COMPACtenna V.U.7/800 Antenna
Seems these antennas are a point of contention in some of the threads about them on here. I took a shot in the dark and spent the money and got one. I've been using it for a month before writing this review. I use it solely as a mobile rail band RX antenna (160-161 mHz) with one of my ICOMs. Yes, it looks weird and it requires a little experimentation to get it to suit your needs if you are SWR concerned. But once you get going, it works. There's no way around it.
The thing to remember with the COMPACTenna is it's much happier where there is a sharp drop in ground plane (the instructions that come with the antenna really stress this). I have mine on a mag mount on the right rear edge of the trunk lid of my Charger next to the spoiler. Right off the bat I was picking up an NS dispatcher base over 60 miles away from my driveway in a suburban neighborhood. I then checked the WX band receive and I was picking up all seven WX channels. Before with my roof mounted quarter wave I would get five at best under normal conditions and that would drop off significantly the closer I would get to the city. That doesn't happen with the COMPACTenna.
I work on the north side of a downtown area and I can hear locomotive antennas on full quieting at the yards on the other side of downtown. My radio would barely break squelch on those transmissions with the quarter wave.
I did do a quick test with a Bearcat scanner on 800 mHz. The big city uses an analog TRS and there is a digital P25 system in use by some the suburbs. Both came in crystal clear with no scratchiness or digital "burping" on the P25 system which sometimes happens with my normal BOS antenna. Quick test but I would venture to say the 800 mHz receive performance is just as good as what I was getting in the rail band.
In conclusion, as our vehicles become less friendly to mounting radio equipment, this antenna is pretty refreshing given its big performance in a small size and optimum performance with little ground plane. I will say a properly mounted/grounded 5/8 wave would outperform the COMPACTenna in the flatlands, at least on VHF. But nearly everywhere else the COMPACTenna wins.
4/5 stars (knocking off one for the pricetag)
Seems these antennas are a point of contention in some of the threads about them on here. I took a shot in the dark and spent the money and got one. I've been using it for a month before writing this review. I use it solely as a mobile rail band RX antenna (160-161 mHz) with one of my ICOMs. Yes, it looks weird and it requires a little experimentation to get it to suit your needs if you are SWR concerned. But once you get going, it works. There's no way around it.
The thing to remember with the COMPACTenna is it's much happier where there is a sharp drop in ground plane (the instructions that come with the antenna really stress this). I have mine on a mag mount on the right rear edge of the trunk lid of my Charger next to the spoiler. Right off the bat I was picking up an NS dispatcher base over 60 miles away from my driveway in a suburban neighborhood. I then checked the WX band receive and I was picking up all seven WX channels. Before with my roof mounted quarter wave I would get five at best under normal conditions and that would drop off significantly the closer I would get to the city. That doesn't happen with the COMPACTenna.
I work on the north side of a downtown area and I can hear locomotive antennas on full quieting at the yards on the other side of downtown. My radio would barely break squelch on those transmissions with the quarter wave.
I did do a quick test with a Bearcat scanner on 800 mHz. The big city uses an analog TRS and there is a digital P25 system in use by some the suburbs. Both came in crystal clear with no scratchiness or digital "burping" on the P25 system which sometimes happens with my normal BOS antenna. Quick test but I would venture to say the 800 mHz receive performance is just as good as what I was getting in the rail band.
In conclusion, as our vehicles become less friendly to mounting radio equipment, this antenna is pretty refreshing given its big performance in a small size and optimum performance with little ground plane. I will say a properly mounted/grounded 5/8 wave would outperform the COMPACTenna in the flatlands, at least on VHF. But nearly everywhere else the COMPACTenna wins.
4/5 stars (knocking off one for the pricetag)