Wilson Little Wil and K30 Antennas

[fletchman1957]

Something I don't understand is how a Little Wil and a K30 antenna can be loved by some and hated by others at the same time. Some call them garbage, some swear by them. I'm on my first Little Wil antenna and I haven't come to my own judgement call on this yet. I can say that yesterday we had a day of light rain and my SWR went bonkers, today it is normal. Is there that much component and manufacturing quality difference that makes the Wilson 1000 and K40 that much better of an antenna? I'm just learning about this stuff....

 

[dave3825]

Not sure but the original K40 rocked back in the day especially with all the heat I ran thru mine.

 

[mmckenna]

Something I don't understand is how a Little Wil and a K30 antenna can be loved by some and hated by others at the same time.

Always ask what they are comparing it to.

Some buy their one and only antenna, it works for them, therefore it is the "best" antenna.

 

[merlin]

Wilson 1000M has a tuned resonant hiQ coil and electrically 5/8 wave, A gain of about 3.5 Db pending SWR.
K40 is a base loaded 5/8 wave, but not the tuned resonant type. a quality antenna near matching the performance if the 1000M
Little wil is same design as K40 but electrically half wave, Ligter duty coil. About 2.2 DB gain
Noise and power considerations. The 1000M is wound with #6 silver plated flat copper. Tuned resonant gives it an electrical DC ground
mounted with NMO, that helps reduce noise a lot. ICAS (IE: CW) it will handle 1000 watts with little/no heating.
The K40 is wound with #10 standard copper. No DC ground it is more suceptible to noise. Above 500 watts, coil heating will change SWR.
The little wil is much the same except power above 150 watts prolonged can damage the coil.
Rain/water should not affect any of these. Water seepage into the mount will cause problems also any cracks in the shell, water can get to the coil.
All of these I have seen (a lot) are made to rather good quality standards.
I should note that for scanning, these are a bit overkill and made mainly for 11 meter CB.

 

[fletchman1957]

Wilson 1000M has a tuned resonant hiQ coil and electrically 5/8 wave, A gain of about 3.5 Db pending SWR.
K40 is a base loaded 5/8 wave, but not the tuned resonant type. a quality antenna near matching the performance if the 1000M
Little wil is same design as K40 but electrically half wave, Ligter duty coil. About 2.2 DB gain
Noise and power considerations. The 1000M is wound with #6 silver plated flat copper. Tuned resonant gives it an electrical DC ground
mounted with NMO, that helps reduce noise a lot. ICAS (IE: CW) it will handle 1000 watts with little/no heating.
The K40 is wound with #10 standard copper. No DC ground it is more suceptible to noise. Above 500 watts, coil heating will change SWR.
The little wil is much the same except power above 150 watts prolonged can damage the coil.
Rain/water should not affect any of these. Water seepage into the mount will cause problems also any cracks in the shell, water can get to the coil.
All of these I have seen (a lot) are made to rather good quality standards.
I should note that for scanning, these are a bit overkill and made mainly for 11 meter CB.

"Rain/water should not affect any of these. Water seepage into the mount will cause problems also any cracks in the shell, water can get to the coil."

Thanks Merlin...Yesterday in the light rain my SWR was completely haywire, up over 3.0 on upper channels. Today all channels 1-40 were between 1.0 and 1.7 Attached is a pic of antenna placement.

 

[mmckenna]

Water in the coil, water in the coax, etc. Running coax through the door/window often leads to cable damage. That'll let water in, cause corrosion and all kinds of issue.

Permanent mount, remove that issue from the equation. Anything intermittent like that is a real bad sign.

 

[K5MPH]

I have used the Little Wil before never had any problems it has a lower profile than the K40 ,the K40 has a longer whip/stinger than the Little Wil .......