COMET SMA-501 Mini-Antenna

[MacombMonitor]

My COMET SMA-501 Mini-Antenna arrive from Universal Radio! I have it attached to my tiny Icom IC-R2 communications receiver...makes for a very compact monitor radio while out, and about! The radio itself is only 3.5" H x 2.25" W x 1" D. The original supplied antenna is 7" tall! The COMET SMA-501 is only 1.75" H x .5" DIA. As you can see, the combination of the R2, and the SMA-501 is very small. What's really amazing is how well it performs! I've checked it on 2M Ham (144~148MHz), 150, 450, and 850MHz bands. I live in Macomb Township, Michigan, and sitting in my house, I can pick up everything around me that I normally monitor (with the exception of digital of course, due to limitations of the R2). I can even hear Warren, Michigan Public Safety (850MHz), which is 19 miles South of me! Some people have referred to these mini-antennas as being nothing more than a dummy load. Maybe for transmitting they don't perform well, I haven't tried, but for a receiver/scanner, I'm very satisfied!

Having an SMA mount, this antenna will work on the newer Uniden BCD396T, and BR330T. Something you might want to check out, if your monitoring is somewhat local.

 

[N_Jay]

Have you tried a weak signal on each band?

Start with a known steady weak signal with one antenna and then the other antenna.

Move the radio a round a bit to try to find the nulls and peaks of the signal.
See if the nulls are worse or better, and if the peaks are worse or better.

 

[MacombMonitor]

Not sure what you're looking for? I would expect almost any other antenna, especially if it's larger, to outperform this tiny thing! That's why the last words in my original post say: "Something you might want to check out, if your monitoring is somewhat local." But that isn't why I bought it. I bought it because of it's size, and when added to my Icom R2, it is very stealth, and I can play with it when the wife goes shopping, or while waiting at airports, etc, without drawing attention to myself. The total package is small enough to keep with me almost anywhere I go, in a shirt, or jeans pocket. I can't compare it to anything at the moment because I don't have any other SMA antennas. I can tell you this much, I've been in the radio hobby for over 40 years. I've lived in the state of Michigan, in four different large cities during my lifetime. So for me, I know what works, and what doesn't. Being in a RF saturated area, it's even possible that a better performing antenna, would actually perform worse, due to overload, and saturation. The R2 is actually a very sensitive receiver.

I guess if we need to get more technical, I could graph my results after hours of extensive testing, under the most adverse conditions:

|____________________|__________________V_|
Doesn't Work ..............It's OK....................... I Like It!

 

[kb2vxa]

What's all the hubub, bub? If that's what floats your boat just go with it, I don't see what this is all about. The only way you can do a proper comparison is on an antenna range with some pretty sophisticated and expensive equipment so fogitaboudit. I have a phrase, "whatever works" and I stand by it, quietly.

Oh, the graphics need work.

 

[Dave13]

Like those Comet brand antennas too!

I got a BNC-24 2m/440 just to try it's claims?
True, true, true!
Using a SMA/BNC adapter, it lights ALL Bars everywhere on the recieve end of my Yaesu VX-2!
On all my HH Scanners, it brings fantastic recieve in!
I'mreally liking THAT brand Name now! Gotta try other of their models soon as I get my HAM License.

Dave13