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You can
write your own review of the High Sierra HS-1500 Screwdriver.
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W1KI
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 17, 2003 23:02
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Best HF Mobile Antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I reviewed the HS-1500 for QST a few years ago. I found it to be all that was claimed of it and much much more. Jim Heath is running a first class operation, and he is a terrific guy with whom to do business.
The HS antennas are not the cheapest of the screwdriver antennas on the market. But they are about the best quality you will find anywhere. They perform every bit as well as the manufacturer claims. Oh, and you get something else that isn't as common as it was years ago -- outstanding and personalized customer service, and that is something you can't put a price on! I am now retired from ARRL HQ, but my High Sierra still works great. It has many miles to go before it's time for it to be retired. You won't go wrong with a High Sierra HF mobile antenna.
Thanks, Jim Heath!!!
73,
Wayne, W1KI/4
Ocala, Florida
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K0JW
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 30, 2002 17:28
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Fantastic performer!!!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I moved into a CCR protected subdivision 2 years ago and after much thought, gave the High Sierra antenna a try. I have a raised 16' X 20' deck, so I mounted it to a railing and under the deck mounted wire meshing. I thought it would require lots of trial and error, but it worked beautifully on the first try!! I am a DX'er and haven't been dissapointed. I have worked Macquarie Island,S. Shetlands, India, China, Spratly Is, Greece, Ducie,Pakistan, to name a FEW , and have mainted Honer Roll on DXCC. After two years of operation, the motor went out on it, highly unusual, and Jim Heath had me send it back and replaced it and made some other minor adjustments. The cost? FREE!! Jim stands behind this product! BUY ONE. You won't regret it.
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N1OLO
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 23, 2002 16:51
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One of the Finest Mobile Antennas a Ham Could Want
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I purchased my HS-1500 at Dayton in 2001 and have had nothing but good expiriences with it. Since I commute over 40 miles one way to work I spend a lot of time on the radio. The HS-1500 has performed flawlessly with swr's of 1.5:1 or less on all bands.
Tuning is a snap. I generally don't even need to look at the swr! I just listen for max noise on receive and am generally close.
I have my antenna mounted on a quick release mount made for me by N1YCI.
My wife actually said "I like the way that looks"!
I routinely get comments discounting the possibility that I am actually a mobile station. My best contact to date has been with VK land on 80 meters.
I researched the construction of the various "screw-driver" type antennas on the market and I have found the High Sierra line the best over all. The only addjustment that needed to be made, the matching coil for 40/80 meters, could be made without tools.
While the price you pay may be higher you are paying for a quality item.
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N1GNV
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 2, 2002 06:56
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A-1 Product, A-1 Service
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I've had my High Sierra for almost a year. Truly a great product. Beautifully machined, top-quality construction and great performance. Outstanding support from the company, too.
U-Haul will install a trailer hitch for about $200. Makes mounting/dismounting a snap. The Am-Com automatic tuner makes mobile operation a breeze (and safer, too... no need to sneak peeks at the SWR meter while driving).
Consistently good signal reports... if I can hear 'em I can almost always work 'em.... including VK from the East Coast with 5W SSB!
Highly recommended.
73, John N1GNV
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N8LXR
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Rating: 5/5
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May 22, 2002 15:25
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High Sierra HS 1500 FABULOUS
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Time owned: months
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The High Sierra HS 1500 is a fabulous Mobile HF antenna.
Its installed on my 2001 Toyota Tacoma.
Installation is a bit more involved than lighter HF mobile antennas but once finished, you will be amazed at how well it performs. Its not uncommon to receive signal reports of 599 PLUS
10 or even 20 DBs when you are in a good location.
I think I can speak from experience. I have literally hundreds of hours on this antenna.
How well does it perform? Using the High Sierra
HS 1500 at 100 Watts, I have WAS on 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters, and 46 states logged on 80 meters.
When I get the final four 80 meter QSOs, ARRL
tells me that I would probably be the first HF mobilier to earn the 5 Band WAS since the Award was first offered in 1970. ALL QSOs were made using CW at 100 Watts, none more than 50 miles apart as per WAS Rules, and ALL with the High Sierra HS 1500.
One of the contacts was with a station in Oregon...he was mobile too! Mobile to Mobile,
AND ON 80 METERS, where the antenna is least efficient.
Using the High Sierra HS 1500, I placed 3rd in the PA QSO Party's mobile division, a VERY Competitive State QSO Party, and it was my first time in a mobile contest. I also placed FIRST in the First Time Entrant Divsion. Over a
trip of 600 miles, with bumps, heavy rain, rattles and shakes, and many band changes, the HS 1500 performed flawlessly.
Even when doing weak signal work in a good location, I can work stations that are barely copyable. During the ARRL Ten Meter
Contest, I worked several close in states needed for 5 Band WAS, when the received signal had that ringing quality, ya know, backscatter or whatever.
This year, I'll be in the ARRL FD, again in the mobile class and using the HS 1500 while parked in a boat launch area on the Delaware River, with wide open take offs to the Westerly directions. I hope to be able to hold a frequency.....and I think the HS 1500 will make that happen.
In short, you cannot beat this antenna for performance, operating convenience, and price.
I am its biggest fan!
73
Tim
N8LXR/M
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K4MZW
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 29, 2002 23:45
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Terrific Performer
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I researched all the popular "screwdriver" type antennas and found something I didn't like about all of them, until I looked at the HS1500 from High Sierra (www.cq73.com). This unit is top notch from all aspects. The paint is superb, the design bullet-proof, and the mounting options are excellent. I was able to completely install this antenna in less than 3 hours on my 2000 Chevy Silverado P/U. To date I have worked all bands and made contacts all around the globe. Even heard 4L4FH/P5 this past week but he went QRT before I could give him a call on 20 meters. Worked 4X6MM this morning on the first call. This antenna will give you a 1.3:1 or less on all bands 80-10 Meters with a little work and it will give flawless performance on the road. I especially like the receiver hitch mounting option with tilt feature. No other company offers this type of mount. If you are considering HF mobile for the first time or just ready for an option in the antenna department give this antenna a try, you will not be disapointed!
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TEASHEA
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 26, 2001 19:50
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Wonderful
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I am using my 1500 as a base station antenna for my Yaesu Mark V and Yaesu 847. Because of covenants, I have to have my antennas in my attic. The 1500 is excellent. I installed 16 radials. I tune it using an MFJ 259B antenna analyzer, which is constantly available via an Alpha Delta console antenna switch. This is by far the best way to tune this antenna. Because of a narrow bandwidth (as with all such antennas), the extention of the antenna coil is critical. This can best be accomplished by using such a setup. Even visually marking the coil or using the SAM unit is not accurate enough.
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VE3HI
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 25, 2001 23:32
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B-E-S-T MOBILE ANTENNA I HAVE EVER USED. PERIOD.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Installed onto a trailer hitch three weeks ago. Worked All Continents in the first few hours. Worked at least 50+ countries while on vacation from Ohio to Florida to Washington DC and back home to Ontario. I have used other mobile antennas and had purchased and planned to try the ICOM AH-4 autotuner with a plain whip.... but what's the point? I simply cannot believe the performance of this antenna. The most common comment was effectively "cannot believe you are running mobile with that signal". Broke pileups during the WPX contest while zipping along the Interstates with the XYL logging for me! The ICOM IC-706MKIIG with the High Sierra HS-1500 is in my humble opinion the ultimate mobile setup. Be sure to get the little gizmo that plugs into the back of your IC-706 and turns the transmitter on for about 20 seconds so that you can tune up easily. I was so impressed that I picked up the phone and called High Sierra Antennas in California, long distance, shortly after installing the antenna...... Install this antenna and your rig properly.... taking the time to ground as much as possible.... and I promise that you will be delighted as I was.... I honestly felt like I was operating from my home. Unbelievable.
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KF0XQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 3, 2001 09:59
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A FINE PRODUCT
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I purchased High Sierra's Sierra Gold Package for installation on the rear bumper of my '94 Ranger. The only items I had to supply were a power cable to the control box and a mount of some kind. I had a heavy duty bumper mount fabricated at a local machine shop to support HS's Universal mounting bracket and the antenna. Installation from this point is easy if you follow the instructions.
The antenna has performed flawlessly since installation. I am using it with my IC 706 Mark IIG with a 706 Tune Control by Better RF Co. Just push the tune button and watch for minimum reflected power on the radio's SWR meter, and you're good to go. In most cases, if you can hear 'em, you can work 'em. SWR is flat from 10M down to around 3900, then the curve begins to rise to about 1.7 on 3500. 6M is flat, but you have to remove the whip.
Removal of the whip is simple because it has a quick disconnect, and removal of the entire antenna takes less than 2 minutes.
I can't reccommend a finer product for mobile HF.
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N1KFC
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 30, 2000 19:41
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Impressive antenna and support
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After looking at many options for mobile hf antennas, I settled on the High Sierra (www.hsantennas.com) HS-1500 which covers 3.5-30 MHz continuously as well as 6m. UPS delivered a crushed box and a damaged antenna but the folks at HS sent another one out the same day that I called them, despite having to leave for a hamfest.
This antenna provides impressive performance, is easy to tune with the supplied control box and matched well to my IC-706mkiig. I use the fold down receiver hitch mount on my jeep grand cherokee. It provides sturdy support and was simple to install (without drilling holes) but allows me to easily open the back of the jeep or remove the antenna, or both the antenna and mount with ease. Several other mounting options are available as well.
I also ordered the tripod with attached foldup ground screen for the HS. With the high sierra and tripod in the backyard (setup took literally 2 minutes) and the 706 on the back porch July 4th weekend, I logged 19 countries and many domestic contacts and received mostly 59 reports. Site/space restricted, field day, and emergency ops hams might be well served to look at this setup.
The antenna is solidly built to handle 800w (from specs) yet lightweight. The custom mounting scheme facilitates removing the antenna from vehicle or tripod in seconds. The quality of the antenna design and construction is surpassed only by the quality of the customer service.
IMHO, for performance, size, flexibilty, ease of use, coverage, price, and customer support, the high sierra is the best on the market. Do I like the antenna? Well enough that I just ordered a second one.
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