Better antenna for my new Baofang UV-5X

[rickhantz]

I was looking at the signalstuff.com site and was wondering which antenna to get.

Single/dual band?

Connector?

Using mainly for hiking in dense forest areas of the Olympic Peninsula in WA.

[MichaelLAX]

That radio requires an antenna with a SMA female connector at the bottom of the antenna.

UPDATE: I may be wrong about the SMA gender needed on the antenna  

A popular favorite a boost in receiving/transmitting is the Nagoya 771-G (Be sure it is the G model, cut for GMRS). But this antenna does not collapse and probably must be disconnected and put in your backpack while you hike.

A popular collapsable antenna with more gain is the Smiley Super Stick for GMRS

That is a dual band receiver, so if you will be listening to VHF, I recommend a dual band antenna.

[WyoJoe]

Did you get the UV-5X GMRS radio that comes in a set of two, or did you get a UV-5X Ham radio that is sold individually? These are two different models...

[MichaelLAX]

I thought all UV-5X’s are GMRS

[pipsqeak87]

According to some Amazon listings: 

Quote

"Why I received UV-5G instead of UV-5X as I ordered?"

Many customers used to be confused by UV-5X (GMRS version) and UV-5X (U/V version). So BAOFENG changes UV-5X to UV-5G and re-certified the FCC ID as 2AJGM-UV5G. In essence, now UV-5X and UV-5G are both the latest upgraded version of the inventory, with the same hardware and software configuration.

This is from the seller, but who knows in actuality util you receive it. I have heard of some ordering these and getting a UV-5R that CHIP sees as a 5R and can transmit on more than just GMRS frequencies. Sounds like sellers on Amazon are trying to comply (or give a front of it) with FCC.

 

On the topic of antennas, I have used the Nagoya 701C and confirm it works well with the GMRS bands. However I did not know of a 771-G. Now off to research that... Thanks!

 

[WyoJoe]

1 hour ago, MichaelLAX said:

I thought all UV-5X’s are GMRS

There is a UV-5X GMRS radio that is the same form factor as the UV-5R series, and can share the same batteries. Unlike the UV-5R which requires an SMA-female antenna, the UV-5X GMRS radio requires an SMA-male antenna. This radio is supposed to be renamed UV-5G for future releases.

There is also a dual-band UV-5X that does not share the same form factor as the UV-5R, and does not use the same type of batteries. As far as I know, though, it does use the same SMA-female antennas as the UV-5R models.

When talking about the UV-5X radios, we should specify whether it's the GMRS version or the dual-band (ham) version. They are significantly different.

[WRMN374]

I use a Nagoya 771-G on one radio. Make sure you get the G version. I use a Bingfu Dual band VHF UHF 136-520MHz 18.5 inch Foldable CS Tactical SMA Female Ham Radio antenna for another. The antenna is flexible, and you can coil it up for hiking. However, I just purchased a Baofeng UV-9G. $40. I can't give a review yet. But Baofeng has fixed the problem of all channels being on narrowband, and all channels having a CTCSS tone. It is IP-67 rated, and is water proof. Plus, FCC Part 95E & Part 15B Certificated this time. Whereas most Baofengs do not meet FCC criteria. Check out NOTARUBICON on youtube. Happy Hiking !