Antennas I Personally Recommend
This is a reprint of my posting April 7, 2011 by popular request...updated!
Many people have asked what are the best antennas they should purchase for their homes and/or field emergency communications. There are many types, lengths and brands of antenna you can purchase or build yourself. I would like to recommend three specific antennas we have used in the SLC Foothill Net and I have found to be of very good quality and usefulness.
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| Arrow Antenna - OSJ 146/440 |
First, Arrow Antenna makes an excellent 2m/7cm J-Pole antenna. Product number OSJ 146/440.
Made from aluminum, this antenna works great for mounting on your house top either on a tri-pod, a chimney, or a metal sewer vent pipe. Because of it's simple design, you can set this up quickly and use for a semi permanent mobil emergency communications operation.
From the east bench, I am able to reach all the major repeaters throughout the valley, a couple in the Provo area, and several in Ogden area - including Tremonton. The current price of this antenna is $39
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| N9TAX - Dual Band 'Slim Jim' J-Pole |
Next, there is a gentleman on ebay, N9TAX - Joseph, that sells a great product call a dual band 'Slim Jim' J-Pole.
This antenna can be supported by many things including trees, ceilings, curtain rods and pretty much anything else you can dream up that will support 6 oz of weight and keep the antenna a couple inches away from solid objects. It's lightweight for your grab-and-go kit and a super quick install.
This antenna is great for emergency communication activities, field expeditions, hotel rooms and base station use to. One member of our net hangs it from the ceiling tiles in his 3rd floor office in SLC and communicates all over the valley. Follow this link for more information on purchasing: http://cgi.ebay.com/VHF-UHF-Slim-Jim-J-Pole-Dual-Band-2m-70cm-Antenna-jpole-/320520244752. The current price of this antenna is about $23.
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| Diamond Dual Band NR770HA |
NR770HA mobile antenna
2m 1 1/2 wave , 70 cm 2 5/8 waves
200 watts maximum with a UHF connector
40.2 inches long.
I use a magnet mount to be able to transfer it between two vehicles – running the coax just inside the weather stripping on the door frame. If you desire a permanent mount, there are several to choose from.
I am really satisfied with the performance of this antenna both on my vehicle, and as a ‘base station’ setup in the field. I have taken this antenna and mounted it onto an expandable pole to reach a height of 25 feet. It works perfectly!! And SWR is well within tolerances.
Eham.net reviewers give the antenna a 5 of 5 rating!!
KC5BYE writes -- Really happy with the performance and the construction. 40" long and sits on top of my Jeep with the base at 67". So the tip is around 8.5 feet off the ground. It doesn’t hurt to look for low hanging trees while driving. The small coil in the center of the antenna does take the shock and has not bent on the two times it has been clipped.
The performance is excellent so far. Just having it hooked up to a 5 watt HT and I am getting every repeater in the city plus hitting out of town machines. Diamond says there is 3dB on 2m and 5.5 dB on 70cm. I have had no complaints on my signal and some are surprised when I tell them I am running 5 watts.
The antenna is rated at 200 watts so there is room to play with. My model came in black which looks better against my Cherokee and doesn’t stand out like a silver antenna. This is a replacement for a Comet(Maldol) AX 95. The AX95 base is made from plastic. I didn’t find this out till I opened the hatchback with the antenna in the down position. Which in turn cracked the antenna base and turned it into spare parts. If I had known that ahead of time I wouldn't have purchased the Maldol. The NR770 is metal and solid. This antenna looks good, feels solid and performs very well.
For the solid construction, functionality and versatility of this antenna, I recommend this mobile antenna to all. The current price of this antenna is around $55 and the mounts start at around $16.
But, don't take my word for it. 'Google' all three antenna and read what others have to say about them. The website eham.net is a good starting point filled with many reviews.
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