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| Reviews Summary for High Sierra HS-1800/Pro |
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Reviews: 74
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Average rating: 4.7/5
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MSRP: $300-$500
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Description: For General Mobile use. Light weight, high performance and covers entire HF spectrum. Uses new custom Black Hawk motor. Available with semi-automatic control box.
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Product is in production.
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More info: http://www.cq73.com
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write your own review of the High Sierra HS-1800/Pro.
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W8LM
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Rating: 1/5
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Sep 21, 2011 21:25
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High Sierra VS HI-Q
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Now After 6+ years of mobile operation and over 100,000 miles driving here's my story. My Hi-Sierra 1800 fell apart in 6 months. I found they had a brass strip mounted to an aluminum tube with stainless steel 4-40 screws and it immediately oxidized and failed. Hi-Sierra told me I needed the 1 year maintenance kit and $$$ repairs. I told them the antenna was only 6 months old... "Oh" they replied. When it came back from "warranty repair" I sold it at a hamfest and bought a Hi-Q 3/80- then a Hi-Q 4/80 this month.
Bottom line----
Hi-Sierra 6 months- Hi-Q 6 years and still going.
Why isn't the 1800 listed at High Sierra's web site now? only parts are....
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KG4FJH
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 5, 2011 07:05
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Great Performer!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I got my HS-1800PRO second hand and have now been using it on my pickup truck for several months. The performance is GREAT! My advice for people looking for a screwdriver - follow the installation instructions very, very carefully. Pay particular attention to grounding/bonding - that's what makes the difference between a mobile antenna that performs and one that doesn't. Also, before you install any screwdriver antenna, look Alan Applegate's website, K0BG.com. Read every word on the website, then read it again. This is by far the best source of information on mobile installations I've ever seen. My experience with ordering parts from High Sierra, and with response to email questions has also been excellent. The build quality of this antenna is very solid. I look forward to using this antenna mobile for many years to come.
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VE9AA
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 24, 2010 17:26
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It's a pileup buster
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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No antenna is perfect. If I could give it a 4.75 I probably would, but it doesn't have any major faults at all.
I CONSISTENTLY break small CW pileups on 20m and 40m with this. I usually run the added 2' base, the cap hat and the longer whip. No trouble to work the entire east 1/2 of the USA and Carib on 80m CW...phone is a little tougher. The high bands are a breeze.
Just tonight inside 15 mins,on 40m CW runinng just 50w from my FT-857D while parked waiting for my son, I worked D44AC, VP2V, HA, PJ5 & 7X4AN. . . I called TA7/Kw8M, but he was only 519-529 and likely running some power.
Some small niggling issues are that it came to me (used) and packed with various tapes stuck to it...all when removed peeled the paint/powder coat off very easily.
RF into the motor is rampant (yes, I have installed many many chokes and finally have it to an acceptable level.
The thing is a beast (heavy/unweildy) so mounting it securely is a bit of an issue.
I'll give it a 5, but, again, "4.75" would be more like it.
Wish it tuned 160m...my 2nd favorite band after 6m....if anyone has used theirs on 6m or 160m pse email me and tell me how.
Tnx-Mike VE9AA at RAC -dot- CA
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K7GD
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 28, 2010 23:09
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Great Antenna
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I spent a year researching and planning my mobile install. There are numerous reviews and forums that have strong opinions about three major mobile antenna manufacturers. It was a difficult decision process trying to decipher opinions from fact--very confusing at times. I finally selected the High Sierra 1800 Pro from my short list that included Hi-Q and Tarheel. My radio, by the way, is a Yaesu 857D.
I don't do reviews for products, but felt strongly the High Sierra 1800 Pro works so well that I would make an exception. I will also be doing a review for the 857D.
The antenna and its components arrived well packaged and with all antenna items present. The antenna and its part are made of high quality materials.
Take time to plan your install, cut no corners and follow, exactly, the 1800 Pro instructions and current radio industry standards. I have a newer Toyota Tacoma with a composite bed so it made my install a little more challenging. (There is a photo of my truck and antenna on QRZ) The antenna is mounted to a small section of the metal body on the left rear of my truck bed. Routing wires and coax was actually easier than I thought it would be.
The antenna works well when contacting other stations during appropriate band conditions and like power (100 watts). My best reports have often been 59. SWR is below 2:1. It is enjoyable to hear another station compliment my equipment because of a surprisingly clear and strong signal.
Part of the fun of mobile is to work HF under conditions less desirable than a home install with a traditional antenna. The 1800 Pro gives you the best chance, coupled with a selection of a good radio and your technical radio knowledge, to do your best while working mobile HF.
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N5EAT
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 19, 2010 20:46
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High Quality Work
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I live in a 'restricted' neighborhood and wanted a screwdriver antenna to use as my base antenna. I purchased a package from High Sierra which included the HS-1800, mounting bracket and hardware, and radial wires. I mounted the antenna on a wooden fence post in one corner of the back yard.
I've so far been highly pleased with the performance of the antenna. It hears very well, and based upon the several contacts I've made, it transmits quite well. I've been able to achieve nearly 1:1 SWR on all bands 10-80. No TVI, phone, nor other interference I can find - so my neighbors should not notice when I'm transmitting (hopefully).
The antenna is very well crafted and the mounting bracket design is very nicely done and extremely solid. Shipping was very fast.
I believe when the sunspot cycle gets going I'll be very pleased with my setup.
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VK2KC
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 15, 2009 01:03
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Magic Mobile Signal
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I installed a HS1800, IC706MIIG, a N2VZ turbo-tuner and for a mike I used a Heil Travellor Headset in the family sedan.
I have just completed a 10,000km trip from one side of Australia to the other and back, and in short I am very impressed and surprised at the performance of the HS1800.
I installed it into my very late model GM sedan, and whilst mounting it took a lot of work and thought, I ended up with a very tidy installation. I took the manufacturers advice and used 1 1/8" copper strap for the earth, ran this from the rear mounted battery to a common point inside of the boot (trunk!). The dilemma I then had was that because of the use of plastics etc, I had to run a 1.5 metre earth from the antenna mount to the common earth point. But for this I used 1/2" crimp terminals and used 8 lengths of tinned stranded copper wire which just fitted in the terminal, I then heat shrunk the entire length of it.
When installed the only problem encountered was that the motor ran in reverse, despite me wiring it up correctly, a simple fix via a DIP switch in the Turbo Tuner fixed that.
Had some problems with RF getting into the vehicles computer but toroids each end of the coax and on the control cables to the front of the car fixed that problem.
Signal reports were outstanding, one operator even questioned whether I was mobile because of the very strong signal.
Overall it is a beauty!
Thank you High Sierra!
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K3GM
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 11, 2009 11:10
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Really like mine; Easy on and off
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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A well made antenna with a nice mounting setup. The antanna body has a cone shaped hole in its base that sits onto a like shaped stud on the mounting bracket. I travel a lot, and use a second mounting bracket bolted to a homebrew flat base for portable use. When I get where I'm going, I remove the antenna from the mobile bracket, and drop it onto the portable bracket, stretch out some radials, and I'm on the air. The removal and installation process take seconds to switch out
Pretty good customer service. They've answered any questions I had promptly. I did have one problem with a particular part that I wanted rectified. I spoke to the owner, and despite my phone call, and email with pictures, I could not get him to budge for a replacement. It's also an expensive component on the antenna. I decided to work around the defect, modified it with simple machining, used it as is. Not a big deal and not enough to detract from my rating. Parts and accessories are expensive, and so are the shipping charges! I feel I'm being soaked on simple parts that can be shipped USPS. None the less, I highly recommend a quick release for the whip section for fast stowage. I'd also get a control box made for your transceiver. Again, I feel this is a highly overpriced part, but the convenience in using it is undeniable.
The antenna and all of its components are stellar in their performance. Its operation is dependable and can I literally work the world with it.
Mobile operation is generally problematic, and poor performance is very easy to accomplish. If you follow the High Sierra instruction manual, and pay attention to the bonding (grounding) recommendations, this antenna as well as other screwdriver antennas will give good performance from your vehicle.
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W9WO
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Rating: 0/5
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Jun 10, 2009 15:28
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Total Disapointment
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought a new HS-1800 Pro at Dayton 2007 after spending at least a half an hour talking with Jim about his antenna. He told me that it was by far the best antenna in it's class. I told him that I was down to two choices. His 1800 pro and a Tarheel 100 HP. Once again he assured me that his is by far a better built and performing antenna and that the Tarheel line was a cheap copy of the High Sierra. Well he convinced me. I bought it, boy did I buy it. After a couple of weeks I installed it on my S-10. It would tune to a 1.5 to 1 or better on all bands except 75/80 meters where best swr achieved was 2.2 to 1. I called High Sierra and spoke with Jim which he immediately told me that all technical assistance would be handled by email at his convenience and that he didn't have time to spend on the phone, no kidding. He was as nice as he could be when he was presenting his sales speech to me. Ok so it's off to the computer to contact their customer support. There I was emailing back and forth for three days answering questions before I got the first real suggestion as to what might be wrong and of course it was always my installation and couldn't possibly be his antenna. I was always very nice in my emails to him but in every response he was always smart with me, questioning my intelligence, my ability to properly install his antenna or something. I always did as he suggested but as expected nothing ever helped. Finally after what I bet to be 40 hours at the keyboard and taking the antenna off the truck, re installing it, doing more checks of various things for him, emailing the results, waiting for his reply, making new shunt coils with various number of turns as suggested, grounding/strapping every panel on the truck and still no change. Finally he issued me a return authorization so I could return it for inspection. Guess what, he could find nothing wrong with it and now more than ever insisted that it was my installation beyond a doubt in his mind. He said that he replaced everything inside of the antenna although nothing was wrong with it. When I got it back I got the exact same swr readings as before. I emailed again with the new information, same as the old and asked would he be willing to replace the antenna with another one and the answer was NO!!! That it was a new antenna inside of the original framework. Well so much for my being nice. A 2.2 swr is not all that substantial except that I bought it with the intention of using an Ameritron ALS-500 amp and mostly on 75 meters. Jim knew this from our lengthy conversation at Dayton. The amp has swr protection and at 2.0 it will kick the amp off as it is designed to do. So my main intentions are no longer possible. His response was that everybody knows that Ameritron products are junk. I ended up buying a LDG AT-100Pro autotuner to use on 75 meters where it did ok but I could only use the radio and 100 watts. I ran this setup for a couple of months and got discouraged and took it off and laid it on the bench for the next year before selling it for half price. Remember the Taeheel model 100-HP that I was considering in the first place. You know the one that was nothing but a cheap copy of the High Sierra. I bought one, installed it exactly as the 1800 Pro, same truck, same location, same mount/ stand off that I had made for the High Sierra. Now with the Tarheel 100HP I can obtain a flat swr on every band. Not a 1.5 or better but perfectly flat and performs works like a dream. Handles the amp just fine. No high swr shut down. It works flawlessly. I couldn't be happier with my mobile station since installing a Tarheel antenna. In fact I bought another one for my F-150 and it to performs great. A friend of mine bought one after seeing how well mine performs and put it on his S-10 and is completely satisfied. In all I have influenced the purchase of five Tarheel antennas to friends of mine. I would not recomend a High Sierra to an enemy of mine. Hope this helps others from making the same, timely, costly error that I did.
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VE6AGE
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Rating: 5/5
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May 4, 2009 19:04
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Superb Antenna
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Got it installed on my Ford Ranger. Works great and I would not hesitate to recommend this antenna to anyone who's going to operate mobile.
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W3LK
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 27, 2008 07:12
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Still going strong
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My 1800Pro is now seven years old and still giving excellent performance. To the poster who couldn't get it to work, virtually ALL of situations like that are the result of an improper installation - generally from the ham being too lazy to read the instructions and do it right.
As for customer support, I have known Jim Heath for several years and have talked to him in person, on the phone and via email on many, many occasions and have never found him condescending.
An outstanding product and an outstanding company to do business with.
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