| AA6A |
Rating:      |
2007-05-18 | |
| Far Exceeded my Expectations!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
When I decided to install my TS-480 in the car for some upcoming road trips, I expected it's performance to pale by comparison to operating it in the shack. As a fixed station for the past three years, the TS-480 has been feeding my Lightning Bolt Two Element Five Band Cubical Quad on the tower at 60 feet as well as an Alpha Delta DX-CC and Cobra UltraLite Sr. I've worked the world and I did not expect anything quite as competent once the rig was in the car.
I drive a BMW X5, and it's trailer hitch is for other purposes, so it was not an option. Besides, everything I'd read and every HF savvy mobile ham I spoke with lead to my conclusion to mount the antenna as high as possible, and ground it very well. Drilling any holes was out of the question. Roof top center wasn't an option either, as a roof cargo basket or roof cargo pod, are used for road trips. BMW's design offered only one viable mounting location: The factory side roof rail! At a height of 5' 10" the roof rail presented some interesting issues. One was antenna clearance (to avoid hitting overpasses, etc.) the other was how to securely mount to the factory side rails. Also, the antenna needed to be removable quickly.
The Sidekick's 16" base unit and 3' whip were the perfect size. With some excellent additional gear from other manufacturers (Diamond, Hi-Q, and Firestik) and some home cooked engineering, the system came together.
For pictures of the setup, see my photo gallery by clicking on the link near the bottom of my QRZ AA6A callsign information page. Here's how it goes....
Two Sets of Diamond Brackets for the K9000LRM motorized mount were purchased separately from Diamond. These are clamped to the car's side rail. A custom 3/8" x 9" x 3.5" aluminum plate was drilled, prepped and painted and mounted to the brackets. On this a Stainless Hi-Q Giant Quick Disconnect with insulating wafers was attached. Grounding is via 1/4" stainless bolt connecting a Electric Motion Company 4AWG PVC jacketed 1200 strand Ground Rope from the Aluminum plate to the car's body. This is the same material sold by High Sierra for grounding, but I chose to buy an entire spool directly from the manufacturer.
Next is a Stainless Large Safety Spring also obtained from Hi-Q Antennas provides a bit of necessary give to the system in case of a bump or hit. The Sidekick is attached to this, and all three pieces disconnect as one unit from the base of the GQD. On top of the Sidekick is another smaller safety spring and then a stainless Firestik K1A push and twist internal pin quick disconnect. On top of this I originally had the Sidekick's 3' whip, but quickly discovered that the system's overall performance dramatically improved by adding a Hi-Q 16" Diameter Cap Hat on a 12" Hi-Q Extension Rod. It provided a night and day improvement to the basic Sidekick. Besides, a Cap Hat does little good when it's mounted directly on top of the coil anyway. So if you look at the photos you'll see the cap hat assembly above the Sidekick with the Sidekick's stock 3' whip at the very top. There's also another K1A quick disconnect so the Extension rod and Cap Hat are removable as one piece, and the whip is removable as one piece. Also very nice is the Hi-Q Cap Hat is actually comprised of four (4) seventeen inch rods which are cleverly arranged in a clover leaf pattern, so the entire unit is only 16" in diameter, but electrically longer than if the rods were 8" straight out from center. No clinical measurements, but it makes a big improvement. I've done A-B comparisons and the signal reports are amazing!
So the performance is far exceeding my expectations!! Yes, it's not the Quad at sixty fee, but with the Turbo Tuner, everything is one button push to 1:1 SWR on all bands 6m to 75m. There are only a few places where the SWR is slightly higher but it's all well under 2:1.
The Sidekick is very well made, durable, and I hope lasts for a good long time. My only concern with it is the thin plastic cylindrical windscreen which protects the coil and slides vertically on a single guide strip. I can foresee that wearing but it is an easily replaceable item.
I'd like to personally thank Jim Heath of Sidekick for his help and in tolerating my frequent calls and e-mails during the process, and congratulate him on a fine product. I'd also like to personally thank Charlie Gyenes of Hi-Q, Wayne Bauman of Diamond Antennas, and Bill Kantz of Turbo Tuner for their help in making everything work so well. Without each of their respective contributions of knowledge, products, and time the system would not be working like a charm!!
Very 73,
Rob - AA6A
(Prev. AK9G)
(Prev. K6RSG) |
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| KX7H |
Rating:      |
2007-05-13 | |
| Great product, excellent support |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Recently purchased an IC-7000 and a HS Sidekick to replace my FT-857 and an ATAS-120. Bottom line is that the Sidekick is an exellent mobile antenna. Customer support is second to none. I had a problem with the IC-7000 turning off when attempting to "tune" the antenna. Jim correctly diagnosed the problem... I had failed to install the little screw that secures the separation cable connector to the rig body which apparently also provides a ground connection for the shield in the cable. Jim's response to my question via email was returned within an hour! The Sidekick has superior performance over the ATAS-120 and it covers 80 to boot. If I were to have a criticism it would be that the resonance point is very easily missed due to the speed of the motor (got to keep your eye glued to the SWR indicator on the 7000). If it were possible to add a two speed moter control switch it would make tuning a little easier since just a tap on the switch can shoot past the lowest SWR point. This is definately NOT a show stopper and only minor issue. This is a fine quality built mobile antenna!
73, Doug KX7H |
|
| W6KL |
Rating:      |
2007-04-20 | |
| Excellent product with great support |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have used the HS-1500 for years on my pickup truck with excellent performance and reliability. I purchased the Sidekick to install on the roof rack of my Honda Element 2006. It's attached to a Diamond K400 mounted on a Yakima Universal Rack Attachment. The installation was easy and provides continuous coverage across the HF band. Unlike many HF antenna installations this didn't turn into a "project".
Jim at High Sierra offers excellent e-mail support. His antenna products are beautifully finished and they are very durable.
David W6KL |
|
| G0LCC |
Rating:      |
2007-03-24 | |
| great antenna! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
had this antenna for over a week and I'am really impressed tuning is a sinch and takes a matter of seconds to do
When stationary I use a 10mtr whip instead of the shorter whip supplied and find tuning easy on lower freq's
build quality 1st class only niggle I've found is that becouse I need to remove the antenna from the car (hay I don't wanna loose a good antenna!)
Im a little worried that the thread inside the aluminium base will wear as the 3/8 studding supplied is loose threaded, so I've locked it in place on the antenna base with a locking nut so if any wear occures it happens on the mount not the antenna
at the moment I'm using this one with a ic706 mk2
but I'm thinking of upgrading to a ts480 if anyone can let me know does the 480 have an in built swr indicator like the 706 as Its such a sinch to tune using one
great antenna tnx high sierra
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| N1NM |
Rating:      |
2006-12-03 | |
| HF Mobile For Real |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I installed a Sidekick 3 months ago, paired up with a Turbo Tuner and an IC-7000. I've used all sorts of mobile antennas over the past 30 years, and this one beats them all hands down.
I decided to start with a fairly simple installation and work up from there if necessary. I mounted the Sidekick on a Diamond K400 lip mount, on the hood of my Honda Pilot. It works great. I have worked plenty of DX, and have received 59's from Japan & Europe. I can hear stations I can't work, but if I'm patient and work the band I make plenty of QSOs. The only custom part of the installation is I made a small metal bracket that sits between 2 of the 4 teeth on the K400 and welded it to High Sierra's very nice ground strap. That is bolted to the frame.
This very simple installation works so well that I have decided to stick with it. I may want more at some point, but I really could not be happier with this antenna. Keep your expectations reasonable & you will love it.
Steve, KI7RB |
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| W4KTF |
Rating:      |
2006-08-08 | |
| Excellent Performance both Mobile and Portable |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I purchased the High Sierra Sidekick Tahoe Package at Dayton Hamvention 2006. I also purchased the Icom I-BOX to go with the IC-706MKIIG. I used a three way magnet and put it on my vehicle on the way home and made several contacts on 10 and 6 meters, many with "you have a great sounding mobile" attached to the QSO.
I made another vacation in which I put the High Sierra on the car and I had QSO's with several special event stations on 20 meters. Once I got to the vacation house I set it up on the tripod with the 8 wire radials spread out and I made quite a few QSO's using PSK31 on 40 and 20. On the way home I had a steady stream of people calling on 6 meters as I was coming through some of the "rarer" grid squares in Southern Virginia.
The final vacation of the summer I traveled to Bald Head Island, NC with my family. I once again took the High Sierra with the tripod. The only thing I did different was put an 8 foot whip on the top rather than the 3 foot whip which came with the antenna. I operated during the IOTA contest as Bald Head Island is IOTA NA-112. I made a total of 243 contacts in about 7-8 hours of operating time. All on 20 meters. Later in the week I would get on 14260 (IOTA Calling Frequency) and would have pileups of people. Many, Many gave me a great report and said you sound like you're on a beam! I also made a few QSO's on 40 PSK, 17, and 10 PSK. Conditions weren't even that great and I made a total of 430 QSO's with 46 states and 29 countries from the IOTA. I was amazed!
One other thing is that Jim at High Sierra is the best at technical support. I can't think of 1 time in which he didn't respond to my e-mails within 24 hours. I dealt directly with him at Dayton and it was a great pleasure.
So the bottom line is: if you want something to work both portable and mobile or maybe just one or the other: this is the antenna for you!
73 DE Kyle W4KTF |
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| WQ6F |
Rating:      |
2006-05-31 | |
| Great service for a great product |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I've used the Sidekick for about 3 months with the IC-7000 as a base setup. I have a very small lot in a restricted development, which would normally be a severe handicap to an antenna installation. But with the Sidekick and talking with Jim (via e-mail) on several occasions, he literally walked me through the process of setting up the radials, after which we achieved close to 1.5 SWR on all bands, and I was able to work most anything I could hear. I figure Jim's advice and help was worth more than the cost of the antenna. I am so satisfied that I ordered an El-Dorado from Jim which should arrive tomorrow. This will be an addition to my stealth 'antenna farm'. The usual caveat; I have no pecuniary connection with High Sierra but I can highly recommend the Sidekick and the great customer service from Jim. |
|
| VE3OYJ |
Rating:      |
2006-04-12 | |
| Great Antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Ordered the Sidekick Comstock package, along with the EZ-Tune Controller for the Icom IC-7000, from Jim on Saturday.
Antenna arrived on Tuesday. Installed it, loaded up perfectly on all bands, less than 1.5 swr, full output power, and NO rf floating around. This antenna is extremely well built, and I like the idea that it is user servicable and does not use fingerstock.
Put one call out on 20 and received a 5x8 report from Washington state, not bad for lousy conditions.
Best service I have ever had and Jim is extremely helpful and courteous.
If you are looking for a small motorized antenna that performs as good as it gets, I highly recommend the Sidekick. |
|
| K9PBR |
Rating:      |
2006-04-10 | |
| Great Product! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I have my Sidekick mounted on a 2006 Freightliner semi truck. It has performed perfectly since the day I mounted it there. It tunes 6m - 80m just as it is designed to do. However I did add a heaver duty mount to my truck just for added safty. The Sidekick works great with the IBOX for the ICOM IC-706MKIIG. All you do is switch the meter on the 706 to SWR, and push the button on the controller watch the swr drop and let go of the button. Your done.
I wish I had bought this antenna long ago. But I was worried about the screwdriver type antennas being to big. Well this one isn't it is perfect for semi truck instal's. And it works great on them also. great product, with great workmanship. |
|
| 9W8MBB |
Rating:      |
2006-02-13 | |
| Excellence Mobile Antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Only takes 4 days to deliver to my country(malaysia). my first mobile installation was using Mag mount(thanks 9M8DB allow me to borrow that mag mount) and managed to contact station BG7MVZ with 5,9 signal report. Now recently bought Diamond K400 3/8-C as a permanent mounting and really feel very happy since managed to contact many station such YB,YC,DW,VK with very good signal report.
If Somebody want to buy HF mobile antenna? don't waste your time, buy as least High Sierra Sidekick.
installation foto at:
http://img122.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc017404dw.jpg
73
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Earlier 5-star review posted by 9W8MBB on 2006-02-13
Only takes 4 days to deliver to my country(malaysia). my first mobile installation was using Mag mount(thanks 9M8DB allow me to borrow) and managed to contact station BG7MVZ with 5,9 signal report. Now recently bought Diamond K400 3/8-C as a permanent mounting and really feel very happy since managed to contact many station such YB,YC,DW,VK with very good signal report.
Somebody want to by HF mobile antenna? don't waste your time, buy as least High Sierra Sidekick.
installation foto at:
http://img122.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc017404dw.jpg
73
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