MFJ Enterprises Original MFJ-1778M G5RV Junior Wire Antenna 40-10 Meters, 52 Ft Long

After finding a nice HF rig at a local swap meet, I needed something to connect it to, so I could get on the air. I picked this up and then for support got a "painters pole" at the local hardware store. The painter's pole can extend something like 20 feet, so tall enough for the center window line. I have this set up in a bit of an inverted-V, with the peak above the peak of my house and the legs sloping down to the side fence, with 10 feet of paracord attached to the insulators before down to the fence.My rig is an old Kenwood TS-450SAT (with internal tuner). I turned it on and was surprised to hear voices coming through the radio...I've been using this antenna now for a bit and have made contacts across the US on 20 meters. I haven't worked many other bands but have reached from CA to North Carolina on 20 meters at under 100 watts. This to me is pretty impressive as I live in flatland suburbia. The next house is like 8 feet from my antenna yet somehow I'm still getting out there. Over the air reports suggest that I am TXing better than RXing so I'll be attempting to get this up in the air more. I'd say if you are looking at this, then it's probably going to work for you.

It is hard to write a review for HF antennas, especially when conditions have been so crappy. However, I was able to get contacts on both 40 and 20 meters today on a QRP rig. So it works. The reality is an antenna is just wire cut at a certain distance and mounted in a particular way. After getting this up into a tree it worked pretty good for a basic park station. I did read some of the reviews about the material and build quality on this and I agree there is a tiny bit of coming apart and vulnerability. The ceramic on one of the weights chipped on me from holding it down with a screw. Other than that I'm happy. I will probably seal the connections and put some kind of clips with a BNC connector on it.

I've used Dipole and wire antenna's for the last 13 years without issue - until now. Upon receipt of the item, I carefully removed the item from its trappings to find that the SO-239 connector did not have the wire soldered to it properly. After a quick run to my local Harbor Freight store, I soldered it (properly) myself. I'm guessing that the person who stated in their review that their SWR's were way off was likely suffering from the same issue. Without seeing it, I can't be certain. However, that's exactly what would happen if a solder joint wasn't performed properly. The Antenna is installed and able to tune without issue. MFJ needs to up their game with quality assurance. A bad solder joint can destroy a $1300.00 (or more) HF rig within seconds if the user isn't careful. It's a good antenna, but you should check the solder joints before installation.

I I'm not deployed this antenna as I bought it for portable events like Pota I have no doubt that it will work as well as my G5 RV that I use at my home just won't operate on 75 m this one is for 40 through 6

I'm just getting started with HF transmitting and I didn't want to spend a ton of money on my first antenna. I wanted something that would just work, yet not require too much work to set up, cost too much, or have far too many technical hurdles.This antenna did the job. Best of all, it does the job. Again, I'm just getting started with HF, however, using this antenna I was able to work contacts from Massachusetts all the way to Key West in Florida and a whole bunch of places in between.The material that makes up the antenna is solid. When I was first hanging it, I was concerned that any part might be weak, however, weeks in to having the antenna up and everything is nice and solid. I did follow another reviewer and coated the terminals in liquid tape to try to extend the life a bit.I can absolutely recommend this antenna, especially for the size. I'll replace it at some point, probably with something I build, but this was excellent to help me get off the ground easily for a good price. Everything I wanted.

I live in a row home and set this up along the side yard. I have it about 20' up and slightly slopped to the south west. I've made Phone and FT8 contacts all over the world with this antenna and 100 watts with a manual tuner (MFJ-986). The antenna tunes 40-30-20-17-10 meters just fine. It will tune up on 80 but it has a lot of loss in the tuner. Mine won't tune 15 meters at all. It could be I don't have it high enough and the feed line is touching the ground. For the money this is a decent antenna that works if you are limited on space or have HOA restrictions. It is hardly noticeable if there are trees in the background. The only thing you can really see is the feed line dropping down.

I have this antenna set up in an inverted vee configuration in Lubbock TX and it hears Australian stations in the early morning hours and running only 100 watts I’m able to work them.

With the tuner that is built into my radio, I can easily tune 10 meters to 80 meters, with the exception of 30. This is very much a compromise antenna, but it serves me well under the circumstances. It is MFJ, so be prepared to resolder and fix the sloppy work, or buy another brand, or build it yourself. The materials themselves are reasonable quality though, and it works well.