HFJ-350M Toy Box Original Comet Portable 9 Band Telescopic HF Antenna with 160M Extension Coil

Heard issues with this antenna aggravated many Hams but no issues with mine and it works great on all bands. Here's the tricks I use enjoy it's full capabilities.1. Counterpoise: 143 ft of ELECTRICAL LENGTH will take care of all bands. A 150 ft steel measuring tape work really well... If you can connect to 150 ft + of chainlink/barbwire fence then you're golden :)2. Use a cheap Measuring Tape and measure out the standardized lengths, used to adjust the telescoping top.part.of thr antenna, of each band AND label these lengths on the BACK of the tape with a permanent marker. This allows for a quick adjustment of the top portion of this antenna. I simply quickly unscrew the telescoping part and extend it fully, then with the base of the antenna at the end.if the tape I shorten it by pushing the top to needed marking for a given band.3. Use a tuner to close any gaps! I use mine with a manual tuner with a PL/SO-239 90° elbow connector. Then connect my counterpoise to the grounding lug on the tuner.

I saw reviews by people who said they spent hours trying to tune this antenna,the instruction sheet clearly says you should use an antenna tuner with this antenna.The narrow bandwidth makes it hard to tune by hand, a tuner makes it easy.

This is literally a pocket sized antenna -- rolled up it will fit in a coat pocket. The antenna proper is an extensible whip that's a little over a meter long fully extended. You have to adjust its length to get optimum SWR on a band so setting it up with a tuner is a good idea as the recommended lengths don't bear much relation to reality (its probably because they'll change depending on the environment). Once approximately set up and fine tuned with the radio's tuner you'll be able to do serious work with it. It obviously won't replace a 'proper' antenna but it shrinks a complete field day setup to something you can easily carry (and will be a lifesaver for someone who wants to operate where you just can't put up a long antenna).Do not forget the counterpoise/grounding, its very important......also, add a coaxial choke in the feed line.

If you ever want to transmit or receive portable or need something for travel, this is a great option. Yes - it's a compromise coiled antenna - obviously you can't get a perfect signal on 40/80 meter with something a few feet in height. Is it as good as a 30-foot vertical on a fiberglass pole? Of course not - you are compromising for the portability and usability in a somewhat "stealth" capacity.I did not use the included tuning directions - my radio has a built in meter and I was usually able to tune it within 2-3 minutes by pulling the antenna longer. If you are moving up and down the band, you will most likely need to re-tune. I've used this on a tripod in my backyard with a Yaesu FT-891 on battery power and no tuner and I was able to make QSOs with ease at an SWR below 1.5. On 20 meters I was hearing (foreign language) DX stations. I did not test beyond 20/40/80 because those are the bands I use. This would also be a great FT8 antenna - I did not transmit but was able to tune into the FT8 frequencies and could clearly hear digital transmissions. I'll be taking this on vacation with me this upcoming summer. It looks like the jumper connector is standard mini banana plugs - I feel like I should probably get a spare one since it looks so easy to lose.Remember to move that jumper when you change bands!

I was unable to get this antenna to tune well enough to use it.

Exactly what my fiance needed for portable HF operations from 160 M all the way up to 2 M (except for 60 M) and up to 100 watts. The quality of materials used made connecting different elements easy to assemble.

If you want something to play around with, it’s great for that purpose. Obviously you wouldn’t expect much performance from an antenna this size, but I found it was ok for tuning around and listening. I have this antenna mounted to the side of the Icom backpack and have made two or three CW contacts on 20 and 17M sitting on bench from a beach park from KH6. (Less then 75 feet from the water). A good counter poise really helps.

Used with Yaesu FT817. Ham radio is a good area for Amazon as the biggest ham radio supplier is becoming unreliable. I am going to look at the Icom QRP radio to match the IC 7300.

This device fulfilled my need for a great portable HF QRP antenna. Tested across all bands specified; works well with a good counterpoise. Highly recommended.

Well made product.I had problem with the recommended length of the counter poise.If you calculate the length for each bandas 180/frequency the Antenna tunes perfectly.Ian VK5ZIM

I work this Ariel with an RTL SDR I haven't done much exploring as I have been waiting for my lna to turn up but as far very happy with performance