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Reviews For: Tarheel Antennas

Category: Antennas: HF Mobile & Accessories

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Review Summary For : Tarheel Antennas
Reviews: 205MSRP: 295.00
Description:
Screwdriver Antennas,Stainless Steel mounts,Mobile and Base
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.tarheelantennas.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
152054.8
AC2FV Rating: 2007-07-06
Excellent antenna! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased the Little Tarheel II antenna and mounted it on the aluminum contractors box of my Dakota pickup. At first, then antenna did not work as well as I had hoped. But I replaced the standard 32" whip with a 56" whip, and now the antenna is excellent! I live on Long Island, New York, and with 100 watts I have contacted Belgium, Slovania (former Yugoslavia), Germany, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Canada, California, and a multitude of other domestic stations. Fantastic antenna! The Turbo Tuner works great, too.
KT4RH Rating: 2007-07-03
sorry I ever bought it!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the little tarheel antenna because of all the good reviews it had and was pretty sure it would work well. Boy was I wrong. Don't misunderstand,the antenna is very well made and there was no problem getting it to tune on every band. The problem is the antenna doesn't radiate
worth crap and is useless on 75 and 40 meters. The only band I found it worked well on was 6 meters and that's only because the 32inch whip is a 1/4 wave on 6. Looks like I bought a $349.00
dummy load and that's why it gets a big fat zero.
So, you can try it if you want but I advise you not too.
N2LRB Rating: 2007-06-13
Great Base Antenna Too! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was looking for a small vertical antenna to replace my full size multiband dipole. The dipole worked well but took too much space on the roof of my apartment building. I wanted something my landlord would not get too shocked by its size yet still deliver when transmitting.

I took a chance on the Tarheel Model 100 after reading the reviews on this site. Due to waiting for parts the antenna took a few weeks to ship. It was well worth the wait. The antenna works great. My first contact with just 8 10 foot radials was in Poland! My second contact minutes later was in Costa Rica! Since then I have actually broken pileups in Europe and have worked most stations I have heard.

The antenna also works quite well on 75 and 40 meters. Robert the owner of Tarheel even called me on my cell when I e-mailed him with a question! Tarheel is a great antenna company. They make a very well made and great working antenna. Please be patient with ordering if you have to wait a few weeks. The antenna is worth the wait. Hey no one complains about waiting for their Steppir. There is a good reason why there is such a demand for the Tarheel, it's that good.

Jose - N2LRB
K1GUY Rating: 2007-05-29
MODEL 75 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I looked at the 'big three' makers of HF Scredriver antennas. After careful consideration, for looks, performance, price, AND customer service, I chose TARHEEL. I wanted in the future to possibly run some power, and believed the larger coil size would give me a higher'Q' and better efficiency, so I chose the Tarheel 75 STUBBY. WOW, is all I can say, compared to a hamstick. Dont waste your time. Looks wize, its a 10. Quality is a 10 and performance a 10. Easy QSOs with europe, south america and the west coast from new jersey. Tuning is sharp and I am considering a Turbo Tuner. The antenna is heavy, so strong supportive mounting should not be an afterthought. It performs far, far beyond my expectations. Tarheel, GREAT JOB. I agree, after looking at the others, you make the best mobile antennas, period . and that includes the more expensive ones !
KT4NR Rating: 2007-04-30
Very well built product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a review of the Model 75.

I have the Model 75 "stubby". It is designed to be a miniature version of the larger antennas in every way. It has a larger coil than the Lil' Tarheel to match the coil size of the larger Tarheel products. The materials are sturdy and feel like they are built to last (in comparison with the HS Sidekick a friend has.I was totally unimpressed with many aspects of the antenna.)

I have the antenna mounted on a trunk mount on the back of a Ford Escape. This is NOT an ideal mounting scenario for this antenna (or any antenna actually.) Until I can get a real ball mount though I am pretty well stuck. The body and doors are all bonded together and the mount has a ground strap associated with it. I did not yet bond the engine, transmission or muffler systems.

With a proper ground *critical piece* the antenna loads effortlessly from 10 - 80 although advertised only through 75. (I can match down to 3.5 MHz and up through the FM portion of 10m.) The control cable required 2 ferrites with a total of 5 loops through them in order to surpress RF egress into the ignition system. I added the Hi-Q quick disconnect as I have to park in a parking garage for work.

I won't say this is the greatest antenna known to mankind but I will tell you it is a very good antenna for those who take the time to install it properly. The Tarheel folks seem quite good to work with compared to some other groups.

A lot of people say "if I hear them I can work them" well I can say that, no that it means much. My question is what am I not hearing. From what I can tell I am hearing the same stuff as the average base station (read dipole or small beam.)I have not done any comparisons of signal strength yet though.

Based on these initial experiences I would have no hesitation recommending this antenna to someone with the caveat they research and consider mounts when doing so. Its a heavy and compact antenna and will require some attention to the mounting methods used.
N8COP Rating: 2007-04-09
Tarheel II The Best !! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently purchased a Tarheel II antenna system for my 2006 Dodge Ram Pickup. I researched the reviews in Eham before taking the plunge. There were so many other hams who gave this antenna two thumbs up, that I felt comfortable with the purchase. When I called to place my order, I was told it would take a while to ship, because there were at least 50 orders ahead of mine. I was pleasantly surprised when my Tarheel II arrived about a week later. Instructions were straightforward and installation was a snap !! I utilized a Diamond K400 mount on the top of the rear passenger door. The base of the antenna is at the roofline, no obstructions. I added an N2VZ Turbo Tuner with the Tarheel II for a total plug n play experience. My rig is a Kenwood TS-480SAT and I was able to get <1:5:1 everywhere 80m-6m !! In the short time I have used this package, i've made numerous European and Caribbean contacts from my truck. Great signal reports from stateside as well. No hiccups or burps to report so far. I am one totally satisfied customer !!
KD5GQZ Rating: 2007-04-06
Don't hesitate....get one! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ordered the Little Tarheel II at the Claremore Hamfest a few weeks ago and couldn't be more pleased.

The antenna arrived extremely well packaged with great instructions in color. The quality of workmanship was apparent from the moment I opened the box.I haven't had much time to use it but my first contact from my truck in the driveway was with Ft. Lauderdale, FL who said I was "The loudest on the band" had several more contacts within the next thrity minutes from my driveway in Northwest Arkansas with good reports.

Everything works like they say it works, good quality fittings, wiring, and the finish. Tuning is very sharp on 20M and I suspect on the other bands as well. It will be my next purchase to get a controller for the radio so I don't need to watch the SWR so closely to change bands or frequency. No fluff on thier advertising, just fact....this little sucker works.

This is a good company with an excellent product.

KI4KVQ Rating: 2007-02-25
Tarheel 75 Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Great product.Great customer service.Great people to deal with.In the time I have owned this antenna, it has performed as advertised.The only trouble I have ever had with it was the control cable at the antenna losing connection.All that was required was a little dielectric grease to the plug and some heatshrink tubing over the connection.Problem solved.Robert and Cindy have a great company that I have no problem recommending to anyone.
W6AAV Rating: 2007-02-21
Outstanding Performer! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been running a HI-Q antenna for a long time. It was one of Charlies first production models and needed some upgrades. Rather then going through the hassle, I decide to go with a new antenna and I been hearing a lot about Tarheel and his customer serivce.

I made the purchase for a M-100 and Cindy brought it to the Richmond Hamfest (Frostfest) saving me the shipping cost. I installed it with all the supplied accessories and had not one issue. I have worked all bands 10-80m with nothing but oustanding reports. The construction is excellent and best of all, the "plug-n-play" package is excatly what it is. With the HI-Q, you have to get your own whip and make your own tuning network. Customer service is something to be desired as well with HI-Q. With Tarheel, all the items to get on the air are in the box and the instructions were easy to follow. Especially helpful were to the pictures showing relative position of the coil to a given band. You could not get this from HI-Q! The only thing you need to decide is how you are going to mount it.

Tarheel's customer service is excellent and which will always keep customers coming back. Is the HI-Q antenna a good antenna? yes. Is the Tarheel a good antenna? Yes. But the customer service is far better with Tarheel then HI-Q which make the Tarheel a GREAT product!

I plan on working this antenna very hard and enjoying every bit of it!

Hurry up and get you one!
K3GK Rating: 2007-02-07
The Best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I believe that with this product and the family behind it you will have one of the best experiences that Amateur Radio can offer. Everything about the company and the product is A1. I look forward to purchasing more of their upcoming and custom antennas. Easily tuned but an SWR analyzer makes it a snap. Robert and Cindy offered some great advice and if you can see them at a hamfest, take the time to chat. Plug and play!