DX engineering HotRodz Capacity Hat: sacrifice looks, mpg and a $$$ for a few dB
DX Engineering HotRodz, First Impressions
A package arrived yesterday afternoon from DX-Engineering containing:
- DXEngineering Hot Rodz
- Hustler Safety Spring
- DXE-MM-1 dual impedance antenna auto/transformer
- A DX Engineering Hat
Of course, the first problem was answering the XYL’s question “You bought another antenna for the car?”.
“It’s not really another antenna… it’s a replacement for the whip on top.”
“Looks like an antenna to me.”
Besides that, with the stinger/whip on the High Sierra removed, I should now be able to park in the garage! After that explanation (and a fun daddy/daughter project with Sarah, our 4 year old), I was ready to dive in.
Out of the Box
First, I’ll say that I was impressed with how quickly my order arrived and how well the materials were packed. Even small parts like the rubber tips to cover the ends of the rods were neatly sealed separate from other small parts like set screws. The HotRodz and DXE-MM-1 transformer each had an instruction book, which I had already read in PDF format on their website in anticipation (why doesn’t everyone do this?).
I decided to give the medium-length (12″) rods a try at first. I figured that given the reduction in mast length I would need something larger than then smallest rods. The HotRodz system comes with a 22 inch mast, so, moving down from a full 3 ft whip I’d need some length up there. It only took a few minutes to assemble: add the hub to the mast, add the rods to the hub and add the rubber tips to the ends of the rods.
Adding the HotRodz to the High Sierra Sidekick
This morning, I took the HotRodz with me to work. Removal of the High Sierra whip fold-over and whip and adding the HotRodz just took a minute. It wasn’t hard to tell by looking that I would be adding some drag, but I don’t think it will be enough to cause problems (your mileage may vary… literally).
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a short patch cable to use to put the DXE-MM1 in line. I’ll work on that for later today and post a full review on the Ham Radio Product Reviews pages soon (once I have some runtime on the system as a whole).
Making the High Sierra (or other screwdriver style antenna) “garage-friendly”
One thing I can say for now is that I will again be able to park my Toyota Camry in the garage and not have to worry about folding over (or removing) the whip on the High Sierra. My XYL has driven the Camry into the garage and forgotten to fold-over the whip several times.
Shortening the antenna to 22″ (plus the height of your coil) will make the HotRodz worth the investment alone to some hams. Due to the way the DX Engineering HotRodz hub is machined, I have the option to install a whip on top of the hat section. For now though, I’m leaving the whip off.
More on the performance of this system later…
I have the same antenna. Just buy the whip angle hinge for $15 from HS and angle your antenna which will reduce its hieght without effecting anything else. I have been doing this successfully with no difference in perfromance over the whip pointing straight up.
I also have the smaller spurs and am adding a 5′ whip and I still will be able to enter not only my garage at home but the garage at work that has very low stand pipes. The angle hinge is the answer.
Hi Vinny
Thanks for the comment.
I was considering the HS angle hinge but decided against it. Several reasons:
1) My garage isn’t very deep. If I pointed it back, it would interfere with the garage door and if it pointed any other way it would look weird.
2) The website didn’t mention whether the screw in the middle was stainless - but based on the problems I had with the others, I didn’t want another thing corroding.
3) I wanted to give the DX Engineering Hot Rodz a try and that seemed to solve most of my problems.
73 Pat