I live in the Hudson Valley/Catskill region of New York with a lot or hills and mountains. I wanted to try a quarter wave antenna to see how it would do against my Comet SS680SB. I must say, it out performs the Comet down in the low spots hitting repeaters where the 680 doesn't due to the radiating angle. SWR is near perfect on VHF 2 meters and MURS, fair on 70cm, and still usable on GMRS. I had to remove an inch and a quarter off the whip to get the SWR down on UHF. I may take another quarter of an inch off to see if it helps with GMRS, but I really only use 2 meters/70cm and MURS so I may let it be. I just hope the antenna holds up long term.
Ryan
★★★★★
Works great.
I wasn't sure how this would stand up to my comet but surprisingly it works better. I am getting better coverage hands down.
C
Customer
★★★★★
2 inches too short. 18.25 not 20.3 and bent.
This antenna is advertised with a total length of 20.3 inches. The total length on this one is only 18.25 inches. The end of the stainless stinger looks like it had been cut with a pair of dikes and it was bent. I wonder if it was a return. No tool was included. Good thing I thought to measure it. This would have made the SWR way off. Very disappointed.
S
Snap on bench vice
★★★★★
Works well
Looks like antenna
I
I Escaped From NY
★★★★★
Impressive characteristics beyond what I was expecting.
I received this antenna today and immediately got busy testing it with my electronic instruments. To be 100% honest I was not expecting much but I was in for a pleasant surprise. I have this antenna mounted atop my large car roof with a TRAM NMO Mag Mount (see photo). So far this purchase has exceeded my expectations. The antenna came properly tuned for VHF and UHF amateur bands. VHF SWR is 1.04 : 1 and UHF is 1.51 : 1. After sweeping this antenna on a Vector Impedance Analyzer I think I may be able to get the SWR on UHF lower by removing ~ 3/8 of an inch from the element but the antenna is usable out of the box as-is.
Nice item. I am tempted to purchase another one to keep as a spare or give as a gift. 73's.
UPDATE: I trimmed 1/4" off the bottom and got the 70cm SWR from 1.51 down to 1.40. The 2 meter SWR stayed the same at an awesome 1.04. Cheers.
