[Elecraft] Please share experiences with the MP-1 antenna

[Leo Starrenburg PA5LS]

Hi Chris,

last Friday I had my first experience with the MP-1. Here is the story:

On 80m I found that with the supplied radials I couldn't get a low swr,
changing over to a 50' counterpoise got it down to 1:3~4, adding the
originals got it down to 1:2 with the sliding coil all the way up. The audio
changes remarkably when your getting near the low swr range, it is almost as
good as looking at the swr value.

Today I spent an hour or so playing with it, mostly trying out radial
lenghts. I have the complete "works", and found that with one radial of
about 50' I could get a very nice swr from 80 to 10 meter, both on the lawn
with the little tripod and clamped to the garden table. With the ATU in CALS
mode it is very easy to tune the antenna using the sliding coil-cap.

The K2 keeps amazing me, there's so much built in to this little box !

Altough the swr was good and Rx as well, the audio is a good tuning aid as
well, I must admit that I wasn't able to make a contact. This could well be
due to the single radial and/or the location: our backyard is pretty well
enclosed by buildings, and my "regular" wire antenna was overhead. Weather
permitting, I'll take the lot out to the field and give it a try there. My
wife has made some very nice and handy cloth pouches for the MP-1 parts,
keeps them from disappearing and damage.

At this point I find a longwire and counterpoise just as handy, assuming you
have the space and trees or other high points to attach the wire to. I'll
let you know what my findings in the field were, in particular  if I was
able to make a contact (!)

73' Leo.