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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
M1AZZ Rating: 2005-08-29
TRYING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
BORROWED SIDEKICK FROM 2E0RCA TO TRY,SET IT UP ON A TRIPOD ON MY BACK LAWN.FIRST CONTACTS INTO RUSSIA AND ITALY,59,57.THEN INTO WEST COAST AMERICA,WASHINGTON STATE,KW7Y,53/32.CONDITIONS WHERE NOT GREAT.NEXT CONTACT INTO TORONTO.IT DOES THE JOB.BUYING ONE.
2E0GMW Rating: 2005-07-28
first class!!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
If mobile hf is you thing then this antenna is for you!! superb performance 80/6m yet small enough to store in the boot and with the add of a larger wip the performance is improved!!!i curantly run with a 4ft, standerd is only 3ft but eaven this small gain in lenth is notisable you can go up to 6 ft so im told so that would make it even better!!and as for the tuning very very easy just lisen for max recive and you won't be far off then just fine tune !! there are kits out there for icom /and yaesu that make things even easyer!!
having not used the yaesu atas 100/120 i can not coment on how thay fair against each other but with the add of 80m the sidekick in my opinion is unbeatable as well as first class biuld quality!!
well done high sierra!!
K8WLK Rating: 2005-07-01
A+ product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My installation is on a 2005 Buick Rendezvous using a lip amount on the left rear door. Performance is excellent. My rig is a Kenwood 480HX.

The Sidekick is characterized by high quality materials, excellent workmanship and ease of operation. The flexible mounting systems are superb. It's small compact design coupled with excellent performance is a real winner.

If you have any questions they are excellent with customers.

Congratulations to High Sierra on excellent design, workmanship, performance and service.

Do not miss this one just buy one.
K2ZBMOBILE Rating: 2005-05-28
Great Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I picked up a Sidekick and the Icom i-Box, tuning plug it in and man is it nice and easy to use. I asked Jim at High Sierra if it would be ok to run a 6 foot whip and he told me no problem I get 10 m to 80 m perfect and in times when the bands are not so hot it works real fine. It is well made and they got away from using beryllium finger stock for contact with the coil. I’m told they make a model for Yaesu to plug in to the tuning port, that works just like the Icom.

I have made several DX contacts in the past month and most of them were a surprise to them and me at this time of poor band conditions.

Have used the ATAS 100 for 5 years and it was ok but did not have 80 m. and tuning was a hassle, using the tuning plug found on the internet.

Sidekick is what I have and it works with all recent ICOM HF Radios. Push the antenna's tuning button and the radio automatically transmits a CW carrier at low power for about 1 second longer after letting go the up/down button. Gives you time to make further changes. Easier tune-up at 15 watts approximately, and saves wear and tear on the rig.



73



Dick Galbraith k2zb@arrl.net


K4KAL Rating: 2005-05-27
Works Great ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Rather then wait for Dayton, I purchased mine so I could use it for the drive up there. I was impressed! My antenna was mounted on the High Sierra magnet mount, and was running over 300 watts with no problems. I think it is rated for 250? Using mine with a Icom 706MKIIG and the I-Box controller.
G8YTC Rating: 2005-03-05
Excellent product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought to remove the need to carry 5 or 6 helicals in the car boot (trunk). Fits on a single 6 inch mag mount.

Used it on holiday straight away in South West England, SSN was 40 and using 50 watts reached the Azores and Brazil at 5&7.

Used it last weekend and managed USA & Bahrain at 5 & 7.

Can't fault it for the size.
M1LCR Rating: 2005-02-11
Just great ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased a High Sierra side kick, a little over a month ago, and have one or two comments about it.

First of all it does exactly what it says on the box. I installed the aerial on a especially made mouting bracket that I made for my 4x4 (Land Rover Discovery) much in the same way that A45AZ made for his, as described in RadCom, 2004. (Although the bracket I had made was different as I effectively bolted a piece of 1.25 " box section steel, and made a bracket to mount a 3/8's stud mount onto the baracket).

With the supplied whip, I have made many contacts at the 1-2,000 Mile range, while lirerally mobile (driving to work etc).

Secondly, I have added a 9 foot CB Whip to the installation for "Static" mobile operations and this improved the performance dramatically.

As with all mobile HF installations pay careful attention to earthing the system. I installed a length of Copper wire (which comprises of 7x47x8 Strands of Copper Wire. The stuff they sell to the guys who like putting 500W audio amps in their cars....) each end of this Copper wire was fitted with a half inch diameter gold plated spade connector. (Soldered on as well as crimped) and bolted with a Brass Nut and Bolt to the Chassis of the vehicle. Its length is 4 Metres.
At the base of the mount I have fitted a Banana socket, to which I can attach pre-measured radials (3 for each band). This again has dramatically improved performance, when static.

(Note I work away from home during the week, and enjoy being on air when not working or lounging around in front of a hotel TV....further plans include running RTTY /M !!! and SSTV /M that will be fun !)

A truly great aerial !
WC4X Rating: 2005-01-08
Fantastic mobile antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased the Sidekick a little over one year ago. It replaced a Yaesu ATAS 100. The difference is between night and day! The Sidekick performs as advertised and has proven very reliable and predictable. I have worked all bands from 80 CW to 6 meter repeaters. As long as you have the usual grounding precautions,the antenna works remarkably well for its size. I use a Diamond K400 trunk lip mount and it has held up well under normal highway driving. Dealing with Jim at High Sierra is always a pleasure, and he is extremely interested in making and keeping happy customers.
W7PHEONIX Rating: 2004-12-13
It does work great! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had several mobile antennas over many years. I even had some copies of the High Sierra big screwdriver. All of the copies had some mechanical problems. So this time I decided to buy the real deal. This little Sidekick is really great. It works as good or better than the big screwdrivers that I had. I used this antenna for about three years now and talked to the world with it. It was easy to mount. I recently got the Ibox controller to go with my Icom 706. It's a great combination.
KG7DX Rating: 2004-12-01
Really Honks! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
OK, it's not a mobile Cushcraft A4, but for its size, it really gets out! When you're stationary in camp, exchange the 3 foot whip for Jim's 6 footer and it REALLY honks! I have the 1800DX on the F-150 2" hitch with Jim's adapter, and was impressed with the high quality of construction and the excellently written manual of that antenna, and the new SideKick is another winner in Jim's stable of highest-quality products. The SideKick works very well with the stainless-steel bracket he sells for about $20 attached to the upper part of the ladder on my Jayco travel trailer. (Ground-ground-ground!) I also tried this one with the fold-out ground mounted antenna base from Outbacker and it works extremely well there as well.. a few impromptu radials might help a little more, perhaps, but it's hard to judge while portable and trailer camping. High Sierra builds some of the highest quality products in Amateur Radio today, and though they may seem a little more expensive at first glance, I'd suggest that (1) you get what you pay for in quality with High Sierra; and (2) if buy quality the first time, you won't have to replace it later with something better. Kudos to High Sierra and Jim Heath for a superior product for the amateur radio market!! de KG7DX