[Mobile-Portable] ANTENNA COMPARISON

Wed, 13 Feb 2002 19:35:14 -0600

Hi Tom,

Now this is "my" opinion from tests done with two other hams just after
I got my screwdriver antenna built from Don Johnson's plans back in 1994
or 1995. It was mounted on the back of a GEO Metro. The other vehicle
was a Dodge Ram pickup with Hustler mounted on bed on driver side near
the cab. The third was a Toyota pickup and Hamstick mounted on the back
side of a tool box in the middle. It was a sloppy test. We all parked in
the same field, away from power lines and metal buildings and fences. We
were about 20 feet apart running 100 watts. The next week we tried again
after the front end diodes were replaced in my FT-890. (Holy @#%& I
can't hear a thing!)

As I remember the screwdriver performed best on 40 and 75.
I think that the other two were close but a little edge to the hamstick.

On 20 and above it was a toss up.

Now for the pro's and con's:

The screwdriver had the most convenience. No changing coils or antennas
to change bands and lowest SWR everywhere. It is also the most bulky and
required the most maintenance. My friends referred to my Metro as the
"bumper car" since the screwdriver was mounted high on the rear hatch. I
wore out the finger stock several times and replaced the moving coil
once over a 5 year period. Better designs now.

The hustler requires less room to store the coils for the different
bands. The owner did not use any base matching devices and the SWR was
never as low as with the other types. Being less flexible, a spring
mount was used.

The hamstick owner used a tapped matching coil and was able to get
excellent SWR indication. The flexibility of the fiberglass base and
thin stinger was an asset if you have a lot of old trees in the
neighborhood that have low limbs over the street. If storing the other
band antennas in other than the bed of the pickup, the stinger needs to
be removed and must be reinstalled in the same place to keep the same
matching. Some of the "brand X" Hamsticks have a better way to remove
the stinger than a couple of set screws. Hamsticks are the most
invisible to xyl's, a big plus factor.

I first went mobile in the late 70's with hustler super resonators and a
Yaesu FT-7. I did 40 meter cw and 10 meter ssb. I got very good results.
Some say it was due to the 4 radials (Goodyear)!! I then went to a bug
catcher a few years later and noticed marked improvement.  The bug
catcher is an unwieldy monster. After 5 years the screwdriver was
retired I went to Hamsticks for 40, 20 and 17. No more mobile cw. Now I
have to watch out for the people with cell phones (they do cause brain
damage as evidenced by erratic driving habits!).

In conclusion, there are advantages and shortcomings for each type and
the one for you is the one that meets the needs of your operating habits
and mounting requirements of the vehicle. You can get a good screwdriver
for about $150 or an excellent one for $300. Hamsticks are about $20 +/-
per band and Hustler setups for a song and a dance at hamfests.

If price was not a factor and I was starting over I would choose the
screwdriver first, hamstick second and hustler third (if I got them for
free). And the Canadians should have won the gold!

73,
Jim, N5QL

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Thomas
Worthy
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 8:23 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Mobile-Portable] ANTENNA COMPARISON

Hi,

I would like to hear from anyone who has made any signal comparisons
between Hamstick/Hustler and a screwdriver type antenna.  I would enjoy
hearing from anyone, no matter how small or large your test were.

Thank you very much,

Tom, W7YW

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