OK, but know the limitations
This is an OK solution for the commuter, public service event operator, etc. It's easy to deploy and stow. It's small. Provided you ensure good grounding of the mount to the car body and connect body panels with grounding strap if needed, it will swiftly seek and find a match. When paired with the Yaesu FT-100, FT-747, FT-857/897, or FT-450. It will initially go up or down as appropriate and run a full cycle if it fails to recognize a match, before retracting and ending the search. It can also be manually tuned using UP/DOWN soft buttons on those Yaesu rigs (or with other rigs via the MFJ controller); do this when a particular frequency presents a complex match autotune passes by because of very high Q. With several feet of wire clipped to the stinger clip and run to a tree limb or other temporary termination point via an end insulator, it's possible to load the antenna on 80M, though not efficiently. Downsides: When they fail due to mechanical issue, they're very hard to repair. The biggest problem is re-assembly. The motor does not have much torque and there are a few tiny ball bearings that must be in strategic places. The control board is about the size of a thumb (tip to wrist). The antenna is relatively sturdy but can be dented. Although this ad says it was in marine use, Yaesu does NOT warrant this antenna as waterproof and advises not to leave it mounted – or even use it –
in the rain! The stinger is not uncommonly lost when vehicle is traveling at high speeds. Only an OEM replacement stinger will fit without grinding down its base, making it prone to breakage. This product is not intended for marine use and I would not recommend it for that purpose except as a hobby accessory not to be relied upon as the primary emergency communications/distress antenna.
Many DX contacts can be made – as it true with most antennas when conditions are favorable – but this is NOT an efficient radiator at any frequencies other than VHF/UHF. I used one of these on two vehicles – a Audi station wagon and a '95 Aerostar – when sunspots were plentiful, on 2500 mile round-trip vacations including ice and snow, and made numerous QSOs with Russia, Europe, and all of the U.S. I did eventually lose the stinger, and later the antenna stopped working properly when an internal nylon threaded disc stripped out. I was rather appalled by the cheap and non-resilient construction upon disassembling the antenna, which was out of warranty. Reassembly was really a bear, and the antenna failed again due to worn parts a free weeks after repair and reassembly. If these limitations are acceptable to you, you can get a lot of enjoyment from this antenna. But honestly, if you want something that is built for the rigors of on-road & off-road mobiling, is weather resilient, waterproof, strongly supported by its manufacturer years after purchase, that is quite efficient for its type, that has no exterior moving parts and that is suitable for marine use and permanent mounting, and that covers the full HF spectrum (some models down to 2 MHz and up to 6m), that will easily provide 20 years of service and will be inexpensive repaired by its maker if it ever fails, and is so reliable that versions of it are even used on Navy submarines, then you'd be much happier with a Hy-Q antenna product. True, the price is 1.5 to 2 times higher, but it's one you can always count on. Again, this ATAS will serve your needs within the scope of its limitations, which is why I gave it 3 stars.
73 de WA7VTD/WQJX-338.
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