by Thomas (K4SWL)

The day before I left on my week-long FDIM/Hamvention trip, I received a package in the mail from Radioddity containing their soon-to-be-released HF-009 vertical antenna.

In the spirit of full disclosure: Radioddity is not only a sponsor of QRPer, but we’re also an affiliate—meaning that if you purchase items via our affiliate link, we receive a small percentage of the sale, and you get a small discount. Radioddity sent this antenna to me free of charge. I don’t know yet if they want it back after I evaluate it, but let’s assume (for future transparency) that they don’t.

My Bias

When I evaluate gear, I like to take you along for the ride—and that means actually using the gear in the field.

It took me a few weeks to get around to evaluating the HF-009. Not only was I swamped post-Hamvention, but honestly, a part of me wasn’t looking forward to tinkering with this antenna.

The HF-009 is a multi-band vertical that uses a slide‑and‑tap center coil system. I know many operators who love sliding-coil verticals, but I’m just not one of them.

Early on in my POTA days, based on reader recommendations, I purchased the venerable Wolf River Coils vertical antenna. It uses a sliding coil system—like the HF-009—though its coil is located at the base of the antenna.

I immediately saw why these antennas are so popular: they deliver multi-band performance without needing an ATU, and they’re surprisingly effective. I had some fantastic activations with my WRC TIA.

But I eventually sold the TIA after discovering the Chelegance MC-750, which I found much easier to deploy and use.

Sliding coil antennas can be a pain to tune. Most friends who use them also carry an antenna analyzer to help dial in the best SWR before hitting the airwaves. While I eventually learned the “sweet spots” on the WRC coil, I often had to tweak it—especially on lower bands like 30, 40, and 80 meters. The more coil you use, the higher the Q—and the narrower the bandwidth.

Personally, I prefer antennas I can just set and forget (like the MC-750), or those that are non-resonant and rely on an ATU for matching (like the Chameleon MPAS Lite).

To be clear, this is just my preference. Center- and base-loaded coil verticals are very popular for good reason: they work. The more you use them, the easier they get. They’re just not my default go-to.

Getting Started

Normally, I film the “discovery” phase of a new antenna or radio in the field—experiencing the full unboxing and set-up for the first time on video, in real time.

But with the HF-009, I wasn’t comfortable doing that. Given my previous experience and bias, I decided to first test the antenna at the QTH, identify good match points for 40, 30, 20, and 17 meters, and then take it to the field.

I set up the HF-009 at home, grabbed my RigExpert analyzer, and spent about 15 minutes finding match points on the coil. Honestly? It wasn’t as tedious as I’d expected.

Because the coil is mounted at a comfortable height—not at the base like the WRC—adjustments were easier. The coil itself is smooth to adjust; I suspect it uses a finer gauge wire than the WRC, which has a clickier feel. The HF-009 is much more fluid.

To remember the coil positions, I took photos of the slider settings and saved them in the Notes app on my iPhone for quick field reference. That turned out to be a very good idea.

Very First Impressions

Before I get ahead of myself, here are a few things I immediately liked about the HF-009:

• It comes with everything you need, including a coax cable and an SO-239 to BNC adapter.
• The included carrying case is well-organized and feels solid.
• When broken down, it’s compact and easy to pack, with shorter segment sections that fit nicely into a backpack.
• The slider mechanism is smooth, responsive, and placed at a comfortable height.
• The loading coil is sealed—unlike my WRC vertical, whose exposed coil was affected by moisture.
• Overall, build quality feels excellent.

On The Air: Blue Ridge Parkway (US-3378)

Of course, the best way to put the HF-009 through its paces was to take it to a park and put it on the air.

On Monday, June 9, 2025, I dropped my daughter off at a class and had well over an hour to play radio, so the HF-009 came with me to the Folk Art Center picnic area on the Blue Ridge Parkway!

Since I’d set up the HF-009 once before, it came together very quickly. In fact, I think it’s right there with the MC-750 in deployment time, which is very much a good thing.

I decided to pair the HF-009 with my Penntek TR-45L Skinny. Why? To be honest, I didn’t fully trust the SWR to be acceptable using only the photos I’d taken for the coil slider placement. The TR-45L has a beautiful analog SWR meter, which I find much easier to read in situations where I might need to fine-tune an antenna.

I also packed my RigExpert analyzer because it allows me to make adjustments as I read the SWR.

Turns out, though? It wasn’t an issue at all. During the activation (spoiler alert), I moved from band to band and—solely based on the photos I took of the slider switch position—the SWR was spot-on each time!

Gear

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Radio

• Penntek TR-45L “Skinny”

Antenna System

• Radioddity HF-009 Portable Vertical Antenna

Key/Cable

• BaMaKeY TP-III Ultra-Compact Twin Paddle and Senrog Bench Block TP-III base
• Key cable: Cable Matters 2-Pack Gold-Plated Retractable Aux Cable – 2.5 Feet

Pack/Cover

• Red Oxx Micro Manager
• TR-45L Transport Cover

Battery

• Bioenno 3 Ah LiFePo Battery (Model BLF-1203AB)

Logging

• Rite In The Rain Top Spiral Notebook
• GraphGear 0.9mm 1000 Automatic Drafting Pencil

Camera and Audio

• DJI OSMO 4 action camera with  Joby Telepod Sport Tripod
• DJI Wireless Microphones

On The Air

I positioned the slider switch to the 20-meter position I had noted using this photo from back home.

When I checked the SWR on the TR-45L’s analog meter, it was nearly perfect. I was surprised.

I then hopped on 20 meters and started calling CQ POTA.

In short order, I started logging hunters from all over the country—in fact: Washington, Florida, Louisiana, Arizona, New York, Oklahoma, and New Jersey. I worked my first ten contacts in 13 minutes.

I honestly thought that if I could keep this up, I might work all states! Obviously, propagation had improved over the few days prior.

In the end, I logged a total of 14 contacts, all on 20 meters.

I did spend a good half hour or so moving to 17, 30, and 40 meters to hunt other stations.

Unfortunately, I had no luck with that, but in doing so, my main intention was to see if I could adjust the antenna easily for a proper SWR match based on the photos I’d taken of the slider switch scale the previous day. I’m happy to report that the SWR was very acceptable each time I set the slider.

Here are my logs from the activation:

QSO Map

Here’s what this five-watt activation looked like when plotted out on a QSO Map. Click on the map image to enlarge.

Activation Video

Here’s my real-time, real-life video of the entire activation.  As with all of my videos, I don’t edit out any parts of the on-air activation time. In addition, I have YouTube monetization turned off, although that doesn’t stop them from inserting ads before and after my videos.

Note that Patreon supporters can watch and even download this video 100% ad-free through Vimeo on my Patreon page:

Click here to view on YouTube.

HF-009: My Thoughts

This was just my first field use of the HF-009, but I came away with a very positive impression.

Setup and tuning were easy, and the coil positions I measured at home held up in the field. Will that consistency continue across different sites? Time will tell.

While I didn’t bring the HF-009 with me to Canada (I stuck to wire antennas to save space in the car), I plan to use it exclusively for a while once I’m back home to see if it consistently performs this well.

This antenna package is thoughtfully complete. I think it would be a great choice for a new ham, as long as they’re comfortable adjusting the coil and checking SWR.

As for performance—well, it certainly worked well during this activation, especially considering current band conditions. There’s no “magic” here—it’s a well-designed, center-loaded vertical that gets the job done. I especially like that the coil is easy to access, not at ground level.

If you’re looking for an affordable, multi-band portable vertical, I think the HF-009 deserves a look. And if you’re on the fence, check out other reviews and keep an eye on how it performs in my future activations. I have a hunch Radioddity has a solid offering here.

Pricing

The HF-009 is priced at $199 USD and begins shipping in July 2025.
Consider using [this affiliate link] to save 5%—QRPer receives a small commission from each sale as well.

Thank you

Thank you for joining me during this activation and HF-009 test run!

I hope you enjoyed the field report and my activation video as much as I enjoyed creating them!

Of course, I’d also like to send a special thanks to those of you who have been supporting the site and channel through Patreon, and the Coffee Fund. While not a requirement, as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.

As I mentioned before, the Patreon platform connected to Vimeo makes it possible for me to share videos that are not only 100% ad-free but also downloadable for offline viewing. The Vimeo account also serves as a third backup for my video files.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me! Have an amazing weekend!

Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)

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