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Replacing the Rubber Ducky. Which Antenna?

Chop

Chop

Active Member
May 11, 2008
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Rosepine, LA
i'd like to upgrade from the original rubber antenna on my Wouxun KG-UVD1P. problem is, i see alot of aftermarket antenna's. i don't know which one will give me the best performance for the buck? are they all about the same as far as gain, watts, vswr, ect.? i was hoping someone will pipe up about their experiences with certain antenna's. plz tell me which antenna's you like and which one's have worked well on your HT, i'll gladly take the advice. thanx.
 

There are some bad choices out there. The one that comes to mind is about 2 inches long. The others I have tried appear to about the same.
 
It's sort-of a "pick your poison" kind of deal. The larger the antenna you purchase, the more gain they generally have. However, at some point, it gets ridiculous to carry around. Most people end up purchasing one of the Comet, Diamond, or Maldol antennas. They're all really made by the same company. Find one that is for the bands you want to use and is a length that you can deal with. It's helpful if you can look at the antenna in person to inspect how durable it is. I went through several Comet HT224 antennas because the base separated from the rest of the antenna. Fortunately they replaced it under warranty and the antenna is now redisgned so that won't happen. Check the specs to compare the advertised gain and bandwidth. The Comet SMA-24 advertises gain specs of 2.15dBi on 2m and 3.5dBi on 70cm, but it's also almost 16" long. Also check out the Jetstream Antennas. They're supposedly the same antennas as the Comet's and Diamonds and made by the same company, but manufactured in China instead of Japan.

If you can go see the antennas in person, see if you can set up a test with the guys in the store. Leave them with a credit card and ID and then take a few antennas about a mile away and interchange them. Watch your S meter and also get the other station's feedback.

Let us know what you decide on and what you think about it after you've had it for a while.
 
i really like the NAGOYA NA-773 SF. it has almost the same specs as the diamond sh771, it's a bit smaller actually and it's way cheaper. i think i'll get that one unless someone has had some issues with this particular antenna?
 
I've seen some positive reviews on the Nagoya antennas. When you get it, take a few close-up pics, post them and let us know what you think. For the price, they're definitely worth looking at. Did you find a place to buy them online?
 
Diamond RH77CA SRH77CA Antenna

I got this one. It is nice. Flexible enough for small bends and mostly stands on its own. Holding it sideways at the base causes a droop of about an inch at the tip.

If you are buying an antenna from a reputable shop, all antennas will be good quality. Then it just comes down to 1) length 2) bands 3) construction style.

1) longer = more gain = good. But then you have a long antenna.
2) Monoband antennas have more gain/length than dualband than triband. (referring to TX bands not RX bands)
3) Telescoping, bendy, bendable, very rigid, semi rigid.
 
I have a Yaesu FT-60 that I got the Diamond 77 series extended gain duck and mag mounts for. Both seem to work pretty well. I like to carry my radio around town with me, and I listen to public safety channels in the truck. Rather than carry the Diamond (15" long does get in the way and draw strange comments), I leave on the factory duck and it works pretty well (our repeaters are on tall buildings on the high hill in town) in most areas around town if I want to say hello to somebody. If I'm out and using the HT for ham talk, I usually put on the longer Diamond 77. It does seem to do well. I can say that the roof mag mount 77 series by Diamond does extremely well for an antenna that's only about 20 inches long. I think terrain and weather are two major factors to consider. I've gotten out 35 miles on 1/2 watt before, and had trouble hitting our repeater in a storm and through trees on 5 watts. I'd be interested to hear from others. BTW...cool eagle...
 
moleculo said:
I've seen some positive reviews on the Nagoya antennas. When you get it, take a few close-up pics, post them and let us know what you think. For the price, they're definitely worth looking at. Did you find a place to buy them online?
Click to expand...
i found one site that had them for $12.99 with free shipping then i looked on ebay and found this auction:
NAGOYA NA-773 SF ANT for PX-777 vev-3288S KG-669 KG-689 - eBay (item 250537456179 end time Dec-25-09 15:21:47 PST)
about $11 shipped ain't too bad. it's coming from hong kong, so i'll have to wait about 8 days or so but that's ok with me. i'd like to try that Diamond RH77CA at some point but with x-mass almost here i'm tapped out on funds so i went with the cheapest.
 
Chop,

You do realize that none of those antennas will fit your radio, dont you? Your radio, as well as mine, use a strange fitting, kinda a reverse of what everyone else uses. Be sure you know that it will fit THAT radio before you buy one.

PR
 
Screw those adapters into your radio to make sure they will work, some of the Chinese HT's use strange pitch threads, perhaps yours came with the adapters though..I don't know.

As for the antenna, buy the damn Diamond it will be worth it.
 
thats actually an SMA female, these connectors seem backwards but you go by the center conductor and not the outside barrel. SMA connectors are not that strange, rat shack put SMA on some of the last HT's they sold.
 

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