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Reviews For: High Sierra Sidekick

Category: Antennas: HF Mobile & Accessories

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Review Summary For : High Sierra Sidekick
Reviews: 77MSRP: $400
Description:
The smallest HF motorized antenna.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cq73.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00774.9
KC7YNS Rating: 2016-03-12
Great little antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently installed my ole trusty Yaesu FT-100D in my honey's Jeep so I could play radio when we travel. got tired of swapping resonators to play on other bands and started looking for a DK3 Screwdriver like I have on my ride to replace the Hustler and found a used sidekick with the original stinger for $150 so I bought it.

Got it installed and wired. lit up the radio and was surprised at what I was hearing on 40m, much better than my hustler, run the antenna through the full stroke of tunability, found the sweet spot on 40, threw my call out and had 6 station come back at me, so far I'm impressed with this little antenna.

I will be building another 2 speed control box (fast/slow), at full speed it isn't hard to go past the sweet spot, slow speed on the motor will make it easier to "zero" in.

Good little antenna
W9CLL Rating: 2015-12-31
Works well/Well built Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased this antenna used but in good shape. Installed on a hard mount on the trunk of my car. Radio was an Icom 706MKIIG with the High Sierra control box. Everything worked as is should and the antenna performed well. I did replace the 36" whip with a 65" one and this improved the performance on 40/80 and it also made tuning easier as the sweet spot was a bit wider. Good overall HF antenna, to bad it is no longer produced.
KG4FET Rating: 2014-03-14
Great lil antenna! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Purchased this antenna used a while back and until recently I had not used it very much. With an HF rig now installed permanently installed in the Tuscan I have used the heck out of it and really enjoy it! It works very well from 75-10M with an old 4FT cb antenna as the stinger. I trimed about 3 inches of wire off the top of this antenna. The install manual says you "cannot" install on an extension, that is wrong. I had to put mine on a 13" ext I had made because the mount I made was to close to the vehicle. Pics here of the install http://hamradionation.com/album.php?user=KG4FET&album_id=1111 This is a great "low profile" mobile screwdriver antenna designed for 100-200 watt mobile/portable operation. I do have plans to try it as a portable antenna soon. I bought mine pretty cheap but would be worth 200.00 easily simply because I don't need to get out oif the car to change bands!!!
K5LDL Rating: 2012-04-30
My old USED SideKick still works! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought mine used from a local ham about 3 years ago. I am the third owner of this particular Sidekick and am very pleased with mine. Recently, I purchased the Maintenance Kit for my Sidekick from the HS site and proceeded to rework my antenna.

I had put my antenna away for about 18 months due to a change in vehicles and circumstances... When I took my antenna apart it became apparent that not only was I lax in maintenance, so were the previous owners.

I cleaned it up, replaced a few stripped screws, gave it two new whips (3' and 6'), Hustler Quick Disconnects for the whips and proceeded to mount it to my new Breedlove Mount and Quick Disconnect (see review elsewhere). I replaced the wiring feeding power to the motor, mounted the entire thing to my new Ford Ranger... and it worked! I get and give good signal reports from 10m -

My next project is the induction coil (already wound and ready to install), finish running grounding straps, and finish up the detailing of the radio face and tune controls for the antenna!

While I truly believe in maintenance and proper care of things, I have to admit I was lax with this antenna. After fixing it up and reinstalling it, I realized how badly I had ignored it. I now hear the many signals I had not heard, and it looks pretty good mounted on my truck!

If you see one of these at a hamfest? Pick it up, undo the previous owner's damage and you get a really good product!

73!

Luis K5LDL ex KD5KJD
KP4MD Rating: 2011-08-09
NEC Model Analysis of Sidekick Time Owned: more than 12 months.
In 2006, I moved to a mobile home park with covenants that restricted antennas visible from the street. My first antenna at this location has been a remotely tuned base loaded 6 foot vertical whip antenna (High Sierra Sidekick) mounted on the roof at the rear of the home. The aluminum siding serves as its counterpoise. Its observed performance is fair on 21 and 28 MHz, mediocre on 7 and 14 MHz with little reception except to the north, and overall quite poor on 3.5 MHz. I have posted a NEC modeling analysis of the Sidekick at http://www.qsl.net/kp4md/modeling.htm#sidekick - As it is tunable across the entire HF spectrum, it does allow operation on MARS frequencies. Screwdrivers are poor performer for their high cost, definitely best suited as a compromise for use on vehicles, as low profile antennas or other very limited space applications.
KM6CQ Rating: 2011-04-10
Very Good Serivce Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this new in December 2007 I bought the kit and installed it in the stake pocket of my pickup. It works great 80 through Six. Never had any problems with it and I am still using it almost everyday. I tune it with a "Better RF" Screwdriver Controller and Tune Control. I bought the quick disconnect and I comes off quickly to go in my cab for security and parking garages. The trade off is it does not work quite as well on 75 as my full size one. I bought the longer whip and it does perform better 75 over the stock one. The compromise is well worth it to be able to conceal it as needed.

73, Dan KM6CQ
KK7D Rating: 2011-03-27
Fantastic Product Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased a High Sierra Sidekick from Jim at High Sierra along with a Spur Hat for my FJ Customized Cruiser. It perfectly came in black to match the color of the truck. I have had the pleasure to make specific modifications for the antenna to mount on an antenna bracket that was designed as an aftermarket product for the rear of the truck. I have own the antenna for well over 6+ months and it has given me the opportunity along with the SPUR capacity hat to work on 80m, 40m, 20m, 10m with outstanding reports on various fronts. I use the FT857D both on phone and CW from the truck. It is an outstanding product, if you like to see the setup on the vehicle, Jim is going to be posting pics of my truck potentially on his company website for the antenna. Once again, Jim is a professional and it is always a pleasure to get his advice. I would recommend the antenna for anyone seeking a great product.
K7FFN Rating: 2010-11-03
Excellent customer service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my Sidekick installed on my Taurus with a Diamond trunk-lip mount for about two years, so it is well out of warranty. I use it with an IC706. I decided I ought to replace the ring-spring as recommended annually, so I disassembled the antenna. In the process I found two blackened rings on the coil representing my two favorite bands, 75- and 20-meters. Further investigation revealed coil windings overlapping other coil windings near the bottom of the coil, normally out of sight. (I now realize that overlapping windings may be my fault for running the motor without the shell, trying to shorten the length for shipping back to High Sierra. The coil spins when you do that, instead of moving up and down.)
I shipped it back to High Sierra, and Jim, W6LG, immediately asked what kind of mount I was using. When I told him a trunklip mount, he replied that trunklip mounts don't ground well, and without an adequate ground plane the coil was just one big resistor. Nonetheless, he repaired the antenna and returned it to me for $20 plus shipping. I consider that excellent service! There were also some RF feedback issues unrelated to the antenna, and because of his suggestions (and re-reading the 706 manual!) they were cleared up with a ferrite bead on the external speaker wire. I am very pleased with High Sierra, with the Sidekick antenna -- which ought to be even better now with a ball mount -- and with Jim, W6LG, for his excellent, patient, and inexpensive service of his product.
M1WML Rating: 2010-10-06
good all round antenna.. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
not much to add realy to all the other posts on here. a great all round antenna. tunning is very easy just listen for maximum noise then your ready to work the dx.. i worked vk6wc john in perth australia today... was very easy with this beauty.
not a cheap ant but well made and worth the dollar.
NM7L Rating: 2010-09-20
Got 2 of 'em Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought my first one along with a N2VZ Turbo-Tuner 2 years ago in setting up a mobile installation with a Yaesu FT-857D. Replaced the 3-foot whip with a 6-foot one to enhance the HF spectrum usage.

Early this year I started experimenting with the Sidekick in portable usage mounted on a tripod. Worked extremely well with the setup I have for the mobile installation so I wound up purchasing another Sidekick / N2VZ Turbo-Tuner setup dedicated solely for use portable with a FT-897 (or FT-857 in a pinch).

Either way you cut it the Sidekick works well.
Got to try it next with an 8-foot whip...