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Antennas
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I'm in the antenna group, reading Files.
I do have the "full kit," which included from stubby to extended tape antennas. I'm interested in vehicle antennas and hand/small pole, holdable, omni and directional antennas to improve reception and sometimes, directionality. As in a foxhunt, directionality can aid in search and rescue. Is this or the antenna group more appropriate, since we be are talking Baofeng? Thx, 73s - BillSF9c |
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Bill . . .
On Fri, 28 Jan 2022 11:22:37 -0800, "billsf9c via groups.io" <OOWONBS@...> wrote: Is this or the antenna group more appropriate, since we be are talking Baofeng?It depends on whether your focus is going to be on antennas. If antennas, it wouldn't matter which brand or model of handheld radio you have. If it's about your Baofeng specifically, and not about antennas that would work on any handheld, then the ham-antennas group would be best. Donald KX8K ---------------------------------------------------- Some ham radio groups you may be interested in: /g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas /g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng /g/CHIRP |
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>?If antennas, it wouldn't matter which brand or model of handheld radio you have. If it's about your Baofeng specifically, and not about antennas that would work?on any handheld, then the ham-antennas group would be best.Donald KX8K Well, a catch 22, almost. I.E., It's about my Lamborginni Diablo specifically, but what tire to use for extended and/or specific(directional) use. But which tires some other sports car could use, also - The antenna group is V busy, embroiled in deeper interesting aspects. Most use more power, but there's no "handheld portable/low pwr antennas" group. Maybe if I change the question - Which antennas, (sale or homebrew,) have folks used w their BaoFengs, for? 1) vehicle mobile,? 2) directional (esp for potential search & rescue,) or? 3) temporary bivoac, say, an overnight campout? Maybe redeploy a vehicle's whip atop a pole, perhaps with a few minor radials. Dual use of a vehicle's whip for economy. Side Note; In CB days I opted for a fairly stiff 4ft semi-flexible stick, in an impact knock-down ball joint, versus a 9 ft whip that was never vertical past parking lot speeds. Does anyone run these w a vehicle roof antenna? It's antennas, but only for our Baofeng frequencies and low power levels. I'll divert w apologies, if I have not picked up sufficiently on a hint, lol. BillSF9c |
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Bill . . .
On Fri, 28 Jan 2022 11:22:37 -0800, "billsf9c via groups.io" <OOWONBS@...> wrote: I do have the "full kit," which included from stubby to extended tape antennas. I'm interested in vehicle antennas and hand/small pole, holdable, omni and directional antennas to improve reception and sometimes, directionality. As in a foxhunt, directionality can aid in search and rescue.I can't help with any of these questions but to get the best out of portable, hand-held use, the genuine Nagoya antenna is probably the best. The knock-offs are crap and less expensive. It's not directional, though. I got one of the actual genuine Nagoyas and it works well, all things considered. My QTH is not far from the closest repeater but I can only maintain contact in certain spots on my city lot. With a stubby duckie antenna, I doubt I'd even open the repeater squelch. For mobile use, I use the Comet triband antenna on a trunk lid mount to have some gain on 2M and 440 and a useful antenna on 6M. You can hook up a handheld HT to any antenna. Just make sure it's efficient since you only have a few watts to use and every bit of that is precious. You can also build or buy small amplifiers and some have receiving preamplifiers to essentially make it the equivalent of a 25 or 50 watt mobile radio, but you have to be close to a source of power other than the battery in the HT. As for directional antennas for fox-hunts, any small Yagi or quad antenna should work. A 3-element would give you a decent front to back ratio. You can web search for those (yagi, fox, hunt). Donald KX8K ---------------------------------------------------- Some ham radio groups you may be interested in: /g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas /g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng /g/CHIRP |
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320A Antenna for Baofeng & Btech
Thanks Don, Baofeng being for some, an entryway, somewhat implies some new folks and some basics, at times. I'm an example. Below is what an hour or two searching found for HT antennas, based on comments about 2 brand and cost, Nagoya & Diamond, though at $35-40 for the HT, Diamond does have units equaling that range, versus only 3x the cost of the HT. (Better a cheap car w good tires, than the opposite.) But the point is very well taken. No $500 @ tires on a VW Bug.?Baby steps, learn as I go.? ... Just noting, many of these antennas do not seem to support Xmit on 220/(GSM?)
(GSM to me would be solely for an emergency assist.) The 320A is a only couple inches longer than others, at 17.7" but the same gain is reported.
Excerpt; "Genuine Nagoya NA-320A
The NA-320A is a brand new [Aug 2016] antenna from Nagoya. It is based on the NA-771, but with support for the 1.25M (220MHz amateur band). A wider receiving range is supported as well. (RX: 118 ~ 960 MHz).?
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The Nagoya NA-320A Tri Band High Gain Antenna is for transmitting on VHF, 1.25M, and UHF frequencies. It is 1/4 Wave at 144MHz, 1/2 Wave at 220MHz and 5/8 Wave at 440MHz."
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https://www.amazon.com/Nagoya-NA-320A-2M-1-25M-70CM-144-220-440Mhz-BTECH/dp/B01K10B9XK
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Cost, ~$20, Amazon.
Will check out the Comet and such for mobile, thx again.. Directionals, last, but already tripping over them, but perhaps a fun build. BillSF9c |
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Thanks V700. I'll check their site more focused, now. All clues are helpful. Forgotten things are beginning to bubble to the surface.? I like an organized approach to most anything, but find myself looking at eVerything at once, on top of... "life." I am just too curious. All too late last night I was looking at the math for the extra license. IT, as far as I got, was not difficult. I sort of expect that to change, LOL ! I had actually expected it to slap me in the face and be totally foreign. I have skipped lower grades on other tests, and wanted to bracket myself and see what might be realistic to attempt, and plan thusly. But I cannot really believe Extra is in the near term cards. Math is just one part. I have not attempted to program the Baofeng (BF-X3plus.) It was due the 26th of Jan, but arrived to sit on my porch 2 weeks early. I had ordered black but got orange. The vendor has offered an as yet undetermined discount. If I return it, I pay the USPS. It seems unfair for his error. I must attend to this decision within a couple weeks. Scan pauses on a few frequencies, but I get no tones or audio or noise. An antenna might assist, esp directional, to pick up any transmission. I'm just using the ~20" tape antenna, and indoors at that. (Stucco. ?) BillSF9c |
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One thing I have not seen discussed in this thread is the question as to whether having a ¡°better¡± antenna really helps with the Baofeng, at least with the original UV-5R. The radio has the selectivity of a Barn Door, and is very sensitive to interference. For other radios, including my VX8-DR, I often use a generic 1/4 wave, which improves the radios sensitivity, and ability to hit repeaters on the other side of a ridge near me. Adding that same antenna to the Baofeng causes local noise, such as my LED light fixtures to overpower real signals.
I followed the advice in the UV5R faq at Miklor.com, and bought what was known as the $3.79 special, and I never looked back. The antenna helps provide some front end filtering, which the radio really needs. Later versions of the radio, especially from Baofeng Tech have gotten better, but the basic 5R works better with a less capable antenna. I highly recommend you use an SMA to BNC connector on the radio, and buy BNC antennae. In your car, you can get a mag mount with a BNC connector, and try various antenna types on the mag mount. The BNC connector has a longer life than the SMA connector built into the radio, and is replaceable when it wears out. It also facilitates removal of your walk around antenna, and connection to your car. I also recommend looking at Miklor.com for a useful FAQ, on all things BAOFENG. Bill (AB1LZ) Would you believe? Sent from my shoe phone's big brother and still no keyboard. Please excuse auto connections caused by typhoons. |
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Bill . . .
On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 20:44:50 -0500, "Bill Storey via groups.io" <WTStorey@...> wrote: Can you give us a link to the $3.79 special, please? I went to the site and found the UV-5R FAQ but not the $3.79 special. Can you link to that, please? I remember using a 1/4 wave ground plane 2M antenna made out of an SO-239 connector with 19" legs attached to the 4 holes with screws and nuts, and another 19" piece of wire soldered to the center connector. The socket faces downward and you use a flexible thin piece of coax. If you have the SO-239 socket in your junk box, and some copper wire like 14 gauge that comes out of Romex house wiring, it's not going to cost you any additional money. Donald KX8K ---------------------------------------------------- Some ham radio groups you may be interested in: /g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas /g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng /g/CHIRP |
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Donald,
It was an antenna available from either eBay or Amazon for $3.79.? It was better than the baseline antenna, but not so good that your front end was wiped out by noise.
I doubt it is still available at that price.? Unfortunately, that means that you would need to buy a bunch of "cheap" antennae and use the one that is most appropriate.
This $3.79 special was part of the FAQ about 3 to 5 years ago.? It is hard to keep track of time with COVID.
Bill -----Original Message-----
From: Donald Hellen <donhellen@...> To: [email protected] Sent: Wed, Feb 2, 2022 5:02 am Subject: Re: [Baofeng] Antennas Bill . . .
On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 20:44:50 -0500, "Bill Storey via groups.io" <WTStorey=[email protected]> wrote: > >I followed the advice in the UV5R faq at Miklor.com, and bought what was known as the $3.79 special, and I never looked back.? The antenna helps provide some front end filtering, which the radio really needs.? Later versions of the radio, especially from Baofeng Tech have gotten better, but the basic 5R works better with a less capable antenna. Can you give us a link to the $3.79 special, please? I went to the site and found the UV-5R FAQ but not the $3.79 special. Can you link to that, please? I remember using a 1/4 wave ground plane 2M antenna made out of an SO-239 connector with 19" legs attached to the 4 holes with screws and nuts, and another 19" piece of wire soldered to the center connector. The socket faces downward and you use a flexible thin piece of coax. If you have the SO-239 socket in your junk box, and some copper wire like 14 gauge that comes out of Romex house wiring, it's not going to cost you any additional money. Donald KX8K ---------------------------------------------------- Some ham radio groups you may be interested in: /g/ICOM ? /g/Ham-Antennas /g/HamRadioHelp ? /g/Baofeng /g/CHIRP |
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