Everhardt SOTT-5, best fiberglass antenna?

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

I have looked at the Everhardt SOTT-5 antennas before. I like the idea of a fiberglass antenna for a pickup truck because it is easy to mount to edge of the bed while it does its radiating near its end. All while keeping a clean and low profile appearance.

I have had poor luck with the Wilson Silver load fiberglass antenna.

Has anyone tested the Wilson, Firestick, and Everhardt antennas? Possibly compared to the Predator 10K?

[231]

Has anyone tested the Wilson, Firestick, and Everhardt antennas? Possibly compared to the Predator 10K?

First off, I'm a "Duckplucker" alright...but go by "231."

I've done some of the testing you've asked for over the years. I have not tested the Wilson Silverload simply because it hasn't been out all that long. But Firestik antennas...well let's just say they're not even in the same realm. It would be more suitable to use the 102" SS whip as the antenna to beat. Why? Because it's proven for decades to be one of the best performers ever. What I can tell you is this, I've tested many brands of antennas over the years. By far, the SOTT-5' (60") has been the overall best performer/value. It repeatedly beat the 102" SS whip by around 1.5 S-units at a 40 mile non-line of sight station.

I ran my tests for a period of 7 days (to accommodate for condition changes) with the mobile parked in a +/- 24" (inches) spot pointed +/- 1* variable. Same radio, channel(s), same everything to remove/reduce variable as much as possible. The base station had 2 base radios we did this with. A Galaxy, and a Cobra 2000. He was running a fixed Astro Beam 45' to the boom. So the conditions couldn't have been more repeatable IMO. The antenna(s) all got tuned for minimum SWR, and mounted on the roof of my SJ Cherokee Chief. Tests were both barefoot and 700w PEP.

I have yet to see anyone post comparison with the 10k...only that they are the "cat's meow." I'm skeptical of this, only because I'd not be happy to spend $100 only to find out it works about as well as the 102" whip. I'm holding off on the 10k until someone posts they've actually tested them against each other.

FYI, a few of my old Ham buddies used to tune the SOTT-5' for 27.9950 MHz, and use it for both 10 & 11 meters...with under a 1.5 SWR loaded with close to a kw.

Is this the best antenna ever? I doubt it. But for the $35 or so they want for them, how could someone go wrong?

Hope that helps some.

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Yep, 231

$35 is cheap for a CB toy...I think I'll try one just for fun and information.
I will be able to compare it to the Predator 10K.

[BigBopper]

I have used many antennas over the years, the 102" is always a great antenna, and will be hard to beat, the Everhardt SOTT-5 is also a great antenna, I run a Wilson 1000 mag due to the Mini Van I drive today, but I have 102"ss on my Pickup,,,,,,,Wilson 1000 is a good antenna, but in my opinion, the 102" ss or the Everhardt SOTT-5 is better,,,,,not wanting to start something here, just the facts

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Thanks Big Bopper,

Cool Cat and Mouse picture!

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

I ordered an Everhardt SOTT-5 today, Thanks for the info, you got me curious.

I would like to be able to tell people with confidence that it works well when a 10K proves hard to mount.

[231]

Welcome. I've run them for pushing 16 years now, and for the money they are an excellent value. I'd love to find out how it compares to the 10k for performance.

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

I plan to test it

I was amazed that I could not see a significant difference between a Wilson 2000, Mr Coily, and the Predator 10K, a couple of weeks ago.

I was getting an S1 from a base station, and I got no change between all three antennas. The Predator does seem to pickup skip better, and seems to work better with very weak signals, while moving through trees and hills. Between the 10K and the SWP General Lee, I have the ability to understand what someone is saying when the S meter is not even moving.

TX tested the same between 3 receiving stations giving S meter reports, between all 3 antennas. Both Barefoot and with a 100 watt amp.

I was especially amazed at this, while the Wilson 2000 had nearly SWR of 3.0 at 100 watts.

If it doesn't cut performance, I like the low profile appearance of a fiberglass antenna, and it will be nice to be able to tell a guy with a new pickup that he may not need to drill holes in his roof, or build a fancy mount.

[Phaze91460]

My wilson 2000 is running just under 2 on SWR across all chans, I havent played with it yet, I wonder if they run higher SWR normaly.

and the good thing about the fiberglass whips is you can use um as a fishing pole off docks at the lake when you get fed up with um. I have a stack of um in my storage room, never got good service outa any of um.

[BobOstro61]

I had to trim about an inch off of my Wilson 5000. Swr's are flat from 1 to 40. The needle doesn't even move. Wish I could get the same on my A-99. It is flat on channel 1 and 1.2 on channel 40. I can live with that though!! LOL!

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

My wilson 2000 is running just under 2 on SWR across all chans, I havent played with it yet, I wonder if they run higher SWR normaly.

Phaze,
I was thinking that being your current radio is a "JC Penney", and the impedance may be off. You might be in much better shape than you think.
If the impedance is off, there is a chance that when you install the " mud duck eating monster" that impedance will match better and you might have excellent SWR!

Just find out how to check it with low power deadkey before pushing high power.

You might be good to go already! I'd leave it alone until you get your new radio.

[231]

FYI for you guys if you are interested on the Fiberglass Everhardt's (or most of them). Your results may vary, but it should give you some indication. BTW, the effects were relatively the same on both RX/TX.

Contact / Test station info'

Distance & Elevation: 40 miles / 3,500ft / Non-LOS
Equipment: Galaxy base / Cobra 2000 (yes, 2 different radios with sensitive S-meters)
Antenna system: Stationary (no rotor) Astro Beam 45' to the boom

My equipment:
Cobra 148GTL (dead key wattage 3 watts)
Antenna location and vehicle: Roof mounted on SJ w/SS support plates
Parked location 24" (+/-) each time/same direction (+/-) 1 degrees
Nominal SWR's on every antenna 1.1:1 to 1.3:1
Channels tested: 27.0050 MHz (4) / 27.2550 MHz (23) / 27.3350 MHz (33)

Test durations: 1 Week (7 days) per antenna comparison to accomidate for conditions

4' Firestik vs. 4' SOTT-48 Tiger
Firestik: Average s-units: 2 to 2.2
Tiger: Average s-units: 4-4.3
-------------------------------------
4' Firestik vs. Wilson 1000 Trucker w/10" shaft
Firestik: Average s-units 2 to 2.2
Wilson: Average s-units 2.5-2.8
-------------------------------------
4' Firestik vs. K40 4' flex
firestik: Average s-units 2 to2.2
K40: Average s-units 1.8 to 2.0
At this time I quit testing these antennas. They were both POS's IMO
-----------------------------------------
Tiger SOTT-60" vs. 102" SS whip
SOTT-60" Average s-units = 5.2 to 5.5
102" whip Average s-units = 3.4 to 3.6
Clearly this test shows antenna designs matter
------------------------------------------
A buddy of mine's recent tests (not as repeated as mine...but still pretty much the same. I can't find the thread, but he compared the TSM-3' and 4' ...which is an excellent off road antenna!) against the 4' Firestik. Both 3' & 4' TSM's beat it by 1-2+ full S-units. Indeed, not all of their products are "excellent"...but I must admit most of their top loaded fiberglass work pretty darn well. Here is a list of the Everhardt current antennas I have with a star rating performance vs. value (expense and overall performance). Please keep in mind, this is MY opinion of them...that other's tests/experience's may vary.

(1ea) SOTT-5' *****
(1ea) STT-5' ****
(1ea) TSM-5' ***
(1ea) TSM-4' ***
(1ea) TSM-3' **
(1ea) TSM-2' *
(1ea) MB-2 Master Blaster (centerloaded/ 10" shaft similar to the Wilson Trucker series w/capacitive hat) ***

BTW, this is only a fraction of what I have for info'. But hopefully will give you some indication of the experience with them I've had.

Hope that helps.

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

WOW! Awesome information 231!

Thanks for sharing it.

I enjoy reading stuff like this more than a Novel!

I don't have any radio talking buddies that would sit still for 30 seconds for any test like that.

That's partly why I struggled for a while trying to get my radio set up right. Some people think that huge overmodulation and distortion is a good quality cause it sounds like "loud". Some people think that if you can understand more than 80% of what is said...it's perfect.

[231]

Yea I know. It's really tough to get anyone to cooperate anymore. The philosophy taught to me by the old timers over the years though, is that if you talk good local, you'll talk DX (which is 100% conditions dependent anyway...no matter the wattage output IMO). That has been the path I've always followed since. As the result, I've always tried to set my stuff up to be the best it can be in the location (antenna) I've opted for.

Fact is, there will always be someone else out there running more wattage, bigger antenna, better mod, etc. I quit a long time ago competing on that. But on a limited budget (which is the case with most of us) there are simple things that can add up to big performance gains. The thought of 5%-10% improvement here and there begins to add up pretty quickly.

And I'm with you. I don't enjoy listening to overmod raspy mod limiter clipped radios much. I used to run that stuff in the beginning and as I got older ( ) came to appreciate the clean and crisp mod.

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

231
Besides the Everhardt-SOTT5's, what equipment are you running?

[231]

231
Besides the Everhardt-SOTT5's, what equipment are you running?

Well, depends on the rig. In my '04 PU (my primary work rig) I usually run my Cobra 200, and DX400. This is the rig I prefer to do most of my talking with. Right now I have one of my 148's in there. BTW, both my 148's are of older SN#'s back when the I/O boards were good.

In the '03 PU, I run the second 148 and M4000 normally with either the Wilson 2k trucker, or my TSM-5', my STT-5'...depending. In the '02 Jeep TJ, I run a simple P&T Pro510 w/D104, and when wheelin' run my TSM-4' Everhardt. In the wife's Jeep XJ Cherokee, she runs an old P&T'd GE w/ TSM-4' when wheelin' and a simple Valor 3' base load when not (so she can get in the garage).

I have lots of stuff sitting in the attic, some good, some not so good. Sort of a collection over the years. 50amp & 10 amp power supplies, an old Powell 321 tube amp, D104 Black Hawk (with original box), power mics, and a slew of old radios. Someday I'll pull it all out and go through it. I'd love to find my old Palomar 250 to throw in the Jeep...but I can't remember if I sold it or stored it.

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Cool, what's a DX400? and an M4000? and a P&T Pro510?

[231]

Cool, what's a DX400? and an M4000? and a P&T Pro510?

DX400=amp / Scorpion (Texas Star) class AB-1
M4000=amp / Magnum class AB-1
P&T = Peaked and Tweaked

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Cool, Thanks

[herbman]

where the heck can I get one of those SOTT-4's ?

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Uh, can't tell you here, but if you PM me...
I don't know of a sponsor that carries them.