Looks like you have lost some weight Timothy. I bought a Little Tarheel II about 15 years ago while on holiday in the USA. I have been using it ever since - great antenna, built like a tank. I also use an extended whip when on 40/30/20/17, it improves signals dramatically on these bands. But use the supplied shorter whip on 15/10/12/6. With the longer whip it is too long to operate on the higher bands. Sayonara
@@timg5tm941 Actually I was talking about for on the move but I’ve noticed a lot of guys do static mobile and that’s cool too. Jack / KF5SGC / Richardson Texas USA
Thanks Tim, great overview of that antenna. Looks awesome. I’ve always scratched my head about the name of that antenna. A “Tarheel” is someone from North Carolina which is pretty much my part of the states, yet it’s built over in the middle of the USA in Missouri. All the best my good friend, talk to you soon!
I’ve been in touch.. he’s back making the antennas under the name Tarheel Designs.. now two companies make them. He’s yet to accept payment or shipping outside of the U.S but is working on that.
a fellow ham passing my place stopped to have a chat about my little antenna farm has the larger version of this on his camper van he seemed quite pleased with it especially as he got it for a bargain price!
People who have them, love them. They are significantly more expensive than the Yaesu ATAS-120A but, for those who operate 40m and 80m swear by them. I’m never mobile when 40m is open so I’m content with my ATAS (76/100 to Mobile DXCC). I do wish the ATAS was more efficient but it’s fine. Very happy to see you had some time with the “Li’l Tarheel”. MFJ makes a programmable tuner for the TH that would let you set up to 8 or 10 buttons set for any frequency. That would really speed up band changes. 73 Tim!
The Mad Dog is still the winner for me. Well made and cheap enough to not be worried if it ever breaks. Marty has just brought out the Big Dog Coil so he has everything covered.
I quite fancied one of these myself Tim but in the end it was easier to buy the ATAS, still haven’t had chance to try it but the build looks good. Thanks for the video.
i've the little T2 for over 11 years or maybe more, the original stylus is too short for the low bands to be efficient so I put a "quick disconnect" and also a spring, and I change it with 2 others depending on the activity I want to do (a 102 cb stylus and another longer one) when driving I don't do radio because it's dangerous and illegal (except with hands-free) so I listen by brushing the frequencies and if I can I stop to capture the DX, for those who use it on the move you will notice that having the short whip does not have too much fading effect as with long antennas. The manual tune was annoing and i'm bit lazy and dont want swrmeter (and if i use it only with cross neddle) so i've try several external auto controller ,mfj sdc102/103 was so so because lose memories and sometime reset the antenna during power onethe car (lowered the colil and after return in previous position), gived a chance to tunematic and was very powerful but a lot expensive and return to "tunematic lite" but don like it, also had a turbotuner (first series not 2) but stil think about how good was, another great was "Target tuner", ... the surprise surprise was a gift from buddy with "AX-17 Automatic Screwdriver" and must admit great cina product (only because gift, im not so brave to spend a lot of money in "anonimous" stuff)... 73 de iz3qvb PS: I think it's a must take time to chise the right antenna controller because if you change radio (my old 857 burned finals so put the icom 706mk2g insead) you must change and spend a lot of money to replace if dont buy an universal tipe that need only change cable for differet brand ypu lose (like me) a lot of money and time. thanks for sharing
Of all the various mobile antennas I’ve used, the old W6AM screwdriver was hands down the best performing, but tedious to tune. At 10M, it performed about the same as a Hamstik, but at 40M it was much better. Note that the capacitive ground may work for 20M on up, but on 40M and 80M, you’ll want a hard wired ground.
I got mine about a year and a half ago. I use it on top of my van for POTA activations. I use both the standard 32 inch as well as the 56 inch long whip that you can order separately. It has been a great antenna for me and I don't regret it! High quality build too. :o) 73 K5MGK
700 for a mobile whip wow. That is crazy for a compromised antenna.. think i need to learn how to use machines etc and produce these hahaha. Great video again tim. Thanks mate.
@timg5tm941 wish I had the expertise of creating such a masterpiece.but unfortunately I have to stick to 3d printed stuff to make my antennas. Hopefully a new video coming out on my channel for my new toy.
Nice antenna, and I've only ever read good things about them. I'm currently sitting in the car park at Jack and Jill Windmills,. Clayton, with my modest but mighty £20 Ampro 20 on a Sirio magmount though, and have just had a great QSO with ZL3XDJ Brian with 5 W CW 😅 Really enjoying your videos Tim. All very easy to watch. Best wishes, M3KXZ
Hello Tim, I have a little tarheel on the car and it seems to work fairly well with the standard whip but I made myself a slightly longer whip as per the length given in the user manual and I do notice an improvement in comparative recieved signal strength from stations. I purchased mine from moonraker some years ago but as you say you just cannot purchase one in the UK at the present time. Hopefully uk suppliers will consider importing them again, enjoyed the video, many thanks, Mark, g1mkp
On Amazon, Harvest HD-330 Screwdriver Antenna. Bought a wireless motor controller with remote also bought from Amazon. Had several screwdrivers. High Sierra and a ATAS. It is cheap and works like any other one I had.....
I was thinking of getting one - the original owner refurbishes them - so there is Tarheel which is the original company with new owners, and then there is Tarheel Designs which is the new company with the original designer and builder. I’m liking Tarheel Designs better. He is coming up with new designs now.
I had an atas at one time, it wasn't even a good paperweight as it rolled off the desk. I now have a tarheel and the difference is day and night. Longer whip is not an issue when stationary, I wouldn't advise a longer whip if moving. I have thrown a wire over a tree instead of the whip and tuned topband easily. The biggest advantage in my opinion is it will work with any hf rig, you are not tied to one manufacturer.
@Marcel-PG0M Are you serious?!!! Three times as much. These manufacturers are insane. How can a well rated 3D printer cost less than a screwdriver antenna. 3D printer has 3 to 4 motors, heating elements, a processor, display, power supply, and cable at $150 USD. The ATAS 120A is $300+USD.
@timg5tm941 If o/p is right about it being even more expensive than atas 120A, I think the manufacturer needs to rethink this. In the states, atas is 20% cheaper than the tarheel 2. But my guess is that once it's been in production, the price will drop. Even so, the manufacturer is going to have to drop the price. Having said this, you still did a good product review and tutorial.
@@timg5tm941 when parking, a 5meter long mast for a 1/4 wave vertial for 14MHz would fit to a car without a problem, even a 10m glasfiber telescopic mast for 7MHz.
@@timg5tm941 Well, It does work (while stationary) to pop a telescopic 1/4 wave 17' antenna on top of my tarheel 200HP, but I have not tried it in the little tarheel . Of course the telescopic has to be slightly shorter than full length for 20M when on the big tarheel, but it works great with very little coil showing for 40M and 80 meters is very effective too. I have yet to try to get 160M on that set up but that might be something for later this coming winter. If you are going to operate while in motion, of course, you will want to use a shorter wire. I have installed a bayonet type of connection, and can remove and replace the whip with just a downward tug and 1/4 of a turn and it pops loose. So its easy to go from the LONG whip when parked, to either the 6 ft or the 56 inch whip if you are going to be bashing into tree limbs. When talking about antennas, bigger is better. If you think of it as comparing a 2M short "rubber" antenna to a 2M 5/8's wave mobile antenna on a car, you see what I mean. Even the little tarheel, while having good Efficiency is not as good as the bigger tarheel antenna. Size matters when it comes to antennas so put up the biggest you can tote around! 73
Looks like you have lost some weight Timothy. I bought a Little Tarheel II about 15 years ago while on holiday in the USA. I have been using it ever since - great antenna, built like a tank. I also use an extended whip when on 40/30/20/17, it improves signals dramatically on these bands. But use the supplied shorter whip on 15/10/12/6. With the longer whip it is too long to operate on the higher bands. Sayonara
My observations exactly (thanks for the wright loss comment 👍👍). 73
You should use a 56” whip. The 32” whip is garbage.
The 108 inch whip I actually used worked well
@@timg5tm941 Actually I was talking about for on the move but I’ve noticed a lot of guys do static mobile and that’s cool too. Jack / KF5SGC / Richardson Texas USA
Good point 👍
Thanks Tim, great overview of that antenna. Looks awesome. I’ve always scratched my head about the name of that antenna. A “Tarheel” is someone from North Carolina which is pretty much my part of the states, yet it’s built over in the middle of the USA in Missouri. All the best my good friend, talk to you soon!
Used to be made in North Carolina, until the maker sold to the Missouri folks.
@@COASTALWAVESWIRES they sure are well made!
I’ve been in touch.. he’s back making the antennas under the name Tarheel Designs.. now two companies make them. He’s yet to accept payment or shipping outside of the U.S but is working on that.
Tarheel Designs calls his the little Tarheel pro. Little Tarheel II with upgrades.
Ran one on my car for a few years. Really enjoyed it - and it worked well, too, as long as there was a solid ground to the frame of the car.
Just received mine, with the small tripod, called the portable kit. Can’t wait to use it!
@@markr9895 nice!
a fellow ham passing my place stopped to have a chat about my little antenna farm has the larger version of this on his camper van he seemed quite pleased with it especially as he got it for a bargain price!
People who have them, love them. They are significantly more expensive than the Yaesu ATAS-120A but, for those who operate 40m and 80m swear by them. I’m never mobile when 40m is open so I’m content with my ATAS (76/100 to Mobile DXCC). I do wish the ATAS was more efficient but it’s fine. Very happy to see you had some time with the “Li’l Tarheel”.
MFJ makes a programmable tuner for the TH that would let you set up to 8 or 10 buttons set for any frequency. That would really speed up band changes. 73 Tim!
Ahead of you Joe! One was kindly loaned to me by Tom as part of the parcel. I’m going to try that v soon.
I think I will stick to a bit of wire - much more my price range lol. 73 M7BLC
I wonder whether it might be built from scratch.
Morning tim that antenna is cool love it, another great vid mate 👍
Thank you!
The Mad Dog is still the winner for me. Well made and cheap enough to not be worried if it ever breaks.
Marty has just brought out the Big Dog Coil so he has everything covered.
Yes I’m a big fan of the mad dog coil. I need to check out that new model
Love my tarheel two. Along with the 56 inch whip and the mini memory controller is the bomb on the back of my car
@@WX4CB great stuff!
I quite fancied one of these myself Tim but in the end it was easier to buy the ATAS, still haven’t had chance to try it but the build looks good. Thanks for the video.
@@gtretroworld thanks and my pleasure
i've the little T2 for over 11 years or maybe more, the original stylus is too short for the low bands to be efficient so I put a "quick disconnect" and also a spring, and I change it with 2 others depending on the activity I want to do (a 102 cb stylus and another longer one) when driving I don't do radio because it's dangerous and illegal (except with hands-free) so I listen by brushing the frequencies and if I can I stop to capture the DX, for those who use it on the move you will notice that having the short whip does not have too much fading effect as with long antennas.
The manual tune was annoing and i'm bit lazy and dont want swrmeter (and if i use it only with cross neddle) so i've try several external auto controller ,mfj sdc102/103 was so so because lose memories and sometime reset the antenna during power onethe car (lowered the colil and after return in previous position), gived a chance to tunematic and was very powerful but a lot expensive and return to "tunematic lite" but don like it, also had a turbotuner (first series not 2) but stil think about how good was, another great was "Target tuner", ... the surprise surprise was a gift from buddy with "AX-17 Automatic Screwdriver" and must admit great cina product (only because gift, im not so brave to spend a lot of money in "anonimous" stuff)... 73 de iz3qvb
PS: I think it's a must take time to chise the right antenna controller because if you change radio (my old 857 burned finals so put the icom 706mk2g insead) you must change and spend a lot of money to replace if dont buy an universal tipe that need only change cable for differet brand ypu lose (like me) a lot of money and time.
thanks for sharing
Of all the various mobile antennas I’ve used, the old W6AM screwdriver was hands down the best performing, but tedious to tune. At 10M, it performed about the same as a Hamstik, but at 40M it was much better. Note that the capacitive ground may work for 20M on up, but on 40M and 80M, you’ll want a hard wired ground.
@@donnakano3697 certainly better to have proper grounding. Luckily my car is a decent chunk of metal so 40 tunes ok even with a single mag mount. 73
I got mine about a year and a half ago. I use it on top of my van for POTA activations. I use both the standard 32 inch as well as the 56 inch long whip that you can order separately. It has been a great antenna for me and I don't regret it! High quality build too. :o) 73 K5MGK
Glad you like it!
Glad it is working well Tim
Diolch unwaith eto Tom!
700 for a mobile whip wow. That is crazy for a compromised antenna.. think i need to learn how to use machines etc and produce these hahaha. Great video again tim. Thanks mate.
@@ukm6yik69 go for it! But make sure you make enough to sell in the UK! 73
@timg5tm941 wish I had the expertise of creating such a masterpiece.but unfortunately I have to stick to 3d printed stuff to make my antennas. Hopefully a new video coming out on my channel for my new toy.
Use this as base antenna with a few elevated radials and worked VK several times
@@Ei2iP I’ve heard a few say the same
Nice antenna, and I've only ever read good things about them. I'm currently sitting in the car park at Jack and Jill Windmills,. Clayton, with my modest but mighty £20 Ampro 20 on a Sirio magmount though, and have just had a great QSO with ZL3XDJ Brian with 5 W CW 😅
Really enjoying your videos Tim. All very easy to watch.
Best wishes, M3KXZ
Hi Pete! You can’t whack an Ampro! Still best bang for your buck!
Hello Tim, I have a little tarheel on the car and it seems to work fairly well with the standard whip but I made myself a slightly longer whip as per the length given in the user manual and I do notice an improvement in comparative recieved signal strength from stations. I purchased mine from moonraker some years ago but as you say you just cannot purchase one in the UK at the present time. Hopefully uk suppliers will consider importing them again, enjoyed the video, many thanks, Mark, g1mkp
@@MARK-k4o4j thank you Mark. Yes I’m hoping they’ll be back in the UK soon
On Amazon, Harvest HD-330 Screwdriver Antenna. Bought a wireless motor controller with remote also bought from Amazon. Had several screwdrivers. High Sierra and a ATAS. It is cheap and works like any other one I had.....
On my Little Tarheel you can use a quick connect from the coil and have lots of different whip lengths. I find that much easier on my wrangler.
Good idea
I was thinking of getting one - the original owner refurbishes them - so there is Tarheel which is the original company with new owners, and then there is Tarheel Designs which is the new company with the original designer and builder. I’m liking Tarheel Designs better. He is coming up with new designs now.
Yes his prices are slightly lower too. But he doesn’t have a licence yet to ship or accept payments from outside the U.S
@@timg5tm941 boo. Someone needs to bring it to you when they are on holiday... ;-)
Hi Tim....have you put your newly acquired Xiegu G90 Through its paces yet..maybe a future video.
On the list. Need time!
I had an atas at one time, it wasn't even a good paperweight as it rolled off the desk. I now have a tarheel and the difference is day and night. Longer whip is not an issue when stationary, I wouldn't advise a longer whip if moving. I have thrown a wire over a tree instead of the whip and tuned topband easily. The biggest advantage in my opinion is it will work with any hf rig, you are not tied to one manufacturer.
Agree with all those points .. 73 and thanks for watching
Thanks for the review. Expensive yes, but very good quality. Just wish somebody would stock them in the UK. 73, Dave G0BXS
Exactly!
Tim, I emailed Martin Lynch this morning and they are going to make enquiries as Tarheel have new models out.
Yes 9ft work fabulous had mine years from Mls regards Adi G7MUY
Hi, you are using Yaesu so you should try the ATAS 120A antenna, much easier to use and probably just as effective and maybe cheaper.
There was an American he test a Tarheel and a ATAS. Atas wins, not a big difference but the winner. I love to work with the ATAs 120 on my 891.
It’s cheaper I agree and I’m doing a modelled comparison soon which may show why.
If it’s the video I’m thinking of it wasn’t entirely a scientific comparison .. if it’s the video I think you mean.
Have you tried the Diamond SD 330 Tim
Yes but its difficult to add a longer whip here too
I use the diamond equivalent.. works fine.
I have that too .. decent antenna
Thanks for sharing Tim, with the greatest of respect, what ever next hi hi. Very expensive compromise ant, not for me iam afraid mate.
They’d sell like crazy if they would get them into the Uk.
@@M7EUP I think you might be right Matt!
I have my Tarheel 200A that I'm not using
Listen for the noise. Then an ad comes on 🤣. Gotta love TH-cam and their ads !
@@oldfartonabmx2122 ha!! Indeed 🤣
I have the Tarheel 200A for sale if anyone needs one, it's a pile up buster 😮 i have the mfj 1979 on mine.
Nice!
Nice review and tutorial. ATAS 120A is way too steep in price.
@@joeboxter3635 thanks Joe!
ATAS120A costs 273,58 pound in the Netherlands, the Tarheel 2 cost in Germany 755,85 pound.... What about steep ?
@@Marcel-PG0M what about quality of build and antenna efficiency by being able to easily use a longer whip?
@Marcel-PG0M Are you serious?!!! Three times as much. These manufacturers are insane.
How can a well rated 3D printer cost less than a screwdriver antenna. 3D printer has 3 to 4 motors, heating elements, a processor, display, power supply, and cable at $150 USD. The ATAS 120A is $300+USD.
@timg5tm941 If o/p is right about it being even more expensive than atas 120A, I think the manufacturer needs to rethink this.
In the states, atas is 20% cheaper than the tarheel 2. But my guess is that once it's been in production, the price will drop. Even so, the manufacturer is going to have to drop the price.
Having said this, you still did a good product review and tutorial.
compare your tarheel to a 1/4 wavelength vertical copperwire, i doubt that your tarheel would do any better.
@@PIasmaZombie oh indeed. But then again I doubt I’d regularly pop a 20 or 40m 1/4 wave on my car roof really. 73
@@timg5tm941 when parking, a 5meter long mast for a 1/4 wave vertial for 14MHz would fit to a car without a problem, even a 10m glasfiber telescopic mast for 7MHz.
@@timg5tm941 Well, It does work (while stationary) to pop a telescopic 1/4 wave 17' antenna on top of my tarheel 200HP, but I have not tried it in the little tarheel . Of course the telescopic has to be slightly shorter than full length for 20M when on the big tarheel, but it works great with very little coil showing for 40M and 80 meters is very effective too. I have yet to try to get 160M on that set up but that might be something for later this coming winter. If you are going to operate while in motion, of course, you will want to use a shorter wire. I have installed a bayonet type of connection, and can remove and replace the whip with just a downward tug and 1/4 of a turn and it pops loose. So its easy to go from the LONG whip when parked, to either the 6 ft or the 56 inch whip if you are going to be bashing into tree limbs. When talking about antennas, bigger is better. If you think of it as comparing a 2M short "rubber" antenna to a 2M 5/8's wave mobile antenna on a car, you see what I mean. Even the little tarheel, while having good Efficiency is not as good as the bigger tarheel antenna. Size matters when it comes to antennas so put up the biggest you can tote around! 73
I'd buy one deffo.
So would I for sure
A lot of money for a motor😊