Due to space restrictions, I’ve been experimenting with various loft antenna combinations. My latest experiment is using the Watson Magitenna.
Watson Magitenna
This is essentially a 7.6m long bit of wire, designed to operate between 40metres and 6metres. It will handle 400W CW and 550W PEP SSB.
Due to the relatively short length of the wire, this makes a handy portable HF antenna, either for mobile operations, or for stealth antenna installation where space is at a premium – it could be used in a loft, gutter, slung over a branch or fixed to a fibreglass fishing pole for vertical working.
The kit includes the wire and a UNUN balun. It connects to your rig/ATU via an SO239 socket. The antenna wire connects to the UNUN using a wingnut, and there is also a wingnut (colour-coded with a green dot) for a connection to an RF earth.
Using the Magittena
As an experiment, I installed the Magitenna in my loft, running the length of the loft at the highest point, running South-to-North. I then placed a few CQ calls on all bands from 80m to 6m on PSK31. I called randomly on the bands for about an hour (off and on), and here is a summary of what was spotted by PSKReporter:
The coloured markers indicate how long ago the signal was received by the listening stations, the colours referring to the bands, as follows:
- Brown: 15 metres
- Yellow: 20 metres
- Green: 30 metres
I’ll continue testing this long wire antenna and add any additional notes.
Magitenna construction
Here are a couple of photos of the Magitenna balun, for reference:
… and the inside of the Balun box:
If you have any question or comments, please add a message in the section below.
Hi Pete
You had to take it apart just like a kid with a new toy HI
On a serious note i have one of these antennas and for what they are and the size they are they get the thumbs up from me
They are ideal for holidays camping , caravaning etc
Or just at home where space is tight
Catch up with you soon mate
73’s
Tom
2E0TNC
This looks a lot like the SRC antenna X65 – £40
http://www.snowdonia-radio-company.co.uk/ourshop/prod_2012937-SRC-X65-80-6-meters.html
or why not buy an SRC 9:1 unun for £20 & add the long wire ?! all on
http://www.snowdonia-radio-company.co.uk/ under HF antennas
Not that I would want to persuade anyone away from W & S…!! (just hope you don’t have to take anything back to them !!)
Cheers
Jim
SRC are unfort no longer trading just as a point of interest.
This looks like its made actually by M0CVO antennas and badged up as watson.
I have a OFC Dipole made by the same (M0CVO) not bad but deff not waterproof, Balun made same with red n black wire.
Shame the UNUN and my balun was not made with proper copper wire windings rather than just using red and black dc cable.
Can recomend baluns or ununs made by M0PLK, availible on that well know aution site… They are made with proper windings on quality Toroid Cores in a much better hard abs plastic box.
The basic idea behind the antenna is fine. But I once bought something looking very similar indeed to that one, but the seller may be different now. The box was too small for the balun (actually bulging, it was that small), and had cracked. The box was anyway not going to be very durable, and things don’t seem to have changed, based on that image.
In the end, you can make a 9:1 for pennies, and a wire is usually lying around at no cost. Why pay for these things when you can make as good as or, more usually, better than, yourself?
Total newb here. Do you have any links or good places / resources to build one yourself? Like the idea of this!
Hi Pete. What power were you using? I have one of these running from upstairs window down towards garden fence as I am very very limited for space and with no access to loft and with no chance of a vertical. As an M7 and limited to 10W I’m struggling to get any decent signal out. Any suggestions?
This would have been at 10 watts. Best advice – put out some data calls, look at PSK Reporter and see the antenna pattern. Reposition the antenna and try again. Experiment with locations and pick the one that shows the best results on PSK Reporter..
I have my Magitenna loft mounted, from one end to the other, I had a lot of noise, S9 in fact, I added a short wire to the earth side and antenna it is now an L shape configuration, Internal ATU tunes a lot better now,
I suffered with a lot of noise using this antenna, so i checked all the equipment shack side and managed to locate the noise, either data cables from the pc or other antennas connected to the radio (colinear) connected to the VHF/UHF side on my 991 was introducing 2 s point of noise, when I disconnected the data cable and colinear I got a noise reading of S3 to S4, it has made a huge difference, I have now worked Japan and Europe on the magitenna in the loft on FT8, I have since added ferrite beads to the cables going from the PC. All about elimination with noise levels. I hope this helps on the receive end.
Using a magitenna is not recommended for FT8 so I am told, but can get away with 10 to 20w licence permitted.
Lee M0LJL
HI Pete
Did you install the antenna in your loft without any grounding or counterpoise?
How was the SWR across the bands? I take it you needed to run it through an ATU?
Paul M7CUW 73s