Sidebar Sidebar
  • You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.

Anyone use a Portable HF Antenna?

AudioShockwav

AudioShockwav

Extraterrestrial
Staff member
Apr 6, 2005
9,031
8,802
593
Nor Cal Sierra Nevada
Just wanted to know if anyone is using any of the commercial/manufactured portable antennas for HF.
Examples include the Buddistick,Chameleon, CN-32 Vertical, Alex Loop and many others.......any one do portable op`s?


73
Jeff
 

I can't speak for any of the others you've listed, but I have had some experience with the High Sierra HS-1800Pro screwdriver antenna.

My use was for portable use, not mobile use. When I bought it, I was moving around a bit. So, I wanted something I could easily pack up and bring inside, or pack up and move. I also wanted a quick setup that didn't need a minimum of two people -- or take all day.

I had the 6' whip, the "Six Shooter" cap hat and cap hat extender, and a tripod. It was a breeze to set up, a cinch to take down, and performed marvelously. With the 6' whip, I could tune to a near 1:1 on the entirety of 80m, without the whip, I could tune the whole of the 6m band. From about 50miles away from Atlanta, GA USA I worked Canada, South America, west and eastern Europe and Africa with it and one contact with Alaska -- at a max of 100 watts.

The rig I use is an IC-7000.

The antenna was a bit pricey -- I believe I paid right around $800 for it (bought new from High Sierra directly). I ended up selling it and the funds from that started my foray into SDR.

If it wasn't for the price of the thing -- I'd certainly get another one. The ground radials it comes with work perfectly. Lay them on the ground, or do what I did and use garden staples to hold the end insulators down. Easy peasy.

Hope that helps you somewhat!

--Alex / KA4AAA

P.S. -- At local hamfests, I see the HS-1800's attached to all different kinds of vehicles, so its apparently quite popular.
 
I have both the SuperAntenna MP1 and the YP-3 yagi. The MP1 works and you can have fun with it, but you really need to add more radials. I've had a lot of fun with that antenna while camping. The Yp-3 is really cool and works very well. Unfortunately, Superantennas is out of business, at least for the time being so you can only get them on the used market.
 
I use a High Sierra Sidekick with 6' whip on my car, as standard it comes standard with a 3' whip, the later being used so as to make 6m possible, but it can't be good and all things to all bands so it must be modified to be reasonable on a few bands, the 6' whip was the first modification, when parked up I use a 5' whip with a large home made capacity hat, this makes it a portable or parked up antenna only in this state, it won't work 10m with the cap hat combination, but it does work well on 17m - 40m with reasonable, albeit not DX, performance on 80m.
Whilst mobile in NW England last week I worked Budd Drummond, W3EFF whilst he was on Dominca Island as J79FF, Budd of course was using a Buddipole and I was using my High Sierra Sidekick 6' whip, this was through a pile up with 100w, no doubt a large element of luck and the right conditions were there, but both of us were using compromise systems to work each other, screwdriver to Buddipole :)

I have worked a lot of mobile DX with this antenna and the various top whip sections, it isn't all things to all men, but with a little bit of effort it will do a lot of DX. I also have plans to use the screwdriver as a top section for a top band antenna, but that is something for the future.
 
I've used a couple of different mobile antennas as a 'portable' antenna. They just happened to be mounted on a vehicle at the time. I've also used a typical dipole portable, that just depends on if you can find a place to hang them.
- 'Doc
 
Thanks for the comments.
I like to go camping when I can and like to take the radio when I do.
I have pulled wires up in the trees, used the 102" whip on the truck with the auto tuner and even pulled a AR-10 up in the trees.....now I am looking at the "backpack" type antennas that are small and easily deployed.



73
Jeff
 
40 Meter Hamstick

I've had good success using a 40 meter mobile antenna by Hamstick. I made an aluminum stand with a quick-disconnect connector and have used it with my Ark 40 QRP rig. I've worked folks all over the US with it on CW with good reports.
 
Like MOLE, I used to own a MP-1 with an 80m add on coil. If you can find these antennas, Buy one!!! On my ft817 5-6 watts and this antenna mounted to a stake 1 foot above ground and only the 1 supplied radial, I made contacts on 80m over 600 miles away with s7-9 reports! Ive never used it on anything higher than 20m, But I have talked alot of DX on 40m.

This setup is VERY portable. I carried the antenna, radio, lunch and accessories in a small back pack when I was deployed over seas. I even managed a JA or two from my previous duty location in Florida.

These antennas are worth every penny! And the man that used to make them is VERY customer oriented and will help with any question you have. I didnt know they were out of business though....
 
Nor did I. Martin Lynch & Son in the UK are still advertising them (they call it the Chapstick) so I assume they still have stock. Might be a good idea to order the 80m coil to go with my MP-1 while I still can.
 
g4ilo said:
Actually I'm not sure if they are really out of business or just clueless at running a website. Try Super Antennas .
Click to expand...

I talked to the owner on the phone a couple of months ago. He doesn't have control of the domain name anymore. He's also embattled in a company lawsuit and is shut down until the suit is settled, which is for the foreseeable future. Too bad, too...
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.


      Top Bottom
      Back