Mobile HF still working well after 23 months!

Review update: I’ve owned and used the Alpha MOTO antenna for 23 months now, all kinds of weather, up to 95mph on the highway, hit branches, garage doors, ATM overhangs, etc. My Alpha MOTO is still in excellent working condition. My YouTube videos (linked in my profile) also demonstrate many other things that I do with this antenna configuration. Per my initial review, I did swap out the original Alpha whip for a longer and stiffer Wilson whip, taken from an out-of-service Wilson 11-meter mag mount.

With my barefoot Yaesu FT100D in mobile mode, in tandem with Alpha MOTO and LDG tuner, I’ve QSOd and QSL’ed Cuba, Czech Republic, and Hawaii. Despite the horrible band conditions that have plagued operators for weeks, lately, OK2RZ was my most recent 20meter mobile DX QSO. The right spot at the right time. This is the 3rd consecutive year that OK2RZ and I QSO’ed.

Not all of my HF QSOs are mobile. I also use a 27′ jumper between the Alpha MOTO coil and my 98′ inverted L in my oaks. At times, I also bypass my Alpha MOTO altogether with 65′ of coax from my mobile radio to 9-1 UnUn in the bushes and 300′ of inverted L in my oaks. But, then, that’s one of the joys of this build, that I can use multiple, easy to convert configurations on the same mobile platform. I still occasionally use the 13′ Alpha Milstick on a stud on top of my mobile mount bracket, which I then jumper to the Alpha coil, but only in stationary/semi-portable status. I did the stud mount and jumper arrangement for the Milstick because the K9000 actuator cannot sustain the Alpha Milstick and coil vertically.

Also, please note that the new Alpha mobile antenna transformer is in a different, heavier housing than the PVC contained Alpha MOTO that I own. I would not recommend using the same model Diamond K9000 actuator with the new heavier Alpha housing, if you’re considering a similar build, with actuators to raise and lower your Alpha mobile. I’d look for a sturdier actuator for that new Alpha coil can. When I was researching what actuator and antenna to use in my build, I watched a K9000 (groaning in YouTube video) trying to raise a Yaesu ATAS antenna. It just sounded like the actuator was working too hard dealing with all that mass and torque at the end of the ATAS. One needs to match the lift, torque, and hold capabilities of an actuator to the physical mass and wind resistance coefficient on the antenna and coil that one wants on the vehicle.

73 and God bless you.

KC1ELZ

MORE INFORMATION

More reviews on the HF MOTO antenna

See the HF MOTO antenna

View all Product Customer Reviews

Open the Alpha Antenna Home Page