WTB - HH VHF Antenna - all round performance in the real world.

Mark-1

Mark-1

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 Sep 2008
Messages
5,550
Visit site
I really want a "rubbery flexible" Handheld Antenna that is optimised for Marine VHF. Needs to be SMA-F.

I'd like it to also "work" to some degree on PMR/Aviation/HAM frequencies. (The stock Antenna seems to do a tolerable job of everything.)

So which antenna does the hive mind suggest I should buy?

Oh, it has to be cheap, too. 😁

EDIT: It perhaps doesn't meet my bendyness requirement, but would an RHD-701 work adequately on Marine Band? The numbers say no. In the Real world though?

EDIT2: Is a stubby a really bad idea?
 
Last edited:
Some years ago I made a J pole antenna using 300 ohm ribbon feeder and inserting this in poly pipe. It covers all you ask and currently sits on a window cill at home doing exactly what you are asking for using a suitable connector to fit portable radios.

A search on the Web will bring up the way these are formed. Search for either J antenna or. J Pole antenna.
 
Mark-1 said:
I really want a "rubbery flexible" Handheld Antenna that is optimised for Marine VHF. Needs to be SMA-F.

I'd like it to also "work" to some degree on PMR/Aviation/HAM frequencies. (The stock Antenna seems to do a tolerable job of everything.)

So which antenna does the hive mind suggest I should buy?

Oh, it has to be cheap, too. 😁

EDIT: It perhaps doesn't meet my bendyness requirement, but would an RHD-701 work adequately on Marine Band? The numbers say no. In the Real world though?

EDIT2: Is a stubby a really bad idea?
Click to expand...
Transmit or receive.

If transmitting, then a match is needed.and reviews online say that the VSWR is anything up to 5:1 at the "resonance" point. (That's a 45% power reflection)
 
st599 said:
Transmit or receive.

If transmitting, then a match is needed.and reviews online say that the VSWR is anything up to 5:1 at the "resonance" point. (That's a 45% power reflection)
Click to expand...

Marine: Rx, occasional Tx.
PMR: Rx, Tx
Aviation and HAM: strictly Rx only.
 
Rx. It is rumoured that you can receive a lot on a piece of wet string.
Tx. As high or as long as possible , preferably both.
 
After a long chat with Bing Copilot I think I now understand the issues.

What I should have bought was a Marine Band Optimized Antenna. However they seem thin on the ground with SMA-Female. That would have allowed me to listen to everything I'm interested in and I'd have happily chanced damaging the final output stage on my radio Txing on PMR Band.

In the end I've bought an RHD-701 which I'm hoping, paired with my Quansheng UV-5R Plus, will be enough of an all rounder to Tx 'well enough' on Marine bands without damaging the output amp. To my inexperienced eye the Marine Band Frequencies aren't *that* far away from the 2m ham band.

I have access to an SWR meter, maybe I'll check it one day.

Presumably using an SMA-Female to SMA-Male adapter on one of my existing antenna would change the antenna's characteristics thus defeating the object of using the correct antenna?
 
No modern radio is going to be damaged by a poor vswr, they all have protection circuits to reduce power or disable tx if really bad.

But to transmit on Marine band then transmit on PMR band you will need to swap between 2 different transmitters. I am not aware of a legal radio that does both. That is not to say you can't get a radio that will do both. So why the fixation with one aerial for both uses?

When you say you want a stubby, are you talking of an aerial that mounts directly on a handheld radio? If so they usually come supplied with one. If for fixed use on a pole (mast?) then why do you want a small stubby why not a full size usually a 5/8 wave whip?
 
ProDave said:
No modern radio is going to be damaged by a poor vswr, they all have protection circuits to reduce power or disable tx if really bad.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I stopped worrying about the whole issue when I found a YouTube video of "my" radio Txing with no antenna for 24 hours. Clearly my modest usage with an imperfect radio is going to do no harm at all.

I've bought the RHD-701 and it receives on the Air Band way better than the antenna the radio came with. I'm pretty sure it will work fine for my modest usage on the other bands.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top