The TIA has a SB1000 coil and will tune 80-10 meters. The TIA Mini has a Mini coil and will tune 40-10 meters. The SOTA Special has a Mini coil and 66' whip for ease of backpacking. It tunes 40-10 meters with slightly less performance. I see you have a dual collar system for the SB1000 and Mini. WOLF RIVER COILS LLC. 722 likes 2 talking about this. At WOLF RIVER COILS LLC we build quality antenna coils that are easy to tune and easy to install. Products manufactured by Wolf River Coils are warrantied for three (3) years from the date of purchase, except collapsible whips which are warrantied for 60 days. Customer pays for shipping of replacement product. This includes all coils, the Odophone mounting bracket, the TIA tripod and the Portable Vertical. I’m getting the ft 891 transceiver. My mom is getting me the wolf river coil TIA for My birthday. But she’s getting a slight discount due to them not having any radial wires in stock. Has anyone made radial wires before or has the WRC and can send picture of the radials and connections. This entry was posted in Ham Radio, News, Portable Radio, QRP and tagged Amateur Radio, Elecraft, Elecraft KX2, Ham Radio, KX2, Mike (K8RAT), Parks On The Air, POTA, Wolf River Coils, Wolf River Coils TIA on June 23, 2020 by Thomas.
Now we get to testing.
First my Wolf River Coil Platnium TIA in it’s original form from WRC.
Testing parameters:
- 50′ of additional coax onto one of my existing 100′ runs that connects to a permanent antenna.
- Antenna is placed in my driveway on a mildly wet day at 71F.
- 33′ radials
- TIA Mega Tripod
- WSPR at 5w on 20M 12:28PM ET 09/07/2020 with tuner
- WSPR at 5w on 20M 13:00PM ET 09/07/2020 without tuner
Tuning: Tuning was painless and got SWR around 1.4:1 via a rig expert Stick 230. At my IC 7610, a Dentron MT2000A had no issues taking out all SWR.
TX with tuner: Transmitting my WSPR signal at 5W proved to be very effective with tuner, getting spots in various locations northern europe and all across USA.
TX without tuner: Transmitting my WSPR signal at 5W also proved to be very effective without tuner. Same set of spots as before. Maybe a bit more.
Now for the super antenna.
Testing Conditions:
- 50′ of additional coax onto one of my existing 100′ runs that connects to a permanent antenna.
- Antenna is placed in my driveway on a mildly wet day at 71F.
- Tuned radial set
- Super antenna stock tripod
- Center loaded pole pieces (2)
- WSPR at 5w on 20M 14:30PM ET 09/07/2020 without tuner
- WSPR at 5w on 20M 15:00PM ET 09/07/2020 with tuner
TX without tuner:Transmitting my WSPR signal at 5W proved to be very effective without tuner, getting spots in various locations northern europe and all across USA. Same as WRC TIA, with exception of South America
TX with tuner: Transmitting my WSPR signal at 5W also proved to be very effective without tuner.
Conclusion:
Wolf River Coils Sb1000 Tiaras
Both antennas are very similar.
Setup ease goes to the Super Antenna as there seems to be a lot less fidgeting and commotion with base setup. I found that radials that plug into the base are much easier than a ring connector. TX tests go to WRC as I was heard in more areas. Tuning goes to the Super Antenna. There was not a connection wire to deal with and I could spin the sleeve completely around it’s coil. Base stability goes to WRC. A much larger base is better for stability.
Pro’s and Con’s of each kit. (NOTE: opposing kit is lacks in what is stated below as a pro or a con)
Wolf River Coils Sb1000 Tia Mowry
Wolf River Coils Tia
- PRO: Super Antenna is much lighter to carry.
- PRO: WRC can do 100w keydown on digital, and CW.
- PRO: Super Antenna has less Radials for physical placement.
- PRO: WRC and SA are relatively similar in efficiency.
- CON: WRC wire to sleeve is not conclusive to easy loading coil matching.
- PRO: WRC is made in USA
- CON: Super Antenna can fall over easier.
- CON: WRC can be unwieldy when using whip above 102″
- PRO: Both accept 90 Degree SO239 coupler.