Thanks for this info! I was on the hunt for just such a setup and did piece one together, however, your kit is much better. Ordered both the ground stake and mount, plus the Comet adapter. Looking forward to testing it with my SS17s. Much appreciated! New follower here. TNX es 73, Jim WB0RLJ.
Thanks Jim. I think you will be impressed with the quality of this unit; I was. Smaller, lighter, faster set up; checks all the boxes. I hope your experience with it is as positive as mine.
Hi! Nice video. I made one from a truck CB mirror mount, and a 3/4" by 24" piece of fiberglass rod used for electric fencing. The mirror mount was nine dollars at Radio shack, and the spike came from Lowe's for eight dollars. The pole is 5' long so you can make extra spikes. Mirror mount has 3/8x24 to SO239. Since I use radials with my WRC mini and a 17' whip, the fiberglass doesn't matter for grounding. Works great, and I live amongst wind farms, so it has been tested in 20+ mph winds with great success. 73, Gale, KD9OCL
Gale. Nice job. We can go from fancy, shiny show pieces, to bare bones. It is all about sending out RF to the world. I actually have a video in process about a budget stake that uses the mirror mount as you did. 73
Amazon sells a 1/2” by 1 foot aluminum rod for 6 dollars. I sharpened one end and added a “cb” angle mount like on an 18 wheeler. PL259 to 3/8” threads. I use that with my wolf river coil.
I love in an HOA and was looking for something like this but I didn’t want to buy the other 3 you showed here. This is a great alternative. I ordered the adapter and the antenna bracket holder with spike and the adapter. I don’t have an ss17 so I plan on trying this with a ham stick.
OnTheMike, this will work great with a ham stick. I had my SS-17, a 20 meter ham stick, and a 7 section collapsible with me for the video, and chose to only show the SS-17 since it would be most susceptible to the wind. Hope this works out well for you.
Thank you for your videos! I took a ground rod and cut it into thirds. One third with a mount gives me a good spike and will not bend and will hold the Wolf River Coil well. I can push it in the ground and put some 550 cord around it to help pull it out of the ground. 73 W4DES
Also in Tampa ! Taking my General Saturday. How about this antenna spike set up, with the SS17 and a ICOM 7300.... I will make contacts like you ? Awesome channel. HOA here too.
PhillyBlunt, welcome to the ham way of life. This antenna spike, the 3/8 X 24 adapter, the SS-17, and some ground radials will work great. The IC-7300, excellent choice. Hope you enjoy the hobby as much as I have / am.
@@HOAHamRadio Awesome I think that is the setup I am going to try ! Thanks alot neighbor ! Great channel for our Tampa Bay Hams and others in the clutches of the HOA.
Excellent video! While I own higher priced options like the Wolf River, a $9 mirror mount (3/8-24) on a $4 aluminum rod (of your preferred length) from the hardware store seems almost the best option in terms of both cost and effectiveness. The 4 bolts also make a great place to mount your radials. For people with hard or cold soil the Wolf River Coils tripod is a great setup. I have the larger model.
Very interesting, thanks. Always looking for new ideas for portable operating. One thought about the tripod -- screwing aluminum into aluminum always concerns me. Might be worth keeping a light coating of anti-seize compound on the threads to prevent galling.
Ron, they just introduced a version of it in 3/8 X 24; here is an affiliate link to their eBay sight. They don't organize their pages well, but if you scroll through their items, you will see this SO-239 version I showed previously, and the new 3/8 X 24. To be transparent; I haven't tested the 3/8 X 24 yet because I just recently received it. I expect it to work correctly, but I haven't verified it yet. ebay.us/rOTOnb ebay.us/bbSqUR
You have to be careful, they also have a spike with a 3/8 x 24 socket in the top. I almost ordered the wrong one, I actually did but canceled the order after discovering my error.
You were showing flex in a longer rod.. However, with that short one in a damp lawn.. there seemed to be a bit of flip flop at the ground level.. I'd go for the longer one myself. The other concern I'd have is.. I do a lot of portable operations and we don't always have soft ground like your lawn.. rather in many places.. especially here in the west.. the ground is hard in the summer. How would you 'pound' something like that w/o damaging the threads.. much less the adapter on top..? Nice presentation.
WJ Ess, for sure, I have soft soil down here. Easy for me to get spikes in the ground; although I can never seem to get the Chameleon CHA spike in all the way without a hammer. I wish the spike on the BD7-Maple was longer, but it seems to work. I only use it for short term set up, nothing long term / permanent.
Don't you need a jackhammer to get a ground spike into the ground up there, 9 out of 12 months of the year? Did you see how easy that thing went into the ground here in Tampa Bay FL? Like a hot knife in butter.
That table is awesome! It has some weight to it, so you don't want to carry it on SOTA. It folds flat; I hang it on my garage wall. When I need it, it sets up in 10 seconds, yes, 10 seconds. I put my table saw or miter box on it when needed for odd jobs around the house. Here it is on Amazon: amzn.to/38cPXEA It is expensive, but worth every penny.
Good product. Thanks for the video. But I'm not sure how much good it would be for me. I used to live in Tampa, FL (and loved it BTW) but now I live in North Texas. Pushing that spike into the soft, sandy, Tampa soil (where it rains every day in the summer) would be vastly easier than trying to push it into the thick, red clay soil in Texas, especially when it hasn't rained much. The spike's taper should help but I expect if I get one there will be times when I need to pre-drill a hole for the spike with another tool and a BIG hammer. 73 de KF5I
You are right John about the soil here in the Tampa Bay area. I guess sometimes I forget how lucky I am. I can push that spike into the ground by hand just about anywhere I set up here.
Kristyanna, thanks for the message. Actually, the error is in how they are describing it. The way you describe it is the same as I would, but different distributors describe it differently, and sometimes incorrectly. It is indeed the Comet AD-35M, Thanks for looking out for us hams.
I hear you Tommyr; that was my initial hesitation. I tried some smaller items from the same seller, and then my curiosity got the best of me on the spike.
Cheap steel rods, a great option; have a video in process there as well. I prefer the $10 rod for permanent at the QTH, something small and plated (no oxidation ever) for the coms bag.
@@HOAHamRadio thank you very much. As you know I am very limited forHF. I do what I can. And I travel either going portable or mobile. I am currently very interested in walkie-talkie mode. Just a radio like the 6100 and a telescopic aerial and a counterpoise if necessary
$59 for a "ground spike" from chameleon is insane. I made one using a piece of rebar for a few dollars. I am very surprised that people are so quick to waste their money.
David, a piece of rebar and a budget 3/8 X 24 is a great mount especially when staying set up permanently at the QTH; actually doing a video on that as a comparison to this. For my Coms Bag I prefer not to have oxidation from the untreated steel, and for the BD7-Maple, the size is excellent for small go bags.
@@HOAHamRadio Really great video, by the way! The rebar mount I made is actually 2 3/8-24 nuts, welded to the top of a piece of rebar, and a much shorter piece welded at a 90-deg angle right below the nuts to serve as a way to insert it into the ground by stepping on the shorter piece of rebar....the bottom of the longer rebar is tapered. The whole thing is painted, and i have not had any type of rust. I built this put of necessity, because there really is no commercially available version of this. I would post pictures if I could. 73
Thanks Ape. The CHA MPAS 2.0 is my favorite POTA antenna system. That CHA Spike, even though I don't ever get it all the way into the ground, it holds!
Thanks Ghost Writer.... I had someone chew me out for that and insisted they would never watch another video of mine again. Bye bye! Appreciate you watching and commenting.
I'm new so showing the antennas were very useful to me. Nice easy contact.👍
Awesome. Hoping to help those newer to the hobby.
Thanks for this info! I was on the hunt for just such a setup and did piece one together, however, your kit is much better. Ordered both the ground stake and mount, plus the Comet adapter. Looking forward to testing it with my SS17s. Much appreciated! New follower here. TNX es 73, Jim WB0RLJ.
Thanks Jim. I think you will be impressed with the quality of this unit; I was. Smaller, lighter, faster set up; checks all the boxes. I hope your experience with it is as positive as mine.
Hi! Nice video. I made one from a truck CB mirror mount, and a 3/4" by 24" piece of fiberglass rod used for electric fencing. The mirror mount was nine dollars at Radio shack, and the spike came from Lowe's for eight dollars. The pole is 5' long so you can make extra spikes. Mirror mount has 3/8x24 to SO239. Since I use radials with my WRC mini and a 17' whip, the fiberglass doesn't matter for grounding. Works great, and I live amongst wind farms, so it has been tested in 20+ mph winds with great success. 73, Gale, KD9OCL
Gale. Nice job. We can go from fancy, shiny show pieces, to bare bones. It is all about sending out RF to the world. I actually have a video in process about a budget stake that uses the mirror mount as you did. 73
Amazon sells a 1/2” by 1 foot aluminum rod for 6 dollars. I sharpened one end and added a “cb” angle mount like on an 18 wheeler. PL259 to 3/8” threads. I use that with my wolf river coil.
Great low cost and affective method!
I use a spike bayonet for an SKS Russian rifle as a stake. Works great, conversation starter, isn’t all that heavy.
Love it Lawrence, wish I had one!
I love in an HOA and was looking for something like this but I didn’t want to buy the other 3 you showed here. This is a great alternative. I ordered the adapter and the antenna bracket holder with spike and the adapter. I don’t have an ss17 so I plan on trying this with a ham stick.
OnTheMike, this will work great with a ham stick. I had my SS-17, a 20 meter ham stick, and a 7 section collapsible with me for the video, and chose to only show the SS-17 since it would be most susceptible to the wind. Hope this works out well for you.
Thank you for your videos! I took a ground rod and cut it into thirds. One third with a mount gives me a good spike and will not bend and will hold the Wolf River Coil well. I can push it in the ground and put some 550 cord around it to help pull it out of the ground. 73 W4DES
Thanks for watching and commenting Donald. Cutting that ground rod in thirds is a perfect solution!
I love the cap on your chameleon spike. Mine did not come with one.
Thuff, I actually can't remember if that came with it or not. I have two Cha Spikes, and the other is naked....
In your written intro you mention something that is NO EARTH WORMS WERE HAMRED.... I like to get HAM'RED on Saturday nights LOL
LOL, how did I miss that. Spellcheck is changing words on me all the time, then when I need it....nowhere to be fownd.
Also in Tampa ! Taking my General Saturday. How about this antenna spike set up, with the SS17 and a ICOM 7300.... I will make contacts like you ? Awesome channel. HOA here too.
PhillyBlunt, welcome to the ham way of life. This antenna spike, the 3/8 X 24 adapter, the SS-17, and some ground radials will work great. The IC-7300, excellent choice. Hope you enjoy the hobby as much as I have / am.
@@HOAHamRadio Awesome I think that is the setup I am going to try ! Thanks alot neighbor ! Great channel for our Tampa Bay Hams and others in the clutches of the HOA.
Excellent video! While I own higher priced options like the Wolf River, a $9 mirror mount (3/8-24) on a $4 aluminum rod (of your preferred length) from the hardware store seems almost the best option in terms of both cost and effectiveness. The 4 bolts also make a great place to mount your radials.
For people with hard or cold soil the Wolf River Coils tripod is a great setup. I have the larger model.
Thanks for the comments Fred. There are so many options out there for every situation and budget!
Very interesting, thanks. Always looking for new ideas for portable operating. One thought about the tripod -- screwing aluminum into aluminum always concerns me. Might be worth keeping a light coating of anti-seize compound on the threads to prevent galling.
Good suggestion on the anti-seize.
Just ran across your video and decided that the ground spike was just what I needed. Unfortunately, the ground spike is no longer available.
Ron, they just introduced a version of it in 3/8 X 24; here is an affiliate link to their eBay sight. They don't organize their pages well, but if you scroll through their items, you will see this SO-239 version I showed previously, and the new 3/8 X 24.
To be transparent; I haven't tested the 3/8 X 24 yet because I just recently received it. I expect it to work correctly, but I haven't verified it yet.
ebay.us/rOTOnb
ebay.us/bbSqUR
@@HOAHamRadio I found the new item and ordered it. It won't be here until mid-January so it should be in time for our Space Coast QRP Group outing.
You have to be careful, they also have a spike with a 3/8 x 24 socket in the top. I almost ordered the wrong one, I actually did but canceled the order after discovering my error.
I have the Super Antenna mount and like it. I se it with Chameleon mini, Wolf River coil and hamsticks. With 4 radials it works very well.
I love my Super Antenna. Not many people talk about it. I'll be doing a review for it on my channel some day. So versatile and compact.
You were showing flex in a longer rod.. However, with that short one in a damp lawn.. there seemed to be a bit of flip flop at the ground level.. I'd go for the longer one myself. The other concern I'd have is.. I do a lot of portable operations and we don't always have soft ground like your lawn.. rather in many places.. especially here in the west.. the ground is hard in the summer. How would you 'pound' something like that w/o damaging the threads.. much less the adapter on top..? Nice presentation.
WJ Ess, for sure, I have soft soil down here. Easy for me to get spikes in the ground; although I can never seem to get the Chameleon CHA spike in all the way without a hammer. I wish the spike on the BD7-Maple was longer, but it seems to work. I only use it for short term set up, nothing long term / permanent.
My call sign is KM9G and I like to play with antennas. I'm right there with you. Just waiting for weather her in WI.
Don't you need a jackhammer to get a ground spike into the ground up there, 9 out of 12 months of the year? Did you see how easy that thing went into the ground here in Tampa Bay FL? Like a hot knife in butter.
@@HOAHamRadio rub it in Bob, go ahead... 😉
okay great idea nice, but what is the black"loading coil"?
The black loading coil (matching unit) was the Chameleon Antenna CHA Micro; it pairs with the Chameleon weapon / spike I showed.
thanks for highlighting these products? Can you give details on that neat table you are using? 73, K8JLW
That table is awesome! It has some weight to it, so you don't want to carry it on SOTA. It folds flat; I hang it on my garage wall. When I need it, it sets up in 10 seconds, yes, 10 seconds. I put my table saw or miter box on it when needed for odd jobs around the house. Here it is on Amazon: amzn.to/38cPXEA It is expensive, but worth every penny.
Any chance they come back in-stock soon? Edit. If you go to the listing and view sellers other items, you can order more.
Thanks TheSavo, I'll update my link. This spike is a great piece of gear!
@@HOAHamRadio I'm starting with 99c spike and mirror mount for now. But that flex-radio class spike is neat with the $20 add on to convert to so 259.
Good product. Thanks for the video. But I'm not sure how much good it would be for me. I used to live in Tampa, FL (and loved it BTW) but now I live in North Texas. Pushing that spike into the soft, sandy, Tampa soil (where it rains every day in the summer) would be vastly easier than trying to push it into the thick, red clay soil in Texas, especially when it hasn't rained much. The spike's taper should help but I expect if I get one there will be times when I need to pre-drill a hole for the spike with another tool and a BIG hammer. 73 de KF5I
You are right John about the soil here in the Tampa Bay area. I guess sometimes I forget how lucky I am. I can push that spike into the ground by hand just about anywhere I set up here.
The Adaptor is the wrong type it has to be a UHF Male (PL-259) to 3/8-24 Threaded Antenna Mount to work with that spike adaptor
Kristyanna, thanks for the message. Actually, the error is in how they are describing it. The way you describe it is the same as I would, but different distributors describe it differently, and sometimes incorrectly. It is indeed the Comet AD-35M, Thanks for looking out for us hams.
that ebay seller has lots of nice ham goodies
The few things I've picked up there have been great quality,
Looks nice but I'll wait until they are sold from here in the U.S.
I hear you Tommyr; that was my initial hesitation. I tried some smaller items from the same seller, and then my curiosity got the best of me on the spike.
@@HOAHamRadio I get it. I learned to be a bit more cautious over the years. 73!
Drink every time he says "kit"
LOL, you'll be lit pretty quick! 🙂🙂
I use a 24" Concrete Steel Stakes from Lowes for less then $10
Cheap steel rods, a great option; have a video in process there as well.
I prefer the $10 rod for permanent at the QTH, something small and plated (no oxidation ever) for the coms bag.
1w Awesome
Thanks Digital Analogue Ham! You inspire me with making the most of challenging operating conditions.
@@HOAHamRadio thank you very much. As you know I am very limited forHF. I do what I can. And I travel either going portable or mobile. I am currently very interested in walkie-talkie mode. Just a radio like the 6100 and a telescopic aerial and a counterpoise if necessary
Glad that no earthworms were hamred.
Where was spellcheck when I needed it?
$59 for a "ground spike" from chameleon is insane. I made one using a piece of rebar for a few dollars. I am very surprised that people are so quick to waste their money.
David, a piece of rebar and a budget 3/8 X 24 is a great mount especially when staying set up permanently at the QTH; actually doing a video on that as a comparison to this. For my Coms Bag I prefer not to have oxidation from the untreated steel, and for the BD7-Maple, the size is excellent for small go bags.
@@HOAHamRadio Really great video, by the way! The rebar mount I made is actually 2 3/8-24 nuts, welded to the top of a piece of rebar, and a much shorter piece welded at a 90-deg angle right below the nuts to serve as a way to insert it into the ground by stepping on the shorter piece of rebar....the bottom of the longer rebar is tapered. The whole thing is painted, and i have not had any type of rust. I built this put of necessity, because there really is no commercially available version of this. I would post pictures if I could. 73
@@daveN2MXX If you get a chance, send a pic or two to theHOAHam@gmail.com. I enjoy seeing people think out of the box.
Nice vid Bob, I'm particularly fond of the CHA Spike 👍
Thanks Ape. The CHA MPAS 2.0 is my favorite POTA antenna system. That CHA Spike, even though I don't ever get it all the way into the ground, it holds!
"Kit", "kit", "kit" - and he's not a Brit - kinda strange...
I watched the video again, LOL, wow, minus the accent, I guess I do sound like a Brit.
Love the hellcat
Thanks Ghost Writer.... I had someone chew me out for that and insisted they would never watch another video of mine again. Bye bye!
Appreciate you watching and commenting.