Wolf River Coil SB1000 Tuning for Fast Deployment and High Performance

[@M-13_Fab]

Possibly the best WRC explaining I’ve ever seen. Great job.

[@W0DHZ]

I really appreciate the feedback! Thank you!

[@drumfishing155]

Best video I've seen yet on this antenna. Thank you for taking the time to make this. I've been using the MFJ-1979 213" whip with radials for about 5 years and like you, I have found this is a reliable and consistent system to tune. I love a vertical!

[@N2GJ]

I just received my TIA kit, but I wish I had watched your video before. I have the lower-power default coil and the 102" whip. I'm putting in an order for the longer whip, but, with my IC-705, I'm not going to worry about the coil for now. Thank you again for taking the time to produce the video. It's very professionally done. 73 DE N2GJ, ABQ, NM USA

[@W0DHZ]

I hope the longer whip made setup easier for you and the performance better! The Wolf River Coil has been my go to antenna after learning how to make it fast and easy to setup and getting the performance of a 1/4 wave vertical.

[@N2GJ]

@@W0DHZ Hi! I am having a good time with the 17' mask. I've connected 3 radials, but I have more I can add. I have a MINI1300 antenna analyzer and, on my NM RoadRunner Traffic Net frequency of 3.393 MHz, it's tuned to almost 1:1 SWR. Best of all, it works. I'm the Sunday night NCS and my signals have been reaching as far as Wyoming with 100w from the ICOM IC-7300. I'm pleased. Happy Thanksgiving!

[@celebmrk9]

Best explanation I’ve seen yet…

[@JulietNovember9]

New General here. Just picked one up and this has been THE most helpful video I have come across to get me started. Great tips regarding the Andersons with the radials. Thank you!

[@chasing_lighthouses]

Thank you for this vid on the Wolf River Coil. I'm a new ham and this is my first antenna. Just yesterday I took my transciver, an Xiegu 6100x and the WRC out first the FIRST TIME ever to hopefully monitor a band or two. Being a beginner, the entire process betweem the antenna and radio seemed almost overwhelming, everyone on KZbin makes QRP look so easy. LOL Anyway I'm glad I came across your video when I came back. I'll continue to play around and fumble as I learn both the radio and the antenna. Thanks for the instruction and 73.

[@W0DHZ]

I am glad you enjoyed the video! I have learned so much about antenna theory by trying to explain to myself how it works. It helps line up the theory with the practice. Keep learning and asking questions!

[@MrJimmy440]

Very informative, Thank you ! I just purchased a WRC Platinum today with both whips. I can't wait to get out next week and get going when we have better weather. Jim K2WPA

[@markswanson4803]

Gr8 video, thanks! Something that i’ve done to speed deployment and be able to quickly change bands is to tape piece of string to the top of the telescoping antenna tip and along the string I have white vinyl tape markers with the band/frequency written on them. Then simply adjust the antenna so the desired band tab is aligned with the base of the coil. This avoids having to extend the whip while it’s in a horizontal position and raising it up, rather simply screw the collapsed antenna into the top of the coil, then raise or lower the antenna to the appropriate length. For band changes, simply slide the telescoping antenna down or up until the tap tab for the band you wish is aligned with the coil base. If it’s a breezy day, I will wrap the string around the telescoping element a few times to keep it from flying in the breeze.

[@williamnigh5979]

Terrific video. Outstanding detail for properly setting up a portable telescopic vertical. Thank you.

[@thormusique]

This is a wonderfully detailed video, thanks so much! I really appreciate all the work you've done and shared to help out the rest of us. Cheers!

[@joeb3300]

Thanks for the instructive video. Another technique that might work is to attach a fiberglass tape measure, like those used by tailors, to the top of the antenna. Metric tapes are readily available if you prefer them. By joining two 120" (300 cm) tapes in the middle you can directly measure the distance from the top of the antenna to the top of the coil. No marks on whip to worry about. And the fiberglass tape is non-conductive and should not impact the radiation pattern. (Though it does add a bit of wind load on a windy day.)

[@Caniculus100]

Thankyou Dale, I thoroughly enjoy the way you presented and made this so easy to follow. My 5.6m whips arrived and will experiment on a dipole version but the vertical option is also very handy for field operations and going on hikes gave me the confidence of taking my gear up the hills. 73 & send more vids

[@ScottBrown1406_Repair]

Hello Dale, Thanks! I was able to use this video to tune my WRC and enjoy it the first deployment.

[@jonlawrence]

Hi Dale, not sure if you remember me but we met many years ago when I worked for Cisco. I was looking for a video on this antenna and said to myself, I know him. I did not realize you were a ham at the time. Thanks for the video, 73!

[@halledwardb]

Great video. My 2 daughters 11 and 15 have been improving their ic705 POTA station, the radials really do help. Recently they added 16 x 31.5 foot radials, as this was what was easiest to cut from the silicone 18g 250' of wire spools.

[@seanfoley7097]

I wish I had seen your video before I bought mine I got the Sota special which comes with the 78" whip. Now I'm ordering the 213" one.

[@CigarsOnTheAir]

Thanks for sharing this. I love my wolf river coil. Cheers and 73!

[@w4mkh]

Great video. You have convinced me to get the 213" whip for my WRC.

[@steveverhoef5667]

Genius, totally brilliant video. Going to watch this a second time. Thanks VE3WLX

[@daniellitalien4514]

Very best video i've seen for this type of antenna. Thank you very much.

[@stevesnnc]

Thanks Dale, I just used my antenna yesterday in the field for the first time. Your ideas will be a great help to streamline things a bit. 73 NI4J

[@jjlejr]

Nice video, very informative, thank you. I will be setting up my WolfRiver soon. Glad I found your video. Also, like the information on the radials.

[@jam3ohio]

Did you post your video on radials to this account? It does not seem to show up.

[@marcclarke01]

Also seeking the claimed video about radials.

[@melming8751]

Could not find the video on radials

[@joel6221]

Same

[@doc145]

If you raise the antenna you will need less radials. Start with 4’ so you are still able to adjust the whip.

[@reggiejones2513]

That's how i'm going to do it in future! Great video and thank you.

[@denniskimrey4129]

Great video. I run the SB1000 with the Chameleon 213" whip. So glad to find how to tune it. Thanks for the info

[@W0DHZ]

Glad that you found it helpful!

[@roberts3942]

Excellent video on an antenna I am considering. Thanks for the tips on items to consider upgrading before making your purchase.

[@W0DHZ]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@drocles]

Thank you so much for this! I am a new ham learning the craft and had my wrcsb1000 with the chameleon 17' whip and i could not get 40m below 1:10😢 hopefully this guide will help me figure it out

[@donalfinn4205]

Attach the wires securely on top with your DX Commander and use tensioned bungi cords at the bottom to make your adjustments. I did this with my Spider pole and it’s much easier to set up and adjust.

[@BustRadioMyths]

The snap on chokes are preventing common mode current which can skew your SWR meter. They don't affect SWR at all.

[@W7LDT]

I would be very interested to see how use roll up all the radials to prevent tangling. Thanks for this video. I am going to mark up my 213” whip.

[@mikelebron3807]

Great video! What happened to the others?

[@1crazynordlander]

Thanks, I have this setup except for the higher power coil and the long whip. I need the longer whip now and a better radial setup like yours. I just bought the DX Commander Classic. I have most of it together in my basement. I considered taking the WRC to Colorado this spring but your video makes a lot more sense out of it all. I subbed. 73 KA0KAE

[@KarlRittinger]

Excellent video, at last a Video that is understandable. Thanks Karl K3BSX

[@James_Bowie]

Great, but where is your video on radials? Link please.

[@Brighamdoc]

What wire did you use to make the the radials?

[@doc145]

Any size is fine. 22 ga works very well.

[@w4mkh]

I have two sets of the Center Loading Extensions. I can use them with my 102" whip (no coil) and get it resonant on 17m - 6m. I suppose I could use your coil bypass trick with the extensions/whip. I have everything charted like you did. I love discovering more options for how to use the WRC. I have ordered a mirror mast mount and I'm going to try using it on a spike.

[@DK5ONV]

Hello Dale! Your last name is a after a german beer brewery in Frankfurt "Henninger Pilsner" just by the Way. Ummm...ok, here we running a home made EFHW 49:1 Balun with an 34µH extension coil for 40-10m resonant if it's setup horizontal. I run it vertical on my 40ft. fiberglas mast and there's a Antenna Tuner needed. Just a few days ago I got me the German Clone of the Super Antenna MP1 called HF-P1 by Difona Electronics. That Wolf River Coil you got there looks an interesting project for me to test this next after played with the HF-P1. Thx for the video presentation and keep up good work. Happy sunday from SW-Germany de Your Firend Uncle Guenter, DK5ONV

[@PARTner91]

Thanks for this video, I am just now getting a portable antenna pulled together and I’ve ordered a WRC Platinum 1000 👍🏻. One comment though - 1/4 wave is actually not ideal for DX. 1/4 wave is basically “unity gain”, which is zero gain. The radiation pattern is pretty much even in all directions from straight up to horizontal. This means the RF is spread across all directions. A gain antenna, such as a yagi or half wave, is better at concentrating RF energy towards the horizon and therefore better for DX since less energy goes straight up (which means more RF towards the horizon for DX stations to hear!).

[@Spike-sk7ql]

1/4 wave will work just fine for dx. Obviously not as good as a directional antenna, but not everyone has multiple thousands of dollars they can spend on the antenna, rotator, and tower. Also.... that setup is very less than ideal for portable operations. A vertical will get you a better lower take off angle than a dipole will. Especially if you don't get the dipole up a 1/2 wavelength off the ground.

[@GG-vx7gi]

Great video. Considering the wrc portable vertical model as base antenna with as many radials in the ground as I can.

[@BretChilcott]

Excellent video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. 73, BretC/AC0AE

[@joeb3300]

One question - when you tuned for 40 meters, the gray band shown by the software runs from 7.00MHz to 7.20MHz. Similarly, the gray band for 50M ran from 50.0MHz-52.0MHz, not to 54MHz. That software seems to be set up for the ITU Region 1 band plan. 🏏 I checked... AntScope2 -> Settings supports setting "Band Highlighting" for ITU region 1, 2 or 3. It defaults to Region 1, probably because the product comes from Ukraine. You probably want to set it to Region 2 for use in the US.

[@davarno126]

Excellent video

[@bgrb7777]

Very Helpful thank you for your time!!

[@philippehaake6123]

Hi btw wwhere can I find the video about conterpoise?? TNX 73 qro HB9GUR

[@dennisricketts8533]

Wouldn't using different colors of markers to label each tune point/band be helpful?

[@N2GJ]

Good idea - I have different color Sharpies. Just don't forget your cheat sheet! LOLOL

[@W0DHZ]

Great idea! As N2GJ mentions, there are different color Sharpies. To be honest, I am still trying to find the best marker for a stainless steel whip antenna like this. The markings eventually wear off and the light colors do not always pop. You also have to use something that does not increase the profile of the whip as it has to collapse back on itself. I have debated using an engraver to etch markings and numbers. I have not gotten around to it yet.

[@19levante82]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video but, like others who have commented here, would be interested in seeing the one you referred to about the radials. I have a WRC SB myself and get nowhere near as good results on 40m. It will tune, but is much narrower.

[@doc145]

Google M0MCX the (DX Commander) radials. He published a 1 page article on radial length. It pretty much explains the practical side of radials.

[@W9ZKHamRadio]

Hah! I love how you talk about how you're tuning the Wolf River Coil, but in reality (except for 40m) you're actually making a full quarter wave vertical without the help of the coil. Technicality! Really though, great video. I've got a WRC on its way and I'm very excited to play with it. Unfortunately my setup is exclusively portable and doesn't have the full 213" whip, so I'll have to use much more of that coil that you have here. Very nicely done, thorough walkthrough!

[@W0DHZ]

Thanks for the feedback! You are right... not tuning the coil... but rather the whole system. Enjoyed your video on the Comet HFJ-350M!

[@billjobes1851]

Where is the 'Link you promised in the Comments' to Your Radials VIDEO ?

[@techguy9023]

Different color Sharpie permanent markers. Find the position for the sliding tap for the bands you use and make a colored ring around with the Sharpie. Yes you will have to redo it occasionally. Or you could mount a small square brass rail with the sliding contact. File marks in the rail. I think Norcal sold a coil like that in the 90s. 73s

[@Hogdriver88]

Great explanation. 👍

[@michaelmastro-kd8qdl989]

Dale...Great video. I just bought the Platinum 1000. I need to know what wire gauge your radials are if you could possibly comment. Also, WRC supplies 33 foot radials. Should that be the length given the manufacturers instructions. Thank you for your help. KD8QDL - 73

[@JohnGarner-sz2wb]

Hello again. I did locate a tape on Amazon that will more than cover for your original recommended on. Use your current link and search for a tape by Kutir that is 33ft/10m.

[@jesusjesus801]

Great job sir 73

[@donaldsmith3048]

I had trouble with it falling over with wind. I am in central Florida, sandy soil, and not always level. I got a small ground rod and cut it in third. Put a mount on one of the parts with a point and put that in the ground leaving enough to have the coax connection easy to get to. Here I can push it in the ground much of the way and then step on it to get it in the ground. I had a short piece of 550 cord that I made a loop to put on it to help pull it out of the ground. I also have the center load parts that give me two parts to make it longer. One of them will replace the coil if you wanted to do that. This may not be good for everyone but may help some people. Maybe this could give someone an idea to do something to help them where they are. I packed a small level to help put it in the ground level. For some reason standing above it I couldn't do that without the level. It may be because the ground wasn't level. The parts of the ground rod are about the same length as the other parts of the coil setup. Hope this helps someone get an idea that helps them. 73 W4DES

[@kenedwardsattorney1417]

Dave, great video! What is the radial wire size you used!

[@W1ZY]

You actually do not want to tune for minimum SWR with your Rig Expert. You want to tune for minimum reactance when adjusting the length of the whip. This will produce maximum radiation efficiency. Given the number of ground radials you have deployed, you will likely not be able to achieve zero reactance (100% efficiency) at the 1/4-wave vertical's native resonant feedpoint impedance of 36 Ohms . Thus when you tune the aerial the way you do in the video, you are adjusting it for about 70% efficiency: for every ten watts delivered to its feedpoint, 7 Watts will be radiated and 3 Watts wasted. The radiator exhibits 100% efficiency at zero reactance and 36 Ohms of feedpoint impedance which resolves to a SWR of 1.3 to 1. You can either live with this SWR, or put a matching network at the vertical's base to achieve the 1:1 SWR match to your 50 Ohm coaxial cable (L-match with a hairpin across the coax connector followed by a capacitor off its center conductor to the vertical). You will note that in mobile HF installations, loaded whip (e.g. Hustler, etc) will have a small hand-wound coil between the vertical and ground to match the aerial's feedpoint impedance to the feedline One of the worst things about the Wolf River coil is its use of stainless steel wire (1.4 Million Siemens/meter) in the coil, compared to less-expensive aluminum electric fence wire (43 Million Siemens/meter). Aluminum is 15 times more conductive than stainless steel, which means if you opt to use the Wolf River coil at all, you need to rip the stainless steel off its coil form and rewind it using aluminum wire. The best wire to use would be silver wire. 73s, BILL W1ZY w1zy.substack.com/

[@georgeetherege8347]

Aluminum wire is a good-news, bad-news kind of situation. Yes, it is much more conductive than steel. But in a normal atmosphere, aluminum oxidizes basically instantly to form a surface layer that is a lousy conductor. It makes it hard for a sliding contact to reliably get to the underlying pure aluminum. More bad news: RF currents stay on the surface of a conductor and so, don’t get a lot of benefit from the highly conductive aluminum. Where the Code allows aluminum wire the contact points must be held down with a minimum torque-much higher than what the sliding contact on a WRC will provide. The fact that WRC uses stainless steel instead of aluminum on that coil is significant.

[@W1ZY]

@@georgeetherege8347 Good theoretical points. Might try aluminum anyway, regardless of the skin effect, as an experiment.

[@PaulRisenmay]

What gauge wire did you use for your radial wires? 6-33 foot each right?

[@thomashardy9994]

Appreciate the details you provided. I’ve been using the 213 inch whip for 20-10 meters while waiting for a mad dog I ordered a few weeks ago. Been doing the lazy “magic carpet” ground plane with faraday cloth method, but quickly realized its shortcomings. The wind blows it around too much, therefore my SWRs aren’t consistently very low like yours. Did you ever use your coil on 80 meters? That’s the main reason I bought one since I already have a really convenient EFHW that gives me 40.

[@322doug]

Iam just wondering, for 6M, cant you just raise the telescoping antenna to 268 cm to reach a "Half wave" instead of a 1/4 wave ?

[@ainhoasamford8046]

Muy bueno de como ha realizado con ese programa y conseguir la longitud de 20mts a 10mts, sin que intervenga la carga de la bobina

[@PapasDino]

You probably won't be using the antenna on 6m. But if you want to optimize it you might consider tacking on some 1/4 wavelength radials for 6m; I had to do that for my SteppIR BigIR vertical to get the best match on 6m. If you're going to be serious about 6m you're going to want to go horizontal anyway for weak signal. TNX for the great video! 73 - Dino KLØS

[@tfiii6404]

Well done.

[@joseneves2822]

Excellent video, Very enlightening and well explained, Thanks for sharing / 73

[@shawnp6653]

Cool stuff Dale. Does the antenna analyzer d/l the data to the PC/software? Regardless, thanks for sharing this information in a clear/understandable fashion (and showing all the steps). 73...

[@DominicMazoch]

With the 217 inch whip, one should be able to set it on 6 and 10M to 1/2 length.

[@seanfoley7097]

I looked at your link online and was wondering if you had the tuning information for those of us with the mini and the 78 inch whip (sota special)I was looking at it and obviously it's a 1/8 wave antenna but I would very much appreciate any information you have on it

[@Zoidberg227]

Nice setup, great video. What size Powerpoles are you using for the radials? Standard 30 amp or something larger? I've been thinking of getting a WRC and want to do something similar.

[@Tommyr]

Good video. I like my WRC. Love that T-shirt too!

[@W0DHZ]

Thanks!

[@darylcheshire1618]

Is the “standard” coil the Silver Bullet?

[@BobBroeking]

Very helpful... you still using this system?

[@W0DHZ]

This is my go to antenna for POTA. Easy to setup quickly and performs great!

[@BobBroeking]

yep, me too for the last 7 months...welcome back to the WWW! ha

[@forgetyourlife]

What gauge wire for the radials did you use? And do you think 26gauge is to small.?

[@joel6221]

Yes, this info would be nice to have

[@ahtartersauce101]

Can any wrc be used for QRP 5w power?

[@Philip-KA4KOE]

Well done!

[@rfburns3472]

Excellent!

[@lynyrdt]

Do u have a price list anywhere for the public to see?? I have not been able to find one and the phone number get's me nothing.

[@T-Hogie]

I'd say you should set the antenna to be resonant at 50.4 MHz to be in the center of the CW/SSB region. Does anyone do POTA of FM? I guess there's no reason to not do POTA on 6m FM but I don't think I would.

[@TheShawna1]

the one question not asked of course is 80 meters how much coil?Approx 32 clicks with the same 33 foot radials? Inquiring minds want to know.Jim

[@do5dghgeorg233]

Hi, Thanks for this great video! Now there’s only one question, why to buy a wolf coil when a adjustable stick is all that’s needed;-) Cheers Georg

[@philippehaake6123]

Tnx GREAT Video... 73 qro HB9GUR

[@w4mkh]

One last comment. I can't find the radials video and there is no link in the comments.

[@joel6221]

Same

[@averagejoe8213]

Would making 6m a 5/8 wave and shortening your radials help?

[@JoshMann-m1s]

Why is the 1/4 wave length number EX 20m=192”. Why is it not 197, a true quarter of 20m. Its 5” short from true 1/4??

[@W0DHZ]

Great question! A couple things play into this. The 20m frequencies are not exactly 20 meters in wavelength. If you divide the speed of light in meters/sec (299,792,458 m/s) by 14.255 Mhz (adjust for hertz), the center frequency I was tuning for, you actually get 21.1 meters for a full wavelength. Now, that does not help your question, as the quarter wave actually got longer. But then if you calculate the velocity factor (I used .93 for the velocity factor) of the wire (as it is not truly speed of light), that will bring the number down to a tad under 20 meters. (It brings it down 7%) So my calculations came in at 490 cm or almost 193". In the end, I used these numbers to get me very close and then I fine-tuned using my antenna analyzer and looked for the point that looks most resonant.

[@ik4rqjhamradio15]

GREAT video, TNX and 73 de IK4RQJ Gus, QTH Modena, North Italy

[@fernandoares8297]

Can you share the dimensions for those of us that only have the 102 inch whip?? ke9le

[@briantrask8173]

Hi, I have the 213 inch whip and have not been able to get 15, 12, or 10 meters to tune well. I am going to try you numbers to see if that works. What radial lengths are you using and how many?

[@BobBroeking]

he says he uses 33" radials and has 24 of them in the video.

[@KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4]

I wish they sold this with the 213 inch whip still

[@N747A]

So why did I buy both coil!?

[@richlovin2173]

So, basically you don't need the expensive coil. An adjustable whip is all you need.

[@W0DHZ]

Essentially for 6m-20m you do not need the coil if you use the 213" whip. If you want to do 30m, 40m, 60m, or 80m, you will need the coil. I still make all the measurements with the coil in there as I move between 20m and 40m quite a bit. Also, the additional weight of the coil helps keep the base more stable. By not having to use the coil to tune to 50ohm on 6m-20m, you will get a much lower Q and a much flatter SWR over a much higher bandwidth.

[@alvarogaitan2529]

thanks fantastic video 73 from kb2uew

[@jamesgeorge1709]

I got the smaller coil and believe I wasted my money, I bought it for portable set up and found that i wasted way too much time trying to tune it up. I have since then started using Half Wave End Fed antennas. I can set up in less than 5 minutes. Don't waste your time and money on coils.

[@RichardDePas]

Fantastic explanation. K9WWW

[@dannybryant4440]

how much is a centimeter?? W5CI

[@matthewlee2686]

Why are you talking centimeters? This threw me all off.

[@XPFTP]

omg another pota crap stuff whatevers... sooooooo sick of hearing about pota. omg iam ready to get rid of my radio becuse of it. its all i hear anymore... pota pota pota..