I am looking for an antenna to put on my Relm RPV599A Plus Handheld radio it needs to be the 5/8 wave or whatever it is that is long that gets the best reception like they use on wildfires across the country they are very long like 2.5 feet or so long. the problem is the connector on my radio is a SMA Male so the antenna needs the have the female part and I have searched and searched and called places with no luck so I thought I would throw it out here to you all.. Thank you for any help. Riley.
Wildland Fire Antenna
- Thread starter SECOEMS
- Start date
- Status
EMSJUNKY
Member
Ham Radio Outlet has an antenna that works fairly well for this. its about 2 ft long and is thin enough to tie in a knot.... i have used it in the past for monitoring CDF and BLM traffic. The command nets on most fires are repeated, so any antenna will work fairly well for monitoring the command nets. The tac nets on the other hand are simplex, and are line of sight. They work well for localized traffic between HT's and mobile radios. You have to be fairly close to pick up the HT's as they are 5-10W. The air frequencies (CDF Airtac 4,5,6) are easy to get with a standard scanner antenna. So in closing, you should evaluate with kinda of traffic you want to listen to and determine the antenna you want. I would suggest calling Ham Radio Outlet and ask them. they are usually pretty knowledgable.
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2004
- Messages
- 499
Hi Guy, I also use the antennas that Junky just mentioned and they work very well. High gain for an HT and strong yet flexible. These are made by PRYME and the model number is RD-2 SMA $19.95 at HRO
HRO also carries an exactly similar one made by DIAMOND. The model there is SRH519 SMA but it is 10 bucks more at $29.95
I've had excellent service out of the less expensive Prymes
good luck
HRO also carries an exactly similar one made by DIAMOND. The model there is SRH519 SMA but it is 10 bucks more at $29.95
I've had excellent service out of the less expensive Prymes
good luck
Last edited:
EMSJUNKY
Member
Another suggestion if you are looking to monitor ONLY Forestry on VHF would be to purchase an untuned VHF antenna from Vertex... they use SMA too. the part # is ATV-6XL. With the antenna comes instructions on how to tune it. I am currently using this on my VERTEX 160 and am able to get CA. Dept of Forestry Tuolume Calaveras Ranger unit from San Jose, CA... about a 150 mile range. This one is battle proof and have used it on my HT's when I was a volunteer firefighter. Works like a champ. Both Antennas i mentions will work fine.
- Status
