The Chameleon CHA SS17 is almost identical to the MFJ-1979 –
https://chameleonantenna.com/shop-here/ols/products/cha-ss17


Some youtubers are saying the top portion of the chameleon is stiffer than the 
MFJ… which is important if you try to take two of these and make a rotatable 
dipole.

There are a number of youtubes out there showing both of these in various 
resonant configurations with and without base coils such as the Wolf River 
Coils or the Chameleon coils.

73,
Mike KK5SC

From: BVARC <bvarc-boun...@bvarc.org> On Behalf Of Venkata Appala via BVARC
Sent: Sunday, August 6, 2023 9:54 PM
To: Shannon Tassin <stas...@hotmail.com>
Cc: Venkata Appala <pradhan...@gmail.com>; BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB 
<bvarc@bvarc.org>
Subject: Re: [BVARC] HF antenna and coax

Thank you Shannon. This is perfect. I will check the magazine for details.


Venkata Appala KJ5BVS
pradhan...@gmail.com<mailto:pradhan...@gmail.com>




On Aug 6, 2023, at 9:24 PM, Shannon Tassin 
<stas...@hotmail.com<mailto:stas...@hotmail.com>> wrote:

Venkata,

The ARRL On the Air magazine Sept 2021 edition page 22 has a project to create 
a portable vertical antenna using the MFJ-1979. If you are an ARRL member, you 
can use the ARRL mags app to find it. It has a mount and everything else needed.

I’ve made this project and tried it out and it works quite well. The article 
has you mark the antenna for the right spot for each frequency, but if you have 
a tuner in your setup, you can extend it all the way, tune it, and it will work 
well without the manual adjusting. I have a backpack and a PVC tube I use to 
make it all portable.

I made some tweaks to the project including a round plate to attach the radials.

We have some coax experts in the group and so I am sure they can give you more 
information, but keep in mind for HF, you don’t need as high of quality coax as 
for VHF/UHF.

Happy to give you more details – send me an email.

Thanks,
Shannon Tassin
K4SCT

From: BVARC <bvarc-boun...@bvarc.org<mailto:bvarc-boun...@bvarc.org>> on behalf 
of Venkata Appala via BVARC <bvarc@bvarc.org<mailto:bvarc@bvarc.org>>
Date: Sunday, August 6, 2023 at 8:21 PM
To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <bvarc@bvarc.org<mailto:bvarc@bvarc.org>>
Cc: Venkata Appala <pradhan...@gmail.com<mailto:pradhan...@gmail.com>>
Subject: [BVARC] HF antenna and coax
Hello all,
I am working on setting up a temporary HF antenna that I can setup or take down 
when not in use. For this, I am exploring MFJ 1979 telescope antenna. I am not 
sure if this is the right choice yet. My idea was to use some mount(yet to 
figure this out) in the backyard, run the cable inside the home when I want to 
use HF. In addition, when I am visiting some park, planning to mount if using 
some mag mount. I don’t have much of a backyard and wanted to see if this 
antenna can be used at home and when I am visiting places. With this info, I 
have few questions. Please bear with me as I am absolutely new to Ham and might 
ask dumb questions. While reading, one thing I realized is that, the antenna 
depends on the bands I wish to use. Well, at the moment, I want to start with 
something that can get me on air for commonly used frequencies where I can 
listen in and learn how to use the radio. At the  moment, all I have is a HF 
transceiver with builtin tuner.

1) Is 1979 a good antenna? It appears it is around $70 and I am assuming this 
can get me started without breaking any bank.
2) Coax…looking at the options, this seems like a candy store and I can’t 
figure out which one. I am guessing something around 50 ft in length might work 
and my limited research shows LMR 240 might be good option. Is this true or 
should I find a better alternative?
3) Any suggestions on mounts for the antenna that I can use in the backyard?

Ps: Thank you to Ed and Richard for pointing me in the right direction at 
Fulshear farmer’s market. I am also researching on end fed antenna but this 
will be a build/diy project.

Thank you for all the guidance and suggestions.

73
Venkata Appala KJ5BVS
pradhan...@gmail.com<mailto:pradhan...@gmail.com>

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