Which antenna, Nagoya NA-771, Nagoya NA-701C, or something else?

[Bkreb]

I currently have a couple of BTech GMRS-V1s. I bought them for emergencies but sometimes use them on trips and outings. I'd like to increase the reception and range a little so I'm guessing a better antenna will help somewhat. BaoFeng recomends the Nagoya NA-701C for the GMRS-V1, but I would think the Nagoya NA-771 would be better overall because it's almost twice as long. The specs for each are almost the same, but I'm not really a tech guy, so comparing the numbers doesn't help me. Any thoughts? Any other antennas I should look at? Thanks. 

[citizensoldier16]

I have a UV-5R plus and can say from personal verified experience, the 771 is not as good an antenna for GMRS use as the stock antenna. It’s optimal TX frequencies are outside of GMRS ranges. I can hit repeaters 13 miles away from downtown Columbia, SC with the stock antenna that I can’t hit with the Nagoya 771. The only thing you gain with the Nagoya is reception due to its length, but that length actually hinders performance across the GMRS frequencies. The 771 is a dual-band amateur radio antenna optimized for use on 2m and 70cm. GMRS is outside those frequency ranges.

 

The 701 is probably better than the 771 for GMRS but it will not get you anything more than you get with the stock antenna.

[Jones]

It sounds like you are wanting us to reassure you by telling you that those 701c are the big bomb diggetty, and that you'll talk for 30 miles further on one of them, but that's just not the case.   You are not going to see much difference, if any at all on UHF, by spending money on one of those over-rated, over-priced Japanese named Taiwanese antennas.

 

If you were operating VHF, as in 2-meter ham or MURS, one of those would get you better range, but on UHF they make no difference.

Yes, I have a 701, (not c version) on a Wouxun KG-UVD1p, and it does much better than a stock antenna on 2 Meters, but it makes no difference on 70cm (430-450MHz) than the stock antenna, and it gets worse performance on GMRS (462-467MHz). The c version at least is tuned for MURS and GMRS, but still wont give any true gain over the stock antenna on GMRS.

 

With that said, I don't know what other information you are looking to gain.  We're not being snarky, we're being truthful. If you are expecting triple or double the distance with one of these antennas, you will be disappointed.  You will be lucky to gain an additional 25 feet of range over the stock antenna.

[Jones]

Longer is not better in this case. GMRS is UHF. A quarter wavelength is about 6 inches.

The NA-701c is a dual band antenna designed for commercial bands, and GMRS. It will work, but you really do not need a dual-band antenna.

The NA-771 is a dual ham band antenna, Being longer, It will do better on VHF 2-meter ham band, but not as good on GMRS, which is out of its operating range.

 

If you want greater range, use an external antenna on your roof, or on the top of your vehicle.  For portable operation, you aren't going to get much more range with any rubber-duck antenna - the factory one will do just fine.

[kidphc]

Longer is not better in this case. GMRS is UHF. A quarter wavelength is about 6 inches.

The NA-701c is a dual band antenna designed for commercial bands, and GMRS. It will work, but you really do not need a dual-band antenna.

The NA-771 is a dual ham band antenna, Being longer, It will do better on VHF 2-meter ham band, but not as good on GMRS, which is out of its operating range.

Can verify this... Tried both on my 2m/70cm and my Btech GMRS-v1. The 771 simply doesn't work as well on the Btech. Works great on my cheap chinese 2m radio.

 

Tried the different combinations with counterpoises and without as well as different lengths. Not so great for gmrs worked much better with the 2m/70cm radio. Just ripped off the counter poise of the 2m/70cm radio since with a 771 and counterpoise it was an annoying radio to walk around and use.

[krvw]

I have a UV-5R plus and can say from personal verified experience, the 771 is not as good an antenna for GMRS use as the stock antenna. It’s optimal TX frequencies are outside of GMRS ranges. I can hit repeaters 13 miles away from downtown Columbia, SC with the stock antenna that I can’t hit with the Nagoya 771. The only thing you gain with the Nagoya is reception due to its length, but that length actually hinders performance across the GMRS frequencies. The 771 is a dual-band amateur radio antenna optimized for use on 2m and 70cm. GMRS is outside those frequency ranges.

 

The 701 is probably better than the 771 for GMRS but it will not get you anything more than you get with the stock antenna.

 

Yeah, I don't doubt that at all. I've so far had better luck with the 701C than I ever had with the 771.

 

Cheers,

 

Ken

[WRAF213]

The 771 isn't resonant on GMRS, it's typically resonant on 440 to 450 MHz for UHF. I'd expect SWR at or above 2:1 or 3:1 on GMRS frequencies. I lost the sweep results on mine but I have posted about it earlier. As a rule of thumb: longer, high-gain antennas have less bandwidth than shorter antennas.

[chuckn]

BTECH recommends 701C. I have some coming with the V1's. I will report back. Honestly, it is hard to find a straight answer so I decided on the V1 because of it ability to connect to a repeater. Most of the advice also say a longer antenna helps and that wattage along is not the most important factor. At this point I do not know enough to have an opinion. 

[Jones]

BTECH recommends 701C. I have some coming with the V1's. I will report back. Honestly, it is hard to find a straight answer so I decided on the V1 because of it ability to connect to a repeater. Most of the advice also say a longer antenna helps and that wattage along is not the most important factor. At this point I do not know enough to have an opinion. 

The straight answer is: No, a longer antenna will NOT help. An antenna HIGHER UP IN THE AIR will help tremendously.

 

Those guys walking around with a 19-24 inch long rubber antenna flopping around from the top of their walkie-talkies are on VHF ham bands, not GMRS.   ...or else they are idiots.

 

BTECH will gladly recommend that you buy anything that they sell, if it makes you happy.

[chuckn]

The straight answer is: No, a longer antenna will NOT help. An antenna HIGHER UP IN THE AIR will help tremendously.

 

Those guys walking around with a 19-24 inch long rubber antenna flopping around from the top of their walkie-talkies are on VHF ham bands, not GMRS.   ...or else they are idiots.

 

BTECH will gladly recommend that you buy anything that they sell, if it makes you happy.

Do you have direct experience with the V1 with the original or 701c?

[Radioguy7268]

The guys who get the most distance out of hand held radios are strapping them to an 8 ft. pole - and then using a speaker mic with an extra long cord (or extension) to allow them to key up the portable while it's raised 8 -10 ft up into the air. That's the "best" antenna - one that's higher up.

 

Beyond that, you'll find more substantial performance gains by simply swapping the radio underneath the antenna to something better than a CCR, rather than swapping the antenna.

 

Height is might.

[chuckn]

Hard to carry a 10 foot antenna hiking. 

 

BTECH recommends if you are going to add a different antenna that you use the 701c, not that you need a different antenna. 

 

I was hoping to gain some information here. Looks like that may not be possible. 

[Radioguy7268]

Hard to carry a 10 foot antenna hiking.

 

Consider carrying a telescopic pole for those times you actually need it. You can double your distance if you get up high enough. Realistically, you're never going to double your distance by swapping antennas on a CCR. No matter what the advertising tells you.

[chuckn]

I figure for $14, the 701c is a good, inexpensive additional piece of equipment and since BTECH sells both and both cost the same, why not give it a try? BTECH recommends the 701C for the V1 they sell. I am responding to the OP. https://baofengtech.com/nagoya-na-701c-commercial-155-455mhz

 

Not going to carry a telescopic antenna. I am not looking to be reassured or gain 30 miles.    I would like to have a radio that is marginally better than the Midland non repeater radios that I can use on a trail or camping. If I have bought the wrong radio, It was not an expensive mistake. 

[Soladaddy]

I have the V1 the 701c and the 771. The 701c is supposed to be tuned for 150-165 and 450-470Mhz so it should help with the transmit by sending out more RF. I have not seen a noticeable difference on the receive side and that is what my V1 mainly does. Guess its time to set up a transmit test to see if there is a noticeable difference. A better tuned antenna should yield a longer transmitter life so that alone would make it worth the $15.

[chuckn]

I have the V1 the 701c and the 771. The 701c is supposed to be tuned for 150-165 and 450-470Mhz so it should help with the transmit by sending out more RF. I have not seen a noticeable difference on the receive side and that is what my V1 mainly does. Guess its time to set up a transmit test to see if there is a noticeable difference. A better tuned antenna should yield a longer transmitter life so that alone would make it worth the $15.

Thank you for a useful post. I might be reaching out when my order arrives. 

[Omak1]

I had the same question. I ended up buying a Motorola ATU-16D UHF Antenna (450-470MHz) from Buy Two Way Radios. It seems to perform a lot better than my stock antenna on GMRS frequencies. I think the price was $13.

[sifert]

I currently have a couple of BTech GMRS-V1s. I bought them for emergencies but sometimes use them on trips and outings. I'd like to increase the reception and range a little so I'm guessing a better antenna will help somewhat. BaoFeng recomends the Nagoya NA-701C for the GMRS-V1, but I would think the Nagoya NA-771 would be better overall because it's almost twice as long. The specs for each are almost the same, but I'm not really a tech guy, so comparing the numbers doesn't help me. Any thoughts? Any other antennas I should look at? Thanks. 

 

See my post here because I had the same issue not knowing which antenna is best. I have no hard data on the results, but I got a 5/8 wave and a 1/4 wave antenna (I don't even know what that really means) from SmileyAntenna and they put every other antenna I've tried to shame in every terrain I've used them in.

[maddogrecurve]

On 3/28/2020 at 8:25 PM, Jones said:

The straight answer is: No, a longer antenna will NOT help. An antenna HIGHER UP IN THE AIR will help tremendously.

 

Those guys walking around with a 19-24 inch long rubber antenna flopping around from the top of their walkie-talkies are on VHF ham bands, not GMRS.   ...or else they are idiots.

 

BTECH will gladly recommend that you buy anything that they sell, if it makes you happy.

I have a foldable TwayRdio antenna in camo, I thought it would be a joke as it is long, too long, but I tested the SWR's and they are under 1.5:1 on all FRS/GMRS frequencies!  The reception is way better than the 701-C, 771-C, and the stock (I have all of them).  I cannot seem to find anyone to talk to for testing in my area, but when I do, I will use all my antennas and report back. I am leery about using the stock one or the 701-C anymore because the SWR is over 3 on both of those across all of the GMRS and FRS frequencies.

I Did by an external antenna and mounted it on my car, just waiting for the SMA connectors to come in.  I bought the Browning antenna and mounted it to my fender!!  Once that gets hooked up I hope to actually be heard!  Also, I cannot access the one repeater in my area because my programming cable does not work, I have a new one coming (should be here tonight).  I have no clue what I am doing, but should be hitting repeaters soon.

[wrci350]

16 hours ago, maddogrecurve said:

 I am leery about using the stock one or the 701-C anymore because the SWR is over 3 on both of those across all of the GMRS and FRS frequencies.

Don't believe SWR readings on HT antennas.  The radio and the person holding it form the ground plane of the antenna system.  Disconnecting the antenna and hooking it to an SWR meter will not give you an accurate reading.

[serrasalmus]

i notice you dint include the 771g, its a beasty antenna and does great for the gmrs freq as thats what its tunned for, i have 2 of them one on a uv5r and one one a gmrsv1, yesterday i went for a hike and hit the repeater that was over 45ish miles. granted i was prob about 9000ft but the repeater is in the denver. ive hasd no issues with the 771g the others however i cant speak for as i dont have them..

[pcradio]

How about the newly released Nagoya NA-771G and NA-701G? They optimized for GMRS?

[MacJack]

7 minutes ago, pcradio said:

How about the newly released Nagoya NA-771G and NA-701G? They optimized for GMRS?

I have https://www.buytwowayradios.com/nagoya-na-771g.html on all my GMRS Radios... it is 15.3 inch not good to carry, I mount mine radio on the Jeep passenger side hand rail and works great out the window.

 

[mrgmrs]

I have run across several articles that support the idea that alternative, non-OEM HT antennas do not necessarily perform better than a radio's stock OEM one.  Here is one such article...

https://www.hamradio.me/antennas/ht-antenna-comparisons.html

The author also showed that the use of a tiger tail aka counterpoise does not provide a universal benefit - it does in some cases but not others.

The author's takeaways:

1) For his Yaesu FT1D, the stock antenna performed well. (Perhaps the Yaesu/ICOM/Kenwood) engineers design an antenna tuned well for each particular model.)

2) If he needs a more capable antenna for demanding situations, he recommends a roll up antenna (e.g., Ed Fong DBJ-2).  Note that there are amateur radio and commercial versions of that antenna.  The commercial one is suitable for GMRS and MURS.  The rollup antenna would be good for home use or for stationary work camping or hiking.

Finally, and this is a personal decision for each of us - how many non-conspicuous extras do we want to add to our "portable" HTs?  A giant whippy antenna?  A counterpoise hanging off the radio?  Maybe a suit of armor with an NMO mount at the top of the helmet?  What a ground plane that would make.   

4 out of 5 dentists say that walking around with an HT automatically disqualifies one from getting an invite to a Victoria's Secret show.  Walking around with an HT loaded with octopus-like accessories may go a step further - it might result in a regular block party invite getting "lost in the mail."  

[daschnoz]

Running on a Baofeng UV-82...

I have a 771 that I never use.  With the radio on my hip, it's an armpit tickler.

 

I run a 701C that works well.  I don't know if it's any better than the stock antenna for GMRS.  I never really tested it for range.  I can easily get into the local GRMS repeaters with both antennas from my home QTH.  About the biggest benefit is that it's flexible, so it has a bit of give when you swipe it against something.

[MichaelLAX]

On 4/13/2020 at 11:01 AM, sifert said:

 

See my post here because I had the same issue not knowing which antenna is best. I have no hard data on the results, but I got a 5/8 wave and a 1/4 wave antenna (I don't even know what that really means) from SmileyAntenna and they put every other antenna I've tried to shame in every terrain I've used them in.

I couldn't resist reviving this thread because I saw that no one answered your query:

A wavelength is the actual length (measured in meters) for which a radio wave makes one full cycle (now called a Hertz).

A rough mathematical formula tells us that Wavelength = 300/Frequency

So the 10 meter Ham Radio band (28.0 - 29.9 MHz) is close to 30 MHz; while the Citizens Band, down at 27 MHz is 11 meters.

The 2 meter Ham Radio Band is close to 150 MHz (144 - 148 MHz) and the 70 cm Ham Band is from 420 to 450 MHz.

For reasons too complicated to go into here (and I am not sure I ever learned them, but if I did, I sure forgot them! ), certain lengths propogate radio frequencies better than others; which brings us to lengths that are 1/4 and 5/8 of the wavelength involved.

For my use of my old Kenwood TH-22a 2 meter HTs back in the 90s and 2000s, I had two replacement antennas to improve my range from the stock rubber-duck antenna that came with it:

1) A telescoping 1/4 wave antenna that was bearable to use when fully extended; and

2) A telescoping 5/8 wave antenna that was very difficult to use when fully extended.  Then why did I use it?

It was easy to carry in my accessories case when fully collapsed and gave me that extra punch when fully extended that I might need in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of Montana, when it allowed me to hit a repeater than connected me with a Canadian Ham (my then wife NEVER forgave me - hahahaha).

I wonder which Ham Radio license exam requires this knowledge today: Technician, General or Extra?