Friday 5 May 2023

THE SLIDEWINDER PORTABLE ANTENNA

 



I have been using this antenna for a little while and I have to say that I am most impressed with it.  I have done several videos on it on my Bay Amateur Radio Group YouTube channel and I will include a couple below.  I love to get out portable and I am very lucky to live in the beautiful place that is Morecambe Bay.

I can go down to the shore and operate for POTA and WFF easily, all on a salt marsh :)

The antenna itself is based around the Slidewinder Coil.  This is available in several colours to suit your mood ;)


This is extremely well built and based around a 3/8 thread unlike some other portable aerials.  You can match this with a whip of your choice or go for the Slidewinder Military Whip option.  I have this and it works really well.  You can't adjust it in quite the same way as a telescopic whip but you can fold over a section if needed.  I suspect that in the long term, the Mil whip will be more robust as telescopic whips tend to bend and/or crease over time.

There are several mounting options.  Obviously as it is based around a 3/8 thread, you can mount it on a magnetic mount or other vehicle mount.  M1ECC Antennas, who produce the antenna, do a roof bar/balcony mount, as well as a ground spike and a tripod option.  I have the ground spike and the tripod and both work well and are solidly engineered.

The aerial works really well from 40m to 10m and I have zero complaints.  I have never needed to guy it so far but I suspect in a solid breeze, it might be a good option.  Tuning it is a breeze.  Some people simply slide the collar for maximum receive and then use a tuner.  I am a little more OCD about it :). I like to use my Rig Expert to tune it.  Doing this enables me to get whole band coverage at under 2:1 across all bands, including 40m!  You soon get used to where to start with the collar and then it is a simple job to tweak until you are happy.

I did find that with the aerial on the roof of the car, mounted on a triple magmonut, that the base sWR was quite high.  This is not the fault of the aerial but a lack of ground.  A counterpoise or a couple of radials would probably resolve this but it does work and in an area where getting an aerial out is difficult, would be a useful way of mounting the aerial.

Again, the service from M1ECC Antennas is superb and their communication is excellent.

One new option is a short 300mm/1ft extension bar.  this goes between the mount and the coil and raises the coil.  This makes it easier to get to the coil and I am hoping to test one very soon to see what difference it makes.  I will no doubt do a video for this when I do.  

I can recommend this antenna system wholeheartedly.  In the meantime, here are a couple of videos about it.

Testing The Slidewinder Antenna (Part 1)


Testing the Slidewinder Antenna (Part2)







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