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Re: Screwdriver antennas in salt fog? [was: RE: High Sierra in qst]

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David Bunte

Re: Screwdriver antennas in salt fog? [was: RE: High Sierra in qst]

Dave -I used a PREDATOR made N9JMX in Kokomo, IN. After 5 years, 220 countries and None of the problems you describe, I sold it to WN9O. I am not sure they are still being made, but the SCORPION is very similar in design and I would not hesitate to use one if I decide to again do HF mobile.

Dave - K9FN

Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T

"Dave New, N8SBE" <[hidden email]> wrote:

>It seems that High Sierra is like a number of other screwdriver antenna
>companies that live in California or Arizona, where they never encounter
>winter weather with the salt fog spray that is common when driving in
>northen climates in the winter time.
>
>I rebuilt my 1800HS so many times I finally tired of it (the guide on
>the mast finally fell off, because the tiny screws threads through the
>thin mast all stripped out), and decided to get a HiQ, based on
>recommendations from a friend (unfortunately, he lives in Tennessee and
>so doesn't see the kind of winter weather I get in SE Michigan).
>
>After one winter on a trailer hitch mount behind my Durango, the antenna
>quit working (motor stalled), and I sent it back for repair. Charlie at
>HiQ called me and asked "what did you DO to this antenna?" I said,
>"Nothing special, just used it on my vehicle over a Michigan winter."
>According to Charlie, the inside of the mast was solid salt rock
>crystal. To his credit, although I think at the time the antenna was
>just out of warranty, he replaced the entire unit for free.
>
>So, I used it through that next summer, but by November, I had traded my
>Durango in for a Ram pickup, and wanted to change the mount to a
>stake-mount on the pick up bed just behind the cab, for clearance for a
>5th wheel tow, and also to try to keep it out of the salt fog. I
>actually never got around to mounting it until a few weeks ago, and had
>left the antenna stored in the garage over the winter. When I tried it
>out, the motor was stuck again. I've not had time to contact HiQ again,
>and I understand that Charlie sold/transferred the ham radio portion of
>the business to someone else, so he can concentrate on DoD contracts,
>which I'm sure are much more lucrative than the ham trade. I fear that
>this time I'll end up having to pay to replace the antenna, and these
>things are definitely not cheap.
>
>So, long story short (too late): Is there anyone on the list using
>somebody's much-vaunted screwdriver design that has actually survived
>northen winters where they use salt on the roads, without a lot of
>maintenance headaches? I would think that with the advent of the KX3, a
>lot more folks on this list will be considering going HF mobile.
>
>73,
>
>-- Dave, N8SBE
>
>
>
>______________________________________________________________
>Elecraft mailing list
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>Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
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KD8NNU

Re: Screwdriver antennas in salt fog? [was: RE: High Sierra in qst]

Scorpion 2 winters in NO on my jeep.
Don
KD8NNU

Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!

----- Reply message -----
From: "Dave" <[hidden email]>
Date: Fri, May 4, 2012 10:31 am
Subject: [Elecraft] Screwdriver antennas in salt fog? [was: RE: High Sierra in qst]
To: "Dave New, N8SBE" <[hidden email]>, <[hidden email]>

Dave -I used a PREDATOR made N9JMX in Kokomo, IN. After 5 years, 220 countries and None of the problems you describe, I sold it to WN9O. I am not sure they are still being made, but the SCORPION is very similar in design and I would not hesitate to use one if I decide to again do HF mobile.

Dave - K9FN

Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T

"Dave New, N8SBE" <[hidden email]> wrote:

KD8NNU

Re: Screwdriver antennas in salt fog? [was: RE: High Sierra in qst]

In reply to this post by David Bunte

Wow my post sent from my android was messed up.

What I tried to say was I have a Scorpion antenna and it has gone thru 2
winters in MI. I am just north of Ann Arbor.

Also I do not have a trailor hitch mount it is above my bumper on the
rear tailgate.

Hope this helps.

Don

~73
Don
KD8NNU

On Fri, May 4, 2012 at 10:55 PM, [hidden email] wrote:

> Scorpion 2 winters in NO on my jeep. Don
> KD8NNU
>
> Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!
>
> ----- Reply message -----
> From: "Dave" <[hidden email]>
> Date: Fri, May 4, 2012 10:31 am
> Subject: [Elecraft] Screwdriver antennas in salt fog? [was: RE: High
> Sierra in qst]
> To: "Dave New, N8SBE" <[hidden email]>, <[hidden email]>
>
> Dave -I used a PREDATOR made N9JMX in Kokomo, IN. After 5 years, 220
> countries and None of the problems you describe, I sold it to WN9O. I
> am not sure they are still being made, but the SCORPION is very
> similar in design and I would not hesitate to use one if I decide to
> again do HF mobile.
>
> Dave - K9FN
>
> Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T
>
> "Dave New, N8SBE" <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> It seems that High Sierra is like a number of other screwdriver
>> antenna
>> companies that live in California or Arizona, where they never
>> encounter
>> winter weather with the salt fog spray that is common when driving in
>> northen climates in the winter time.
>>
>> I rebuilt my 1800HS so many times I finally tired of it (the guide on
>> the mast finally fell off, because the tiny screws threads through
>> the
>> thin mast all stripped out), and decided to get a HiQ, based on
>> recommendations from a friend (unfortunately, he lives in Tennessee
>> and
>> so doesn't see the kind of winter weather I get in SE Michigan).
>>
>> After one winter on a trailer hitch mount behind my Durango, the
>> antenna
>> quit working (motor stalled), and I sent it back for repair. Charlie
>> at
>> HiQ called me and asked "what did you DO to this antenna?" I said,
>> "Nothing special, just used it on my vehicle over a Michigan winter."
>> According to Charlie, the inside of the mast was solid salt rock
>> crystal. To his credit, although I think at the time the antenna was
>> just out of warranty, he replaced the entire unit for free.
>>
>> So, I used it through that next summer, but by November, I had traded
>> my
>> Durango in for a Ram pickup, and wanted to change the mount to a
>> stake-mount on the pick up bed just behind the cab, for clearance for
>> a
>> 5th wheel tow, and also to try to keep it out of the salt fog. I
>> actually never got around to mounting it until a few weeks ago, and
>> had
>> left the antenna stored in the garage over the winter. When I tried
>> it
>> out, the motor was stuck again. I've not had time to contact HiQ
>> again,
>> and I understand that Charlie sold/transferred the ham radio portion
>> of
>> the business to someone else, so he can concentrate on DoD contracts,
>> which I'm sure are much more lucrative than the ham trade. I fear
>> that
>> this time I'll end up having to pay to replace the antenna, and these
>> things are definitely not cheap.
>>
>> So, long story short (too late): Is there anyone on the list using
>> somebody's much-vaunted screwdriver design that has actually survived
>> northen winters where they use salt on the roads, without a lot of
>> maintenance headaches? I would think that with the advent of the
>> KX3, a
>> lot more folks on this list will be considering going HF mobile.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> -- Dave, N8SBE
>>
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

ke9uw

Re: Screwdriver antennas in salt fog? [was: RE: High Sierra in qst]

In reply to this post by KD8NNU

I have the Preditor as well, and have found that with 100 watts they say I'm just as strong as I am at home (not sure what that really means :) ). I have always believed that QRP or LP doesn't need small components with the attached losses, but as huge as you can manage so as not to waste any power.
Anyway, Bob, N9JMX is not actively making the antennas any more...I think he sold out most of his remaining stock at Dayton last year, and is retiring from the manufacture of them and actively playing golf and fishing I think. Not sure what he is doing with his manufacturing shop, but maybe someone else may make them in the way that he did...very robust, excellent customer service.

Chuck, KE9UW
aka Jack, BMW Motorcycles BMWMOA #224

________________________________________
From: [hidden email] [[hidden email]] on behalf of [hidden email] [[hidden email]]
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2012 9:55 PM
To: Dave; Dave New, N8SBE; [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Screwdriver antennas in salt fog? [was: RE: High Sierra in qst]

Scorpion 2 winters in NO on my jeep.
Don
KD8NNU

Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!

----- Reply message -----
From: "Dave" <[hidden email]>
Date: Fri, May 4, 2012 10:31 am
Subject: [Elecraft] Screwdriver antennas in salt fog? [was: RE: High Sierra in qst]
To: "Dave New, N8SBE" <[hidden email]>, <[hidden email]>

Dave -I used a PREDATOR made N9JMX in Kokomo, IN. After 5 years, 220 countries and None of the problems you describe, I sold it to WN9O. I am not sure they are still being made, but the SCORPION is very similar in design and I would not hesitate to use one if I decide to again do HF mobile.

Dave - K9FN

Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T

"Dave New, N8SBE" <[hidden email]> wrote:

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Chuck, KE9UW

Arthur Burke

Re: Screwdriver antennas in salt fog? [was: RE: High Sierra in qst]

In reply to this post by KD8NNU

One of my friends had a screwdriver antenna mounted on an old motor mount.
It was bolted "high side up" in the bed of his truck, near the side-rear.
It got the entire antenna (including the feedpoint) above the sidewalls of
the truck bed. He insisted that mounting the antenna below there was
"eating up" the signal. Of course, with the thing that high, the "normal"
clearance one gets has now been raised significantly.

I mounted mine just off the left rear - a piece of channel steel was
tack-welded to my trailer hitch and double-bolted to the bumper. At the top
of the side of my truck, I mounted a huge home-brew fastening mechanism,
made of a u-bolt, a piece of stainless steel and a piece of starboard. The
starboard is also known as "marine plywood." I used a couple of good-sized
sheets of it to make hatch boards for my sailboat. It is non-conducting and
insulates the radiating portion of the antenna quite effectively. I do a
lot of mobile activity (and will continue to do so when I get my KX3!),
running 100W (mostly on CW) and the county hunter guys rave about my signal.

The antenna is just far enough away from the truck to help, but close
enough that I don't break the law on total clearance - well, it's possible
on a few narrow, secondary roads that I'm violating the rule, but, for the
most part....

Unless you do something really crazy with your mount, it might not make
nearly the diff a lot of people think it does.

One of the beauties of my mount (pics available on request - if you want to
see a pic or two, please email me offline via aburkefl at gmail dot com) is
that it's so solid that I can grab the body of the antenna and shake the
whole back end of the truck with nary a wobble from the antenna itself.

Art - N4PJ

On Sat, May 5, 2012 at 7:58 AM, <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Wow my post sent from my android was messed up.
>
> What I tried to say was I have a Scorpion antenna and it has gone thru 2
> winters in MI. I am just north of Ann Arbor.
>
> Also I do not have a trailor hitch mount it is above my bumper on the
> rear tailgate.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Don
>
> ~73
> Don
> KD8NNU
>
>
> On Fri, May 4, 2012 at 10:55 PM, [hidden email] wrote:
>
> > Scorpion 2 winters in NO on my jeep. Don
> > KD8NNU
> >
> > Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!
> >
> > ----- Reply message -----
> > From: "Dave" <[hidden email]>
> > Date: Fri, May 4, 2012 10:31 am
> > Subject: [Elecraft] Screwdriver antennas in salt fog? [was: RE: High
> > Sierra in qst]
> > To: "Dave New, N8SBE" <[hidden email]>, <[hidden email]>
> >
> > Dave -I used a PREDATOR made N9JMX in Kokomo, IN. After 5 years, 220
> > countries and None of the problems you describe, I sold it to WN9O. I
> > am not sure they are still being made, but the SCORPION is very
> > similar in design and I would not hesitate to use one if I decide to
> > again do HF mobile.
> >
> > Dave - K9FN
> >
> > Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T
> >
> > "Dave New, N8SBE" <[hidden email]> wrote:
> >
> >> It seems that High Sierra is like a number of other screwdriver
> >> antenna
> >> companies that live in California or Arizona, where they never
> >> encounter
> >> winter weather with the salt fog spray that is common when driving in
> >> northen climates in the winter time.
> >>
> >> I rebuilt my 1800HS so many times I finally tired of it (the guide on
> >> the mast finally fell off, because the tiny screws threads through
> >> the
> >> thin mast all stripped out), and decided to get a HiQ, based on
> >> recommendations from a friend (unfortunately, he lives in Tennessee
> >> and
> >> so doesn't see the kind of winter weather I get in SE Michigan).
> >>
> >> After one winter on a trailer hitch mount behind my Durango, the
> >> antenna
> >> quit working (motor stalled), and I sent it back for repair. Charlie
> >> at
> >> HiQ called me and asked "what did you DO to this antenna?" I said,
> >> "Nothing special, just used it on my vehicle over a Michigan winter."
> >> According to Charlie, the inside of the mast was solid salt rock
> >> crystal. To his credit, although I think at the time the antenna was
> >> just out of warranty, he replaced the entire unit for free.
> >>
> >> So, I used it through that next summer, but by November, I had traded
> >> my
> >> Durango in for a Ram pickup, and wanted to change the mount to a
> >> stake-mount on the pick up bed just behind the cab, for clearance for
> >> a
> >> 5th wheel tow, and also to try to keep it out of the salt fog. I
> >> actually never got around to mounting it until a few weeks ago, and
> >> had
> >> left the antenna stored in the garage over the winter. When I tried
> >> it
> >> out, the motor was stuck again. I've not had time to contact HiQ
> >> again,
> >> and I understand that Charlie sold/transferred the ham radio portion
> >> of
> >> the business to someone else, so he can concentrate on DoD contracts,
> >> which I'm sure are much more lucrative than the ham trade. I fear
> >> that
> >> this time I'll end up having to pay to replace the antenna, and these
> >> things are definitely not cheap.
> >>
> >> So, long story short (too late): Is there anyone on the list using
> >> somebody's much-vaunted screwdriver design that has actually survived
> >> northen winters where they use salt on the roads, without a lot of
> >> maintenance headaches? I would think that with the advent of the
> >> KX3, a
> >> lot more folks on this list will be considering going HF mobile.
> >>
> >> 73,
> >>
> >> -- Dave, N8SBE
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ______________________________________________________________
> >> Elecraft mailing list
> >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> >> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
> >>
> >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> >> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> > Post: mailto:[hidden email]
> >
> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> > Post: mailto:[hidden email]
> >
> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>