friend just got a Yaesu FT-dx10 and the manual refers to using an ATAS-120A, so the antenna is still relevant.
Thank you so much for the review! I’ve had this antenna in the box for a couple years. Watching this video, it is now on my car. Great tip about the antenna having to cycle and find out where it is. So many people on UA-cam have said it’s broken. Thanks again for the awesome review
Hi! I got this antenna recently and tested it with my 991A. During the first checking process I’ve noticed the same “stuck” issue. What you said is absolutely true. It goes all the way to the end and then the motor continues going but there’s a clutch inside preventing damage. Then after 30” reverts the spinning and start going the other way until it finds the match.
Another way of getting out of that suck situation is to use the manual tuning. Look where the antennas is and move it consequently. By the way, UP and DOWN on the mike refers to frequency to match, not to antenna position, as you said.
73s
Thanks, the fix at 5:40 was what I needed...it was really f**king with my head...thanks bro
I’ve done 2 installs for my ATAS on different vehicles, the only thing I’ll say about grounding is when I beefed up the ground connection to the body I did get a better match on 40m but it still worked all the same . Great antenna, nice video
Did you ground the radio and use the car battery to run the radio? thx.
@@frankwc0o The radio was only grounded via the co-ax shield to the mount which was in turn grounded to the body. The power for both + and - were directly to the battery.
@@julianlong weird. It seems my setup should work. Thx
W0ZRK Thanks a Lot Mike. You just made me spend $400+ for an ATAS and separation kit for my 891. If that isn’t bad enough I need to buy another 891 for my portable setup. Sometimes the G90 ain’t enough. Plus I’m a Yaesu fan boy. Always have been. I’ve already forgiven you though. 73 man.
I want to thank you for your videos. Yesterday I mounted the atas 120a on a comet lip mount then to my Yaesu ft-891. I made few contacts right away. I haven't decided if I'm permanently mounting the radio yet, I was going through the power mini 2 with a 9ah bioenno. I couldn't be happier with this Mobile set up. I had been looking at the 891 for some time now. I know you, Josh, and so many other UA-camrs have talked highly of that radio for Mobile install, the rest is 95% your videos compared with 5% of others reviews. Anyway thank you for sharing you knowledge and firsthand experiences. 73 K0MYK
I want to thank you for this video, I just purchased one from the DX Eng. sale today at 50% off. Almost took it back because it was doing exactly like you said... you have to wait on it to decide which way to tune.
Update: I use mainly 10 m in the vehicle, when tuning from 10m to 12, 15, 17, it would go into "wait mode" and never tune. Come to find out those bands were tuned "out of band" and would NOT transmit because the mars mod is not done to this radio and didn't use those bands anyway. Once the frequencies were properly tuned within the bandwidth of each band, it works great. You can jump and tune to any band you want. I am using a FT891 and have the tune on one of the hot keys. Works fine now and making contacts! Thanks!
$389.95 on website today. How did you get it for 50% off??
50% off?? That's crazy!
great antenna i had ssb QSO on 11m band from Qatar all the way to newyork
Great review, Mike. Lots of good info, and now you got me thinking....
One of those would probably increase the value of my beloved Rust Bucket the Jeep by a good 10-15% and at least 4 dB in ham radio street cred. Seems like a no brainer purchase for me!
Running mine with the FT-891, too. Haven't played in quite some time, but about to get it back in a vehicle and on the air thanks to a new job where I travel a lot. Previous Comet mount that was recommended broke at highway speed. I have the ATAS mounted on a steel plate now, and it is solid. It's a compromise antenna, but works very well with the 891. The tuning makes it so nice without an interface/box to add on.
Thanks for the video, you have inspired me to get mine back on the air!
73,
Brett
Oh man that is so cool! Glad to hear you got the itch to get back on the air. Hope to work you sometime ATAS to ATAS.
Excellent "hands-on" review thank you. I'm about to buy a FT857 so I will probably buy this as well. Just one point - those screws you called "Philips" are almost certainly JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard" heads. Philips screwdrivers will fit but are a loose fit and eventually with many cycles will chew up. JIS screwdrivers fit perfectly and are readily available in the UK and I'm sure they will be in Texas!
Mike. The ATAS (like any mobile antenna) will radiate better with a good ground system. The car or truck is the other side of your antenna. Grounding all the parts together give a better ground and it reduces some of the noise generated by the vehicle. That’s where I learned about it years ago when cars generated much more RFI. And now with all the computers in every vehicle you need the grounding and bonding to prevent interference inside your vehicle. You are lucky with your car but many will have difficulty, especially if they run over 25 watts. I would recommend bonding everything you can together. Dave K8WPE
I wholeheartedly agree. Extreme grounding is the key.
Do you use the car battery and ground the radio? I'm having issue using an external battery that is not connected to the car.
I did some bonding to the trunk where the antenna is mounted and I tunes every band but 12m. I’m at a loss because I spent a lot of extra time installing the whole system. This guy just sticks it on his car and BOOM it tunes 12m no problem. What gives?
As a new person that’s getting in to Ham Radio I want to say thank you for the video…
Oh fantastic, welcome to the hobby!
@@hamradiotube I have been around Radio’s for a while mostly 10-12 meter and using my VHF Around Canada for Commercial purposes and using my Baofeng UV5R’s on gmrs ..
Great video. I have an ATAS-120 on my F150 with an FT-891 and love it.
It's also a great little antenna for people in an apartment with a balcony.
I have an atas 120 , that I teamed up with an 857D and I can tell you it performs very well. I bought the system brand new at the Dayton Hamvention, along with a triple magnet mag mount. My previous set up was a 9 foot whip with an antenna tuner mounted right inside the fender well behind the plastic on the car. The trouble I had with the antenna tuner was, it was constantly trying to re-tune the antenna as the 9 foot whip flopped around highway speed. Not that I didn’t make good contacts all over the world with that set up. But when the thing would take off and try to retune drove me nuts. So I literally plugged my radio in to a power connector in the car slaped The mag mount on the roof with the atas and while my wife drove us to South Carolina I was going along through the mountains of Tennessee, working Italy on 20 m and all other European DX that day. As I drove to work every morning on 40 m I had a regular schedule with the guys from Memphis to mid Ohio. The atas antenna performed quite well. I worked DX literally all over the world from 40 m to 6 m I used to separate antenna for VHF and UHF. I still have the antenna I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
I had already seen this video. And I just bought mine today so I'll see when I'll install it!
Thanks for the review. I was wanting to put a ATAS & FT-891 in for mobile when I first started. I still want to move to them after my hamsticks trial is up. Shoot! I don’t even have mobile radios yet. Am making a tinkertoy carrier to hoist my shack radio into truck for portable. Hardly a mobile setup but it will get me going. Thanks again for the review. All the best!
Used this the other day with the FT-710 AESS and 60 watts for a POTA as well as reaching Germany, Italy, and Lithuania.
Woooo. Ground hungry but what a great match to the FT-891
With no grounding either.
Picked one up as an open box special for $200 this weekend.
Dang thats a heck of a deal!
I’ve talked to Spain from little river canyon on lookout mountain in AL with mine and 891. Mounted permenantly on truck.
Yeah Scorpion is the ultimate, but it's for trucks and RVs. Nice video, hope to hear you on the air and best 73!
I had some issues installing it on my tailgate. I installed the mount a little too low and couldn't get 20m to tune up. I grounded the mount and the radio to the same spot on the chassis and could get other bands to tune. Then I moved the mount up to give the antenna more clearance from the aluminum, yeah it's a ford, and voila, works just peachy. Probably would work better mounted off the hood. But that requires a different mount. ;) Keep up the good vids dude!
Good video Mike, I have had one for a number of years with no bonding apart from the mount to the boot lid and have had no problems with it, use it with the 857D.
Thanks, Mike. The only thing I'd love more than one of these antennas is for Yaesu to make an updated version of the 857.
Agreed! But I'm happy with my FT-891 until that happens!
Thank you, Mike. Based on this video, I picked one up on QRZ! Keep up the great content!!!!
Sweet! Congrats.
thank you from France for this video.
The tuning via the mic and menu buttons.. If you think of it as raising or lowering the frequency rather than raising or lowering the antenna.
Great Antenna! Have 2 of them and love them. 525 successful POTA activations in 2 countries since 5-25-2022 just using the ATAS-120 and the FT-891. Works great ! HI8DL - NK4Q - HI8POTA
73's
Wow, good to know. Then I’ve prob worked you on yours then.
I've had mine for several years now with my 857d, perfect pair !! The only problem 'Ive ever had is it occasionaly locks up - just have to take it apart & clean the inside tube about every year and a half. I would def buy another one if I ever needed to.
Do you ground your radio and do you use the car's battery to run the radio? I'm trying to figure out why mine doesn't work. thx
Good man!
Good info on solving the flashing ATS. I never had the patience to wait. I always just unplugged everything and plugged it back in. Took mine apart to see how it works, because that's the way I work. In the process, I also learned all about the ball bearings in the ATAS...HiHi!!
Ah those pesky ball bearings lol! Wouldn't it be faster to just wait though? As opposed to unplugging everything.
@@hamradiotube yeah, it probably would have been. But when something is wrong, the first step in tech support is to unplug and reboot. After hearing you say wait, I'm thinking to myself, "well I'm pretty dumb." Lol!
Been running one on my land rover for three years with the ft857d works very well.
Mike really learned a lot about this antenna from the video! I'm in the process purchasing a FT 891(because of your videos on the 891)
for moblie use while RVing several months a year and debating between this antenna and the BabyTarheel ll. Draw to the Tarheel because it covers 80 meters, is where most nets I talk on are located. However not excited about manual tuning and running additional cable for tuning on the Tarheel. Only draw back on the Yeasu is it doesn't tune 80 meters where I operate everyday on nets. Thanks for your great work providing info and education about Ham Radio! 73&Blessings. NM5SP
Alan, I feel you man. That is a very tough call. I've since purchased an ATAS after making this video because I liked it so much. I was traveling a couple weeks ago and wanted to tune up 80 but alas, I had the ATAS and couldn't. 80 is so not important to me though. I'm never ever on it. It's more an "I want it because I can't have it" kinda thing for me. Same reason the first antenna I bought was a Wolf River Coils Silver Bullet 1000. Because it had 80-6. Every now and then I'll get on 80 FT8 but for SSB, I prob only have 2 maybe 3 phone contacts. If 80 is important to you, it's a no brainer, get the TarHeel. I assure you, it is NOT hard to wire. You have 2 wires from the control box. One is your 12v to power the box and antenna, the other is the control wire to tell the antenna to go up or down. Then your coax from whatever mount you chose. That's it. At least for the setup that I have. PLUS, with the Tarheel, it is extremely easy to swap your whip. If I'm driving and doing HF, I'll have the short 3' whip on, but if I'm activating a park stationary, I have quick disconnects for the whip and I can put on either my 6' or 17' telescoping whip in mere seconds. The Tarheel's whip connection is a standard 3/8x24 thread so you can put pretty much whatever you want on it. Not so much with the ATAS. It's whip receiver is a small hole with two screws that tighten down on the whip. Sure, you could put a different length piece of thin metal wire in there, but it's not going to be easy, or readily available. BUT, if you are stationary at your campsite, you could very easily attach an appropriate length of wire the the ATAS stinger with an alligator clip or something, and tune up 80 (I would suspect, I've not done this but it makes sense). I don't know if this answer helped or confused you more, but I hope you have fun with whatever decision you make. Thanks for watching and 73.
Just looking at them a couple hours ago! Thanks!
I use the same set up FT891 and Atas120. Have called into the HHH net driving around Central Queensland. K9RM was probably doing most of the work but a qso is a qso.
Opps, you called it a Tarheel - probably one of the best screw driver antenna.
Love my Yaesu ATAS-120A! I've activated parks and got DX from Japan, South America, and Europe. And Thank You for explaining what to do when it gets "stuck"! I've had that happen a couple times and it is so frustrating! 73 de KB9JQU
Thanks for an honest & interesting review :)
I appreciate this. Just got one & will have up soon.
brilliant honest evaluation buddy, cheers
Thanks brother
Hey Mike. Your video motivated me to pull my ATAS 100 out of storage. This thing is at least 25 years old so I plugged it into the equally old FT 100 D and it worked like a champ on another day. I’m going to try to see if it works with an 857 which should I hope. Thanks for the motivation.
That's awesome! I hope you get it all situated and back on the air.
more stuff for my wishlist! :)
Great video thanks for all the valuable information, I thought my antenna was broken when it wouldn’t move so thanks for the info
Great video! I use one of these with a ft-dx10. What a combo. Lots of mobile (I pull over and park) dx to Europe on it! Hard to believe such a little whip gets out so well. Parking location does matter a lot. By the beach or up on a bluff is best. 73, N7RLV
These can be Use on Apartments Buildings and Condo's,
Using one on my mobile setup with an 991a. Works well.Worked you and KF8IV with it in July. I did bond my truck before mounting to ensure quality tuning. Didnt try to use it without bonding. Thanks for the vid. K7REH
It is a good antenna. I have one ATAS-100 and two ATAS-200's. The freezing I just mike control to get it moving the right direction then autotune. Realize the coil contacts last known are beryllium so watch out for contamination from dust and muck if taking one apart. Not the only brand with beryllium contacts ie. cancerous.
Thanks for sharing the info, Mike.
I have the same setup. FT-891, ATAS-120A, and K400 mount. The 1st time I tried it on 20m I had a contact in Austria from the Dayton Amateur Radio Association club house parking lot. At first I had a lot of S7 to S9 noise. Thanks to a voltage ohm meter I realized the door where the K400 was installed was not bonded to the body of the cab of my truck. A few feet of ground braid and eureka! S0 to maybe S3 noise. This setup is crazy fun for POTA! Thanks for the vid Oscar Mike. 73 de N8NMG Dayton, OH
Well that's promising! I just got an ATAS myself used off of a buddy. I need to get the whip for it as he lost it. I watched Josh's (Ham Radio Crash Course) video on grounding his electric car and he said the same thing. Now I really need to hunker down and do it. Looked pretty easy actually. I can turn a wrench.
@@hamradiotube Hy Mike... FYI I know beyond any reasonable doubt that DX Engineering has an OEM whip or 2 laying abound in returns. It took 3 shipments for me to get an undamaged item. The carrier literally destroyed 2 shipments. BUT out of the destruction, I can tell you there is at least 1 useable whip in the "sent back" remains. Good luck, have fun, and keep up the good work. 73 es gud POTA de N8NMG
Made me pull mine out of the closet and back on the hatch with 891. Thanks Mike!
Awesome!
Great Antenna ..worked Alaska from Germany with it .. 73
OK, I'm sold on this..
Awesome comprehensive review Mike! I love that antenna. I have had the ATAS-100 and the ATAS-120A. IT PERFORMS! I use to use it routinely for VHF and UHF contacts, on my F-150. My best HF contact was when I was waiting for my wife in a parking lot in Aliso Viejo CA. and making a contact to Finland on 20 meters. Keep up the great work bro! 73 - KF6IF
Hello, just to contribute to your list of compatible radios, ATAS 120 works with FTdx-10 too. By the way, YAESU has also FC-40, which is a "long wire" tuner system. It is a good alternative to ATAS 120, as with some small tweaks in form of 1:4 autotransformer, can tune ~7m long wire to 80m without any trouble, and considering the length of the radiating element, it is much more effective than the ATAS system. The only setback of FC-40 is that it has a control cable too. By the way, the ATAS is not dedicated for use in motion or at least this is what the manual says. 73 de LZ5RG
I have been wanting one of these.
Would you consider making another video with the ATAS-120 mounted on a balcony railing (maybe even with some counterpoise)? That would help a lot of us living in condos (or people living in HOA areas) decide whether it is a good investment (two for one, mobile and base station antenna).
On a balcony, the railing may or may not be enough of a "counterpoise". It is just too big of an unknown. I suggest dropping a quarter wave counterpoise for the band you are operating. The antenna will operate as a vertical OCFD, and you may get a good match, a good 2 to 1 band width and fairly decent signal reports.
@@danielzdanowicz6899 Yes, there are variables, maybe Mike would be able to check how it would peeform, for a greater good :)
I am in a small apartment and use a 120A for my base (and mobile). I put one the goliath MJF triple mag mounts on a metal table on my balcony, then screwed on the 120A and ran several radial wires of varying lengths all over the balcony. It gives me great SWR from 70cm to 20m, and about 2.0:1 SWR on 40m. I haven't DXed yet but I'm very new to the hobby. Talking around the US isn't a problem, though. I run an FT991-A. For mobile, I have another of the same mag mount, on the roof of my SUV. When going mobile, I just unscrew it from the mag mount on the balcony and screw it onto the mag mount on my vehicle, and use the same radio.
Would have been interesting to clip on some ground radials just to see if the RX was improved or not.
Where was this three days ago when I was totally failing with my phone install?
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you sir.
I had a Yaesu Rep tell me not to use it as a mobile antenna. It's good to see it can be done. But all that wind deflection is going to take a toll. I may try it in the bed of my PU. I do use mine in the RV when we are parked. The antenna does work well.
A Yaesu rep tole you not to use their mobile antenna as a mobile antenna? That's just crazy. I've seen so many cars and trucks with this antenna at different ham fests and swaps. Its sole purpose in life is to be a mobile antenna. Sure there can be better, more rigid ways to mount it, especially if you have a truck, but the wind deflection isn't that bad. Keep in mind, I'm going 90 MPH in this video. With a trunk mount.
@@hamradiotube You dont know anything about how to properly perform mobile HF and you shouldn't act like you do.
@@tangoseal1 Really Mr Sad ham?? Cuz all the contacts I make would say otherwise.
In this situation, are you using the battery in our car? Also, is the radio grounded to the car? I have the same mount and got rid of the paint, but I'm running via a bioenno battery and my radio is not grounded. thx.
I had an 857 and ATAS antenna. Totally hated that set up in my F-150. It always had problems tuning, RF feedback, and other issues. I bonded the truck, radio and antenna to the frame. All body parts to the frame. Always had the problems. Switched to the Icom 7000 and a Scorpion antenna and NEVER LOOKED BACK!
Because you discovered that the ATAS is a piece of excrement bundled in a nice little Yaesu box. I am glad you can admit the pathetic and horrible design of this antenna. I too have a Scorpion and I have a LT II. ATAS is filth but so many people are suckers for buying this and Yaesu should be utterly ashamed they market this garbage.
Best QSO I had not even a dipole can match it..already burned one awaiting for second one
Love mine.
The wide base Diamond mount cuts down on a lot of that wobble.
I feel I was just looking at that yesterday. Doesn’t look like it’s adjustable though. My antenna would be leaning back.
At 11:44 ... did you forget to leave that link?
I've been running an ATAS with my 891 since spring, I'm shooting for DXCC and I've got..uh...about 25 countries so far. Picked up Algeria on 10m(!!) today. I've got a 3-magnet mag mount, no bonding/grounding (so far). It definitely isn't as good as a "home" antenna so I understand the comments about it being "deaf". I haven't ruled out something bigger/more efficient. (Taheel's website still looks active,, fwiw.) I _do_ love the 1-touch tuning and I have encountered the antenna becoming "lost". Mostly during the few times I try 40m. I might swap out the 891 for a Kenwood TS-480SAT just because the 891 is so controlled by its menu system which is a 5-star PIA if you're in motion. I'd give up the 1-touch tuning for easier access to functions. Anyway...the ATAS is far better than the one-off Diamond antenna I ran about 12 years ago. My drives are typically 10-40 minutes so the ATAS quick band changes are a winner. "Someday..." I'll bond my hoord, doors and rear hatch plus semi-permanently mount it on my roof rack (with proper grounding to the body). Maybe that'll help. It's a compromise antenna on a compromise mount - it is, what it is.
Thanks, as always, for the video! One of these days, I'll catch you on the air. Did hear you a week or two ago but, so did everyone and their brother. HiHi! 73's WB3CFN/Mobile
I'm having issues installing mine. Do you use the car's battery? Also, do you ground your radio? thx.
Great Review. I was waiting for the review. I remember you mentioned that in a video some months ago. i have the ATAS and have no problem running it off the roof rack of my 4Runner. I just added a braid from the rack to the body. I do plan to replace the 3-foot whip with a 6-foot one and see if there is any improvement. It's a little hard to find a 2 mm diameter SS whip but I see McMaster-Carr has something that may work. 73 de KF6LU
Your car must be really well bonded together. I still maintain that you need to do so to most vehicles to make sure this antenna works properly. Could not get it to tune on my GMC truck until I took the time to bond all the quarter panels to the frame and the mount to the bed. These antennas preform well as did mine until a vandal came by one day and bent the whip over
Did you replace the whip on it.
@@sbateson67 never did. There is still a piece of the whip left inside the antenna where it broke off flush and was unable to get that small piece out.
I have a Atas 120A and considering it size, it works well enough to be useful for many urban POTA activations. I use it with a tri-mag mount on the top of my truck (static, but not mobile). No issue tuning it. VA3KS
Lol that noise when trying to tune to 80 meters does not happen on my radio. Was that the atas?
It was.
Central Florida too. I just might have to get that setup for my car. Next time play my QSO with you. LOL.
This thing is an absolute dream, but it is pricey at just shy of $400, but the signal quality from what friends have shown me is pretty darn good. FT-891 is highly recommended with the ATAS.
It's actually on the low end of the price range for motorized screwdriver antennas. Not to mention you don't need to buy a separate control box to use it like my TarHeel. That'll cost you at least another ~$100 for a basic one.
@@hamradiotubeExcellent points. Thanks again! Love these reviews.