*Here's What You Need to Do* You need to first adjust the whip to 1/4 wavelength of the band you want to operate on. If that's a 17' whip, you are all set for 20 Meters up to 10 Meters. Then you need to lay out the two (or more) radials on the ground, in which case they are non-resonant and their lengths do not matter, in which case they should be equal. You definitely need a current choke "balun" on the feedline at the feedpoint to prevent the coax from acting as another radial. You can do this by wrapping several turns through a ferrite toroid of the correct mix. Then you need to _forget about SWR_ and focus on _resonance._ To do this, you connect the Rig Blaster _at the feedpoint through a short coax jumper._ *Do not connect it at the rig end of the feedline.* Keep sliding the whip lower section until the reactance is minimum. The impedance should read about 30 to 50 Ohms. You then short out that over-priced Wolf River coil because you do not need it on 20 through 10. If you do not do it this way, and try to "tune" the aerial with the rigblaster at the far end of the coax reading "SWR" while adjusting the amount of Wolf River coil being tapped and adjusting the whip length, you will never tune the aerial on 20 Meters and above if using a 17' whip.
I've used the 1979 for 3-4 years now, both with and without the Wolf River coil. I leave the 1979 fully extended regardless of band. I made some pigtails for radials and I used those very same connectors that you used!
GeoS That's cool! I haven’t been out to operate with it yet since band conditions have been pretty bad for QRP and the wx has been pretty hot. Hoping to try it in the next week or so. Thanks for checking it out! 73 de K2CJB!
I received my Silver Bullet 1000 TIA Mega Pod kit today in the mail. I can't wait to try it out and I do have a AA-55 analyzer now. Thanks for the video! Full Watch and a Thumbs Up!
Nice Vid. You can decrease ground loss a lot by elevating the coil above the feedpoint. Buddipole sells some inexpensive aluminum section sections in various lengths with threated male/female studs that fit the wolf river coil and MFJ Whip. Get that coil up 20-30 inches above the feedpoint and radials and you will see a big bump in efficiency.
I made a similar hook up for radials but I use 4 radial wires. For 20 thru 6 meters I don't use the coil at all, but use an autotuner with whip fully extended since I band hop.
Nice! Even if you were not able to make any contacts, you def know the capabilities of that setup! It's a great idea to have multiple antenna options for portable work for different locations and restrictions! Looking forward to the new 6m project!
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Nice Job, but I couldn’t see the screen of the analyzer due to the glare of plastic cover. An ideal quarter wave should have a 37 ohms of impedance if the ground system is perfect, a perfect 1:1 means ground losses, which is normal with one resonant radial
I know this video is old....but I recently purchased the same antenna. 2 bundles of 6 16ft radial....12 wires total and NO coil I get 1.1 to 1 SWR with antenna fully extended on 20m . Building a DYI coil soon for 40m & 80m so I'll have to see what I get with that for 40m and 80m. If I'm running 20,17,15,12,10 I will only use the antenna. Experimenting with radials I saw better swr when adding more radials. Thank-you for the video!
Great setup : I have the same tripod, same antenna and the smaller MFJ black colored ; as a counterpoise I use an aligator clip i clip to one of the legs of the tripod ; if the radials are on the ground they detune, maybe better to raise them by a few inches off of the ground by some means. Also, especially with the 1979, guying the antenna maybe mandatory, as it is sort of fragile and has wind-load, able to get down easily. And... nice "yaesu" stand, OM :)
Christophe Barbe I've had a few folks tell me to elevate the radial but havent tried it yet. I'll have to experiment with that. And you're one of the few that noticed my little stand! Thanks for watching!
Greetings! Nice video by the way hey the MFJ 1979 it is a 20m quarter wave itself so NO coil is needed!!! Just add the counterpoise (s) and your good to Go! The coil allows you to go lower in freq. 40m 60m and 80m 73 de kk4nww
Thanks for the nice video.I will be moving to Atlantic City in 2 weeks and I think this will work lots of DX operating from the damp salt saturated sand. 73 BOB AF2DX
Bob Lech Yep! It should work fine. Make sure you the radials on it. I’ve had success with one 33ft radial but will probably add at least one more, Thanks for watching! 73 de K2CJB
@@k2cjbradio Thanks for responding.I'm getting ready to bail out so I will call you on the first of FEB. so I can get suggestions on what package I want. It will be only outdoors and not mobile.73 BOB AF2DX
If I heard you correctly you adjusted the size of the antenna. But you are suppose to adjust the coil up and down. Leave the antenna fully extended and adjust the coil.
N2LRB Theoretically, but for some reason I had to shorten the antenna a bit. However, I had it out at a qrp event a few weeks ago. and I simply adjusted the coil to the top (minimum coil) and had the whip fully extended and it worked fine. Thanks for watching! 73 de Chris K2CJB
I realize this is two years old, but, I'm watching now and I'm sure other people toying with the idea of running a "pure vertical" (whatever the right term is, please insert it there - a naturally resonant 20m whip, without the loading) on top of the WRC (the coil serving only as a mount for the whip, collar/slider off the top completely) will also find this in the future. I do have a 213" whip. Theoretically, shortening that to 196.8504" would make a resonant 1/4 wave 20m antenna. I haven't been measuring. In my experimentation, with a different radial setup (three thirty three foot radials that came with the TIA kit) I routinely get around 1.2:1 SWR on all of 20m voice. I marked that point of the whip with a sharpie. Switching to 40m from there is as easy as sliding the coil down a bit, not messing with the whip again. The curve comes back a little, but it is still usable across the whole band. Also, using this method, if I really shorten the whip (again bypassing the coil) I can get pretty resonant on anything above, also playing with the radials - shortening them. Anyway, cheers!
Vince D It takes a little bit of noodling around to get it tuned, but it does work! I'm hoping to get back out again to activate a POTA. Conditions have been really bad...and the weather in PA has been really hot, humid with pop up storms. Soon! Thanks for watching! 73 de K2CJB
Unfortunately I dont have an antenna analyzer so ill just have to use the radio's SWR meter to see the sweet spots. This week (weather permits) ill set her up in the yard to see how she does before I venture to a park. 73 N3VMC
You know whats funny? I was messing around with the 7100 last night and she has a SWR plot function. I never had to use it because I have a tuner. Such a rookie mistake!
Great video. Thanks for doing all that work. It helps me, as I'm getting one of those antennas and it will be very useful to know what will work and what will not ! Did you notice that the step on your multi knob was set to what looked like 6.25 while you were scrolling through the band ? No wonder you were not hearing anything !
Don Silva Still learning how to fly the rig. Not sure where that setting is but it could be operator error! Glad the testing helped you! Thanks for watching! 73 de K2CJB
Have you tried an earth stake, not sure if it would help but something must be stopping you getting the swr down to 2 or 3 to one. Also when you shortened the whip was it from the top or the bottom. The diameter of the radiator can make a difference.
mu0chn Jes I haven’t tried an actual ground stake yet. I have found however that it does depend on where I am operating. SOmetimes I can go with the full whip, sometimes i have to shorten it. I shorten it from bottom to make it easier rather than bringing it down and pulling it back up again
jerome grzelak It definitely would need guying with the coil elevated. The WRC website shows the coil mounted directly to the tripod. I did use the antenna at a QRP event and it performed really well! Worked the CA QSO party from eastern PA on my 817. Thanks for watching! 73 de K2CJB
Hello excellent video just a question I would like to buy the whip MFJ 1979 Whip , but in EHAM the reviews are not good as is your experience with that whip .Thanks Eddy KN4QFD
Hi Eddy. I have seen those same reviews. I’ve used the MFJ whip for a couple of years now with no issues. It’s even tipped over a couple of times fully extended. I am careful in how I extend it and also how I close it down. Thanks!
@@k2cjbradio I started out with an MFJ 1622 apartment antenna of which I have really grown to hate this antenna that you have a similar style constructed better as far as I can tell I’m going to have to mount something out of my window as I don’t have a balcony or a garden, or anything like that I’m either going to go wolf, river coil, comet antenna, which is basically the same thing or mag loop mag loop actually looks the best if I could just construct a damn thing all the instructions rely on diagrams and pictures and I’m totally blind, so I have to figure it all out. Thank you anyway, maybe I’ll hear you on the air one of these days. My name is Chad Michael letters, R KK7GQO! Have a nice day.
It seems a little suspicious to have a totally flat SWR with that antenna, especially on 40 meters. You should have a more pronounced inverted bell shaped curve, I believe. Maybe even a steep sided V curve. I can't tell you what is wrong, but I believe something is wrong. No contacts also indicates something might be wrong, even with QRP. 73.
Do you find that the MFJ-1979 telescopic whip collapses over time? I heard this somewhere. I know with temperature changes, this can be possible. Thanks in advance. -- Steve....
WASRT Hi Steve! Thanks for stopping by! To be honest, with the chilly weather, I haven’t been out with it in a while. I did read some time ago that it might do that. I'm hoping to get out soon to do a POTA activation sitting in the truck. We'll see how that works. Thanks again!
Great video. However, I've never understood why anyone needs a $300 antenna analyzer. Most rigs today have SWR meters or an SWR meter that covers all these bands can be purchased for about $30. Just test your SWR briefly, adjust and retest again. I'm sure the analyzer is a tad easier, but I can buy a radio for $300 for one band or another.
Your flat response just screams for taking a picture over a larger segment of each band. It is highly suspicious using only ONE radial for each band you intend to work. Typically, a shortened vertical doe not exhibit a pattern like that over 200-300 Kc. Also, could it kill you to string out at least 4 radials per band? It's not like your living in some shithole California condo like I am.
