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Reviews For: Alpha MOTO 6-40 meter Mobile HF Antenna

Category: Antennas: HF Mobile & Accessories

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Review Summary For : Alpha MOTO 6-40 meter Mobile HF Antenna
Reviews: 39MSRP: 199
Description:
Simply put, the Alpha MOTO 6-40 meter Mobile HF Antenna puts you on the air making contacts for an economical price, which requires:
  • No extra whips
  • No adjustments required for band changes
  • No moving parts
  • No power required
  • No control interface boxes

    To complete your installation, just attach your antenna tuner to the Alpha Match to enable mobile operations.

  • Product is in production
    More Info: http://AlphaAntenna.com
    # last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
    15394.9
    N8PAP Rating: 2013-08-11
    Love it Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    I bought my Alpha Antenna off of Steve a couple weeks ago. I am an off road enthusiast and the height of my vehicle made running a screwdriver rough because of overhead obstacles. The fixed height and lack of moving parts made the Alpha Moto Sr a no brainer for my application. I plan on ordering two more for my other vehicles and possibly a third for my motorcycle. Another plus is that by adding a wire to the spring on the top of the Alpha Match makes it a top performer for a campsite. I have a light weight G5RV that we have been using previously for our camp outings. It is a pain to set up compared to the Alpha. The other day I experimented around and by using a 59' piece of wire from the spring on the Alpha Match run as a sloper to a fiberglass push up pole at 35'. It outperformed my G5RV in an inverted V configuration by about 3 s-units. The single wire and push up pole can be put up and taken down in a matter of minutes. Even without the wire, using it mobile, it compares to my high Sierra screwdriver. I have gladly traded my screwdriver control for an auto tuner for one touch tuning while mobile. Steve is very much behind his product as well and offers great customer service. He has made a loyal customer out of me.
    N7VPI Rating: 2013-07-25
    Antenna and support top notch!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    I purchased one of these and when I installed it I couldn't get out or even hear well. I contacted Steve and he had me test the antenna and we found out it was not working properly. Steve told me that he would ship one out with a return shipping label. I received my antenna today and the first contact was Indiana. Then I tried another band and I got Nancy on The YL Net with a good signal report also a station in Pennsylvania said I had a really good signal, I thanked them and tuned somewhere else and made a contact in Florida. Am I impressed? You betcha. Steve came through with flying colors and really cares about customer satisfaction, something rare these days and the Alpha Moto SR is one of the best antennas that I have ever owned, I have owned Hamsticks, whips, Tarheel screwdriver antennas... If you are considering one of these as a mobile antenna-YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY!!!
    Steve has hit a HOME RUN with this antenna!!!
    THANK YOU STEVE!!!!!!!!!!
    KD8RAP Rating: 2013-05-23
    Good Performance, Great Price, and Very Durable! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    I am very pleased with the Alpha Moto Antenna I purchased from amateurradiostore.com

    The Alpha Moto's lack of moving parts (like those of a screwdriver antenna) was a major deciding factor for me in choosing this antenna. I use the antenna in two vehicles, one of which is a Jeep that I regularly take offroading. The antenna has no moving parts that could be damaged by dirt, gravel dust, or being covered in mud... which cannot be said of screwdriver antennas. Some of the offroading trails I travel with my Jeep are ATV trails, which are very narrow and have lots of low branches, and these trails could not phase the Alpha Moto Antenna. The antenna can be bent at a 90 degree angle to the base without any damage to the antenna system. These factors make this antenna an impressive choice for anyone wishing to use a mobile HF antenna during offroading or outdoor adventures.

    I only run between 5 and 20 watts PEP on HF when I am mobile, and have had success with the antenna at these low power levels. I have used multiple radios mobile with the antenna, which include a TenTec 556 Argo paired with an Elecraft T1 tuner at 5-10 watts PEP, and a Yaesu FT-7 with an LDG Z100Plus tuner at 10-20 watts PEP. The antenna has a trans-match in the base with many taps (72 if I remember correctly) which allow it to be used on all the ham bands from 6 to 80 meters. I have not used it on 6 meters yet, although I plan to soon. The radios and auto-tuners I have used have easily tuned the antenna on 10,15,20, and 40 meters. I usually operate mobile on 20 and 40 meters, and have been able to make contacts at QRP levels on these bands with the antenna.

    I used the recommended "Alpha Jam Mount" to mount the antenna to both my Ford Escape and Jeep Cherokee. Attaching the mount to a vehicle is simple and just takes four screws, so I can switch it between vehicles in just a few minutes. Adjustment of the mount is also simple, and it takes under a minute to adjust the angle of the antenna when switching the antenna between vehicles. The mount is very strong, and has survived multiple offroading ventures on my Jeep.

    Last but not least, the price of the antenna is very favorable. When compared to other HF antennas, especially screwdrivers, the Alpha Moto Sr antenna is considerably friendly to the pocketbook. The price, combined with the strength and performance of the antenna system, make it a great choice for an HF mobile installation.
    WD0DMO Rating: 2013-05-10
    Great Antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
    If you have a tuner in your mobile this antenna really performs. I would put it up against any of the screwdriver antennas out there mine has outperformed many of them. You will need a good ground and a good tuner follow the instructions a you will have a mobile station that has the potential for busting pile ups. Customer service is some of the best I have ever experienced and will buy from them again if the need arises. I don't think I'll need another one of these very soon as it has been very durable.

    It has been a great investment for me and has changed my mobile operating habits. Defiantly look at this antenna and if you buy it I think you will like it.
    N0JY Rating: 2013-03-16
    Very Happy! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    I installed my Alpha MOTO in late February, 2013. It has been in use for about 3 weeks at the time of this review but most of the on the air activity has been in the last 10 days.

    Ordering and the customer service was excellent. Steven kept me updated on the progress as the antenna was built, and updated me as he posted YouTube videos of SWR measurements and mounting the antenna on the Alpha Jam Mount. The antenna was ordered on February 6 and I received it in less than two weeks.

    I found that the Jam Mount would not work the way I had envisioned on my Buick Rendezvous; the mount prefers a more vertical alignment of the back hatch so with the slope of my vehicle I couldn't come up with a configuration that would let the antenna be vertical. I wound up placing the mount on the roof of the vehicle, screwed into the rails where the roof cargo rack mounts. That provides an excellent connection to the chassis "ground".

    On the air, my only mobile experience has been during my commute to/from work in North Texas, driving between Granbury and Fort Worth. So I get about 30 minutes each way of air time, minus the necessary driving interruptions for traffic.

    I understand that just about any mobile antenna is a compromise, obviously I will not get the same performance as my SteppIR BigIR with 48 radials each 70 feet long. So I did not expect to be chasing DX. But I am extremely happy to have not only worked domestic (U.S.) SSB with 100 watts from coast to coast and border to border, but also Cuba x2, St. Croix, Venezuela, Ecuador, Lithuania x2, and even "busting through the pileup" according to his words, C6AMM in Bahamas. Most of this has taken place as I got used to eyes off (the radio) mobile operating (it takes a lot of care you know, you are foolish and hazardous if you don't put 99% of your attention to your driving!) during the last work week with one or two QSOs a day. For a multi-band mobile antenna, I would say that you can't ask for more!

    Some of my considerations in choosing this vs. a hamstick type or screwdriver type antenna included the fact that the Rendezvous isn't friendly for mounting antennas, they either need to go high up on the hatch back with an adjustable mount or on the roof, and that means the antenna needs to be able to give way for entering and exiting both the home garage and parking garages. So a screwdriver on top is out unless I used a rather expensive motorized mount to raise and lower it, and a hamstick would have to be removed and replaced each entry/exit cycle. The MOTO lets me pull the whip down to a catch I installed just above the driver's window, and that clears the garages just fine. In addition, I favor the quicker band switching that is simply a press of the tune button on the LDG YT-100 tuner, rather than tweaking a remote motor or changing sticks. The MOTO also lets me undo one nut to remove the antenna and take the car through the car wash.

    I also plan to use this antenna our boat. Again, just removing one nut will let me take it to the boat and screw it on the mirror style standard thread antenna mount on the boat. I am looking forward to what I can do while relaxing on Lake Granbury this year and I plan to write an update about that later this year.
    WA7JFO Rating: 2013-02-21
    Making mobile fun! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
    I spent alot more than 200 bucks on my mobile radio and all I wanted to make sure that I got a mobile antenna that would let me make good use of the investment I made in my Yaesu FT-897D radio. I knew I didn't want to carry a bunch of hamsticks or have to run some motor up and down an some screwdriver cause of all the grit, dust, salt, and bug guts that'd gunk it up. That limited my choices, so I got a the Alpha MOTO cause I had a QSO with another ham who was using one, and they were loud and clear for the 20 minutes or so we talked. So I put it on my car about 4 months ago, and it's performed really well. I can tune every one of the bands and have had QSO's on each of the bands as well. I'm really glad the manufacturer recommended the Alpha Jam Mount, it made mounting the antenna easy!
    KF5MQ Rating: 2013-01-31
    Finally found one Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
    Simple to install & easy to use, plus it works as well as any of the other three mobile antennas I've previously used. No wonder it took a long time for me to find an Alpha MOTO that someone was actually willing to sell. Last fall I was at a hamfest, and after much searching I found a ham who was leaving HF mobile and I quickly bought it from him.

    This mobile antenna has a transmatch at the base of the main element, which the manufacturer calls the Alpha Match. To install the antenna I just screwed the universal 24x3/8 thread (at the base of the Alpha Match) onto an Alpha Jam mount from the www.AmateurRadioStore.com. After I attached my coax, one touch of my automatic tuner, and I was enjoying QSO's.

    I recently parked right beside my base antenna, an Alpha DX-CC (different company) 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter dipole at 35 feet in my trees, and installed an A/B switch so I could compare signal strenghts. On both Receive and Transmit the Alpha MOTO was down 1 S-Unit on 10 Meters, equal performance on 15 meters, down 2 or 2.5 S-Units on 20 Meters, and down 3 or 3.5 S-Units on 40 Meters. Just for fun, I tried 80 meters, and received one report that was 4.5 S-Units difference.

    Based on my experience with this antenna and a review in RadCom Magazine of the Alpha DX, I bought the Alpha DX Antenna. It wasn't too hard to find the review, I simply went to www.rsgb.org and searched for Alpha Antenna in the "Search www.rsgb.org" box at the top right of their web site. I imagine the review is posted somewhere by or is available upon request from Alpha Antenna.
    WA7JCL Rating: 2012-05-07
    Good job Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    I was looking for an antenna for my Yaesu FT-8900R, but I found more than that. After two months of operation, I have found that the Alpha MOTO is a great antenna, that is well built, and does not need a tuner. I followed the manual and installed it on their Jam Mount and MIL-Spring, which is recommended in the user manual. But let me tell you what else I found; a company where the owner truly cares about the product and customer, who will actually return a phone call after business hours. I had a question about whether I could use the antenna as a base antenna in case of an emergency. The answer was that this antenna can be placed on a tripod with four 25 foot radials acting as counterpoise, which also act as the guy wires. Again, good job to the people at Alpha Antenna for being honest and for developing an antenna that works so well!
    KC5ALK Rating: 2012-03-29
    Pros & Cons - Bottom-line...it works better than others I use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
    My first impression when I received the antenna was that it looks and feels very well built. I replaced my Texas Bug catcher with the Alpha MOTO and noticed immediately that my S-Meter showed the same signal strength for the station that was on 40 meters, but the background noise dropped 2 S-Units. Nice! I then moved to 10 meters and had QSOs while swapping between the Alpha MOTO, my Ham Sticks, a Chameleon V1, & my Bug Catcher. Signal transmission reports for the antennas were: Ham Sticks S4, Chameleon V1 S5, Texas Bug Catcher S8, Alpha MOTO S7. I then hooked up my key and received similar reports on CW for 40 & 80 meters.

    Pros are that the Alpha MOTO is quieter so you can hear more stations over the QRM.

    Cons are that the Alpha MOTO is just a little less efficient than the Texas Bug catcher.