| KA4DQJ |
Rating:  |
2008-03-06 | |
| Few Problems |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I used my Hamsticks on a hole in the trunk lid with a stainless steel plate for backing. It's a compromise between the too low bumper mounting, and the too high roof mounting. Performance is adequate.
You can turn the 20m resonator into a 17m resonator by using a shorter whip, and the 20m resonator minus the whip entirely becomes a 10m resonator.
Use them long enough in the breeze, and the coil wire soldered to the bottom 3/8 x 24tpi will come loose on the heavier 75/40 sticks. When the resonators go intermittent, you'll have to peel away the PVC coating on the bottom fitting and resolder. It's difficult to get enough heat to repeat the factory job, so a propane torch or a 240w "trigger" gun may be needed.
I understand that you can mount the 40m stick on a 6 foot extention in order to get vastly improved peformance, but haven't tried it. Different lengths are supposedly in order for the other bands, but I don't know what those lengths are, and haven't tried them in any case. It would also make the arrangement too high for mobile use, but might just fit the bill while stationary (especially for me in the motorhome). Or, I've heard that you can "elbow" the extension and tie the whip down military style.
I even have a 3/8 thread at the peak of my carport's tin roof, and have used the sticks in a base station setup... not the most efficient way to get on the air, but it works.
I've had no experience with customer service, but I hear that it's pretty crappy. That would be intolerable for a complicated piece of electronic equipment, but for a fiberglass tube wrapped in wire topped with a steel whip, I have no intention of ever calling customer service to begin with. I'll repair the things until they can no longer be repaired, then throw them away and buy another when I go to hamfests. If I ever did call customer service and got treated the way some have described, I'm sure I'd stop using the sticks too!
HF mobile operation is a sucky compromise anyway, and I would never work mobile when the opportunity to work fixed is available. Even so, I check into the nets even using the 75m stick while mobile and manage to be heard with 100 watts.
Since the 1970s I used the Hustler mobile resonators. They worked too, but cost more and had enough windload on the low bands to reduce your mpg. |
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| K6SDW |
Rating: |
2008-03-03 | |
| Back to Hamsticks! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Threw away the screwdriver antenna (Yaesu ATAS 120A POS!) and gone back to the hamsticks....not nearly as convenient but way more reliable and trouble free!!
Cheers All..... |
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| W7KPQ |
Rating: |
2007-11-16 | |
| They WORK! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I purchased three Hamsticks (40m, 20m and 17m) for a mobile setup in my Toyota Tundra. I’m using a Kenwood TS-570S(G) in the truck. The first contact I made on 20m was a ham in Hawaii, on 17m a ham in Kansas, and on 40m a ham in Las Vegas.
Later I heard a station in Japan on 20m. I wasn’t sure he would hear me on the mobile setup, so I went into the house and worked him on my home station. I have an Icom IC-756 Pro III with a 2-element SteppIR. I was operating at 100 watts, and he gave me a Q5 S9 signal report. Next, I thought I’d give him a call on the mobile setup and to my surprise he came back with a Q5 S4 report operating 100 watts with the Kenwood 570 on the 20m Hamstick.
The SWR with the 20m Hamstick is less than 1.1 to 1 from 14,150 to 14,350. On 17m it’s 1.1 or less across the entire band. On 40m the SWR is 1.5 to 1 with approximately an 80khz bandwidth. At the phone band edges (7,125 – 7300khz) it’s close to 3 to 1 but the tuner in the 570 will tune the antenna 1 to 1. I made sure to ground the base of the antenna to the rear bed frame (box) using High Sierra ground wire (it’s great wire) in two places. I also grounded the tail pipe to the bed frame and the front cab of the truck to the bed frame. I’m using a modified High Sierra stake mount. Needless to say Hamsticks work well and I’m quite pleased with this purchase.
Richard
W7KPQ
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| WB5MHA |
Rating: |
2007-10-01 | |
| Hamstick |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
One of the best things about operating mobile with this antenna is that once DX hears you, even weakly, they return your call. It seems that outside the US working a mobile station is a big thing. This past weekend we drove from Dallas to Houston working 17 meter DX all the way. My signal wasn't strong on the other end but they always asked about my antenna.
The most important thing is to keep realistic expectations. Working DX, or anybody, from a car with a small whip antenna takes work and a great deal of listening: a lesson in working on operating skills. |
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| WA0USA |
Rating: |
2007-07-30 | |
| Great inexpensive mobile antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have owned and used Hamsticks for 6 years or so. I have had great results using them mobile on 40 thru 2 meters. My first experience with them was on a solo drive from Portland OR to West Palm Beach FL. I mounted a 3/8-24 mirror mount to the luggage rack of an '88 Ford Bronco II, grounded the mount to the roof of the truck thru the roof rack mounting bolts with coax braid, bonded the hood and the doors to the body with RG 213 shield braid and hit the road with my new IC 706IIG. Somewhere in Eastern Idaho, I broke a huge pile up on an E. Timor station. I thought it was a VK special event station with the AX call. I worked DX for 4 days driving cross country. I would call CQ and get piled up on. I usually use them on rental vehicles (Vans and SUV's) when I travel using a 4 magnet mag mount that I ground to the vehicle's roof with 2" wide copper strap through the luggage rack mounting bolts. They work best roof mounted. I have worked VK6 long path several times from several states and vehicles with Hamsticks.HL,JA,VU,VK,ZL,9K,4Z,5W,FR8,3B8, most of Europe and S.America are in the mobile log using roof mounted Hamsticks and my IC 706IIG.I had a nice long CW rag chew with ZL2ACY on 40 from a rest area in Montana last summer using a trunk mounted Hamstick with the Diamond K 400 mount on a Ford Taurus. We used a 20m Hamstick for the Florida QSO Party Multi op multi station mobile effort. The 20 m station was always active and the second station had an AH-4 and a 102" whip for instant QSYing. All done in a rental van with an extra battery installed and both antennas roof mounted. Every time we would change counties the Europeans would pile up on us. The antennas work very well if sited properly and installed against a good low inductance ground. Don't bumper mount or ball mount them on the side of a van. If you break one against a bridge or tree limb you are only out $25. |
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| N8MRC |
Rating: |
2007-07-19 | |
| Pretty good for what it is |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I bought a 20 meter hamstick and a ball mount. Mounted it on my chev caliver back quarter panel. I use it with a Kenwood TS-50 with no tuner and works great. If I can hear them I can work them. I have it tuned for 14.290. right at 14.290 is flat and at 14.225 is 1.5 and 14.350 is a 1.7 so not too bad. good little antenna |
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| N5YPJ |
Rating: |
2007-07-07 | |
| Good |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I'm not a regular mobiler, but when the situation dictates a mobile antenna is all the antenna you've got well. 17 & 20 meters worked beautiful, 40 meters good, 75 I broke in on a roundtable about 400 miles away, I was readable without repeats but weak. Funny thing, once after using the 75 meter antenna, I touched it and it was very warm! I was only running 100 watts. Had always heard folks say that on 40 & 75 these antennas were just long resistors. I guess some of that is true but working mobile is always a compromise and for the price of each antenna, well.... |
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| SFD301 |
Rating: |
2007-07-07 | |
| Less than expecyed |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Sill experimenting with them in the vertical and dipole configurations......expected more after all the positive reviews.
Placed an order and then 10 minutes later added to it. They shipped separate stating that the order was not rec'd in time....sounds like a shipping scam to me. So, I paid the additional $9.50. Not the best customer service for a hams, they should take a lesson from some others,,,,,heck Comet sent me replacement parts for a mobile antenna without charge OR shipping. I will buy from them again, but maybe not Lakeview, there are alternatives. |
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| WA8MEA |
Rating: |
2007-04-17 | |
| Good deal for the price! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've used a variety of them from 10 to 40 meters on my Montana using an Icom IC-718. All performed very well. I knocked a stinger off under a VERY low railraod bridge. But was easily replaced by Lakeview in VERY short order.
73, Bill - WA8MEA |
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| WA4JM |
Rating: |
2007-04-17 | |
| Ham Stick on 75 Meters |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| DO NOT use these things on anything below 20 meters. Too much resistive loss. Your rig heats the antenna. |
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