A good antenna

[Huntingdeer24]

Ok I'm a new ham km4dqs and I got 2 antennas one is a roll up j pole on a ht and I'm scratchy on the repeater.its about 25 miles or less away.im looking for a cheap external antenna that will do very good.any advice? And my mobile unit I have a cheap antenna I got off eBay and it's junk too.i can't hit the same repeater.45w!! It's a Chinese Antenna I think.10 inches long.got to get a new one.whats a good antenna for both thanks.

 

[profiledescent]

You get what you pay for. If it means waiting a bit to save the bucks, it'll be worth it.
You can get a Diamond X50 or Comet GP3 for under $100, and mount them on a 10 ft or 20ft TV mast for an easy efffective install. I know several people with these in their attic getting fine results.

Don't cheat yourself on the mobile either. At minimum, use a permanent mount "L" bracket with an NMO mount antenna. There are dozens of dual band NMO mount antennas out there for $25-75. Check out HRO and AES sites.

 

[Huntingdeer24]

Ok thanks.i was planning on using a mag mount antenna.i got a SUV and I don't want no more holes drilled.i drilled holes for a l bracket for cb antennas that's about all the holes I want lol.

 

[profiledescent]

Mag mounts will do more damage to your finish in the long run. An NMO hole is easily plugged.

 

[AK9R]

And, if the vehicle is roughly 5 years old or older, a properly-installed hole in the roof for an NMO mount will most likely do nothing to the value of the vehicle. Take your vehicle to a two-way radio shop that does installs on public safety or fleet vehicles and have them install the mount for you. Folks get all wrapped around the axle about drilling holes in their vehicles, but they just don't degrade the vehicle's value as much as you might think.

 

[N8IAA]

Ok I'm a new ham km4dqs and I got 2 antennas one is a roll up j pole on a ht and I'm scratchy on the repeater.its about 25 miles or less away.im looking for a cheap external antenna that will do very good.any advice? And my mobile unit I have a cheap antenna I got off eBay and it's junk too.i can't hit the same repeater.45w!! It's a Chinese Antenna I think.10 inches long.got to get a new one.whats a good antenna for both thanks.

J-pole on a HT. Not full quieting. ~4.5w out of the HT into the antenna is not going to generate a whole lot of RF through the walls of your home to a repeater 25 miles away. The advice given about getting an external gain antenna will make the difference. But, again, ~4.5w will still limit the distance.

10" length on VHF will eventually make the smoke come out of your mobile. 18.5"-19" is the length for VHF. Get a trunk lid mount and get a real antenna that will handle that 45w

I presume that there is an amateur radio club in your area. You may want to find out when they meet and get some help from them. You'd be surprised what you just might learn.
HTH,
Larry

 

[vagrant]

Ok I'm a new ham km4dqs and I got 2 antennas one is a roll up j pole on a ht and I'm scratchy on the repeater.its about 25 miles or less away.im looking for a cheap external antenna that will do very good.any advice? And my mobile unit I have a cheap antenna I got off eBay and it's junk too.i can't hit the same repeater.45w!! It's a Chinese Antenna I think.10 inches long.got to get a new one.whats a good antenna for both thanks.

A Tram 1480 VHF/UHF base antenna can be found new for $50. Amazon, Walmart, Radio Shack etc. Do not use cheap coax.

As to a mobile solution, Diamond makes a fine selection of antennas. The mount will depend on your needs. Your coax run in the car will be short, so the coax here is not as critical as it is for home use. Let your wallet guide you on this part.