Baofeng UV-9G and Smiley Antenna Gap

[murdock57]

I just picked up a (Smiley Antenna Slim Duck 465MHz 5/8 Wave GMRS & NOAA SMA-F) antenna and initial testing on my Baofeng UV-9G have me convinced this is easily the best antenna I’ve tried so far (stock/Nagoya 701g/Nagoya 771g) in terms of performance. 
 

However when the antenna is screwed on, it’s slim profile leaves a large gap at the antenna base where water/dust/dirt can easily ingress (I’m honestly not sure if this will hurt anything or if this area is also sealed below the metal antenna base). The Smiley comes with a fairly thick rubber washer, so it seems like there’s a seal where the antenna threads with the base but the gap around the antenna (which is filled with the stock or Nagoya) has me less than confident about taking the radio (which claims to be IP67) outdoors. 
 

Anyone have experience with a Smiley antenna gap and if I should be worried or if there’s a recommended washer/spacer I could use in conjunction?

(see pic for reference)

[TNRonin]

I just picked up a (Smiley Antenna Slim Duck 465MHz 5/8 Wave GMRS & NOAA SMA-F) antenna and initial testing on my Baofeng UV-9G have me convinced this is easily the best antenna I’ve tried so far (stock/Nagoya 701g/Nagoya 771g) in terms of performance. 
 
However when the antenna is screwed on, it’s slim profile leaves a large gap at the antenna base where water/dust/dirt can easily ingress (I’m honestly not sure if this will hurt anything or if this area is also sealed below the metal antenna base). The Smiley comes with a fairly thick rubber washer, so it seems like there’s a seal where the antenna threads with the base but the gap around the antenna (which is filled with the stock or Nagoya) has me less than confident about taking the radio (which claims to be IP67) outdoors. 
 
Anyone have experience with a Smiley antenna gap and if I should be worried or if there’s a recommended washer/spacer I could use in conjunction?
(see pic for reference)

I bought the BNC connector and a BNC adapter that closes the gap. It also provides support at the base. I've put the adapter on all of my radios and it allows for quick changes.
https://bettersaferadio.com/smiley-antenna-ta-base-connector-sma-m-sma-f-bnc/


Hope this helps.

Sent from my SM-T860 using Tapatalk

[BoxCar]

You can fill the gap with a sealer like RTV or use a faucet washer,

[Sshannon]

2 minutes ago, murdock57 said:

I just picked up a (Smiley Antenna Slim Duck 465MHz 5/8 Wave GMRS & NOAA SMA-F) antenna and initial testing on my Baofeng UV-9G have me convinced this is easily the best antenna I’ve tried so far (stock/Nagoya 701g/Nagoya 771g) in terms of performance. 
 

However when the antenna is screwed on, it’s slim profile leaves a large gap at the antenna base where water/dust/dirt can easily ingress (I’m honestly not sure if this will hurt anything or if this area is also sealed below the metal antenna base). The Smiley comes with a fairly thick rubber washer, so it seems like there’s a seal where the antenna threads with the base but the gap around the antenna (which is filled with the stock or Nagoya) has me less than confident about taking the radio (which claims to be IP67) outdoors. 
 

Anyone have experience with a Smiley antenna gap and if I should be worried or if there’s a recommended washer/spacer I could use in conjunction?

(see pic for reference)

I’m curious if they have a pudgy duck antenna that wouldn’t have that gap.

[murdock57]

29 minutes ago, BoxCar said:

You can fill the gap with a sealer like RTV or use a faucet washer,

Thanks for the ideas - I’m not necessarily worried about water or debris getting in the gap if it’s not harmful to the radio…but I’m just not sure if that gap contributes to the IP67 rating. Maybe I can find a tear down video that would give some greater insight.

[back4more70]

5 hours ago, murdock57 said:

I’m just not sure if that gap contributes to the IP67 rating

If anything is exposed that was not designed to be exposed (such as the inner socket area), I would not trust this exposed area to be IP67 anymore.  Think of it like a drain plug on a boat, if that plug is not sealed all the way then the boat will leak.

[murdock57]

I went back and watched @OffRoaderX video here talking about his favorite HTs and one was the UV-9G with the Smiley slim duck (same thing I’m running). I noticed in the video that his radio had the same gap at the base I’m seeing on mine. Randy, if you see this and can chime in on your experience with using the radio in this configuration out in the elements, I’d appreciate it!

I also saw someone mention on Reddit that a Smiley BNC base connector might fill the gap…I’ll probably look into that as well. 
 

Thanks again for the replies!

[OffRoaderX]

1 hour ago, murdock57 said:

I went back and watched @OffRoaderX video here talking about his favorite HTs and one was the UV-9G with the Smiley slim duck (same thing I’m running). I noticed in the video that his radio had the same gap at the base I’m seeing on mine. Randy, if you see this and can chime in on your experience with using the radio in this configuration out in the elements, I’d appreciate it!

I used that setup for 6-8 months, off-roading every weekend and it worked fine for me - but I am hydro-adverse and we are usually in the desert so I cant speak to the IP rating, however dust did not seem to be a problem.

[murdock57]

5 hours ago, OffRoaderX said:

I used that setup for 6-8 months, off-roading every weekend and it worked fine for me - but I am hydro-adverse and we are usually in the desert so I cant speak to the IP rating, however dust did not seem to be a problem.

Right on haha…Thanks for the response and your helpful content - looking forward to an updated video on what your go-to setup is these days!

 

4 hours ago, TNRonin said:

I bought the BNC connector and a BNC adapter that closes the gap. It also provides support at the base. I've put the adapter on all of my radios and it allows for quick changes.
https://bettersaferadio.com/smiley-antenna-ta-base-connector-sma-m-sma-f-bnc/


Hope this helps.

Sent from my SM-T860 using Tapatalk

 

This was the direction I was leaning- thanks for letting me know it worked out well for ya! The BNC feels like it’s probably the most “official” setup, though I’m sure I could finagle an o-ring and washers effectively too