Radioddity HF-008 Review: Is it the Ultimate Portable Ham Radio Antenna

Radioddity HF-008 is a compact portable antenna with multiple taps along its coil select any amateur band from 6 meters down to 80 meters. At the top of the antenna is an adjustable whip for fine tuning within the band.

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RADIODDITY HF-008 PORTABLE TELESCOPIC ANTENNA

RADIODDITY M916 HEAVY DUTY ANTENNA MAGNET MOUNT

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[daveNMXX]

Thank you for your honest review! It's a shame that it doesn't tune to 40m voice...this is essentially a tunable hamstick, but with difficult tuning...maybe carrying multiple hamsticks is still the best option. Thanks again for being one of the only honest youtube amateur radio equipment reviewers. 73

[hammann]

I have used the MFJ-1699s it is the same Antenna. I manually tune based on the instructions. Paired with my IC-706 and LDG ATU. It brings it as close to 1:1 as I can get. This antenna has allowed me to work the world on mobile FT-8. I would buy another in a heartbeat.

[billjobes]

Your candid, expert reviews are always appreciated. So true that those banana plug links give a false impression of ease of use. They're just the key that opens the door to a tsunami of fiddling to get resonance.

[jmacx]

picked one up at a hamfest today along with a tripple magnet base. a guy I met had one set up on a lip mount which definitely seems like the way to go

[oobihdahboobeeboppah]

It may be new to Radioddity but this antenna has been around for around 20 years. It has an inherent design flaw in that the taps are not soldered in place very well, and need to be resoldered. There's an article in the eHam archive that explains how to fix it. Best to do the fix before relying on it in an emergency.

[EIDP]

Terlin Outbacker are still in business and their OutBacker range of antennas are available.

[dheller]

Well said. I have this antenna and agrre with your assessment.

[larryjohnson]

Just my 2 cents Michael, but I own a Ford F-150, and they are all aluminum bodies, so magnet mounts do not work. I had a Ford Flex, and they had a metal roof and life was easy. Now, I am having problems trying to find a way to mount antennas on my new truck without boring holes. Thanks for an honest review, and I might be able to use that antenna on my bumper mount. 73!

[FLDT-Alain]

Good review, thanks.
It looks very much like my Outback 2000. Almost the same thing, isn't it?
I used it on a 18cm diameter magnet mount + large ground braid and found it unusable on 40m, with a ridiculously narrow bandwidth. Had to adjust it all the time on 20m with poor results. Half-decent on 10m, but a basic Sirio CB antenna was doing better. You seem to have been a bit more lucky.
It's been taking dust in my garage for a long time.
I have bought 3 mono-band Diamond HF-xxCL antennas since then and they work way better.
40m on a mobile antenna still is quite a challenge anyway.
I haven't even tried 80m.

[andrewmunz]

I have a tooner on my yaesu, it resenates nicely, but i allways try the good swr!

[nvfiradiomisadventures]

Michael thanks for reviewing this antenna! I was trying to see if Radioditty would send one for the channel to review but being a smaller content creator I guess my channel isn't large enough to work with yet. I have had my eye on these for a while!

[JamminJellies]

Thanks for the review. I’m looking at options for quick POTA setup in a small footprint and this is definitely a budget minded option. I would go with the ATAS 120a if money were no object. Have you ever used your WRC Sporty 40 on a mag mount while stationary? If so, how did it do?

[andrewmunz]

I bought one from Knights in the uk, its perfect for my yaesu 817nd, it didnt come with the magmount!

[dwightkellams]

What is the smallest diameter the jaws will clamp to?

[marcelookunz-lufk]

Michael: Si la comparamos con la vieja Australiana Out Baker que se podría decir?
If we compare it with the old Australian Out Baker what could we say?

[andyEJIU]

Thanks for another great video, way too much faffing around for me.alot easier with a 17ft adjustable whip n coil.just my 2 cents worth

[chrismclain]

Could you trim the whip to bring it up into the 40M SSB range? I have some spare whips that could be sacrificed to add this capability.

[dheller]

A wider coil would have given them more effective band coverage.

[XPFTP]

friend had one made by company starting with a O i think ... was not the outbacker. i dont think. it worked ok. ran it on 40 at a park worked good when the band would let it be

[WTRI]

Is the top of coil threading also 3/8-24? I have a telescoping whip to try there.