Hi,
I waited 4 months to do this post because I wanted to be sure that it was all it was cracked up to be. I am talking about the Browning BR-6157. It is 5/8 over 5/8 for 4.5dBd - not stellar gain but a very solid performer for an antenna with an 80 MHz, YES, an 80 MHz bandwidth with SWR under 2 through the entire operating bandwidth of the antenna which is pre-tuned for 410MHz to 490MHz.
How does it achieve the wide bandwidth? Simple, the thicker the radiating elements, the wider the operational bandwidth of the antenna. The fiberglass antenna is 3.75" thick! This is a robust and inexpensive antenna, I got mine shipped for under $60.
The antenna weighs about a pound and is just under 3 feet long. The solid brass base looks cool too. It has an "N" connector, I have mine fed with genuine LMR-400 and I have a coax switch to toggle between my 70cm and GMRS radios.
My results have been fantastic:
I am hitting more distant repeaters on 70cm after replacing my old half wave over half wave co-linear that I made even though it was supposed to deliver better gain than the new antenna.
SWR's Observed using MFJ269C: (Yes because of the way this Analyzer 'frequency creeps' it takes me awhile to check specific frequencies accurately, but these numbers are accurate.)
440.125MHz - 1.13:1
444.950MHz - 1.06:1 (My favorite repeater receive freq.)
449.950MHz - 1:1 (My favorite repeater input freq.)
462.550MHz - 1.19:1
462.700MHz - 1.21:1
YMMV but not by much, I bet! If you are not an antenna guru, this is a very SAFE, relatively inexpensive bet for both 70cm and GMRS and it even comes with excellent mounting hardware for your mast.
73
I waited 4 months to do this post because I wanted to be sure that it was all it was cracked up to be. I am talking about the Browning BR-6157. It is 5/8 over 5/8 for 4.5dBd - not stellar gain but a very solid performer for an antenna with an 80 MHz, YES, an 80 MHz bandwidth with SWR under 2 through the entire operating bandwidth of the antenna which is pre-tuned for 410MHz to 490MHz.
How does it achieve the wide bandwidth? Simple, the thicker the radiating elements, the wider the operational bandwidth of the antenna. The fiberglass antenna is 3.75" thick! This is a robust and inexpensive antenna, I got mine shipped for under $60.
The antenna weighs about a pound and is just under 3 feet long. The solid brass base looks cool too. It has an "N" connector, I have mine fed with genuine LMR-400 and I have a coax switch to toggle between my 70cm and GMRS radios.
My results have been fantastic:
I am hitting more distant repeaters on 70cm after replacing my old half wave over half wave co-linear that I made even though it was supposed to deliver better gain than the new antenna.
SWR's Observed using MFJ269C: (Yes because of the way this Analyzer 'frequency creeps' it takes me awhile to check specific frequencies accurately, but these numbers are accurate.)
440.125MHz - 1.13:1
444.950MHz - 1.06:1 (My favorite repeater receive freq.)
449.950MHz - 1:1 (My favorite repeater input freq.)
462.550MHz - 1.19:1
462.700MHz - 1.21:1
YMMV but not by much, I bet! If you are not an antenna guru, this is a very SAFE, relatively inexpensive bet for both 70cm and GMRS and it even comes with excellent mounting hardware for your mast.
73