20m FT8 RX with the Miracle Whip

Overnight I left my FT817ND on FT8 RX using the Miracle Whip on the shack windowsill on 20m. 

UPDATE 0731z:  218 stations spotted on the Miracle Whip since yesterday,

Miracle Antennas

It is some years since I last used my Miracle Whip. In fact, I am not even sure where it is! These days there are commercial alternatives as the original inventor became a SK in 2012. Now, please do not expect miracles from any of these. As I have said many times, a 56 inch whip can only be as good as a 56 inch whip, but with a counterpoise or ground they can work reasonably well on the higher HF bands. In their favour, they are small and convenient.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/mwhip

Miracle antennas

This was originally the idea of someone from Canada who is now a SK. For some years these were available commercially and I think they are still available from other sources as clones.

The idea was to simply attach to the rig and then match the short whip by rotating the knob. They always work much better with a decent earth or counterpoise. They can only work as well as a short whip: there is no magic. Having said that, I have worked Argentina from indoors on 10m with 5W SSB using just a Miracle Whip antenna on the back of an FT817 and a central heating ground.

On the higher HF bands, when used with a counterpoise or ground, they are only a few S points down on a dipole.  On QRP SSB they should be fine for some Es QSOs. They certainly are convenient. Years ago, when I still had my IC703 10W transceiver, I even worked an LA on 80m SSB indoors. With the internal ATU on the IC703 I managed to get a match on 80m!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/mwhip

Miracle antennas

It is some years since I last used my Miracle Whip, but they have their place. If you are after a compact antenna that is easy to tune, these may fit the bill, especially with a counterpoise and on the higher HF bands, when they may be just a few S points down on a "real" antenna. They are no miracle and can only ever be as good as a small whip brought to resonance.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/mwhip .

Miracle Antenna products

Although not the world's best performing antennas, the Miracle Whip and its associated variations have their uses when one is looking for a compact and easily tuned antenna for field use. On the higher HF bands the loss compared with a full 1/4 wave is less than might be expected if a decent counterpoise is used (1-2 S points down only).

Recently the Canadian owner, Robert, sadly died after a year or so of health problems. There were some doubts whether or not the company would continue, but it appears it will. Perrin VK3XPT made enquiries about the availability of one of their products, the Miracle Ducker and reported as follows to the Miracle Whip Yahoo Group:

UPDATE:

Here is the current status of Miracle Whip stock, globally. I hope this will help someone else here on the group!

- Miracle Antenna do not have any new stock of the Miracle Ducker range. They are waiting on some parts to arrive in the next couple of weeks, which enable them to complete a shipment of new Miracle Ducker TL that they will be sending to Hamcity. This looks to be the only shipment that will be made to any dealer for some time.

- WSPLC.com appear to have some stock, and I have placed an order with them. Fingers crossed that their website is up to date, and showing correct stock levels.

- I have contacted all (yes, all) other Miracle Antenna dealers, and even though some websites are showing stock, this is not actually the case!

So, if you want a Miracle Ducker TL any time soon, Hamcity and WSPLC.com look to be our only and best options. I hope this helps and I will keep the group updated on my progress.

73s
Perrin VK3XPT

Miracle Whip Yahoo group

Many years ago now I started a Yahoo group for people interested in the Miracle Whip and similar antennas. Amazingly the group now has over 1200 members.  Opinions vary about the effectiveness of the MW - in my opinion it is a compromise antenna that is inferior to many simple whip antennas - but it is easy to tune and with a counterpoise or reasonable ground does allow DX contacts on all modes when conditions are decent. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miraclewhip/ .