Advice on an antenna

[Jeepandy]

Hello, WRKK502 here. Just obtained my license. I am curious as to what someone would recommend for my Btech V1 handheld. Looking for a better antenna. Also maybe some suggestions on how to connect with repeaters with my handheld as I am new to it. Thanks for reading.

[gman1971]

Motorola PMAE4048A  . Its 3.5 inches and works very well for GMRS. I have one on all my XPR 6550 UHF.

 

Try buying from an OEM dealer, or Motorola Solutions directly, the knock offs are rather abundant, and perform worse, as measured.

 

G.

[billtrout]

Anybody try a smiley antenna tuned 5/8 wave tuned at 465?

[Jeepandy]

Thank you would that work on a Btech?

[gman1971]

@Billtrout

 

Yes, I have tried a few smiley antennas, I didn't like the performance. 

 

@Jeepandy

 

Yes, the PMAE4048A, being an SMA antenna, will work on any radio with an SMA connector on it, inlcuding Btech portable radios.

[billtrout]

What was the issue with the smiley antennas? I just ordered a uhf 5/8 wave tuned at 465

 

              thanks

            Bill

[gman1971]

return loss was -6dBm, impedance was 86 Ohms... not what I would expect for a "tuned antenna"

 

The PMAE4048A is tuned perfect for the GMRS band.

 

G.

[billtrout]

OK thanks, i will check it and i looked the Motorola antenna you referenced how is the range on such short antenna?

 

             Kindest Regards

                  Bill

[billtrout]

I just tried a Diamond SRJ-77CA and swr was about perfect and recieve jumped bit.

That antenna is not even rated for GMRS I keep it on my yaesu ft-65.

 

                 Thanks

                   Bill

[gman1971]

There are good antennas made by Diamond, certainly in my experience better than the smiley ones. 

 

I can hit a repeater 25 miles away from inside my room on 1W using my XPR6550 equipped with the PMAE4048A. Not sure if this is good enough.

 

G.

[billtrout]

You are correct the smiley has an swr of 8! i will be returning that and trying the Motorola antenna

 

               thanks

               Bill

[gman1971]

That sucks. I think you'll like the moto better, plus it looks really cool on the radio.

 

G.

[JCase]

I know I’m a little late with my suggestion but I have had good performance from the Nagoya NA-771C. Make sure it’s the model with the “C” as this stands for “commercial” band tuned antenna. Remember, GMRS is in the UHF commercial part of the band and in fact are previous commercial frequencies reassigned by the FCC for GMRS. You can also do a google search for “uhf commercial band antennas for handheld, portable, walkie talkie”.

 

Good luck with your search and whichever purchase you end up choosing.

[billtrout]

The Motorola antennas got in and I'm getting a 4 on them, I'm getting a bit confused I'm using an sw33 by surecom for a meter.

 

   

[MikeOut]

The Nagoya 771C does not list going higher than 455Mhz  

There's an Updated that is out of stock listed as Nagoya NA-771G    G! 

I wish I could find one.  

[gman1971]

A 4? Where did you get these antennas from?

 

If these antennas indeed had a 4:1 SWR, like you claim, all my XPR 6550s would've probably be blown long ago, and not have simplex radio-to-radio range of almost 3 miles, ground to ground ... I have a bunch of those in service, and these (and IF these are genuine Motorola) they should read around ~1.67 : 1 at ~462.6 Mhz...

 

You really need a better SWR meter, that sw33 thing is a dog... My choice is NanoVNA v2.0, with N connectors. Its not an HP/Agilent, etc, but at the cost, and size, is good enough to suit most light duty stuff.

 

G.

[WRCZ387]

I have a Nagoya NA-771G half-wave and it has performed well for me so far

 

I have a TYT branded SW-102 meter and I tested the 771G on 5 radios, 2 Baofeng, 1 BTech, & 2 Alincos

 

SWR ran from 1.03 to 1.20 depending on which radio & which end of the band

 

I will order more when they're back in stock

 

I will order a NA-701G quarter-wave when they're available just to see how that one works vs the 771G

 

73

[billtrout]

Gman, you may be right about that sw33 and i now have an account with Motorola salutions witch is where i got those antennas from. I also am using a 771g that seems to work well its just a tad long

[Jeepandy]

I purchased the N771 antenna and now I can reach the repeater 30+ miles from inside my house. When before I couldn’t even reach it outside 5 miles from my house. I’ve had some good luck with this one. As I am new to this any tips on looking at getting sw meter? How to use?

[gman1971]

I prefer a shorter antenna for belt worn radios.

 

G.

[Jeepandy]

I’m starting to realize that as I’ve been hiking with it. Will a shorter antenna work the same?

[gman1971]

Anything shorter than a 1/4 wave will have reduced performance, so, the shorter it is, the worse will perform (not two ways about this)... but for UHF it will be less of an impact than for, say, VHF...  So there is a tradeoff, between carrying a 6 feet fishing pole that reaches 20 miles, and a 1 inch dummy load that reaches 100 yards... 

 

G.

[OldRadioGuy]

I agree that the Nagoya 771G is a very good antenna.

The Wouxun 805G factory antenna is not bad but the Nagoya showed a clear improvement.

 

I have had very good results from Smiley telescoping antennas on my Ham radios.

Some of them are dual band and should not be fully extended for 440-460MHz.

You have to read the instructions carefully.

 

If you really want to "kill it" check out some of the Arrow brand beam antennas made for 440MHz ham band.

These are available from Ham Radio Outlet and have BNC connectors so you need adapters and a short cable.

I have not specifically tested the SWR but should be fine based on tests of other 440Mhz ham antennas I have.

 

These are take-down antennas that you would put together on site - such as at a remote location. 

They are large when assembled but transport pretty small like a "pack" fishing rod.

You would not walk around with one of these though... or you'd look like a real nerd if you did.

 

Vince