| WD9HRP |
Rating:  |
2023-03-09 | |
| The BEST HF Mobile antenna I have used! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
In 45 years of HF mobile, I have never used such a nice antenna!
I took my time mounting it as I was kinda concerned my mount wouldn't be robust enough. Then I picked up the antenna and realized how little it weighed.
I use it with an MFJ 259 to get it close to resonance and then the SWR meter in my TS-480SAT. Now I don't use the tuner in the trasnceiver! It is not needed!
BTW-my first QSO was in my mobile from North Eastern Indiana to Angola-not Angola Indiana (about 40 miles away), Angola, the western Africa nation-about 4,000 miles away!
Yeah, I'm well chuffed with it.
So far, it hasn't been an issue with it mobile and if there is an issue, it will probably be with the car, not the antenna.
I bought mine from Tarheel via eBay where they had it advertised as factory refurbished with full warranty, but about $150 less than new/virgin.
Yeah, still a LOT more than I'd paid in the past, and it might be more than I paid for ALL of those others over the past 45 years-but, it's beyond worth the price of admission! |
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| K9AT |
Rating: |
2022-10-31 | |
| Tarheel Restored My Faith In Going HF Mobile |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I installed the Little Tarheel II yesterday and today I’ve made several contacts from the mobile while driving to and from church. My only regret is that I didn’t buy a Tarheel sooner. I check into the MIDCARS from time to time and heard several strong mobile stations so that got me curious if I could do it too. But my initial opinion of HF mobile was soured by not only one but two purchases of the Yaesu ATAS 120. Why did I buy 2? We’ll I thought I had a lemon so I bought another and so completes my sour analogy. They are really terrible compared to the Tarheel. I took a break from perusing HF mobile because of this bad experience but whenever I heard a strong mobile station I asked, "Hey what are you running for a mobile antenna?" They all replied a Tarheel so that was enough to convince me to try HF mobile one more time, this time buying buying a Tarheel. Initially I steered away from Tarheel because of the price but believe me for the extra $200 they are worth it. The old adage come to mind, you get what you pay for. The fit and finish of the antenna are second to none. The red color that I bought stands out and looks great! Finally, and some people will not think this is a big deal but the packaging was as impressive as the antenna. While a subtle attribute to the overall product, to me it speaks volumes that they care about the quality of the antenna they manufacture right down to the finest detail. What impressed me the most was how they taped the bubble wrap on the antenna. They actually provided a tab on the tape for me to easily undo the tape wrapped around the antenna. Electricians call the the buddy tab to easily undo the wrapped tape. This paying attention to the tiniest detail lends itself to less frustration and prevents the customer from using a knife or box cutter which could scratch the beautiful powder coat paint job, an awesome idea. Overall if you're on the fence about doing HF mobile don't start or even contemplate going with a Yaesu ATAS 120. Don't make the mistake I did and spend the extra money for the Tarheel antenna because they are worth it. You won't regret it!
David
K9AT |
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| KE4AMQ |
Rating: |
2022-02-22 | |
| Great Antennas |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I just picked up a mini tarheel II I had the big tarheel 200a and sold it. This little antenna is something else it really kicks a??. and it tunes easy. I am running a yaesu ft891 and its a perfect Match. Um a happy camper.... |
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| W5MBG |
Rating: |
2021-08-25 | |
| Little Tarheel, IC-7100 |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| An excellent mobile antenna (as noted in the instructions, when installed properly = good ground). 36” whip gives me 80-6, 56” whip is great on 80-10. I have it working with a Tennatronix ITT-1, push a button on the radio and it tunes perfectly. Extremely high quality construction. |
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| KC0EJR |
Rating: |
2021-08-04 | |
| Great Customer Service |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've owned this antenna for a couple years and it has worked flawlessly until a couple weeks ago. Suddenly it stopped tuning. Upon disassembly I discovered the motor disconnected from the gear reduction box. I contacted Tarheel about purchasing replacement parts, and the service department told me to send it in. They fixed the issue, cleaned the coil, and tested it. They covered it under warranty! I was more than happy to pay shipping both ways for this service, even though I wasn't even asked to. I will highly recommend these antennas to anyone. |
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| K7LEN |
Rating: |
2020-05-11 | |
| Little Tarheel II working like a Boss |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
My first step into the screwdriver antenna family started with Tarheel, this antenna is my first screwdriver antenna, I have always been told that it's the antenna that makes the radio, spend your money on the antenna, and you will make your system better, this is a great example of that, My Yaesu FT891 cost me just under $600, the Tarheel and Tunematic cost me about $800, so in this case, I am glad I did! it's been less than a week, and terrible band conditions, if I can hear them, I can work them! this has not been the case with all the other antennas that I have used in the past, Hamsticks, Chameleon's, Diamond, and the like, they all work, but... not well compared to a resonant antenna. I have at least that money much into other antennas combined that did not perform as well and having to add a automatic tuner inline to make them work, So it's time to clean out the antenna closet and actually spend the money to make it work right! Great Job Tarheel, your antenna is awesome and you are there for me to ask questions and guide me along the install.
73, Mark K7LEN |
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| KJ7AZ |
Rating: |
2020-03-28 | |
| Great Antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Hi, KJ7AZ here... I bought this antenna because my 2nd Hamstick 40 meter whip broke. I was running a full set, all bands available Hamsticks and switch them out every time I wanted to change bands. I kept them in a PVC tube in the bed of the truck. The 80 meter Hamstick antenna died and I never replaced it then the 2nd 40 meter died. The tube is the problem. They rattle around and wear off the heat shrink and eventually tear up the coil wiring. Needless to say, the whole setup worked somewhat, but it was very inconvenient. The truck is a 97 Tacoma and the radio is a Yeasu 897. For those that are familiar with the older Tacoma pickups, there ain't a lot of room in there. So I have a CB, 2 meter, HF, APRS, Sirius XM and a GPS and usually 2 dogs. Well, Before the Tarheel antenna arrived I redid all the grounding on all the body parts. I also redid the grounding for the ball mount for the HF. After doing this the SWR on the remaining Stick antennas dropped from 1.7/1 to about 1.3/1. So apparently something somewhere wasn't grounded very well. Oh, there are also 8 ferrite snap on chokes at the ball mount feed point. Coax is RG-8 because I just happened to have some when I installed the original antenna. When the Little Tarheel II antenna arrived it took about an hour to install. The only problem I ran into was where to put the switch so I super glued it to the top of the 891. It took a few minutes to figure out the operation but once I got it I found I was getting an SWR of 1.1/1 on all bands. I've only made a few contacts so far and they seem to be a little louder than before. There seems to be a lot of coil left while tuning the lower bands and I haven't tried 160 yet. I've found the best way to tune while driving it to just listen to the sound. Signals and static will come way up when the antenna is tuned to the band. I can usually get a 1.1/1 just by the sound. The antenna is also much wider in bandwidth than the sticks. Anyhow, so far I'm happy. I'm still using the sort whip that came supplied and will pick up the longer whip later. Time to go play. KJ7AZ |
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| KA4KOE |
Rating: |
2019-11-27 | |
| Works! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Just installed the LT2 on my 2019 Ridgeline. Works quite well. The install was difficult as the pass-thru grommets for the truck are underneath the back seats and tucked away. I would recommend this product. The antenna does what it was designed to do. |
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| KA0AZS |
Rating: |
2019-11-04 | |
| Great mobile HF Antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased this to go with my recently bought IC-706MKII for my first ever HF mobile rig. Mounted on a Trailblazer and using a Turbo Tuner, usually with the long whip.
My experience has been fantastic.
During a family vacation from Ohio to Mt Rushmore we were able to talk to someone on HF every travel day (usually 20 and 40 Phone), including MidCars, Cuba from South Dakota and W1AW from Iowa. A nice comfort when traveling out of range of cell coverage out west. Got my daughter more interested in studying for her General.
Only warning is to check the mounting screws regularly. Mine came loose and I could have lost the antenna if I hadn't noticed. I started checking all screws daily on the road, and now weekly at home.
Folks at Tarheel Antennas and W0BW answered all questions, made suggestions, and over all were a joy to work with.
Highly recommended |
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| K0XM |
Rating: |
2019-02-05 | |
| AWESOME antenna |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I purchased the antenna at the Joplin, Mo Hamfest, hoping to get active again on HF, but from the mobile. How does it work? Like a champ. I have worked all kinds of DX with an IC706MK2G, and Intellituner, N3ZN minimite paddle and a pico keyer. China on 80cw with 100w mobile form Kansas City is testimony enough in my book. |
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