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.

[WRQC626]

I have a few of the orange colored Abree 771 dual band antennas and so far they work really well.  No issues for me.

[WRXJ635]

I have a question for all of the gurus out the I recently bought a tidradio H8 gmrs . It came with the standard rubber duck antenna and also with one of the tidradio 771 antennas. the antenna says on it tuned for 144-430 Mhz. I also have a Nagoya 771G tuned for 462-467 Mhz.  In any of your more learned opinions how much difference does it actually make in performance? 

 

Thanks  

[Sshannon]

3 minutes ago, WRXJ635 said:

I have a question for all of the gurus out the I recently bought a tidradio H8 gmrs . It came with the standard rubber duck antenna and also with one of the tidradio 771 antennas. the antenna says on it tuned for 144-430 Mhz. I also have a Nagoya 771G tuned for 462-467 Mhz.  In any of your more learned opinions how much difference does it actually make in performance? 

 

Thanks  

It can make quite a bit, or not. Try it and see. 

[WRHS218]

This is just a semi-informed opinion with anecdotal experience, but for my handelds I have found that the dual band antennas are a compromise. You can TX/RX with them but they are normally not as good as an antenna tuned to a specific band. On a dual band, tri band, or quad band radio you need that dual (tri or quad) band antenna if you plan to use more than one band on an outing and done want to haul around an extra antenna. I have an amateur band Yaesu VX-6R and a VX-7R. The multi-band antennas that came with them work well enough but if I am headed out with other people I will normally switch to an antenna tuned to the band we are planning on using. Your H8 is (I think) a modified HAM radio. It probably comes with the same antenna the HAM version came with. Since you are going to be TX on GRMS frequencies I would be inclined to use the antenna that is tuned for those frequencies (771G). It has been my experience that you will still be able to RX reasonably well in both 2m and 70cm bands with the 771G. On my GMRS handhelds I either use the OEM antennas or a 771G. And, of course, as Sshannon said, try it and see what works best for you.

[AdmiralCochrane]

I guess I have purchased better antennas than you.  Maybe you got out of spec antennas. 

[WRHS218]

2 hours ago, AdmiralCochrane said:

I guess I have purchased better antennas than you.  Maybe you got out of spec antennas. 

Well, I did pretty much say I was a moron and my experiences were anecdotal... The multi-ban antennas on my Yaesu radios are OEM Yaesu/Vertex, sooooo... 

[WRYZ926]

The Abbree AR-771 antennas I have work fine. I'm using them on a pair of Baofeng UV-5R GMRS radios.

[WRZF693]

On 9/17/2023 at 6:08 PM, DarrylLicht said:

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!  

My Beofeng HM15 pro came with the little rubber ducky antenna and the abree 771 antenna.. I tried the 771 on the beofeng against a Tidradio 5 watt radio with the rubber ducky short stubby antenna in a test with my buddy driving in his van as I talked to him on the same channel alternating the radios.. He did pick me up better on the radio "beofeng hm15" with the 771 antenna from abree.. I don't know if it was the radio though or if it was the antenna, etc.. It just seemed to him it was receiving me better with the radio with the long antenna. I think a lot of that stuff is marketing crap until you really get an antenna way up in the air specifically tuned for GRMS, etc, etc..  I guess it can't hurt to use the longer antenna if you can prevent it from poking your eye out and can carry the thing. It's a pain in the ass for sure! 
Regards

Tim

[WRWE456]

I think the best use for the long whip antennas is for fringe areas of receptions not as your every day carry antenna. Keep one in the car or backpack when out and about and put it on when needed. It does get tiring having it in the way all the time otherwise. You can also keep a mag mount antenna in the car as a back up for even better range if needed and while driving.