In praise of the Nagoya UT-72

[WRTC928]

I guess I'm the odd man out, but I don't understand why so many people malign the UT-72. It seems to usually revolve around a claim that its transmission is not good, but I haven't had that experience at all. Every check I've done with mine got a report of "loud and clear, full quieting" in any location where I've been able to use other antennas. Maybe some people are trying for more distance than I am, but in my area, wherever I can't get a clear signal out with the UT-72, I can't get a clear signal out with any other antenna either. Right now, it's sitting on a steel pizza pan in my living room floor attached to a 5 watt HT and I participated in a net this morning on a repeater 20 miles away. Maybe some people are just expecting too much from a $35 antenna, I don't really know. It does require a decent ground plane, but that's typical of mag mount antennas. 

It's the only antenna I've tested which showed SWRs of less than 1.5:1 from 144 to 467 MHz with several different radios. That includes a Larsen and two Comets. Yes, SWR doesn't mean much if you don't get good performance, but as I said above, its performance has been just fine. I like it so much that I'd use it on both of my vehicles if weren't a mag mount unit. I bought the NMO-72 but it isn't exactly the same antenna. I can't really complain; its performance as is just as good and all SWRs in the GMRS, 70cm, 2m, and MURS bands were below 2:1, but I'd rather have 1.5:1.  I had a similar experience with the GMRS-specific UT-72G and I recently passed it on to a friend who's a new GMRS licensee.

So I'm curious... If you don't like the UT-72, why not? What experience did you have with it? What were you trying to accomplish that it wouldn't do? For that matter, if you tried it and did like it, why? Admittedly, this is a sample size of one, and maybe I just got lucky, but I'm curious what others have experienced. I don't discount the experiences of knowledgeable people, but when my own experience is significantly different, I wonder why. 

[RIPPER238]

I think is a fine antenna and would serve the prepose. But the mount type limits the ability to switch antennas to a different (NMO like) one with more range/coverage and options.  It could also be a QC issue with some users who don't like it? 

 

But ultimately if it works for your needs noting else matters. 

 

 

[WRXB215]

I've been using a UT-72 with an AT778-UV for more than an year now and have not had any problems. I almost always get good reports. When I don't get a good report, there is usually an obvious reason like weather, distance, trees, buildings, etc. This is a very inexpensive setup and I'm quite pleased with it.

[Socalgmrs]

I have them in all our rigs coupled with 20w radios 60-100 miles happens every day of the year no issues what so ever.   
 

to answer your question, some want an nmo mount yes.  And that’s fine but what I’ve found with gmrs, jeeps, 2a items and many other things in life the people with money love to spend it then tell other people their stuff is junk.   It happens here all the time, it happens with jeep people and others ect….   
 

ive got many hobbys that I spend every extra minute partaking of.  I spend 2-3 thousand dollars a month on those hobbys gmrs isn’t one of them.  Gmrs is a tool that I want to spend as little as possible and still have it work for me every day.  I’ve figured out how to spend very little and get way more range than most people and the ut 72 is a big part of that.  

[WRYZ926]

I'm just one person. I own a UT-72G, Tram 1174, and a Melowave Shadow. The UT-72G using a small SMA mount is a negative as you can't easily swap different antennas using the UT-72G magnet mount without using adaptors.

I have also found that the performance of the UT-72G I have, is not as good as the Melowave Shadow. The Melowave Shadow is the same as the Midland Ghost. The Tram 1174 outperforms both the Shadow and UT-72G. Others have had similar experiences as I have.

The UT-72G does work and it is inexpensive. But you can usually get something a little better for not much more money. Plus having a NMO magnet mount lets you easily change out antennas if you want.

And not everyone lives in a wide open desert area or next to a big lake. Most won't get 60, 100, or 200 miles range out of a 20 or 50 watt mobile radio using a mobile antenna. 30-35 mile range is the normal range of GMRS and 70cm repeaters where I live. UHF just doesn't have the range like VHF does.

[WRTC928]

2 hours ago, RIPPER238 said:

I think is a fine antenna and would serve the prepose. But the mount type limits the ability to switch antennas to a different (NMO like) one with more range/coverage and options.  It could also be a QC issue with some users who don't like it? 

 

But ultimately if it works for your needs noting else matters. 

 

 

Yeah, with a mag mount, you're pretty much stuck with what you have. Plus, I don't like having to route the antenna through the door or window. Range and coverage don't seem to be issues where I live -- I either get good signal or I don't, and the antenna doesn't matter much. Obviously, that will vary. 

The one point I will concede to the "cheap Chinese junk" crowd is that QC can be spotty. However, if I get one and it works, that's all I need.

[WRTC928]

1 hour ago, WRYZ926 said:

I have also found that the performance of the UT-72G I have, is not as good as the Melowave Shadow. The Melowave Shadow is the same as the Midland Ghost. The Tram 1174 outperforms both the Shadow and UT-72G. Others have had similar experiences as I have.

The UT-72G does work and it is inexpensive. But you can usually get something a little better for not much more money. Plus having a NMO magnet mount lets you easily change out antennas if you want.

I did find that the Midland Ghost performed as well, or perhaps just a little better, but it's only useful on GMRS. I didn't compare the UT-72 head-to-head with the UT-72G, but my subjective sense is that there's not much difference in performance on GMRS. At least, I can't hit my local GMRS repeater any further away with one or the other and I get good signal reports with both. 

As far as getting something better for not much more money, that was kind of my point. I did spend more money on some other antennas. Heck, I bought a Larsen 2/70 and while it's spectacular on 2m and 70cm, its SWR on 467 is so high that I'm afraid to even key up, so for my purposes, it's not "better". The Comet SBB-2 is a good antenna but its SWR on 2m ran closer to 2:1 than 1.5:1, so perhaps almost as good, but also not better. 

Maybe under different conditions, I'd notice that its transmission characteristics were inferior to some others, but I haven't yet. I'm not touting it as "the greatest antenna ever" but it certainly has a place, IMO. As I said, I put the NMO-72 on my car and so far, it has done everything I've asked of it. "Good enough" is a valid concept. 

[WRYZ926]

9 minutes ago, WRTC928 said:

I put the NMO-72 on my car and so far, it has done everything I've asked of it. "Good enough" is a valid concept. 

The main thing is that it works for you and your situation.  We strive for the lowest SWR but as long as you are 2.0 and below it will work.

I definitely could use my Comet SBB-1 for 2m, 70cm and GMRS since the highest SWR on all three bands is 1.8. Its at 1.8 at 467 and 1.5 or below for 462 and the 2m and 70cm bands. But I like having a separate dual band radio and GMRS radio in my vehicle. 

The Tram 1174 needed to be cut/tuned for GMRS but it too works well. The SWR on the Tram is 1.4 at 467 MHz and 1.2 at 462 MHz.

I would love to run the Comet 2x4SR on my Ford Escape but it is too tall to fit into my garage or any of the parking garages when I go to the VA.

[GrouserPad]

ut72g is a total meh antenna.  The  best thing is it fits in a breifcase, or could easily be shoved under a seat.....every single antenna ive used has been better.

[WRTC928]

1 hour ago, GrouserPad said:

ut72g is a total meh antenna.  The  best thing is it fits in a breifcase, or could easily be shoved under a seat.....every single antenna ive used has been better.

That doesn't tell me much. Better in what way?

[WRTC928]

2 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

I would love to run the Comet 2x4SR on my Ford Escape but it is too tall to fit into my garage or any of the parking garages when I go to the VA.

Why is that? What about its performance characteristics makes you wish you had one?

[GrouserPad]

2 minutes ago, WRTC928 said:

That doesn't tell me much. Better in what way?

I ran a ut72g ontop of an excavator for half a year. Switched to an mxta26 and instantly thought "wow" I can hear airband a good bit better now, and I could hear the cheap frs radios the construction workers used with broken off antennas way better.... seemed to just have an overall better receive. I cant PROVE this, but this is my perceived experience with the ut72g. 

[WRYZ926]

10 minutes ago, WRTC928 said:

Why is that? What about its performance characteristics makes you wish you had one?

Because a 1/2 wave or 5/8 wave antenna will always perform better than a 1/4 wave antenna. And I do have a Comet 2x4SR that I use on the back of my SxS and it works great with my 20 watt GMRS and 20 watt dual band radios. 

9 minutes ago, GrouserPad said:

ran a ut72g ontop of an excavator for half a year. Switched to an mxta26 and instantly thought "wow" I can hear airband a good bit better now, and I could hear the cheap frs radios the construction workers used with broken off antennas way better.... seemed to just have an overall better receive. I cant PROVE this, but this is my perceived experience with the ut72g. 

The MXTA26 and any 1/2 or 5/8 wave antenna will do better than a shorter 1/4 wave antenna. I can tell a definite difference going from a Comet SBB-1 to the 2x4SR or the Tram 1174 to the 2x4SR

[WRTC928]

15 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

Because a 1/2 wave or 5/8 wave antenna will always perform better than a 1/4 wave antenna. And I do have a Comet 2x4SR that I use on the back of my SxS and it works great with my 20 watt GMRS and 20 watt dual band radios. 

That's generally true, but 1/4 wave is the longest antenna that's practical on top of my car. If I ever replace the antenna on the truck, I'll certainly consider a longer one. But the fact that longer antennas perform better than shorter ones isn't a knock on the 72; it's a criticism of 1/4 wave antennas in general. Sometimes 1/4 wave is realistically the best you can do.

[WRTC928]

13 hours ago, GrouserPad said:

I ran a ut72g ontop of an excavator for half a year. Switched to an mxta26 and instantly thought "wow" I can hear airband a good bit better now, and I could hear the cheap frs radios the construction workers used with broken off antennas way better.... seemed to just have an overall better receive. I cant PROVE this, but this is my perceived experience with the ut72g. 

The fact that it's subjective doesn't mean it's not true, but I haven't had a similar experience with Comet or Larsen antennas. Of course, all the antennas I've compared were dual-band, not GMRS-specific like the MXTA26 and I didn't compare them to the UT-72G. 

[WRYZ926]

@WRTC928 I am in the same situation with my 2023 Ford Escape. The maximum antenna length I can use and still fit into the garage is 20". Anything taller and I am either tearing up the garage door insulation or taking a risk of damaging the antennas.

While I can use the Comet SBB-1 for 2m, 70cm, and GMRS, it is just as easy for me to use a separate radio and antenna for GMRS. I did have to put the main radio units under the seat and have the remote heads on a Lido seat bolt mount. I also have a couple Icom SP-35 speakers right below the steering wheel.

Everyone's situation and setup will be different. Go with what works best for you.