Antenna for my Baofeng UV-5R

[radioman24]

Hello everyone! What is a good aftermarket Antenna for my BaoFeng UV-5R?

Any input is greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,Dan

 

[ForestRunner98]

I have a Nagoya and it’s ok. It overloads the front end of the radio. The stock antenna works best IMO.

 

[brandon7861]

I have a Nagoya and it’s ok. It overloads the front end of the radio. The stock antenna works best IMO.

Same thing I was going to say. A friend and I did tests through wooded terrain here and the stock antenna out-performed the Nagoya. Aside from performance, the longer Nagoya gets in the way when wearing it on your belt and makes the radio top heavy and easy to tip over when sitting on a table.

And although this is a controversial topic due to measurement techniques (I think mine was decent), I found that the Nagoya (NA-771) is not resonant where it claims to be. I found that the UHF resonance is closer to 500MHz, nowhere near the 430MHz it claims. Compared to the antenna from my Yaesu FT1DX, the frequency response of the Naygoya with changing orientation (holding the radio at an angle or closer to your face) is trash. The Yaesu antenna holds its resonance dips reasonably well when moving the test fixture around, the same cannot be said about the Nagoya.

 

[BC Coyote]

I had the same experience. The stock antenna way outperformed the Nagoya. I don't use my Baofeng on 144 or 440, but rather on the VHF marine and land mobile freqs up here (150-160 MHz).
I think it is because the stock antenna is quite broad-banded, whereas the Nagoya is specifically cut for 144 to 148 MHz.

 

[ForestRunner98]

I attached a “rats tail” Does it work? I guess so. LOL

 

[w9cll]

www.smileyantenna.com are the best you can get. They are hand made and tuned, the are 100% American made. They are however not dual band so you would need two. They do sell a dual band one but it's flimsy and not good for walking around with.