Everything you need to know about Wolf River Coils antennas.

Taking a look at the different coils and setup configurations of the Wolf River Coils Silver Bullet 1000 TIA, Silver Bullet Mini, Center Loaded option, as well as the MFJ 1979 17' Telescopic whip.

 

I have used a couple of the expensive portables but always went back to Wolf river. As it usually goes the most expensive doesn't perform any better.

 

I have not watched the video yet. I am looking forward to it. I am considering the Chameleon system or the Wolf River Coils. Still on the fence.

 

These are ok for the price but be aware what you are buying. I broke one in the middle within a few days after I got it. They are a small diameter hollow plastic pipe and can be cracked with side to side force. The coils are close together and in contact with regular pvc plastic so power handling is something to look into before you buy. They are the only ones I am aware of that sells an affordable coil for 160 meters and that's why I bought it. MFJ makes a far superior coil for 40 meters called MFJ-67 https://mfjenterprises.com/products/mfj-67?_pos=6&_sid=d9769139c&_ss=r

 

Thanks Mike for the reviews you do. I brought a WRC SOTA special version with the 6.5 feet whip after looking at your YouTube video where you took a WRC antenna to the park in winter.

I took it out to the park mounted on a K400 trunk mount yesterday to operate portable for the first time. The noise level was S0 on 40 meters and lot of regional stations were booming in. Had a QSO with KJ4IIB in Mobile, AL from Wheeling, IL. Hoping to do more portable work with it. The only thing was couple of cars actually stopped behind mine to see what I was doing which was a bit uncomfortable. I guess that’s something one should be prepared for when working outside.

 

Must have been extreme. I have a 1000 that's mounted to the roof with a 9' whip up for two years and two severe windstorms. The last one was straight line winds that took out my VHF /UHF array and several 100 year old trees.
The mount holding the antenna was bent but the coil was fine. I thought it would have been the first thing to go but it was the last and kept going.

 

Used the same SB-1000 TIA in my portable man pack then mobile for several years now in my go kit. I have put mine thru some good Michigan winters. Built like a tank so not sure how one could break a SCH-40 PVC with out running it over with a tank

 

Thats a really cool man pack setup! I wish more people in the trades would have antennas like that on their work vans too. I'm in the Tile industry (not the installation side) and I have never seen a work van with an antenna. Very sad.

 

I wonder if you had one of the very early ones. I have heard of them melting from too much power on digital which is why they came out with an upgraded "platinum" coil that can handle the heat. I haven't heard of one physically breaking however. My very first time holding my coil I was instantly surprised at how rugged and well built it felt.

 

I haven't tried any of the super expensive ones. They look great, and people say good things about them, but some are over $500 for what is pretty much the same antenna. Sure they may look fancier, but at the end of the day, it's just a coil and a whip.

 

That K400 mount is great. I'm amazed at how well these antennas perform on a trunk mount. I wouldn't use the telescopic whip driving down the road, but I've done many a lunchtime POTA activation with the Silver Bullet Mini and the 6.5' whip on the trunk. No ground, no counterpoise, no bonding. Everything you shouldn't do, and it still works.

 

I was lucky to have a couple of fellows loaned me out theirs telling me there is a difference. Only difference I could find was price when I used them. I just stay with a slingshot launcher,dipole and if not trees use the wolf river. Kind of done with that now and just go mobile. I use a Breedlove mount on the truck for HF with a screwdriver and if I need I can run a coax from that to whatever I setup. Prefer having heat and a/c and staying dry now. Hiking is for the young.

 

Yeah that's about the only difference i've seen too is price. I'd love to try them being the antenna nerd that I am. I agree with you though, keep it simple.

 

Its an outstanding antenna system. I can't say enough good about it.

 

Actually this MFJ 1979 whip is absolutely a perfect setup on 20M. The 28-29 ohms impedance is right what it should be for a proper ground mounted 1/4 lambda vertical with appropriate radials. You can use a capacitor or some inductance at the base to tune out the reactance and get to 50 ohms to make the transmitter happy. It will totally rock on 20M and avoid the coil.

Don't believe the "fine tuning" of SWR is of any help in signal other than maybe keeping your rig from folding back power. To "fix" 20M, just add some inductance or capacitance to the base (like the old bug catcher base inductance coil). You'll get maximum signal out with the full sized 1/4 lambda radiator from MFJ. Especially with just 3 radials. Longer antenna always better than short loading coil antenna.

The "better" match on 80M is due to ground losses using the way way way too short ground radials. The SWR is good but radiation will suck.

Personally, I find the wolf river coils lack ability to handle any power. At 100W cw, we had one melt the PVC ! It looked like a limp antenna needing viagra....

Better to find an old bug catcher coil and use that. It will handle 400-500W reliably.

Here is a good site to understand why the center loaded coil works better - has little to do with "angle of radiation"... http://66pacific.com/calculators/coil-shortened-vertical-antenna-calculator.aspx