ABBREE AR-771 GMRS Antenna??? Name/Model# is suspiciously similar to Nagoya NA-771-G --- Imposter or???

[DarrylLicht]

Many online "experts" highly tout the Nagoya NA-771-G as one of the best antennas for GMRS HTs.

My new Baofeng UV5R came with this Abbree AR-771 antenna.  Is doesn't seem to get any better reception than the shorter rubber duck antenna.  Is this AR-771 just trying to capitalize on the Chinese copycat name? Is it garbage as I suspect?

I smell a review/comparison coming!  

[OffRoaderX]

There are many "771" antennas out there and I assume they all come from the same chinese child-slave-labor hut and just get different stickers.  I have tested several (maybe all) of them, and have never noticed any difference in reception that my ear could pick up, and only small differences in improved transmission farz compared to stock GMRS antennas.

The only time I've ever noticed 'real' difference was when comparing it to a UV-5R antenna which is not well-tuned for GMRS, and even then, the differences were not huge.

[Sshannon]

Yeah, my BF UV5R came with a Tidradio 771. It actually worked pretty well. I put it on my Alinco DMR radio (70 cm ham, not GMRS) and based on the measurements reported by the repeater my signal strength went from S6 to S8, which seems pretty substantial. 
Unfortunately I dropped it and the antenna sacrificed itself protecting the radio.

[WRWE456]

I use the Nagoya NA 771-G on KG935-GPlus the only time I notice an improvement is at the fringes of reception/range, then it does improve reception. But that is to be expected. I get better range when connecting to the mag mount in the truck also. I have not tried any of the Knock off antennas. The real ones are not that expensive, although I suppose it is close to the cost of some Boofwang radio's.

[Sshannon]

27 minutes ago, WRWE456 said:

I use the Nagoya NA 771-G on KG935-GPlus the only time I notice an improvement is at the fringes of reception/range, then it does improve reception. But that is to be expected. I get better range when connecting to the mag mount in the truck also. I have not tried any of the Knock off antennas. The real ones are not that expensive, although I suppose it is close to the cost of some Boofwang radio's.

It’s funny that people think the Nagoya is not a knock-off.  Diamond also has similar antennas, using the 771 name.  

https://www.diamond-ant.co.jp/english/amateur/antenna/ante_3hand/ante_hand2.html

I have no idea which company was first.

[WRWE456]

Well Buy Two Way radios advertises them as "Authentic Nagoya" antennas but who knows which came first.

[Sshannon]

4 minutes ago, WRWE456 said:

Well Buy Two Way radios advertises them as "Authentic Nagoya" antennas but who knows which came first.

Exactly! Authentic doesn’t mean they were the first to make a long whip antenna. It just means that Nagoya actually made them, which certainly could mean they’re better quality than TidRadio or Abree.  

[WRWE456]

Ya so far they are working great. I have several and a couple of Diamonds as well. Have not noticed a difference yet.

[jsneezy]

On 9/20/2023 at 6:52 AM, Sshannon said:

Exactly! Authentic doesn’t mean they were the first to make a long whip antenna. It just means that Nagoya actually made them, which certainly could mean they’re better quality than TidRadio or Abree.  

They could also be the exact same antenna with a different label. I've seen that with quite a few different products from Amazon. Especially with ultrasonic cleaners, which I use for ammo reloading, but there were 5 different "brand names" for the same exact unit all being sold at different prices. I've also seen it with cheaper auto parts, LED bulbs, and who knows how many other products. 

[WRWE456]

Yes that is a common practice with many mass market consumer goods. Tools are a good example.