A while back, I ordered a 5.6M/18.4 foot. telescopic whip from a seller on AliExpress. I didn’t really need it, but having seen them on the Interwebs, I was curious to see what you get for $18 USD. Heck, at that price, why not take a chance?
You can find these whips all over AliExpress. (I have also seen them on Amazon for about $10 more.) One nice thing about them is they are 7.5 inches shorter than an MFJ-1979 when fully collapsed. So, it might fit in backpacks easier. The shorter collapsed length is due to having 14 telescoping sections compared to the MFJ-1979’s 10 sections. Because of its thinner metal and lack of a reinforced base, the AliExpress whip weighs 4.4 ounces/125g less than the MFJ whip. Of course, the other obvious advantage is the incredibly low cost.
There are some downsides though. The threads are metric (10mm), so you need an adapter to use it with a ⅜-24 mount. Fortunately, adapters are readily available as well. The other downside that I’ve noticed is that the metal they are made of is pretty thin. (More on that in a bit) The MFJ whip has a heavy stainless steel reinforcement at the bottom, while the AliExpress whip does not.
My antenna arrived from China about a week and a half later. It came wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap with a tough plastic outer wrap. I eagerly opened the package, but I was disappointed to see that the bottom section was damaged. It looked like either someone dropped something heavy on it or Big Foot stepped on it. As I mentioned previously, the metal is pretty thin.
When I finished uttering every expletive in my vocabulary, I contacted the seller through the AliExpress app and sent pictures of the damage. They promptly shipped out another antenna, and they didn’t want the old one back. So, I set the wounded whip aside, while I awaited its replacement.
The replacement whip arrived 6 days later, which is pretty impressive for a shipment from China. Happily, this shipment arrived intact. I would be remiss if I didn’t give props to the HUI BANG TE Store on AliExpress. Their customer support was top-notch.
When I get a chance, I’ll take the inexpensive whip out to a park to give it a go. I laid the AliExpress whip next to the MFJ-1979, and it looks like collapsing one section from the bottom on the AliExpress whip makes it about the same length as the MFJ.
I also have some ideas on how to straighten and reinforce the damaged whip to make it usable. That might be a winter project.
72, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 
Craig, I also bought one of those whips a couple of years ago. Mine came with a 3/8×24 adaptor. I prefer it to the MFJ-1979 because it is shorter and lighter. So far it has survived many field trips although the top sections are beginning to look a little bent. My MFJ-1979 is now quite ancient, I keep it as a backup. I don’t expect any of these whips to last forever. I am thinking of using a wire vertical supported by a crappie pole when my telescopic whips fail.
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One nice thing about these AliExpress whips is they aren’t expensive to replace when they eventually fail. 🙂
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Can you point me to the adapters? I have an M10 antenna, but have yet to find a workable adapter. Thx!
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Dave:
Search AliExpress for: “M10 Female To 3/8 24 Male Screw Mount Adapter”. I bought a two-pack of them for less than $10.
If you do a Google search for M10 adapter, you should find lots of others.
73, Craig WB3GCK
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