Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: Ham Stick by Lakeview Co.

Category: Antennas: HF Mobile & Accessories

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Ham Stick by Lakeview Co.
Reviews: 108MSRP: 24.95
Description:
Big performance, small package
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.hamstick.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
34.31084.5
VE1VOX Rating: 2006-01-01
It has finially failed! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After switching from Pro Am antennas to Hamsticks in 2002, my 20m Hamstick has at last failed, after countless contacts with tree branches and 3 harsh winters! I have used this whip on many trips to IOTA's over the last 4 years and it has performed famously, but it crashed into it's last maple tree branch at -10c this Xmas season. I will invest in another of these outstanding whips, for the price they CANNOT BE BEAT! Tough and reliable. The Hamstick is the antenna of choice for VE1OTA operations.
K6CU Rating: 2005-09-03
Great for Portable Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is actually the 2nd time I've used Hamsticks. Years ago I had a set of 40m Hamsticks, and a dipole mount, that I used when traveling in our RV. Made lots of contacts on 40m with 5 watts.

Recently I wanted to complete my portable QRP station, and ordered the 40m Hamstick and mount. Within an hour of opening the package, I had attached the mount to a 3' piece "U" post, connected two radials (25' each), adjusted the whip for lowest SWR, and was on the air. Nothing could be easier!

I planted the antenna out in my front yard by driving the stake into the lawn.

In "A/B" testing with my HF6-v, the little Hamstick did a good job. Only down about one "s" unit from the much larger antenna on transmitting, and nearly identical signal reports on receive.

Considering the total cost was about $45 (including mount and shipping) I'd say this is about the cheapest, easiest and most effective way to get on the air, whether it's for a portable operation or if you have antenna restrictions and need a more permanent installation.
K5MDM Rating: 2005-08-07
Great for the profile and the money Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Heres what you must know about using a hamstick on 40 or 80 meters...it needs a shunt feed to get the swr flat in most cases..If your swr is flat without one, you probably have a weak ground. easy to make out of #12 coated wire...4inches on each lead and 16 turns over a 1 inch stick or pole....clean the ends and put one to hot, one to ground. Build it very tight and you can spread it out to tune it!! Cheap and it works...You can even get sorta in the middle of the situation with it usually, and use it for 80 and 40 im many cases...
WB2LUA Rating: 2005-08-07
Needs Tuning Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have many hamsticks. I found that many of them are far off frequency from the factory. Also, the mounting configuration can change it's resonant frequency. Investing in an SWR Antenna analyzer is a must in ham radio, especially if you want to use antennas like hamsticks that require tuning. If you can't afford one, borrow one from a fellow ham.
KA4AXS Rating: 2005-07-13
Works great for DX Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I used a 20 meter ham stick (made by Pro Am and bought from HRO--same price as the Lakeview folks but is better quality) on a 4 hour trip from North Florida to Georgia. I worked 22 countries during the IARU HF contest using 100 watts and a Yaesu 897D in a Honda Accord. Cheapest antenna I've ever bought and it actually worked with little effort. I tuned it with an antenna analyzer and my SWR is 1.1 on most of the 20 meter phone band and below 1.5 for the entire 20 meter band (phone and CW). In regard to the 40 meter stick, I could not get it below a 2.0 SWR. I plan to use a tuner for 40 meters. I had no problems with it mounted on a Diamond trunk mount at 85 mph.
KE4HYI Rating: 2005-03-23
Works great but bad customer service Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have been using the 40 and 20 meter hamstick and they both work well. Whenever my Dodge Dakota gets wet from rain or just morning dew/condensation, the SWR drastically changes. The only complaint I have is the people who answer the phone at the Hamstick factory are very rude and short with customers.
AF4KK Rating: 2004-12-13
They work well! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been using HAMsticks for several years now (75 through 12 meters) and they all seem to do very well! The bandwidth seems to be a bit wider than advertised and they sure are durable! I used to have a 160-meter model but it feel off my car one day and got ruined! Many good signal reports and I like the decreased windload over a multi-band HF antenna!
KE4IZA Rating: 2004-12-01
Hamstick as a Base Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am apartment bound so I had to come up with an antenna the landloard would not care about. I drove an 8' ground rod 6.5' feet into the earth. I attached a mirror mount with a 3/8-24 mount to the ground rod. I then screwed in a 20m hamstick. Lastly I attached 2 x 25' radial wires east and west. I make contacts. 6 states so far with 50w - 100w. Does better than I expected. I also use a 40m hamstick.
AL1Z Rating: 2004-07-19
Good Product, Poor Customer Relations Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I own 4 of the hamsticks (15,17,20,40m) and they work fine and are of good quality. However, as owners of these products know switching bands usually requires (in most cases anyway) loosening of the two set-screws to remove the top stinger from the base. The set-screws are quite small, and hence, are candidates for being dropped and lost. Which is exactly what has happened to two of mine. These are slotted head screws, and living where I do in Alaska, I was able to only find socket head replacements. Wishing to have consistency among all my hamsticks I emailed the company to inquire about getting replacements. Below is their (very poor customer relations) response:

Sir: The cost of the slotted set screws are .35 each. Our standard S/H per
order is $ 9.50.
----- Original Message -----
To:
Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2004 3:35 PM
Subject: Feedback

Well, to my way of thinking $9.50 s/h is absolutely ridiculous for a couple of tiny screws that weigh less than a piece of paper! Drop a couple set screws in a standard envelope, put a 0.37 cent stamp on it, and they are done. Mind you, I'm not attempting to get anything for free here, but it is worth pointing out that so many other manufacturers today will bend over backwards to please customers that they'd have sent out a couple screws at no charge.

I guess a little inconsistency in screw type isn't so bad after all!

Patrick
AL1Z
KB1KVL Rating: 2004-07-03
Sounds Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
We were having coffee one morning at a local restaurant and the subject of antennas came up. One of the guys mentioned something that was very interesting. One of the guys in the area had an Antron 99 antenna and took the top part off(above the base) & replaced it with a 40m Ham stick. Worked great. Now its catching on around here.