Opek HVT-600 Mobile Antenna

[N2LWE]

I've heard pros and cons regarding this antenna and have never worked HF from my car, ever. Always worked out of my shack and I've been wanting to do this for a long time. So I thought the price was reasonable to try it. The results? A+. I brought my not so mobile radio out (Yaesu FT-840) and within 5 minutes I made contacts to Hungary, Switzerland, Italy and Spain from my driveway in New Jersey. So, needless to say, I think this antenna is a great performer. So when I hear the "it's ok for the money" line, I really don't know what that means because what would a more expensive antenna do that this didn't? By the way, my reports were pretty good too from the stations I made contact with. No complaints from me. For the record, yes I did use a tuner.

[AC4RD]

First, I haven't ever used one of these, but like you, I've seen talk about them.   A lot of people apparently think they're not very efficient, and that there are better choices for mobile HF antennas.  But that doesn't mean you won't have fun with the Opek.  You've already had fun with it, right?  A more efficient antenna might let you work more stations ...  but when conditions are good, you can work the world with darned near anything.   Heck, on my 6-meter J-pole I've made more contacts on 17m QRP CW than I have on 6m.  :-)  That doesn't mean the J-pole is a GOOD 17m antenna ...  just that it works.  Have fun with the Opek and if you're like most of us, pretty soon you'll start thinking of what antenna to try NEXT.     --ken

[M6GOM]

Nothing to add to the above really. They're cheap and will get you on the air. Depending on how serious you decide to go with /M ops then you can start moving on to more efficient and larger antennas.

[N2LWE]

I guess I wanted my cake and eat it too when it comes to being picky with this whole idea of mobile operating. I wanted to do hf in the car but didn't want to go crazy with huge antennas, spending a ton of money on an antenna and limited locations to put it on the car since I have a glass roof etc. I do agree that probably a more expensive antenna will help get stations I may not get with this one, but for me at least at this stage of the game I am having a ball just driving on the road and making contacts around the world "in a car". I feel like a little kid at Christmas, lol. I only paid $69.00 for the antenna so I have nothing to complain about if some stations don't come back to me. Most places sell this antenna for $79.00 but I purchased mine from Cheapham.com. Great man to deal with too. Thanks for the replies.

[AC4RD]

I guess I wanted my cake and eat it too when it comes to being picky with this whole idea of mobile operating. I wanted to do hf in the car but didn't want to go crazy with huge antennas, spending a ton of money ...

We're all in that boat, really.  We all decide how much expense and bother we are willing to go to, for mobile HF.  I used hamsticks for years, then switched to a Hustler system for a bit better performance.  But I'll probably NEVER bother with any sort of screwdriver antenna--too big, too much money, don't want all the bother of running control wires and choking them, etc.  I'm perfectly happy with my current setup--and it allows a bit of fun experimentation, besides.  The screwdriver owners made their own decisions, too, just as we did.  "Having fun" is the goal--I know I'm having fun with it!    73!  -ken