In my area there really is not much of interest to listen to on VHF. I'm interested in putting up a base antenna. I'd like to hear what some have to say about dedicated single-band base antennas.
Examples: Antenex 3 db / 5 db single band verticals for 450 mhz and 850 mhz. Does anybody use these as base antennas? And if so, what are your thoughts on their performance.
http://www.antenex.com/index051206.htm
FG4503 3 db 450-460 Mhz centered at 455 Mhz
FG4505W 3 db 450-470 Mhz centered at 460 Mhz
FG8243 3 db 824-896 Mhz centered at 860 Mhz
FG8246 6 db 824-896 Mhz centered at 860 Mhz
Yagis are out of the question here. Any Yagi is pretty much an eyesore [although personally I think antennas increase curb appeal]. The multiband base antennas usually look like glorified stick figures recreated in aluminum and quite honestly look silly. So I'd like to put up one or two 3 db or 5 db gain verticals, one for 450 mhz and one for 850 mhz. They can fit in with surroundings quite well and can be made to blend in.
But I'm more interested in performance and bang for buck. The Antenex antennas, for instance, are $100-$200 dollar single band antennas. Sure, they'll hold up to the weather, but just about any vertical holds up well to the weather. So, does anybody think this kind of cost can be justified? Do you get the needed performance from them?
Mike
450 / 850 Mhz Base Antenna recommendations
Linear Mode
