Pleasant surprise

[AC4RD]

I've been working mostly 15meters on the way home from work in the afternoons, in my car.  There hasn't been much happening on 15 in the mornings, though, so this morning before I left for work, I put the 20meter resonator/whip/hat on the mast.   The band sounded like it was just opening, about a half-hour before local daylight (10:30Z).   I could hear the Spanish-language group on 14250 weakly; went to a clear frequency and called CQ a few times.  Got a reply from ZL.  :-)  The ZL was a good 5-7 on the car's old 706, and he said I was about 5-7 there, with some fading.

A half-dozen or more years ago, I often used to work ZL/VK on 15 on my way to work, but I was going to work later in those days.   I'm hoping we get that kind of propagation again!  :-)

http://www.duke.edu/~kuzen001/ac4rdmobile.htm

[K0BG]

I looked at the photos of your mobile, and I have a comment.

You want to be careful with the Hustler coils when you use cap hats with them. The bottom connection where they screw onto the mast isn't very secure. Over-tightening them exacerbates the problem.

[AC4RD]

The bottom connection where they screw onto the mast isn't very secure. Over-tightening them exacerbates the problem.

I'm not surprised to hear that--the resonators don't seem terribly sturdy.   I'm using either star-type or spring-type lockwashers on many of the connections, to keep them snug on the road.  I guess I won't be surprised when some of the resonators fail, from being screwed on and off the mast top.    At times I may stay on just one band for a week, or I may change bands a couple of times in one day, depending on how propagation is.

Luckily, I've got a number of spare Hustler resonators & whips, because they've been reasonably inexpensive and I've been experimenting a lot.  I've also found a few used for cheap at hamfests, since so many people are using screwdrivers now.  :-)  So I've got a good stockpile to play with.

I have played a bit with with bigger coils ( there's one visible in the lawnmower page, http://www.duke.edu/~kuzen001/lawnmower.htm ), and I think some day I'll get back to experimenting with those and try to replace the Hustler resonators with a homebrewed multiband bugcatcher. 

Either way, I sure am having a world of fun from the car, with the high bands coming alive again!  :-)  (And from the lawnmower, too!)  ;-)

[W8JX]

You should try 17m mobile. Lot less competitive and I often here foreign stations calling CQ un-answered. I talked to a guy in Budapest the other day for a bit that way will driving. They seem more willing to chat for a bit.

[K0BG]

Stick with the smaller ones. The large coils have huge metal end caps, and have somewhat lower Qs (especially on 80, and 40), than the small ones do.

If you're using the Hustler mast, the coil is held on by about 5 threads. Adding insult, they're aluminum. Of late, Hustler also redesigned the whip assembly which now uses a set screw instead of the cinch lock they used to use. I suspect the reason is that it is cheaper to make.

[M6GOM]

Stick with the smaller ones. The large coils have huge metal end caps, and have somewhat lower Qs (especially on 80, and 40), than the small ones do.

If you're using the Hustler mast, the coil is held on by about 5 threads. Adding insult, they're aluminum. Of late, Hustler also redesigned the whip assembly which now uses a set screw instead of the cinch lock they used to use. I suspect the reason is that it is cheaper to make.

Talking of which, I was thinking that as I only operate /M on 2 or 3 bands now, possibly changing my Little Tarheel II with 6ft whip for Hustlers. Would there be any benefit? And by the smaller ones, do you mean the 200W versions?