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Hi gain HT antenna


I have the Comet, great antenna, just try not to poke somebodies eye out, it is really long and wiggly :)
 
Unless your HT is for 70 cm I seriously doubt if you are going to find any "gain" antenna for it that will be even close to convenient to carry around. The standard for measuring gain is by comparison to a 1/2 wave antenna. So unless an antenna has the same radiation characteristics as a 1/2 wave antenna it will have no gain. If it happens to not be as 'great' as a 1/2 wave's radiation characteristics then it has a negative gain. The next 'size' of antenna that does have some gain is a 5/8 wave antenna. Not too many of them around and they are all not so convenient to try to use. At least not on HTs for frequencies lower than 70 cm. For 2 meters that would mean a 1/2 wave would be something like 3 feet long, and a 5/8 wave would be a foot or so longer than that. Certainly possible, but not too practical, huh?
I think the most practical way of getting at least the 'standard' gain of '0' would be a 1/4 wave antenna and a 'rat-tail' for that HT. Still not as convenient as a typical rubberduck, but certainly better.
That 'gain factor' isn't always followed by manufacturers in their advertisements. A particular antenna may have 'gain' over the antenna 'they' compared it to, but who knows what 'they' compared it to?
Sorry, gain isn't produced by shortening an antenna with loading. It really does depend on the antenna's size...
- 'Doc
 
It's supposed to give the radio 2.1 dbi gain. In real terms, DBI gain is not much, but the stock antennas stink. The aftermarket antennas do help quite a bit.
I'd save the stock antenna for use when repeaters are in range and use the aftermarket for simplex when you need as much range as possible.
As long as you can talk without static or breaking up with the stock antenna, leave it on, it does not get in the way,The other antenna is reserved for those times you need max range.

John
 
Over the past 30 years I have tried at least a dozen or more dual band antennas for my hand helds. I have tried the short ones, medium size, and the real long ones. The Comet, and Diamond, and MFJ's have work well, I've used the longer ones for better performance I have found that the short rubber duck types don't really work very well, because the size of the antenna is what's more important. Recently I bought an RH 901S, it's an unusual antenna for the hand held because it's center loaded unlike the others which are base loaded these have a center coil about half way up. The coil is about 1/4 inch in diameter and about 2 1/2 inches long and the antenna itself is roughly 18 1/2 inches long. It's long and very wiggly on the top half but does not upset my hand helds , they seem to sit well on a table, but they are a little less stable than the short duck antannas due to the length of these RH 901's .

I have found that I use these 901's all the time now because compared to all the other long antennas I've gotten these work the best. The reports I've gotten on repeaters here locally are that I am quieter and louder into the repeaters when using these 901's.

I've bought a couple of them from the 409.com store online, and I got a couple on Ebay. The ones from Ebay were only $6, and at 409.com shop they were $13.

I highly recommend these RH 901S antenna's the bottom section is about 1/8 inch in diameter, and the top 9 inches or so is very thin, probably about like a wire coat hanger, and very flexible but you do need to be careful if you do bend it a lot you end up with a bent antenna. So they just require a little more care in handling but in my opinion well worth the money for the performance. These are all I use on my HT's now they really work well.

See it here : RH901S Antenna 144 430 900MHz Wide Band Receiveing Coverage 3 5dB T7 | eBay
 
You can figure the lengths for 70 cm just like you would for any other band. A 5/8 wave works out to around 16.6", a 1/2 wave to something around 13 - 14 inches. That isn't exact, just rough math.
- 'Doc
 
I have an icom t7h. i was with friends at a ham fest and it was suggested i get this antenna. so i did a comparison. it was the difference of being able to hear the noaa weather with the new one and just being able to hear noaa with a lot of noise. now the kicker is i am not sure what i bought but it looks like a diamond. it has no markings on it anywhere. so if it is and i have heard a lot of good comments about them you be the judge. two reasons i don't know what it is because i was new to the hobby and i haven't been able to talk to the ham who suggested it.

Good luck.
 
Well I have setteled on using my Diamond NR-770. It's a bit long and cumbersom but I don't think it can get much better than it is. Seems to work excellent.
 
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Pick up a Maldol MH-510 as a backup stick.

You get 1/4 wave on 2, 5/8 on 70cm, and 1/4 loaded on 6m. It is only 3" longer than your 770.

Then you can use the MH-510 (and a counterpoise) with your KX3 next time you get your SOTA on.

Make sure that you put a BNC/SMA adaptor (the kind that ends flush to the top of the HT) for those longer antennas. It will save a ton of wear on the SMA connector, which is already a weak point on many radios.
DIAMOND BNCJ-SMAP | HEAVY DUTY VERSION OF CN3 TYPE ADAPTER
 
I am using the NR-770 with a dual bad only HT. The NR-770 gives you 1/2 on 2 and 2x5/8's on 70cm. Thought about using the Diamond SG-7900a or the Commet 790a....But that would be overkill.

Using maldol and a counterpoise is a bit much when you want to stay portable.

The NR-770 works excellent for what I use it for.

I sue this adapter with it.

http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-010218

I just have to machine a plastic spacer to take up the gap between the adaper and the HT.

Other than that I have no complaints.
 

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