Predator 10K v/s Mr. Coily v/s Wilson 2000?

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

I currently use a Wilson 2000 that is noticeably better than the Wilson Silver load fiberglass.
I have a Predator 10K, and a Mr. Coily trucker, on the way for comparison.
I plan to post the results here!
I will be able to test them on both the RCI 2950 DX and the Superwackpacked / SuperReceive General Lee when it arrives.
Oughta be fun!

[Phaze91460]

That would be helpful. It looks like the price is about the same for the wilson 5K and the pred 10k, but I want to know what real difference I would see.

[Rex_foxhound]

I like seeing comparisons of multiple antennas with more than one radio. It helps people decide what they should purchase if they are having any questions. The ideal situation would be for someone to test those antennas with every radio...... :shocked: :shocked:

[jessejamesdallas]

I have had, or still have, all three of those antenna's. However I prefer the Predator 10K, 27" shaft, Dual Coil, over everything else...

IMO, the worse of the 3, would be the Wilson 5000. Had 2 of these base loaded, Mag. Mount antennas loose ground and send swr right thru-the roof! (this is bad new's, if your running a amp, and dont catch it in time!)

Performance wise, not alot of difference between the 10K, and the Mr.Coily. (Both being the same size shafts, and coil set-ups)

Coily is a little bit more expensive than the 10K. (most places...can be found for about the same price thou...if you shop around)

IMO, the 10K took less time to tune.

The Predator antennas are made so that each piece of the antenna can be replaced, or if you want to re-configure the 10K. Like take off a coil, or add a coil, all you need to do, is take the thing apart, by un-screwing the piece that you want to change. (Cant do this with a Mr.Coily...It's all one piece.) I like this because if you put the antenna on a different car or truck, you can change the shaft length by taking it off, and changing to a different length, without having to buy a whole new antenna...just the shaft.

In My case, on the back of my Suburban, the 10K tuned lower, than the Mr.Coily...But we are only talking about the difference between a 1.0 swr- to a 1.1 swr...and no higher than 1.2. On most channels.

The Predator 10K may be a hair lighter than the Mr.Coily, but thats about it.

Both the 10K and the Mr.Coily's are Excellent DX antennas...(IMO the Wilson 5000 is not)

Wilson 5000 is made in Mexico, by Mexicans (10's of thousands @ a time)
Predator 10K is made in Texas, by Kale (handmade 1 @ a time)
Mr.Coily is made in Oregon, By Dan (handmade 1 @ a time)

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Awesome information JesseJamesDallas!
Thanks.
I have not yet received either the Mr. Coily or the Predator 10K. Both of the ones on the way are the smallest single coils made by either company. I am concerned about appearance on the little S-10 pickup. Sounds like it will be fun to have both!
I am increasingly disappointed with Wilson Antenna products. I have only had the Wilson 2000 in service for a few months, and after recent inspection, I was surprised to see the deterioration of the cheap chrome section above the coil. I was also amazed to look inside a couple of old Wilson 1000, and Wilson 5000 magnet mounts to find the area inside the base filled with rust, corrosion, and cheap construction. The setscrews on the 1000, 2000, and 5000 are softer metal than I would expect.

But, the Superwackpacked General Lee, with Super-Receive is supposed to arrive today!

[BobOstro61]

How are those Predator 10-K's when it comes to taking them off (ie. when you need to go into a parking garage)? Do they come off pretty easy (meaning not when the antenna hits the concrete slab overhead!)?

[jessejamesdallas]

There is a new designed "quick-release" that I think Clay's CB Shop in Texas is now carrying, that may work with the Predator or Mr. Coily antennas. I have'nt tryed one yet thou, but herd they will work.

Best thing to do, would be just to carry with you a couple of wrenches, so when you need to remove the antenna, you'll have them...

OR There is a guy near me, which sells a mount which is mostly for pick-ups, but he also makes a Mag.Mount, which could be used on cars.

It's called : "The Lay-me Down Easy Mount". With the touch of a button, you can lower, or raise your antenna, with out getting out of your vehicle.

[Guest]

How does the 5000 loose ground?Mine hasn't lost anything yet!I talk DX every day.Good SWR around the band!LOOSE GROUND,UMM! :Peace!:

[Phaze91460]

Mr RA said on another thread that he has talkes a LOT of DX on a Wilson 5000. Trying to remove an antenna from my ladder rack every time I go into a tree covered drive way would become more of a pain and would end up not mounted at all.

[jessejamesdallas]

How does the 5000 loose ground?Mine hasn't lost anything yet!I talk DX every day.Good SWR around the band!LOOSE GROUND,UMM! :Peace!:

Beats the hell out of me! First thing I noticed, was when I took one off the mount, and shook the thing. I could hear something rattling around inside of the coil. Sounds like something breaks loose inside...No way of telling what it is, sence the coil is all factory sealed...Seems like this is more of a problem with the new'er 5000's, than the older ones. Sence Wilson was bought-out, it seems the quality of their antennas has suffered some. However...I have talked to several people that has had the same problem with the 5000 model's, but never anyone that is useing the 1000 models...So this could be just something only related to the 5000 base loaded antennas...

I had a Wilson 5000 base loaded antenna about 5 or 6 years ago, that was a great antenna...never had a problem with it. Was stolen a few years ago, and after replaceing it with another one, this is when I started haveing problems....After the first one went bad, bought one more that also went south, and also started hearing of others with same problems...

Now, "It's Just a 10K World!" :Peace!:

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Once your Wilson 1000, or 5000 fails. Peel back, or cut off the Aluminum foil sticker at the bottom. Looking inside will probably scream...water leak, dissimilar metal corrosion, rust, etc. After seeing this in both a 1000, and a 5000, I plan to only use them on the family car on vacation and keep them in the garage otherwise.
The 1000, and 5000 are fantastic temporary antennas, and I work with a guy who has run nothing but 5000's for years, but his radio sounds like it's dragging behind his truck, and a loaner 1000 from him with high SWR had built up so much corrosion and rust inside, it was shorting the terminals out. The cost of parts, and trouble to rebuild the 1000 greatly outweighed the cost of a new one...so I would call them a good disposable antenna.
Also. I have read that more than 250 watts through a capacitive coupled magnet mount can damage paint?

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Thanks for the Info on the Lay me Down antenna machine JesseJamesDallas....I had looked for one before, but I had to build a manual version myself. I will have to put that on my "Toys to Buy" list.
I am concerned about the gaudy look of a big Predator 10K or Mr. Coily, on my little truck, but the Lay Me Down can allow a guy to "Put the big stinger away" when not in use.

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

I got the SuperWackPacked General Lee installed. The Jury is still out...I got laughed at during the first tests...but it wasn't set up correctly yet.

I got the Mr. Coily installed...now that's a flat SWR...
Flat SWR is a beautiful thing!

I am going out now to test TX and RX on the Mr. Coily v/s the Wilson 2000 this morning.
The Predator 10K is not here yet.

[jessejamesdallas]

Once your Wilson 1000, or 5000 fails. Peel back, or cut off the Aluminum foil sticker at the bottom. Looking inside will probably scream...water leak, dissimilar metal corrosion, rust, etc. After seeing this in both a 1000, and a 5000, I plan to only use them on the family car on vacation and keep them in the garage otherwise.
The 1000, and 5000 are fantastic temporary antennas, and I work with a guy who has run nothing but 5000's for years, but his radio sounds like it's dragging behind his truck, and a loaner 1000 from him with high SWR had built up so much corrosion and rust inside, it was shorting the terminals out. The cost of parts, and trouble to rebuild the 1000 greatly outweighed the cost of a new one...so I would call them a good disposable antenna.
Also. I have read that more than 250 watts through a capacitive coupled magnet mount can damage paint?

I have herd this too. That Mag.Mounts can cause blistering of the paint at high watt's...I know @ 2200w's, this is not true. Maybe at 5000w's or higher it may. Dont know for sure, never ran that much!

But one thing for sure, they can and will damage your paint, by scratching it, and water getting under the magnet will cause rust to form...(which also can lead you to loose some ground...)

So either bite the bullet and drill the hole for a permanent mount, or put-up with scratches and rust!....

[DAYDREAMER]

I've run the same Wilson 1000 mag mount on two different vehicle for the past ten years. Yeah, I took the base apart a couple of years ago, cleaned it out and rebuilt it (8 years of Chicago winters) and it's worked fine on my daily driver for all that time. I just bought a Wilson 5000 mag mount. we'll see if that lives up to the test of time.

Cleaning and waxing under the magnet from time to time keeps the paint up. Just make sure you grab the coil and tip the antenna rather than sliding it. My paint's never been damaged yet.

By the way, Barjan / Wilson antennas are made in Moline, IL the last I knew.

Yeah, yeah, I know, this sounds a lot like a Wilson commercial. I just relay what's worked for me.

:Peace!:

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

It's good to hear a couple of success stories on the Wilson 1000, and 5000.

Here's the test I've been wanting to try:
Get a drink...this one is a little long winded...

I compared the TX and RX of the Wilson 2000 against the Mr. Coily Trucker this morning with both the General Lee, and the RCI 2950DX.
In short, except that the Mr. Coily's SWR is much lower, no difference on RX or TX.

TX with both antennas, 3 base stations listening. General Lee, with D-104 mic, amplifier talk swing of 100 watts.
Both antennas tested twice, swapping one after the other.
Station 1, reported S8 with both antennas
Station 2, reported S6 with both antennas
Station 3, reported S 4.5 with both antennas

Receive was also Identical
On the General Lee,
Station 1 would swing S4
Station 2 would swing S2
And Station 3 would swing exactly 0.5, which for me was the perfect test with a very weak signal. Both antennas identical!

The Mr. Coily does tune much lower SWR's though.
At 100 watt deadkey...radio on high, with amp on. I have been unable to get the Wilson 2000 below 3.0 (danger level?)
The Mr. Coily barely moves a 0.2 (not a typo, zero point two)

With a 1 watt deadkey SWR check, the needle does not move with the Mr. Coily. Flat is a beautiful thing!

I am amazed that the SWR is so different, but the signal strength is the same…

I am still testing, but I think the low SWR of the Mr. Coily may help some of my RF interference problems with my Radar Detector, Door locks, Engine Computer, and Alarm System. I am guessing that an SWR of 3.0 with almost 400 watts coming out of the Boomer, was throwing 50+ watts back into the truck?

I did a very brief test with a loaner Wilson Silver load fiberglass as compared to the Wilson 2000... The Silver Load lost 20% of noise and signal, SWR was impossibly high. I didn't want to cut the adjustment stinger on the loaner, and fancy ground wire made the SWR worse.

I was VERY impressed with the General Lee's receive as compared to the RCI 2950 DX. The General Lee has RadioActive's SuperWackPack, and SuperReceive).

With the same RX test as above, while trying the RCI 2950 DX, even the strongest Station 1 signal had 50% noise (hectro-dyne?)
Station 2 was not audible enough to understand
Station 3 disappeared.
If I would have turned down the RF gain so that the noise was tolerable, The station that moved S4 on the General Lee would not have broken a normal squelch setting on the RCI 2950 DX.

I plan to send the RCI 2950 DX to a decent shop. One with a working Oscilloscope and Signal Generator on the bench. I read the complete alignment procedure at Rangers Website, and I have not had the 2950 in a shop with the know-how and equipment yet. Any Ideas on top-notch tech’s that might be willing line up the 2950DX?

[jessejamesdallas]

SmallTruckBigRadio. The test you did with the Mr.Coily and the Wilson is probably right on the money. Where your going to see the difference in TX, is going to be in DX...That Mr.Coily will bring DX-Land right in your receive! And your Receive will also have a noticeable difference.

Now when you receive your Predator 10K, comparing it to the other two antennas with locals, more than likely, all three will be close to the same also. You may see a even lower swr reading with the 10K, than you see with the Mr.Coily, but very little. Best thing about the 10K, is the options that it has...Being able to replace parts if damaged, or just re-configuring it, like makeing it a Dual Coil, or single coil, or getting shorter or longer shafts for it...also available is a top piece, that can turn it into a "Flat-Side" antenna.

As for Wilsons being made in Moline Il. I know they were before being bought by Barjan. However, from everything I have herd about that company, they make most of their products in Mexico...

Either way, whether their made in Mexico or in Moline, their still a mass produced antenna. Generally, this is when defects in workmanship starts showing up. Like I said before, I had a Wilson for years, and never had any issues with it. Only ones I had problems with were the newer ones.

One thing about the new designed open coil type antennas like Mr.Coily and Predator 10K's. You should never have to "Re-build" them! Nothing is covered-up with plastic. There made of aircraft aluminum, nothing to rust, or corrode...

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

JesseJamesDallas,
Thanks for the information on the worth of the Mr. Coily and the Predator with skip. I was having a hard time justifying the expense and slightly gaudy look with only SWR. The lower SWR is delivering less RF interferance with the S-10's electronics now.

[birddog_01]

I HAVE RUN A WILSON 1000 FOR A LONG TIME AND HAD NO PROBLEM BUT YOU HAVE MADE ME THINK BEFORE BUYING A BIGGER AMP!!!

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

birddog,
On the previous page, both Daydreamer, and JesseJamesDallas are reporting good luck with Wilson 1000, and 5000. One of them with over 2000 watts and no paint damage.

I think the mid grade amps are fairly forgiving to antenna problems, but from what I have seen in them, I also, would be worried about long term use. Especially with a finnicky high end amp.

[Mr RadioActive]

Did I hear somewhere on this thread that the superwackpack - super receive, worked good! LOL, this is a awesome thread! Info like this helps tons of people. While Im a pred 10K guy, and the testing Ive done seems to always pull ahead, I love my Coily. Dans a great guy and great builder. I just happen to like my 22" shaft ver/hor 10K

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Mr. RadioActive Sir,
I am preparing to report a much better story on the new SuperWackPacked General Lee. Probably in the Mobile Radio Section of the forum. Perhaps Tommorow.
My intitial radio reports, while I had the Astatic 575M6 too loud and the mic gain to high, were disturbingly bad, but after getting all the K-nobs adjusted right. I am seeing that the Superwackpacked General Lee is a thing of beauty. Especially after I got a couple of buddies to really help with a good comparison radio check.

It is beyond me, that when compared to my 8 month old, modified, 2950DX that shows 15% more wattage, modulation, and average talk wattage on my Dosy Libra meter, that the Superwackpacked General Lee at 15% less on the meter is reportedly much louder, clearer, and has a base like sound to it.

I am impressed with the quiet, but powerful receive. It is very hard for me to not open the cover to see where the magic is coming from.

My 2950 DX needs an alignment badly. Have you begun taking in crippled 2950's for medical help yet?

[birddog_01]

What does your Super wack packed General Lee do as far as Watts? I know they are loud right out of the box!!!!

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

What does your Super wack packed General Lee do as far as Watts? I know they are loud right out of the box!!!!

I am so much enjoying my experience with this new radio I will get long-winded now:

Well BirdDog, I am slowly, but convincingly learning that watts is only part of the story.
I just got an email from RadioActive Electronics that I am not sure they would want me to copy and paste in whole but I will repeat it, and I know enough about electronics to believe that it is more than snake oil.

To answer your question directly: The General Lee only shows 32 watts max on my Dosy Libra meter. But, this is where it gets very interesting. Radio Active says, “Your radio on our bench will do no less then 46 watts pep on a bird 4314b at 13.72v”, and when Mr. RadioActive speaks, I am slowly learning, people should listen.

I have a modified (“swing / mod kit?”) Ranger RCI 2950 DX that shows 20% more watts, modulation, and what would appear to be 20% more average watts, and modulation on the Dosy. Furthermore the 2950 DX runs the little amp 20% harder. The Dosy Libra shows a full 150 watts with the 2950 DX pushing it, and only 120 watts with the Superwackpacked General Lee. When I first saw this, with the new General Lee, I thought I had been robbed by a snakeoil salesman! Sorry Mr. RadioActive…

From interesting to Amazing:
The General Lee is getting definite, and very obvious reports that it is both Louder and More Clear on the receiving end. It is also being reported that it does not sound like a mobile at all, but a base station. So apparently watts is only part of the story. My first radio check with the General Lee was very embarrassing, and troubling. I had the mic gain, and the volume on the Astatic 575 M6 mic turned up too high, and it was causing distortion. This made the General Lee sound just like the 2950 DX…reported as “not a nickels worth of difference” between the two. Big bummer…I’ve been robbed right?

I wanted to hear this for myself so I set up a radio in the cab of my truck with full size headphones to listen in to both the Ranger RCI 2950 DX's and the General Lee's transmit. I started making adjustments. As I adjusted the mic gain to about 80%, and the Astatic 575 M6 volume to about 10%, a smooth clear hi-fi audio emerged. It’s like a radio broadcast station is packed inside. I describe the difference between the two, by describing the 2950DX's audio quality like a clock radio being played at max volume (loud, loud sounding, but not hi-fidelity). I describe the General Lee's sound like a radio stations broadcast quality sound (hi-fi sound, smooth, swinging, and sweet).

Oh, by the way, the General Lee sounds great with an Astatic D-104 M6, and an Astatic 636L, but if your vehicle is not overly noisy, you’ve got to get a discontinued Astatic 575 M6! Good luck in finding one though, they are no longer made, just remember to keep the volume low. You might be able to get one at a decent price from a fat head that doesn’t know how to keep it low. $50 is a steal.

The email from RadioActive Electronics explains that tuning with a Spectrum Analyzer (I happen to know what he is talking about) rather than just a meter, allows the radio to be tuned better. If the radio is tuned in a noisy way, the noise will make the watt meter show more. A clean clear signal can show less on the watt meter while doing definite better business on the receiving end. I will copy and paste this one from their email, “You need to remember that harmonics can show extra watts on a meter.”

What I don’t know yet is how much difference there is between:
An out of the box General Lee,
Regular peak and tune General Lee,
and a SuperWackPacked General Lee.
I expect that I can sample the differences by polling ch 19 for other General Lee users, and asking for comparisons. I live near a truckstop, and I figure parking near there could get a few General Lee users to key up and compare one evening.

I am leaning toward Mr. RadioActive’s claims though. I polled numerous CB shops trying to get advice on whether to go with a new Magnum S-9 or a new General Lee. Mr. RadioActive is the only one that recommended the General Lee. After listening to my friends new “regular peak and tune” S-9, I am glad I went with RadioActive. By the way, I am not on the payroll. I’m just another finicky, slow learner.

Long Answer to a short question, but from what I am experiencing, it’s worth the explanation.