Super Antenna MP1 (SuperStick)
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| Frequency | base MP1B/MP1C: 7-30 MHz HF continuous plus VHF to 170; the 300 MHz headline (and 3.5-4.8 MHz low end) belongs to the deluxe DXTR80 kit with its SuperCoils |
| Bands | 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m, 6m + VHF reach per the maker; 80m via the optional SuperCoil |
| TX power | 500 W (500 W SSB / 300 W CW-data per the maker and its flagship dealer (the '150 W' at some dealers is an error or stale variant copy)) |
| Modes | SSB, CW, AM, FM, digital |
| Connector | 3/8-24 stud base into the included mounts (per the maker's kit documentation); SO-239 at some mounts |
| base | 3/8-24 system; kit mounts vary |
Estimated (unverified): none of note - kit contents confirmed (base kit: slider, whip, 2 extension rods, coupling nut, SWR ruler, sheets)
The most refined tuning experience in portable verticals: where clip-and-tap rivals change bands in steps, the SuperSlider sweeps continuously - watch the SWR dip slide into place like tuning an old radio. The included tuned radials acknowledge physics most kits ignore, the pack size is genuinely briefcase-class, and the system scales from minimalist to expedition via the kit ladder.
Loaded-short-vertical physics applies in full: narrow bandwidth per setting (re-slide when you QSY far), modest efficiency on 40 (and 80 with the big coil is a patience exercise), and the slider mechanism wants clean threads and gentle storage. The base kit ships without the radials that make it perform - budget for an MR-series set or wire of your own - and the kit-ladder pricing climbs fast toward $400.
The premium pick among portable loaded verticals: the slider beats clips for speed and precision, the radial kit beats afterthoughts, and the build survives actual travel. Budget operators get most of the function from cruder sliders; the MP1 is for those who notice the difference daily.
The MP1's contribution to portable radio is a mechanism: the SuperSlider, a loading coil that rides smoothly up and down the whip so that tuning is one continuous motion - slide until the SWR dips, stop. Rivals select bands with clip leads and coil taps in discrete lurches; the MP1 sweeps, which turns band changes into seconds and fine tuning into something almost tactile. Around that mechanism the maker built a system: about twelve inches of packed length opening to a loaded vertical covering 40 meters through VHF - 7 to 170 MHz on the base kit's own spec, with the famous 7-300 headline and the 3.5 MHz low end belonging to the deluxe kit's SuperCoils - rated a muscular 500 watts SSB (300 CW; the 150-watt figure some dealer summaries print is simply wrong), with an optional 80-meter SuperCoil and the maker's tuned MR-series radial sets standing by as recommended accessories: bundled in the deluxe kits, sold separately below.
The honest physics is the loaded-short-vertical contract, paid in full: each slider setting buys a narrow slice of band (QSY far and you're sliding again), efficiency on 40 is modest and on 80 modest-with-footnotes, and the difference between a great session and a frustrating one is usually the radials - which the base kit does not include - rather than the whip. The hardware reputation - all-metal construction the maker backs with military-procurement bragging - holds up in a decade of field reviews, including the configuration-tuning literature the portable community maintains around it.
Its market position is the premium tier of a crowded class: the slider-coil value school delivers the same concept with less refinement, the component-system school trades the vertical for configurable dipoles, and the bare-whip-plus-coil recipe underprices everyone. The MP1 answers all of them with fit, finish, and that slider - the portable vertical for operators who tune often enough to care how tuning feels.