I had one, found the 6' Firestik beat it at 550w from the TX Star 500 for both DX & local ops. Had planned to try the 7' but someone drunk changed my mind, replaced it with an SUV and now use one like this, but fewer turns to the coil and a 75" top & whip.
When you put your meter on the base, is the scales off also? You might need to calibrate? What's your most accurate scale, go from there. (That would drive me nuts)
i got an open coil with 9 coils not sure if its a predator or not. the coils look identicle to the predator coils. have only counted 8 coils on predator antenna and 9 on the one i have and the material inside the coil area is like a burgandy red not black. anyone have any idea's? i have no markings on the antenna to indicate the make or model.