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write your own review of the Hi-Q-Antennas-5 (dash 5).
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KC2G
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 21, 2006 11:42
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Can't Touch This
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've used a 5/80RT for more than two years now and enjoyed it thoroughly. Before that I used a spider-type dummy load (actually, for what it was it wasn't horrible) and of course the difference is night and day.
Charlie's products are great. I continually surprise people if I don't sign /m when they find I'm in motion.
Keep it clean, do what you're supposed to do and enjoy! It just keeps getting better.
Art
Oh...and go to www.kg4nbl.com for some great information, pictures, and encouragement in your mobile quest.
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K6RQR
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 10, 2006 23:09
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Superb mobile antenna
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have used two of Charlie's antennas before the 5/160RT. The last one was the 3" Short model which worked great. When I finally decided that it would be necessary to drill a hole or two in my car to create a proper mount I decided to buy the 5" model with 160 meter capability. I really enjoy operating Top Band mobile.
The antenna arrived well packed in the usual heavy duty shipping tube and I had it hooked up to my existing homebrew mag mount (16" square) in short order. I concentrated on the lower bands and found that the antenna tunes very smoothly making the lowest SWR adjustment easy indeed. I checked in with a group in Utah on 160 and received an S9 report. Next came contacts on 40 and 75 to the other parts of the U.S. and some DX into Europe on 20 meters. It is very pleasing to hear that "you have a really good signal for a mobile".
As to the build quality it is very impressive. The coil is sealed and with minimal care and cleaning I expect this antenna to last a long, long time. Also, I have already seen how Charlie stands beind his antennas. Its true that these antennas cost more than other models but they are in a class by themselves. Highly recommended!
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K0BG
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 16, 2006 06:57
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The Best!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The HiQ series of antennas are ruggedly built, perform as advertised, and of a unique design. Unlike other brands of remotely tuned antennas (aka screwdrivers), the HiQ is sealed from the ravages of the environment, and it doesn't change length as the frequency is adjusted. Are there drawbacks? Yes.
First, they cost more. But weighed against their superior features, the extra cost is easily justified.
You have to keep the unit clean. This isn't a problem if you follow the HiQ's suggestion about using Rain-X.
Operationally, the only problem is inherent in the basic design. When the coil is positioned at it highest frequency, there is still some active coil left in the circuit. If you use an 8 foot whip as I do (to maximize performance), you can just use 17 meters. To use 15, 12, or 10 meters, you either have to install a shorter whip, or tune to a harmonic which isn't easy.
Lastly, they are heavy and proper mounting is a necessity.
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KT0DD
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 1, 2006 18:26
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Fantastic...
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Just got my HiQ 5/80 up and running with a TS480HX 200 watt mobile. I'm getting compliments left & right with this combo. Busting pileups mobile & hearing "you're Mobile?" has me sold. Thanks Charlie & good job. 73, Todd - KT0DD
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W4TOO
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 21, 2005 10:41
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The best HF Moble antenna I've seen.
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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HiHi w4too Ray.This is the best moble antenna I have ever purchased,outstanding reports from all over the world.easy to use,and install.Charlie was very helpful and supports his product in anyway he can.I am a disabled Iraq war vetran,and without my knowing Charlie even gave me a discount and paid the shipping to my door.just for my service in Iraq.(This was not a handout,he is a proud American and supports the troops anyway he can.)Thanks Charlie and HI-Q antennas.for making my life easier and enjoy the hobby of Ham Radio.
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KG4NBL
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 24, 2005 17:39
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THE BEST EVER
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Why do I use Hi-Q-HF mobile antennas by: KG4NBL,
“THEY RADIATE and Not DISSIPATE the RF!”
The series of Hi-Q Antennas I own starts with the Hi-Q-2.5/40 RT tru the Hi-Q-5/160!
The -2.5 I had for 3 years, four ea. -4/80 and 3 ea. -5/160 since then.
The Hi-Q-2.5/40 mostly I use on: 40M/20M/17M/10M with a 37” whip with corona ball.
Also get on 6M by tuning down to find the MULTIPLE Wave length of 6M.
These are the BEST HF Mobile antennas I EVER used!
These antenna are traveling with me in my TRUCK (18 Wheeler) my boat and in my Suburban.
SOME OF THESE ANTENNAS ARE OVER 3 YEARS OLD AND WORKING FINE, HOWEVER ONE MUST KEEP THE COIL CLEAN ESPECIALLY IN THE WINTER, WHEN THE ROAD CRUD COLLECTS THAT IS CONDUCTIVE, AS LOW AS 350 OHMS! When clean the LEXAN coil housing is 20 Meg Ohms, measured EXTERNALLY.
These antennas have been in Alaska in February an off shore of the Florida Keys in June.
I have learned a lot from my -4/80 that I have owned for 4 years: Keep it clean!
The accumulation of salt and winter road grime can create a PATH for an RF ARC when one runs a kW or more.
Remember: at 500 watts there is very high voltage at the base of the whip to the top of the contactor location: 12,700 volts!!!
All of my Hi-Q is RT’s that is remotely tunable with 12 VDC.
With a CAPACITY switch box and aTW-1 talking watt meter it is easy to tune to a VSWR of 1:1, doing this without looking!
The -4 works with the same whip/Caphat set us as the -2.5 coil.
And now the newest addition to my Hi-Q Collections is the Hi-Q-5/160, these are 10-160 mobile antennas. I have 3 of these beauties!
You might ask why so many: I set them up as PHASED Verticals for greater radiation Efficiency.
I work 40-160 with these antennas since the COIL DIAMATER to LENGTH ration is the closest in this design.
6 M to 20 the smaller -2.5 does very well for the same reason.
With these antennas I have worked out 50 STATES from 49 STATES!!!
All on the 3905 Century Club and on 1893 from my truck and some portable operation.
See my website: www.kg4nbl.com
I will be in Hawaii in January 2006 using my ROTATABLE Phased Verticals!!
For common sense mobile installation one has to have good Ohmic and RF counterpoise so that a vertical antenna to perform well.
The use of Capacity hat a long whip for 80/160 operation pays great dividend, in portable set up one can use a very long wire to come to close to a tru ¼ wl mobile antenna. With 60 foot wire added to the top of the coil, you only use a few turns of the loading coil and those allow you to TUNE the WHOLE band on80/160 M.
My thanks for Hi-Q-Antennas for a perfect HF mobile antenna, using a Hi-Q loading coil.
Gene, KG4NBL
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K6RQR
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 21, 2005 09:43
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Superb antenna
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Until recently I was using a 80-10 4" Bugcatcher antenna on my small car, a Geo Metro. However, because it was too tall for driving (2 foot base section and 10 1/2 foot whip, on the roof with a mag mount) I contented myself with operating while parked. Lately I wondered if there was a way to operate while driving and I decided on Charlie's Short Stealth design with the 3" coil. I figured that I could still augment it with a longer base section and extended whip while parked but that I could mount it on the roof (minimum ground loss) and still use a 6 foot whip for legal clearance. The antenna arrived in a heavy duty tube and was well packed. It is a beautiful piece of work. Charlie used to work in the aerospace industry and it shows. I wired my car up with a source of power for the motor and tried out my new antenna on 75, 60 and 40 meters. The results were excellent. The antenna tunes smoothly using the SWR meter of my Kenwood TS-480HX and 5 watts activated by the PF button set for tune. I received many good signal reports and had the pleasure of people calling me from across the country when I signed off with another station. The only thing that remains is to find an appropriate mount such as the Diamond K400 to attach it to the hatchback door. I have tried to make this rig as stealthy as possible as I had a previous rig stolen from my locked car in broad daylight. The Hi-Q Short Stealth stores very well behind my passenger seat under a towel. It is only about 30" long but its performance is great. What a pleasure it is to be able to go from band to band without having to change taps. There have been several recent improvements to Charlie's antennas at no increase in cost. In fact, this antenna would be an excellent substitute for the ATAS series of antennas, not only because it is so much more efficient but because it costs less! Lastly, I called Charlie to ask some questions about matching particulars, antenna controllers, etc. and found him very friendly and helpful. I got the inporession of a man who is proud of his antennas and will stand by them. Highly recommended!
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PA3GWH
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 21, 2005 07:03
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Wow
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Going HF mobile was one of the aspects of ham radio I still wanted to persue. At first I got myself a Yaesu FT-857 and a diamond HV7CX antenna and this combo never performed well for me. I worked some DX, but mainly when I was on holiday, high up in the mountains of Italy. So I decided I needed a different antenna. A screwdriver type. So I looked at all of them: Tarheel, High Sierra, GS, Screwdriver.com, HiQ and many more. I made a line up at http://pa3gwh.cjb.net/antenna.htm. I eventually decided to go for either the GS4 or the HiQ 5/80, mainly because of the non moving coil design these antennas offer. Then I found out that Dick PA3DUV was importing them and I was able to pick one up at his QTH. After several e-mails to Dick and another satisfied 5/80 owner Marc PA3FVB, it was time for action. I met dick in Rotterdam where he explained me about the 5/80, the GQD and WQD, the Caphat and the SDC-100 which he had lying around unused (lucky me!). Because my bracket was not quite finished at that time, I could not immediately use the antenna, but I did take it home with me, finished the bracket that week, connected the coil, coax and SDC-100 and e-mailed Marc PA3FVB to ask him if he could help me out with tuning, because I had perfect SWR on 80, 40 was ok'ish but could not tune anything above that any lower than 1:2.0. Marc agreed to meet me in Roosendaal and told me he had some ideas, mainly about grounding. So we met last weekend and Marc did his magic (playing with the coil a little, running the control cables through a ferrite snap-on core) and bang! almost perfect SWR on all bands from 12-80 and even on 10 without the caphat! We haven come around grounding yet, but I'll get to that next spring.
Driving home from Roosendaal to Voorburg, I worked UT/AJ3M on 20m with 5/9 telling me I was sure putting out a signal :-) later on I worked M0CLH on 40m while I was parked between the houses in my street, also 5/9. Later that evening, IK6CWQ and SM6DOI on 40 and Dick G3PXM on 80 who kept telling me how well my setup worked ;-) All with 100 watts and all gave me 59 on the FIRST call!!!
All this time the only thing I could think of was WOW, this thing WORKS...WOW...
Be prepared however to be looked at and then some more while driving around with it HI. But hey, we are hams, we are used to that...right?
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KC8RGV
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 1, 2005 17:08
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5/80 best antenna out there
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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kc8rgv,i have had the 5/80 for 3-mouths now and work 30 states and over 24 countrys all on 100 watts.what can i say thanks charley.best money i every spent.best antenna you can bye.kc8rgv
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KG4NBL
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 26, 2005 15:34
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worked 49 states mobile
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have ownwed HI-Q Antennas for about 4 years which include a (2in) coil a (3in) coil (4) (4in) coils that i use on my boat 42foot HAT 1 on my suburban and 2 for my my big truck The reason for the 2 is phased verticals and i know you know what those are.I HAVE NOT HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH ANY OF THE ANTENNAS (including the first one that is 4 years old) THEY ARE GREAT AND WILL TAKE A KILOWATT i HAVE OPERATED IN ALL CONDITIONS RAIN, SNOW AND THE ACID AIR OF CA a little wax goes a long way
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