Callsign	Required
Password

If you've forgotten and/or need to reset your password, please enter your Callsign and use the button below.

You *must* have a verified email address on the account.

If you are not a member of the eHam community

Please consider registering to e-Ham.

Manager

Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: SILVER BULLET MINI

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.

Review Summary For : SILVER BULLET MINI
	Reviews: 9	MSRP: $ 35.00
	Description: At WOLF RIVER COILS LLC we build quality antenna coils that are easy to tune and easy to install. Our primary coil, The Silver Bullet 1000, is mostly for mobile application by allowing a single antenna for multi-band operation. Similar to the popular screwdriver antenna but at a greatly reduced cost and without complicated mechanical breakdown. While mobile installation is the dominate application for our coils, they can be used for apartment dwellers, amateurs dealing with confined space or stealth antenna installation, portable applications, camping, or anytime you need to load an antenna without the need of a tuner.
	Product is in production
More Info: http://www.wolfrivercoils.com/
# last 180 days	Avg. Rating last 180 days	Total reviews	Avg. overall rating
0	0	9	4.7

K5CEL	Rating:	2022-10-28
Coil Power Handling Overrated			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my Wolf River Coil since 2018, and have had generally good luck with it until last week when it bent. Here's the review I just posted on eHam. . . I bought my Wolf River Mini TIA back in 2018, mainly using it on 20M. Until last week, I'd been very happy with the antenna. I was doing a POTA activation using this coil, and a Chameleon CHA MIL 2.0 whip. I set the antenna up on a slight slope, which caused the whip to be a few degrees off vertical. After the completion of my activation on 40M, I noticed that the coil was bent in the middle, right where the current path would enter the coil. I was operating 100 watts SSB with a Yaesu 891. Keep in mind that the Chameleon weighs only 48 grams (1.69 oz) more than the whip WR provides. According to Wolf River's specs, this shouldn't have happened! Contacting WR, I was told the coil was out of warranty and nothing could be done. I was also told, and I quote, "On rare occasions under normal operation this has happened due to poor PVC manufacturing. We find not all PVC is created equal". I don't find this lack of quality control of their raw materials comforting. As I said, I have used this antenna many times in the past, and had no problems. I attribute the bending to the fact that the antenna was slightly tilted, weighting the softened PVC, and that I was operating on 40M which heated the coil right in the middle, allowing it to bend easier. Fortunately, I was able to soften the coil using a heat gun, and bent it back relativity straight. Your milage may vary. So this coil (at least the one I received) isn't even capable of 100 watts SSB.

NC6B	Rating:	2021-12-03
Top notch antenna			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I live on the second floor of an apartment, facing west. I have been able to contact STX, WVA, Alberta, Canada on it. I have currently added the dual coils and was easily able to tune both 20 meters and 40 meters. I get 1: 5 to one on both bands

WO9B	Rating:	2018-03-07
Sweet Deal!!!			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I actually have the Silver Bullet full size. Very nice quality product. I am using it for a mobile operation and it works exceptionally well. The product was delivered quickly and I was most impressed with how well made it is. Using it for 80, 40 and 20 operation. Easy to tune and set up. Going to use it for portable ham club operations in the summer months.

N9GUE	Rating:	2016-05-29
Excellent coil			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Purchased the 1000 coil to put with my MFJ 1979 whip. Coil is very well made. I mounted the unit outside my senior complex and it works great. Using the adjusting collar and the lengthening or shortening of the whip all bands 10 to 160 are covered. Very low SWR can be attained. Thanks Wolf River Coils

WD0BC	Rating:	2015-04-24
WORKING GREAT ...took care of a problem...			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
WOLFRIVER ROCKS!!! For some reason the first coil had the mounting hardware at an angle. I contacted them and they sent me a REPLACEMENT which was 100% perfect! Told me to pass the crooked one to another ham and I did that....thank you WOLFRIVER! WOLFRIVER took care of business and COIL IS WORKING GREAT ....Have on a back-pack frame with a Yeasu 817...... THANK YOU WOLFRIVERR COILS....YOU RICK !!!!!

N4DOV	Rating:	2014-01-29
ready, aim/tune, fire			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
These coils work amazingly well and are very affordable, making portable operation very cost effective. First time I used them, I mounted them on my homebrew "V" dipole mount with 12 foot whips and at 16 foot above the ground, well below the roof line and in between my home and neighbor (15 foot between homes), I was able to make contacts with MA,TX, KY, VA and Dominica Island on a day when propagation was not good and 100 watts with reports averaging 57. Takes a bit of time to tune first time if this type of coil is unfamiliar to you and I used a Youkits antenna analyser. Able to get SWR 1.4 to 1 or less on all bands. If you do order expect speedy delivery from some really nice people.

EI2HPB	Rating:	2014-01-18
Great Value!			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Great coil... I use mine with an MFJ 1979 telescopic whip in my mobile using a triple mag as the mount... this set up is only for static use... I wanted to try the MFJ whip on 40m and the silver bullet mini is the perfect solution... with the whip fully extended and very little inductance on the coil I get a super 40m antenna with nice low swr and no tuner neccessary... the results have been outstanding both on RX and TX... the big bonus is Gary and Terry are really helpful and will answer emails promptly... I highly recommend this product to anyone looking for a great coil to use in any situation. My next purchase will be the silver bullet portable antenna which I will use at my shack as a stealthy HF vertical.

KB0UXV	Rating:	2013-09-30
Great value			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been casually looking to get into HF mobile but do not like the look and large size of many HF “screwdriver” style antennas on the market, namely the large PVC tube base and long whip. I was considering some “hamstick” styles when I came upon the Wolf River Coil. The silver bullet mini was cheaper than buying hamsticks for 20, 15, and 10 so I placed an order. The unit also appealed to me based on smaller size and ease of tuning. When the unit arrived I first tried it at home by attaching to a chain link fence in the backyard, using a 102 inch stainless steel CB style whip. This would be a good set up for anyone trying to hide a HF antenna, the whip blends in well with foliage and is hard to detect at distances over 50 feet. Tuning was easy, when tuned to band center I had flat SWR across the entire operating range of the band. When you change bands one needs to go back outside and adjust the coil, but this is quick work if you mark the coil. With the lowest section of coil set, I found the lowest frequency with flat SWR on the mini is around 5mhz. So if you need 80 you should consider the full size version (the mini is only advertised down to 40 meters anyway). The coil won’t tune well for 10 and 12 meters with a 102 inch whip, but as suggested in their literature the straight 102 inch whip should be used on these bands anyways (or a shorter whip, which is easy to do with all the “CB” style antennas out there, any 3/8 style will work). I compared the performance of this mini with 102 inch whip, mounted on a chain link fence, side by side with a Zero Five 43 foot vertical (which is set up as a large delta loop so I would not have to bother deploying a ground field). I found the silver bullet antenna to be 1 to 4 S units lower than the 43 foot antenna, proving this antenna is a very capable base antenna in a situation where a full size antenna can not be deployed. I then tried my first mobile HF experience. I first tried the 102 inch whip, using a trailer hitch style mount on a Jeep Wrangler. Tuning was just as easy as the fence pole set up. SWR did waiver while mobile at highway speed on 40 meters, between flat and 1.5, as the whip moved. But this would probably be a factor for any mobile antenna. SWR was flat despite antenna movement on the other bands. It was a pleasure to leave the home set up with a S6-S9 noise floor on 40 meters and drive out in the middle of the country away from powerlines and hear a quiet band, and a lot more stations. With that said I don’t work 40 meters often, and find the 102 inch whip to be an eye sore. I found the silver bullet works great on 20 and 15 meters with a 4 foot fiberglass stick, which looks a lot better on the Jeep, and matches well with the silver bullet coil. I am extremely happy with this purchase, the price is great and the 3/8 mounting style gives a lot of flexibility. I would highly recommend this to others.

W6USC	Rating:	2013-01-13
Nice Homebrew Antenna for HF			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Installed a telescoping whip to it from buddiepole a 9.5 foot whip. It received well and made quite a bit of contacts this weekend. very eazy to setup and takedown. Im in a HOA place so this will do the trick. Fast shipping and for $35.00 its a good item to have. Bruno W6USC

Category:

Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

Product:

SILVER BULLET MINI

Summary:

Rating:	Time Owned:
Great! Good OK Needs Help Poor Awful!	0 - 3 Months 3 - 6 Months 6 - 12 Months More than 12 Months

Remarks:

Describe your experience with the SILVER BULLET MINI and tell us why you give it the rating you did (required). Other useful information would include your experience with similar products, infomation on a product that you would purchase instead of this one, and so on.