What's the word on those "tactical tape measure" antennas?

[WRTC928]

I like the idea of a 15" antenna that can be folded up and carried in a pocket or in a small radio bag behind the seat of the truck, but would it really give me any improvement over the 8" 701-type antenna? I can definitely get a bit better performance from a 771 over a 701 in some circumstances, but the "tactical" antennas seem a bit gimmicky to me. If it's no better than an 8" antenna, there's no point. Does anyone have any personal experience they can share about these?

[WSGL775]

I use the Abbree 42.5" folding tactical antenna. I have one permenately attached to my radio back pack with a 3ft jumper cable SMA to BNC for quick changes in the field. At home I use the same antenna attached to a tripod rising 8ft in the air. Same setup SMA to BNC. I use the Baofeng UV-5R 8W as my go to radio's and those antenna's work exceptionally well for me.

[Socalgmrs]

With a stock rubber duck I get about 10miles in the open.  With a 771 I can do about 40miles in the open.  I always carry a 42” foldable when on horse back out in n the wild that gets me to more than 60miles in the open.  The help under curtain circumstances. 

[WRTC928]

13 hours ago, Socalgmrs said:

With a stock rubber duck I get about 10miles in the open.  With a 771 I can do about 40miles in the open.  I always carry a 42” foldable when on horse back out in n the wild that gets me to more than 60miles in the open.  The help under curtain circumstances. 

I'd settle for just as good as a 771. What brand do you have?

[Socalgmrs]

I use abbree. They are cheap and I don’t mind if one breaks or goes missing.  We have a whole bunch of ht radios.    The main reason I do so well with distance in my area is flat dry desert.  We use our radios 7 days a week all day long. 

[HHD1]

On 2/25/2025 at 9:05 AM, Socalgmrs said:

 We use our radios 7 days a week all day long. 

What's your favorite, go-to HT?

[Davichko5650]

1 hour ago, HHD1 said:

What's your favorite, go-to HT?

Dunno 'bout theirs, ours is the Motorola XTS 2500.

[SteveShannon]

1 hour ago, HHD1 said:

What's your favorite, go-to HT?

I think elsewhere he said they use BF UV-9Gs. 

[jwilkers]

As long as you use the Abbree brand, you'll see some performance improvements.

Sent from my SM-S911U1 using Tapatalk

[WRYZ926]

Here ae a couple of videos from Ham Radio Crash Course where he tested a bunch of different HT antennas. He tested dual band antennas on 2m and 70cm. This will at least give you an idea of how each performs.

ABBREE Tacticool Ham Radio Antenna Performance Test and Review

Tested! ABBREE, TWAYRDIO, Smiley, MFJ Ham Radio Antennas & QuirkQRP ZipTenna!

[The219]

I have the UV-5G and when we replaced the rubber ducks with the abree 18 inch we saw an increased range more than double on simplex channels in the suburban area and when using repeaters we are a lot more clear. Happy with $25 HT and the $18 antenna. Maybe one day i will buy one of those big boy radios but for now, dont need it.

[WRTC928]

On 3/11/2025 at 6:48 AM, WRYZ926 said:

Here ae a couple of videos from Ham Radio Crash Course where he tested a bunch of different HT antennas. He tested dual band antennas on 2m and 70cm. This will at least give you an idea of how each performs.

ABBREE Tacticool Ham Radio Antenna Performance Test and Review

Tested! ABBREE, TWAYRDIO, Smiley, MFJ Ham Radio Antennas & QuirkQRP ZipTenna!

Thanks, that was good information. Even the 18" Abbree didn't give up anything to the Nagoya 771. There aren't many other 42" or 47" HT antennas to compare them to, but they showed a major boost over the 15" Nagoya.  He did note that if left folded, the antenna would eventually develop a memory and become floppy. The whole point is to have something I can leave folded in a box or bag to whip (See what I did there? ) out when I want it. I don't know if that's a deal-breaker; I'll have to consider it. If being "a little floppy" doesn't significantly impair its signal, I probably won't care. In the military (long, long ago) the "tape measure" whips we had on the PRC-77s flopped around like spaghetti but they seemed to work okay. 

[WRYZ926]

Giga parts has brought back the old MFJ telescoping antenna under the Intellitron brand name. Josh/Ham Radio Crash Course recently did a video on it.

Best "Long Range" 2 Meter Antenna: Intellitron HA-1711S vs. Long Ranger

https://www.gigaparts.com/intellitron-ha-1711s-2m-telescopic-ht-antenna-40in-sma-m.html?qty=1

I sure don't miss having to lug around the PRC-77. One unit tried making me the platoon radio operator right after I got rid of having to carry the M60. But you are correct, the old PRC-77 antennas were floppy and still worked.

[WRTC928]

1 hour ago, WRYZ926 said:

Giga parts has brought back the old MFJ telescoping antenna under the Intellitron brand name. Josh/Ham Radio Crash Course recently did a video on it.

I've looked at telescoping antennas, but my concern is that I may break it. It might be fine if I only pull it out when I really need more punch and then switch it back to something else afterward. I wish it came with a BNC connector, though. I know there are adapters, but they induce some "wobble" in the antenna which probably doesn't affect performance, but it bugs me. Yes, I have a touch of OCD.

[WRTC928]

After absorbing the information you guys provided in this thread, I bought the Abbree 42" folding "tactical" antenna (BNC version because the radios I use most all have BNC connectors). This morning, I checked in to a 2 meter net 20+ miles away using that antenna and an AR-152 radio on 1 watt and was able to communicate. I had previously attempted it with HYS 771 and Nagoya 771 antennas and was unsuccessful. I think I've found my "behind the seat of the truck" antenna. I also got an Abbree 18" folding antenna (SMA version) as part of a package with a radio, and it seems about as good as the 771s, although I haven't actually done a comparison yet. In short, they seem as if they'll fit my needs nicely.

[WRTC928]

After using the 42" and 18" Abbree "tactical tape measures" for a month, I have to say I'm impressed. The 42" gets as good or better SWRs across MURS, GMRS, 2m, and 70cm than the Comet 2x4 and doesn't need a ground plane. I tested it by hanging it from a rafter, so no ground plane was available. I can't say whether it actually outperforms the Comet in real-world use, because in the areas where I use my radios most, almost any antenna can get through. I can say, though, that with the Abbree and the Comet, I can use a repeater 22 miles away on one watt, which I can't do with any other antenna, but the Abbree is far more convenient to lug around. 

The 18" Abbree performs as well as the Nagoya and HYS 771s. Again, I can't say for sure that one is better than the other, because I don't have a particularly challenging environment, but it's certainly not worse than the others. Plus, a black AR-152 just looks badass with that antenna on it. 

I liked the multi-band TTM so much that I bought the GMRS version. I also tested it with a Nano VNA hanging from a rafter with no ground plane, and its SWRs were good enough, approaching 2.0:1 below 462.50000 and getting better from there. It's going into the bag with my portable repeater. I figure if I can get that thing 15'-20' up, I should get pretty good coverage. 

All in all, I'm quite satisfied with them. As I mentioned in the original post, they seemed a bit gimmicky, maybe more "cool" than practical, but I'm happy to report I was wrong. 

[WRUE951]

Tune your antenna and they'll just work