The thing I enjoy most about your videos is that you actually operate the equipment and make contacts. You actually demonstrate the equipment, not just talk about it.

Thanks for the very thorough video! I do want to give a shout out to the inventor of this antenna, Geoff Haines, N1GY. It was an award-winning design recognized in a QST article in December 2007. Geoff is a fellow ham in my radio club (MARCI) here in Florida, and I'm proud to have him as a friend and Elmer! Nice job Geoff!

@mewrongway

2 жыл бұрын

I built a 4 band Octopus in early 80's using rewound firestik cb antennas but i didnt call it a Octopus.

Thanks for the video on the Octopus. I just saw an ad in the December QST magazine and I am glad that you were able to demo it! I also worked NG7M today!

Great Video Eric, covering Assembly, Tuning and Operation. Nice ops on 10M, 73s A92GW

This is an interesting antenna system. Thanks for the review. It was also nice to hear some 10 meter contacts. I’ve been listening to HF on a not well placed wide band discone antennae in NJ. I can regularly hear people on 20 meters and lower. I’ve never heard anyone on 10 or 6 meters. I may not be persistent enough or my antenna may be less effective where it is for those bands. This gives me inspiration to keep listening on 10 meters.

Good video Eric. Having fun in the contest. 73s from Austin

Awesome antenna Eric. Thanks so much as always!! 73

Nice! at around 17:50 you find me on 28.405 calling CQ. A friend of mine Brett W7DBA here in Utah found your video and recognized my call when you worked me. Nice to hear what I sound like. For what it's worth, I was running 1.5KW into a DB18 SteppIR at 80ft pointed your direction. The Rig is a K3S driving an RF-KIT b26-RF2K+ Solid State LDMOS amplifier. I had a nice run going on that frequency for the short duration the band was hot. A lot of stations in FL, GA and NC along with some South America calling me. Nice video! :) Max NG7M in Utah

great video again. Tried searching for the complete antenna. love the european stations asking for your call many times then giving you a 5/9 lol

Great video,Thanks for sharing.

Nothing like a contest to open up the "closed" bands.

@Yuehanlad

5 жыл бұрын

So because there was a contest the propagation suddenly became perfect. What a load of bull crap.

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

@@Yuehanlad John you dont get it man, Havent you watched my previous videos about the bands being dead? This is what the HAM world really thinks... They say the bands are dead all year, then when a contest comes about, they say "there is now propagation".... THERE IS PROPAGATION EVERY DAY, but people are getting too lazy to turn on the radio anymore. These comments you replied to are jokes... They "get it"

@mewrongway

2 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioConcepts

Thanks for the video!

I'm always amazed at these "dead" bands LOL ; thanks for the demo Eric, gread vid as usual, lookin fwd to seeing next vids ; 73 de chris ha7wx

thanks for the video Erik! regards from YV7MAY

Great video Eric. Like people are saying the bands are dead.. LOL. Great antenna BTW. Good luck in the contest. 73's from Detroit Michigan.

@patrickbaer3742

5 жыл бұрын

Eric the first one you sent me on the octopus some guy with a foreign accent think of is mfj Corporation or something and he had like sixteen thumbs down but he has a lot of views 710 I just wonder what that was all about is Susie's Geeks in the beginning other video of throwing things up in the air you should get Michele crystalline and Sissy and have them out of there and their bathing suits helping you sure it's a cheap shot but what the f

Thanks Eric, great video. John KI5ASO

Myself and a few others use ham stick dipoles for POTA activations, so this new offering from MFJ is interesting. I'm sure some POTA Guys are going to be visiting your video very soon.

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

spread the word :) thanks

A great unboxing and demonstration! I own a five elements SteppIR that for those of you that don't know it is a self tuning folded dipole design yagi antenna that has motorized elements. When you plug the controller into the com port on your rig every 50 khz it touches up the tuning by adjusting the length of the elements inside fiberglass tubes to keep your SWR at as close to 1:1 as possible. The only problem is it had to come down when I got a divorce 10 years ago. I now live in a leased house at 6300 feet up in the mountains of Southern California. My VHF UHF coverage is fantastic! But even though my dipole is 80 feet off the ground on one side it's barely off the ground on the other side and is not very effective. I would very much love to try The Octopus which I should have created when I had the idea quite some time ago. It's nothing more than a fan dipole. I know that. One more idea I did nothing with. Sigh. Yes, the bands are dead. That's why you were making contact with Europe and Arizona at the same time. The bands are dead because even the new hams simply turn to Facebook or whatever or sit there on FT8 because it's easy. It's a good thing that the ARRL has recently ruled that automatic contacts are no longer acceptable for DXCC. Turn it on and go to the beach or out to the lake and come home and you've got 200 contacts. But let's keep this positive! Although Ham Stick has gone out of business the antennas are still available from MFJ, ProComm and then there's a third one that I don't recall. They come in a 250 watt and a 600 watt model. It's my understanding that if you actually peel off he clear plastic over coating you can actually put more power through it than 600 watts but do so at your own risk. 500w is actually a really good amount of output power. Going to 1500 watts is just over for DB increase in signal strength. A little over half an s unit. I've talked to Japan on one Watt so 100 Watts or even 500w is plenty when the bands are open. Based on Eric's demonstration I would say this is a definite winner!

@surfcrs

4 жыл бұрын

I have a similar setup with my dipole...one side going to a hill and close to the ground, horrible setup. I'm thinking about trying this antenna.

Good work Dude

Time to upgrade your call!......:) I have the single dipole version MFJ 347 ($20) dipole mount. with pairs of 17, 20 and 40 hamsticks that I used on NPOTA. You could add another 347 and have 2 bands for about $150 less. In the West, 20 and 40 are really the only 2 bands worth using at this point in the cycle. I"ve run my hamstick dipole along side a wire dipole at the same height and the wire is always the better antenna. Often 2-3 S units, so rarely use the hamstick dipole unless I'm in a very restricted location and want to go stealth. My best antenna hands down is a pair of MFJ 1979 17 ft. whips and make a full size rotatable dipole. I've been running that antenna at 30 ft. on my POTA activations and it kicks butt over anything that I have up. Tip for easy tuning hamsticks for portable use. Use a Sharpie and mark out each stinger in 1 inch measurements. When you get your set location, wrap electrical tape at that spot. I use the 4 ft. military poles at 30 ft. top pole fiberglass, so that eliminates most of the ground/mast influence and doesn't require re-tuning. The octopus looks to be a nightmare for tuning as a portable antenna and a PITA putting up/taking down. Wrap the bottom of the plastic bags with duct tape as well as several of the allen wrenches in the slip in slot, so you'll always have one. Interesting concept though. Are you doing POTA, (parks on the air) don't recognize your call. K7CAR

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

I can't change my call at this point.

I have the MFJ-347, which only handles two Ham Sticks at a time. When I received it, I screwed-on (2) 20-meter sticks and got California (from Kentucky) on my first try, and that was with the antenna in my living room, laying over the back of a chair and a lamp (shade). *lol* It's not the ideal antenna arrangement, obviously, but it does work.

The original antenna concept was designed by N1GY a couple of years ago in QST. MFJ now recognizes N1GY in their advertising.

Eric I believe the octopus is probably one of the best mfj antenna you could buy that's a proven antenna I used to use the mobile Hustler masked in three different bands are used to operate 25 years ago and they were little tuning stubs and you can tuna for a one-to-one SWR I believe this octopus is going to perform great make a lot of contacts with that antenna thank you for sharing the Hustler was the same principle like the octopus

Well done thanks

While you were making contacts while you were having difficulty getting your call across my nerd brain came up with, "There is no Eric, only Zulu."

the bands are dead right now...but I was on 20m, and I spoke to a guy in Aruba, I'm in az, and ran 50 watts thru a alpha antenna

@RobertLemp

4 жыл бұрын

The Bands are only dead if you do not call CQ

Got two 60 meter Hamstiks as dipoles. Works great, no tuner needed.

DX op repeatedly says "say again?" to verify your call, then ends QSO with a 5-9. I would rather know what my RS or RST really is for TX improvement purposes, and will let you know likewise. I always really appreciate when a contester or DX station provides that valuable truthful information. Great video, and appreciate your insistence on proper phonetics, especially when it wasn't reciprocated.

ARRL 10 metre contest this weekend (2018) only worked OY, hear a DL, PY and ZW in the past 24hrs, even the CW section was almost "0" activity. From the 🇬🇧!

@africantwin173

5 жыл бұрын

10 mtr contest is Dead in NLD. 40 mtrs is only lots of 3KW Italians.

Got 2 60 meter Ham Sticks as dipoles 20 feet high. Works great for local Ecomm and I'm in a valley.

@nateo200

5 жыл бұрын

Sweet! I didn't know they made them given 60 meters as sort of the odd man out. I want to do 40/60/80/160 Encomm portable setup.

Great video!

@micro4329

5 жыл бұрын

Just wish they made the ham sticks with more power capabilities had an idea of doing same with outside table umbrella and wire you gave me a thought wander if you put 4 sticks of the same band Voss from each other and turned it horizontal if one you could work flat and horizontal at same time and 2,if you could choose and maybe add more and make beams with them nice vide very informative I'm going to check the prices of one now thanks

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

I thought about 4 10 m hamsticks or 4 VHF sticks and having better pattern but never thought of it the way you described turning it vertical @@micro4329

lots of fun messing around with ham sticks and mirror mounts just remove the insulator from one and leave the other alone; mount together horizontally and there you go a dipole.Thanks for the video...73 Leo k1zek

berry good videos

I like this antenna. I feel like i may get this one. I agree about bands being dead. 20 watts on a buddipole from PA to bermuda, new mexico and such. Not too shabby for dead bands. Lol.

The birds will love it

Great video for a weird antenna but it works would be cool make another video working on another bands. 73

Droopy hamstick dipoles are a pain due to their weight and could do with an extension thru-section and some supports/ fishing lines....I bet the complete 8 stick assembly is pretty heavy. Good idea especially for 40/80... hey, try some 160m and see how it does. Nice video! PS How much $$ in the USA out of interest? I would guess $250

I wonder could you have separate UNUN's driving long wires going out in every direction like on a compass.

I was wondering if there is an impedance difference with different amounts of pairs of antennas used in the Octopus?

Have you experimented with the V-shaped pairs yet, Eric, or dipole only? Inquiring minds want to know! While everyone's "style" may be a bit different when operating their radios, your effort in setting up and a quick, practical demo hasn't been for nothing. Good job, buddy; really appreciate your videos. (54 from Bristol, TN tonight, but only because I had 1 bar while watching the vid on my phone.) 😉

Great video. The Octopus is on my wish list. I read somewhere the 15 Meter band is on roughly the 3rd Harmonic of the 40 Meter Band, so you can use a pair of the 40's for both bands. Would likely work better with a tuner. I'll have to see if my 7300 will handle it. I've had great luck with the MFJ-347 single band dipole mount so I'm looking forward to using the octopus. The hamstick instructions mention trimming the whip so it does not extend into the coils. Did you have to do this to get your low SWR? BTW, with my similar call (KB1ZYI) i repeat myself a lot as well.

I worked N7DD during Field Day. My wife laughed because was saying Dog Dog, Donald Duck, Dicky Dicky, etc. Funny guy!!

Its funny how most of them are so broken up, but yet still get 5/9 , too funny 😂🤣 I guess thats how that goes. LOL

What about an electrolube on the threads of the pugs and sockets - to prevent moisture incgress and corrosion -- which would adversely affect both conductivity of the nominal earth lines and also affect SWR?

We WANT to see the cobweb... I'm trying to figure out what to use so I want the good and the bad!

Did you see that this a directal antenna or does it start working as a ommney antenna?? Thanks good video!!

Hello Eric , I appreciate your videos and the time you take putting in making the video interesting and fun. Maybe one day we can have a QSO on HF or 6 meters . 73 AE4OY WILLIAM Peacock EM-81UF (OLDYELLA) South East GEORGIA

Another great video! 73 KC9QVE Marion,Indiana

FYI for those that are going to cut these whips with small bolt cutters...like me....wear safety glasses, as the ends go flying when they snap off.

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

oh my god yes.. I do nothing without glasses, I only have 1 eye left :)

@joe-aj0yz

5 жыл бұрын

Sooo...I'm guessing you don't wanna know how I trimmed down my Freightliner's CB antenna this evening, huh? Let's just say it involved two pairs of Vise Grips, a pair of electrician's pliers, a five-pound hammer, and a fifty-one foot stepdeck trailer with a thirteen-foot-wide load on it. SWR? 1.86:1. Oohhh yeahhhh!!! Not too shabby for having left my bolt cutters at home this trip out. I'm gone!

My gut feeling is that best practice would be to use higher bands with this -- 75 meter hamsticks aren't terribly efficient, and moreover you need it really high to have a good pattern. I would think the best performance would be something like 20/15/10/6.

What distances are you connecting on the various bands included hamsticks running barefoot with your IC 7300.

Question: How well does this Octopus hold up when left installed? It appears to be designed for short term operations. I'd like to put it at the top of a 50' tower but not if I have to pull it down and work on it monthly.

How do these hold up in a windy area? I live by the shore and wind is a normal condition around here. We we get wind a couple of days a month at least 37 to 49 mph monthly and a few times a year 60 mph .

I wonder if a little higher up would improve things a bit?

Eric, newb question, would you be able to use 4- 90 degree fittings and take those horizontal dipoles and make them vertical ?

Love the setup would love to try it here in Tenn ka9imy

I have a pair of original "hamsticks" for every band 6 thru 80...had them in storage brand new for years...I just received two of these MFJ 2100's which was on back order for weeks....I have a pair of heavy duty aluminum telescoping 21 foot masts......I will have an "A B" ant switch at base of mast....I will operate 80, 17, 30, and 12 meters on antenna A...will operate 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters on antenna B...I will keep the 12 meter sticks in storage for use later....I have an MFJ 259B antenna analyzer...I have some heavy duty cutters for tuning the stingers (of course with eye protector glasses)...I will "pretune" the hamsticks using disposable heavy duty aluminum wire to pretune the whip for length, then cut and replace with the actual whip to save cutting it too short.

Excellent pretty much sold me on it may have to use the mini hamsticks since not much room .. Be safe nasty wx rolling in as you know... KN4AQJ 73'

Hmmm...wonder what it would do with Hamsticks all for the same band...and then add a vertical

The 'Dog' phonetic is a throwback to old military phonetics (Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog, etc.). What you may have had was a WWII or Korean War vet defaulting to old habits. I was in the Navy during Viet Nam, as an avionics tech, and ran into guys that used the old phonetics. Here's an example: highnames.com/hurricanes-tropical-storms-naming-system/military-phonetic-alphabet/

Hey Eric what's going on mr. Kj4yzi from K2CSX mark that's very interesting that maybe something that I might look into due to the fact that I live in an apartment building here in New York City in the Bronx and not very much space Up on the Roof where I can put up an antenna got to keep it low profile so that antenna looks pretty good I do have an Antron up there believe it or not I can get that thing down on 20 M tried 40 but you just playing with it but I can listen all the way down to 160 looking for something like that and I'll maybe I might have some good luck I also from time to time use a mfj 1664 1668 or a1661 screwdriver antenna they work very very well outside my bedroom window on a window guard so that looks like a good thing as well I follow you videos the very interesting keep up the good work and I also like the video about the cable cutting forest for cable TV and setting up different systems for your over-the-air TV that works out very good for hearing New Year cuz cable TV is off the hook with prices anyway once again 73 all the best and happy holiday from Mark K2CSX

Nice, N3MJR

I hope the MFJ-2100 is compatible with the MFJ-1921.

Eric, What technique did you use to keep the two sides equal in length when adjusting them so casually? Also, looks like you're feeding that Octopus with a long run of RG8X. That's going to make SWR look better, and the antenna more broadband, than they really are.

Hey Eric, Do you suppose if I used 8-10M 600W sticks I could reach western PA from San Diego Monday evenings for the weekly Breezeshooters net? I’m originally from southwestern PA 51 years ago and would love to be able to regularly attend their net. I’m sure there’s bunch of folks there I probably know, or did! They hold forth on 28.480 every Monday night. I’d mount the antenna about 25’ high. I’m figuring that 8-10M sticks would give me very good 360-degree radiation, especially at somewhere near 500W output, but I have no experience with hamsticks. What do you think?

"This isn't magic, this is ham radio." Umm... ham radio IS magic. :)

@RobertLemp

4 жыл бұрын

Can't have MAGIC without SMOKE....lol

I just started HAM got a IC7300 and a basic Alpha Pro 18ft vertical, I have A LOT of NOISE < Cant seem to find where it is coming from any sugestions. Thx Terry

it looks very flimsy like after a good storm id be picking up antenna pieces off my lawn ? what are you experiences eric

Under equal circumstances and conditions, do you think this antenna would perform better than just a wire dipole?

@BryanTorok

2 жыл бұрын

Not likely. All else being equal, the wire dipole has more length/surface area to radiate and capture RF.

would you recommend one of these antennas as a permanent installation in a limited space

@RTD3

4 жыл бұрын

I'd like to know also.

Eric, A couple of questions regarding this setup: 1. How high does this need to be to be effective? 2. When tuning the hamsticks, do you put on each band set individually, and tune, or can you attach all of the hamsticks at the same time and then tune for each band?

@GeorgeAdams

4 жыл бұрын

Ross Bassette 1. Too many variables. 2. It won’t really matter, but I’d tune how I’m going to use it.

How does this compare to the MFJ Cobweb antenna you also reviewed? Thx, 73

Never had any luck with ham sticks...

Is the 2104 an updated version of the 2100?

Correct signal reports should be given all the times no matter if contest or not.

@unixguru75

5 жыл бұрын

fivenine is a correct signal report and means "I can hear you"

@Yuehanlad

5 жыл бұрын

Wrong , 5 and 9 is audio readability fully readable no fading breaking or missed words, 9 is a signal of 9 on his meter, as can be seen and heard in the video the audio was a 5 but the signal was only a 1 to 2, there was also now way the guy on the other side was receiving him 5 and 9 as he had to ask him his call sign a number of times.

@unixguru75

5 жыл бұрын

absolutely right and still completely worthless in a contest

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

@@Yuehanlad Well you can yell at me about it, but every contester in the world is still going to say five nine regardless of what my signal is. Its just because of the speed. In normal operating I give true reports.

Are you able to make any contacts with this antenna into Europe or Asian rim? Thanks, KD4MAN

Is there any way I could get the 80m stick to 3.9MHz?

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

Sure, just trim some off the whip and tune it... use an analyzer

So I heard that if an antenna is shorter or wrap around on a pole or other non conductor material that it would be less efficient than having a fully stretch dipole. What is your opinion on that? I understand that each stick is a 1/4 wavelength and by having two of them you have yourself a 1/2 wavelength dipole. But just for argument what does everyone thinks?

Did you ever find out about the V or if you ran 4 ham sticks of the same band?

Not bad for hamsticks.

Sooooooo...... any time spent operating the other bands? What's your opinion?

Can you give me a rough length of the 40m after tuning? Just one side is fine. I bought the exact same thing you have here, but all my whips are around 11" ! Their all to short to tune except 10m. How I got not one but 2 bad packages shows my luck. Gigaparts struck again! None of my whip inserts are even close to your length. So now I got to find some inserts , and need to know the length. Just opened them today and had them 3 to 4 years . Thanks

What is the longest DX on this antenna?

I have this, but I am having a hard time choosing the last set of ham sticks to get. I've got 40m 20m and 10m as I know I want to operate on those bands. Any suggestions for the last set?

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

I would say 30 meters for digital, PSK/RTTY CW etc. If not 30M, then 6 meters for the summer months.

@SaltySgy05

5 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioConcepts thanks for the suggestions. I do want to start trying digital modes so I think I'll try 30M. I did just get my general license, and soon a new hf radio. Really excited dive into the expanded privileges.

I gotta say, it disappoints me to hear you giving out 5/9s and getting them in return when it clearly isn't the case. As someone who tests antennas, I would have thought you would have been honest with the reports. When I'm contesting I'm often portable and maybe running low power, Someone giving me a 59 when I'm not gives me no insight into how my station and antenna are performing, nor does it let me know there is an issue or allow me to understand band conditions in a particular direction or area. I encourage you to give genuine reports. They are appreciated when received. Re the antenna, it looks interesting. The base seems solid but I think the cockatoos here in Australia would have those sticks bent and chewed in no time flat. They're very destructive. Still, nice to see something a little different in the antenna world cheers VK2MRX

@mannyarroyo4798

4 жыл бұрын

You missed the part when he explains it's a contest, since it seems you have never been in one, it's always 59 for simplicity and ease of logging.

@paulplack490

2 жыл бұрын

Brett, you're almost always going to get a 59 (or 599 CW) in a contest. It's been that way forever. Try one of the _OTA programs instead to get more accurate reports. I've listened to several Parks on the Air activations, and the reports seem legit. I'm sure you've found the same with Flora & Fauna. Any activation which includes advance notification and online spotting should be an improvement.

Can I have some of you left over Alan wrenches ? I lose them quite a bit lol

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

just realized after the video, each whip comes with an allen wrench. Not I have 8 more HAHA

@nateo200

5 жыл бұрын

Lol, right? I'm looking for one to properly tune one of my mag mount antennas that I got out of tune.....antenna analyzer put it resonant at 467MHz......Idk if someone stole this thing and used it for GMRS but it's killing me!

@donsilva4441

5 жыл бұрын

@@nateo200 ouch, 467 would probably be to far up. But, is the antenna the Comet one that's broad banded that made for ham and gmrs at the same time ? I have that one, and I can say that the SWR is good all the way up there too.

@nateo200

5 жыл бұрын

@@donsilva4441 No it is a Nagoya mag mount. I can't even use it on 2 mters anymore like I used to all time....granted....I have a giant 10/6/2/0.7m antenna but the gain on 70cm is horrible. I think moving it around with a lose alan key hole caused an issue

So how high did you place the finished antenna????????????????????????

Nice video. Did you try rotating it to see how directional it is? How about a video showing how it does on 40m. PS I appreciate your use of the correct phonetics. Making up your own phonetics defeats the purpose.

The bands only work when there's a contest.

@Yuehanlad

5 жыл бұрын

Rubbish

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

@@Yuehanlad These comments are people that follow my videos..They Get it. I replied to another comment you made also.

Forgive the noob question, but... Is this antenna affected by metallic structures like a metal roof? I downloaded the manual from MFJ and there's nothing about it in there.

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

If it is not high enough above the metal roof then yes it can.

Eric text me back tell me do you have to tune both sides of the antennas say for instance 10 m or do you have to tune both sides of the 10 just let me know thank you

@GeorgeAdams

4 жыл бұрын

Joe Framo you should keep each side as close to the same length as possible but they tune together as a single unit.

Does this antenna require radials? Can it be roof mounted?

@triangleenjoyer

4 жыл бұрын

In theory it wouldn't need radials since each pair makes a dipole.

Does height off of ground make a difference?

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

Yes.. Higher the better. I could only get on top of my tripod for now.

Too bad MFJ could not make a "decapus" version of this, to allow five sets of hamsticks for five bands.

75 phone all the way around the dang thing.

What's total investment in something like this?

@HamRadioConcepts

5 жыл бұрын

$99 for the hub, then the price of the hamsticks

Yes the bands are DEAD Eric, you know why, everybody is on KZread watching your videos !!! Its your Fault !!! 73 F5VLY.

If everyone says 59, then why not just not mention it and only give the call and assume 59? or tell them all 11 to confuse them and slow them down

so NO counterpoises needed? Im in a upper level condo so I can sneak a single ground wire to a ground rod if needed but could not get away with ground counter poises ??

Holy cannolies! The 600w version is almost $500!?