231, SOTT 5?

[rlh]

231,

the SOTT 5 is a tuneable tip antenna, correct?

thank you,
CarToon Man
(Ross)

[420Snowman]

I am not 231, but I hope I am welcome on your post....LOL

I dont belive the Sott5 is a tunable tip antenna, its supposed to be "pre-tuned", and we all know how that goes......

Snowman

[SweetPee]

SOTT 4' is has a tunable tip. Don't know why the 5 foot would be any different. Here is a pic of the stinger you adjust on the tip. Obviously mine is really short after tuning. But they come with a stinger that is 4.5" long to work with. BTW... You will LOVE that antenna. 231 is responsible for me loving them so much.
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[rlh]

thank you,

I know the 5' are not made any longer and cb world has them and I thought that 231 told me they are tuneable..... just want to check....

[231]

I am not 231, but I hope I am welcome on your post....LOL

I dont belive the Sott5 is a tunable tip antenna, its supposed to be "pre-tuned", and we all know how that goes......

Snowman

The SOTT, STT, ST series all have adjustable (and trim-able) stingers at the top. The TSM Superflex you simply trim the coil.

Snowman, the ONLY antenna I've ever seen non-adjustable is the Francis Hot Rod...and that's because it's linear loaded. The Francis Amazer I'm not entirely sure on though as I've only tried one...never owned one (yet).

And you are welcome to post on any thread! You needn't ask permission for that. If people want only a certain person to post they should PM them.

[rlh]

thank you 231,

i have one on order.... I've been trying to get a 7' skipshooter as well but they are hard to find anyone that has them in stock... a couple of replys I received said they were not going to order them any longer so not sure what that is all about....

[SweetPee]

thank you 231,

i have one on order.... I've been trying to get a 7' skipshooter as well but they are hard to find anyone that has them in stock... a couple of replys I received said they were not going to order them any longer so not sure what that is all about....

rlh have you tried for a 7' skipshooter [Please login or register to view this link]

[231]

231 is responsible for me loving them so much.

Sorry SweetPea...it's all my fault. Hopefully you've learned your lesson, too! Ya' know, you just wouldn't think it would be that much different from say the Firestik and Wilson silverload...but it is. Had I not tested them for myself I probably would be ignorant to their performance too.

To this day the ONLY person I've known to not see an improvement was STBR here on the forum. For some reason he couldn't get it to work right on his pick up. He sent the antenna to me to check out and it did fine for me. So the only thing I can think of is something in his installation the antenna just didn't like. To this day I still can't put my finger on it. So the reality is, no they will not work in every single installation. But the ones I've done (and there have been many) they've done very well.

I get a kick out of the guys who categorize all top loaded fiberglass antennas as being the same. That's like saying all amplifiers and radios are the same because they are in a box.

[rlh]

231,

yes, I have sent them a couple of e-mails but no reply. I have not been able to call due t work hours.... H & Y are out of stock as well. Maycom up in MI use to carry them but are no longer going to order, I asked why and waiting for a reply.... I still have my Frances 8' for backup as well as a mag. mount Wilson. I want to do a compairson when i get everything going...

Thanks again 231 and everyone else....

[SweetPee]

I get a kick out of the guys who categorize all top loaded fiberglass antennas as being the same. That's like saying all amplifiers and radios are the same because they are in a box.

Well I knew that not all were the same, that is one thing I had managed to learn $20-$30 at a time prior to your help I have even seen a difference between my cut to tune and tunable tip firesticks. I am a firm believer that EVERY antenna is different. There might not be much of a measurable difference between one SOTT and another SOTT of the same length or any other of the same model and manufacturer. But there are definate differences between models of the same manufacturer and of course, between 2 different manufacturers.

Saying they are all the same is about like saying all guns are the same. True they all shoot a bullet and have a trigger mechanism, just like all CB antennas project and recieve a signal. But that is about the extent of it, similarities end there.

[420Snowman]

WOW, I have no idead what I was thinking about, sorry about that... My buddy actually OWNS one of these antennas, man, it was early and I hadnt had enough coffee I guess!!! LOL

Snowman

[rlh]

sweetpee,
sorry that was you that asked about protech cb shop.... I sent e-mails but no reply.....

[420Snowman]

Thats like saying all forums are the same, and we KNOW thats not true!!!!!



Snowman

[rlh]

well, still waiting for the new antenna to show up. I've made a temp mount to see how things are going to work out.
i did compair the francis 8' to the firestik 5' and the firestik lost by 2 S units on the rx....

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[231]

well, still waiting for the new antenna to show up. I've made a temp mount to see how things are going to work out.
i did compair the francis 8' to the firestik 5' and the firestik lost by 2 S units on the rx....

No surprise there. Lookin' good.

[rlh]

well, I received the new SOTT 5 last night, put it on and did a quick tune, down to 1.5... not bad for a couple of min's of tuning.
it seems to have as good of ears as the 8' frances, have not really done and compairison as yet, does seem to have less noise.....

just an FYI

[SweetPee]

well, I received the new SOTT 5 last night, put it on and did a quick tune, down to 1.5... not bad for a couple of min's of tuning.
it seems to have as good of ears as the 8' frances, have not really done and compairison as yet, does seem to have less noise.....

just an FYI

Figured 231 would make a believer out of you... I have never tried a 8' Francis, I got a 4' one though along with several other brands. Blows them out of the water with recieve, transmission (best I can guage), and tunability.

[rlh]

Sweetpee,

they stopped making them a couple of years ago, they had 2 different 8' s. the better of the two had 3 wires in them and only came in gray, the other one had only 1 wire and came in 3 or 4 colors. I only had about 20 minutes of time with the new antenna and a short drive into work this morning, there is not on the band at 4 am in this area so a little hard to see how she is working.... i want to see if I can get the swr down just a wee bit more if time and weather permits.....

[SweetPee]

they stopped making them a couple of years ago, they had 2 different 8' s. the better of the two had 3 wires in them and only came in gray, the other one had only 1 wire and came in 3 or 4 colors. ...

Interesting... Sounds like them old Francis were a different animal all together. On my 5' SOTT I have my SWR down to 1.3 at it's highest point. Course I kept playing with it, which I have come to enjoy that about antennas.

[231]

well, I received the new SOTT 5 last night, put it on and did a quick tune, down to 1.5... not bad for a couple of min's of tuning.
it seems to have as good of ears as the 8' frances, have not really done and compairison as yet, does seem to have less noise.....

just an FYI

The gray one is the Francis Amazer and was quite popular back in the day when they made them. I know several guys who still run them and swear by them. If you are running the Amazer then I'd expect a slightly lower performance on the 5' SOTT...but pretty close. The standard 1/4 wave whip I'd expect about the same given your location. On the front fender of my truck the SOTT-5' is a better performer than my 102" SS whip. Not by allot, but enough to make it worth while for me to run it.

Best of luck...and hope it works out well for ya'.

[rlh]

Thank you 231, Sweetpee and snowman,

as time permits I'll let you all know what I find, I think it is going to workout very well, I am planing on making a more Permanent mount and may move it to the outside a little more.
231, I wish I had the Francis Amazer, I just have the standard one wire version. I would also like to get a 7' skipshooter but have not had any luck in finding one or getting a reply to the company, not sure what's up with that.... oh well.

I did make one contact after tuning it in a location that I was not able to do with the other antennas, so that says something.

Thanks once again.....

[231]

Thank you 231, Sweetpee and snowman,

as time permits I'll let you all know what I find, I think it is going to workout very well, I am planing on making a more Permanent mount and may move it to the outside a little more.
231, I wish I had the Francis Amazer, I just have the standard one wire version. I would also like to get a 7' skipshooter but have not had any luck in finding one or getting a reply to the company, not sure what's up with that.... oh well.

I did make one contact after tuning it in a location that I was not able to do with the other antennas, so that says something.

Thanks once again.....

Yea, I'm sorry about the Skipshooter. I wish I knew what to tell ya' but I don't. I too would have liked to have tried one...but doesn't look like it'll happen any time soon.

But at least you have that one going. And I'm glad to help. I hope it does in fact work out well for you, too. I know it has me. In any event, best of luck on it!

[rlh]

After doing some very non scientific testing (if you want to call it testing) between the three antennas (Firestik 5’, Francis 8’ and the SOTT 5’)…. The firestick looses all around. the SOTT 5 and Francis 8’ are very close, the SOTT has just a hair better RX and TX (and it does not hit low hanging tree limbs). I did this with a friend 20 miles away and I stayed in one spot and switched the antennas. The swr is very close between all three, as close as I was able to get them, 1.3 – 1.4….

Thanks 231 and everyone else…… great antenna

[SweetPee]

Awsome!!! I think they are the best kept secret in fiberglass or even just shorter antennas! Soo glad I have a couple!

[231]

Awsome!!! I think they are the best kept secret in fiberglass or even just shorter antennas! Soo glad I have a couple!

rlh, that's great to hear and thanks for the report. I kinda' figured it'd be really close. And you are right SweetPee. The problem will be finding them now.