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Best Mobile Antenna 10 - 40 Meters
- Thread starter AudioShockwav
- Start date
AudioShockWav maybe i can contribute to your thread in some way
I currently am using a wilson 1000 for 10 meters........rig is a yaesu ft-857.
Like most people money is a concern so i'm "piecing" together my mobile and in doing so i'm researching prices and ease of installation. Where i'm leaning towards right now is Atoc Technologies (IronHorse) monoband antennas.
Band width isn't all that great but would work for me,power is rated at 500 watts (except 75m~250 watts). Each antenna cost around $20 or you can get set of 5 with vinyl bag for $90.
I realize that you have to change each antenna for each band,which may be bothersome for some........but i'm still young However IronHorse does make a quick diconnect for $22 dollars. In addition to the above cost a good triple magnetic mount will set you back $40.
So all in all FOR ME at around $150 this setup is what i'm looking at getting sometime soon. I'll keep you posted later with pro's and con's.
73
I currently am using a wilson 1000 for 10 meters........rig is a yaesu ft-857.
Like most people money is a concern so i'm "piecing" together my mobile and in doing so i'm researching prices and ease of installation. Where i'm leaning towards right now is Atoc Technologies (IronHorse) monoband antennas.
Band width isn't all that great but would work for me,power is rated at 500 watts (except 75m~250 watts). Each antenna cost around $20 or you can get set of 5 with vinyl bag for $90.
I realize that you have to change each antenna for each band,which may be bothersome for some........but i'm still young
However IronHorse does make a quick diconnect for $22 dollars. In addition to the above cost a good triple magnetic mount will set you back $40.So all in all FOR ME at around $150 this setup is what i'm looking at getting sometime soon. I'll keep you posted later with pro's and con's.
73
For the ic-7000 i have http://www.betterrf.com/7000-screwdriver.html and http://www.betterrf.com/7000-tune.html now the ony thing left is the antenna which will be a Hi-Q I just can't decide wether to go for the 5/160 or go small 3/80. The reason i want to go small is if it is mounted on the roof the ground losses will be minimized and efficency will be better. there are other antennas out there but for comfort, ease of use and the unit is sealed (wisconsin weather) and doesn't change height it will be money well spent. The tar heel and high sierra types work but, most of the people iv'e talked to around here with them take them off in the winter and use a ham stick. the guys who have the hi-q use them all year round.
I like the 'Texas BugCatcher'. It has draw-backs! It doesn't adjust it's self, it's big, and it takes some care in setting up initially. It also has it's 'pluses'. As in can be used on any band, even the top and bottom ones. It's usually the most efficient (that's really true, but in most cases doesn't mean much except at the extremes). And what's important to me, it was cheaper than the screw drivers (it's hard to be cheap! 
)
- 'Doc
It's the 'best' for my particular situation. Never found the absolute 'best' antenna in general, don't think there is one.
Also put together a screw driver antenna. Worked just fine till I abused the snot out of it. Haven't found the 'Bug Catcher's limit yet... also don't plan to.
)- 'Doc
It's the 'best' for my particular situation. Never found the absolute 'best' antenna in general, don't think there is one.
Also put together a screw driver antenna. Worked just fine till I abused the snot out of it. Haven't found the 'Bug Catcher's limit yet... also don't plan to.
At this point I did not want to Get a Screwdriver antenna, I was looking at the Ham stick type antennas like Shark, Iron horse, pro Am and multi band mobile antennas like the Hustler system that uses a single mast, and muti-loads.
I don`t mind swaping antennas as most of the time I pick one band and use it. There is plenty of room in my truck to carry extra antennas, and I already use more than one antenna with Hustler Stainless steel Quick disconnects, they have held up very well with some heavy antennas.
The screwdrivers are nice, but by the time you get them set up it is A few $$ and if I break it I am stuck......I am a little rough on antennas at times
and I figure if I break a mono bander, I can just switch to another band untill I replace it.
Any way this is were I was going, and wanted some input, Keep the ideas coming guys, and Thanks!
73
Jeff
I don`t mind swaping antennas as most of the time I pick one band and use it. There is plenty of room in my truck to carry extra antennas, and I already use more than one antenna with Hustler Stainless steel Quick disconnects, they have held up very well with some heavy antennas.
The screwdrivers are nice, but by the time you get them set up it is A few $$ and if I break it I am stuck......I am a little rough on antennas at times
and I figure if I break a mono bander, I can just switch to another band untill I replace it.Any way this is were I was going, and wanted some input, Keep the ideas coming guys, and Thanks!
73
Jeff
I have run the 15m and 20m Hamsticks and they worked well for me.I also have one for 80m but do not use it much. I now use a homemade antenna that consists of a 4 foot fiberglass shaft wound with coaxial cable braid and covered with heatshrink tubing.It is topped off with a stainless whip about 5 feet or so long. This is used with my FT-857 and Yaesu's FC-40 autotuner for all band coverage from 40-6m. It won't load on 80m so I use the Hamstick there IF and when I do 80m mobile.
Jeff, I know someone who runs the Hustler loaded antennas and likes them, but by the time you buy all those coils, you could have just bought an inexpensive screwdriver. I've got a few hamstick type antennas laying around that use for backup type situations. They'll get you on the air, but don't expect magic.
Really you should consider one of the Carolina Cyclones by Jerry. They really are fairly inexpensive. Use it with a cap hat and be done. There are others out there that will probably out perform it, but for the money, it's hard to go wrong.
Really you should consider one of the Carolina Cyclones by Jerry. They really are fairly inexpensive. Use it with a cap hat and be done. There are others out there that will probably out perform it, but for the money, it's hard to go wrong.
Jeff,
I'm using the Hustler system. I have the 40m, 20m and 10m Super Resonators that I change out. I use the 56 inch fold over mast that took the place of my Mr Coily, so I'm using the same mount that is behind the cab of my PU. The 40m resonator is about as big as I wanted to go. The 80m is too large and I would have to guy it. I have been very pleased thus far on the performance of the system. Granted, use on 10m has been scant for obvious reasons. Conditons have been alot better on 20m for contacts into Europe. I normally keep the 40m on most for rag chewing here. I sometimes check into the "No Name Net" on 7.230 on the way home from work on Mon,Wed and Fridays. I think it starts around 4pm EST. As with any mobile HF antenna system there are compromises to be made. My compromise was cost. I don't mind jumping up in the back of the PU to fold over the mast change out a resonator. A decent screwdriver antenna system, properly installed can start at 300.00 and go up from there. I have researched the Hi-Q, High Sierria, Tarheel, Carolina Cyclone, GS-3 AND 4 systems. They all have their merits, complexities,installation issues and maintainence to stay on top of. After reading all I could, I decided to take the less costly but appropriately efficient system and went with the Hustler. Some also like the Hamsticks and they are comparable but since I already had a fold-over mast I simply picked out the resonators for the bands I thought I would frequent the most. If you have any old QST magazines there was an article not too long ago on mobile antennas. My Elmer said he read it and indicated to me that the Hustler type antenna was more efficient. I haven't read the article but it might be in the archive section for QST at the ARRL site.
73's
Wayne C.
I'm using the Hustler system. I have the 40m, 20m and 10m Super Resonators that I change out. I use the 56 inch fold over mast that took the place of my Mr Coily, so I'm using the same mount that is behind the cab of my PU. The 40m resonator is about as big as I wanted to go. The 80m is too large and I would have to guy it. I have been very pleased thus far on the performance of the system. Granted, use on 10m has been scant for obvious reasons. Conditons have been alot better on 20m for contacts into Europe. I normally keep the 40m on most for rag chewing here. I sometimes check into the "No Name Net" on 7.230 on the way home from work on Mon,Wed and Fridays. I think it starts around 4pm EST. As with any mobile HF antenna system there are compromises to be made. My compromise was cost. I don't mind jumping up in the back of the PU to fold over the mast change out a resonator. A decent screwdriver antenna system, properly installed can start at 300.00 and go up from there. I have researched the Hi-Q, High Sierria, Tarheel, Carolina Cyclone, GS-3 AND 4 systems. They all have their merits, complexities,installation issues and maintainence to stay on top of. After reading all I could, I decided to take the less costly but appropriately efficient system and went with the Hustler. Some also like the Hamsticks and they are comparable but since I already had a fold-over mast I simply picked out the resonators for the bands I thought I would frequent the most. If you have any old QST magazines there was an article not too long ago on mobile antennas. My Elmer said he read it and indicated to me that the Hustler type antenna was more efficient. I haven't read the article but it might be in the archive section for QST at the ARRL site.
73's
Wayne C.
i run the opek htv400b an it performs very well on all bands.. it is a knock off of the outbacker. cover 80 threw 70cm. have never used it on vhf/uhf but does a fb job on 20m.
I use two antennas, depending on the band.
I have a Yaesu ATAS-120A for HF, but can switch to a Wilson 1000 cut for 10m if I want to run more than 100w.
The Yaesu is a compromise antenna, but works well for me, given I have an FT-857 in the mobile, and don't do a lot of HF work while mobile. If I were real serious, I would get a Tarheel.
I have a Yaesu ATAS-120A for HF, but can switch to a Wilson 1000 cut for 10m if I want to run more than 100w.
The Yaesu is a compromise antenna, but works well for me, given I have an FT-857 in the mobile, and don't do a lot of HF work while mobile. If I were real serious, I would get a Tarheel.
SGC-237 auto coupler feeding a 102" whip on a Hustler ball mount.
20m and up it works just dandy for me
40m it works much better with a 3' extension mast stuck under the whip...of course I have to drive with that tied over though.
Very happy with it with my FT-857D, it's a great 'fire up and go' setup. Highest performance? No. The full sized screwdrivers from Hi-Q or a dedicated band BugCatcher are really the optimal. 20m and up works nice in the mobile though so I'm happy.
20m and up it works just dandy for me
40m it works much better with a 3' extension mast stuck under the whip...of course I have to drive with that tied over though.
Very happy with it with my FT-857D, it's a great 'fire up and go' setup. Highest performance? No. The full sized screwdrivers from Hi-Q or a dedicated band BugCatcher are really the optimal. 20m and up works nice in the mobile though so I'm happy.
z-180 from coppers covers both 10 and 11 meters without a tuner or trimming whip
and will fit in a wilson mag mount or can be hard mounted.very goo antenna for the money
and will fit in a wilson mag mount or can be hard mounted.very goo antenna for the money
Blast from the past, I know! But, this topic is exactly what I'm looking considering myself. All these years later, are you guys still running the same setups? Have you changed, and what did you change to?
I am looking at the Shark antennas, which you can still get from Universal and the whole set runs 80 bucks. I want to do 40 meters mostly, but thought it would be cool to have the other bands as well. I'm also interested in the Carolina Cyclone, since it looks like it is still in production. Quite a bit cheaper than the Little Tarheel, and you can run more power with it, too. And one other thing, I have seen some references to running an add on coil with a 102" whip, along with a tuner. I can't find much on the web about this, though. Where do you get the coil, and is it a worthwhile setup?
73,
Brett
I am looking at the Shark antennas, which you can still get from Universal and the whole set runs 80 bucks. I want to do 40 meters mostly, but thought it would be cool to have the other bands as well. I'm also interested in the Carolina Cyclone, since it looks like it is still in production. Quite a bit cheaper than the Little Tarheel, and you can run more power with it, too. And one other thing, I have seen some references to running an add on coil with a 102" whip, along with a tuner. I can't find much on the web about this, though. Where do you get the coil, and is it a worthwhile setup?
73,
Brett
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