J Pole antennas are just so-so. They work, but have very little gain.
For a tough antenna you can throw in a go kit, they are fine, but for your home, there are far better.
To save some money and have an antenna that really gets out there, 8.3 db gain on VHF and 11.7 db gain on UHF, get the OPEK UVS-300.
It is a fiberglass vertical and sells for about $100.00. It is basically the same as the top of the line Comet and Diamond verticals that sell for over $200.00.
This antenna talks further than any other vertical I have ever had up.
Right now the base of it is at about 40 feet.
My favorite repeater is at 146.940 and this antenna has a perfect SWR on that freq and very low towards the edges. The numbers from my antenna analyzer show it is putting 97% of the power to the antenna and radiating it. MY amp meter confirms this also.
I dropped it from 50 feet and broke the base and cracked the top fiberglass pole, just super fine cracks you could hardly see. I fixed the base, straightened out the radials and put it back up.
Slowly the SWR went up.
I took it down, found the approx. 4 in small cracks. They had let water in which messed up the 3 capacitors in the antenna.
I called OPEK to buy new parts. They sent me a new base, new radials and new capacitors and would not take a penny for the parts or the shipping, even though it was my fault. I have never seen another company not charge for parts that you broke. The top piece, they did not have, so some of the stretch tape covered the cracks. It's a good idea to tape the two joints where the fiberglass rods screw on to make sure no water gets in.
Back up on the pole and it's been working like a champ for the last 6 months.
I hit a repeater through a small opening in the mountains that sourround me at 60 miles away with total quiet, this antenna is by far the best duel band on the market for the price. You can buy one like the 300 from the other big 2, but you will just pay twice as much and they are all the same basic design.
It has survived wind gusts of over 70 MPH and continuous wind of 45 to 50 MPH and no breaking off at the base as happens to all of them every great once and a while, but not often at all, not to worry. It will bend like all fiberglass antennas in heavy wind, but mine has yet to break in some really bad winds. I've had it up over 1.5 years.
The J pole is way down on the list of good antennas. The good thing about them is that they are small and hold up good. Be sure to coil up wire under the antenna, they are known for putting a great deal of RF on the outside of the coax, they have to have a current limiting balun or they really lose a lot of range because they radiate so much RF from the outside of the coax.
The OPEK UVS-300 is by far the best buy on the market. I have never had customer service like I got from them and the distance it transmits is fantastic. Buy one and be the envy of your ham friends.
73's John KF7VXA
