A little antenna and Baofeng info wanted

[AB4BF]

The pin inside the connector determines male or female. If the pin is on the antenna it is a male and the opposite is true if the pin is in the connector on the radio which will make it a male.

No center pin in connector on the radio - female.

Center pin in connector on the radio - male.

Same for antennas.

I hope I have thoroughly confused everyone.

 

[sofasurfer]

Is this the correct mobile mounting apparatus that I want for my UV5R? This assumes I will be mounting antenna with nmo bases. Tram 1252 Smaf NMO 3 4 inch Ham Commercial Antenna Hole Mount w SMA Female Conn | eBay

 

[AB4BF]

Is this the correct mobile mounting apparatus that I want for my UV5R? This assumes I will be mounting antenna with nmo bases. Tram 1252 Smaf NMO 3 4 inch Ham Commercial Antenna Hole Mount w SMA Female Conn | eBay

Yes, ss, that is the correct mounting system. BE SURE to purchase it with paypal so if the SWR is too high, you may send it back. That cable looks terribly small in diameter.

 

[sofasurfer]

The cable is RG58/U? Is this good or should I look for something else?
Sorry for all the questions.

 

[KE0GXN]

NE0GXN You mentioned a "reverse SMA" connector on the Diamond MR77SMAJ. For the sake of learning, does this refer to the SMA female? Also know as the RP-SMA. I believe that what is on my Baofeng is a SMA male. Correct?

EDITED:
I just found this site Differences of SMA and RP-SMA Connector in Antenna For FPV Quadcopter Tricopter - OscarLiang.net
I see the differance. A little confusing. The RP-SMA has the threads on the outside and the SMA has the threads on the inside.
I see that the connector on the radio has threads on both the inside and outside. I wonder if this is to accept either RP-SMA or SMA. I see my antenna is an RP-SAM female.
A bit confusing but I'll get there. Just asking if I am thinking correctly.

Sofa, basically a reverse SMA is a connector that is "female" oriented. Unlike most radios, the BaoFengs have a male SMA antenna termination on top of their radios, which requires a female SMA coax termination to attach to. I think of it as.....reverse SMA having no pin inside and male SMA having a pin inside.

The Motorola APX 7000 is the same way, it also terminates to a male connector on the radio...which requires an antenna that terminates with "no pin" inside in order to be able to attach to the radio.

 

[mmckenna]

If it's good quality RG58 from a known manufacturer, that should be just fine for mobile use.

What concerns me about these Chinese brands is that you don't know for sure what you are getting. Doesn't take much effort to stamp "RG58" on a cable. Doesn't mean it's good quality, just that it -probably- has the same dimensions (give our take) of everyone else's RG-58.

The price on the link you provided isn't great. Saving a few bucks by going with the cheaper Chinese mount/cable probably isn't the best place to save money.

I've installed a lot of Larsen NMO mounts over the years and they use excellent quality cable. You can find Larsen NMO mounts with the "FME" type connector on the end of the cable, then just purchase the FME to SMA connector you need.
Installing the right stuff the first time will save some headaches down the road.

 

[sofasurfer]

KE0GXN - I've got that figured out. But thanks for sharing. Can't get enough.
Now I'm having a little difficulty locating an affordable coax/NMO mount kit ($20ish) and an antenna ($30ish).
Wouldn't mind hearing what sites other people use frequently for their supplies.

Barry008 - I have learned that the RG58U cable, mentioned above) is a higher loss cable. I then learned that this comes into play at longer distances and at the short distance required in a mobile installation this should be ok. Am I correct on this or do you still think this is a risky cable.
I'm open to suggestions.

 

[KE0GXN]

I have to agree with mmckenna, take it from me, he was an invaluable help to me back when I was clueless about coax. Do not skimp on an antenna, the connectors or the coax, whatever money you save I guarantee you will lose in performance.

If there is one thing about the ham radio hobby and to some extent the scanner hobby as well that leaves me confused, is that, there are so many guys who have no issue or qualms about dropping $500-$1,000 dollars on rig, but then skimp on spending X amount of dollars on some good coax, etc...

 

[KE0GXN]

Sofa, take a look at this site: The Antenna Farm, Your two way radio source

It is where I ordered all of my most recent antennas, mounts and coax. Top notch service and they will make custom coax runs for you to whatever specs you specify. I personally interacted with the owner and he is all about customer satisfaction.

 

[mmckenna]

Barry008 - I have learned that the RG58U cable, mentioned above) is a higher loss cable. I then learned that this comes into play at longer distances and at the short distance required in a mobile installation this should be ok. Am I correct on this or do you still think this is a risky cable.
I'm open to suggestions.

Coax cable losses are dependent on two things: Length and Frequency.
Longer cable runs have more signal loss.
Higher frequencies will have more signal lose (when compared to lower frequencies).

I'm running about 50 mobile radios on my 800MHz system with NMO connectors with RG-58. Not an issue. You can get higher grade coax cable, but the performance gains are minor and the stiffer cable usually found on these makes mobile installs a bit harder.

Never had an issue with RG-58 for mobile installs. I do, however, personally prefer the dual shield RG-58 on the higher frequencies. The additional cost is minor, but it's also a bit harder to find.

 

[mmckenna]

Antenna Farm is a good source. Reasonable prices and they don't have minimum order levels that most of the bigger dealers have.

Here's what I'd recommend:
Antenna mount: http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/larsen-nmokudfme-1124.html $14.95

FME to connector of your choice: http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/adapters-304/fme-adapters-307/fme-male-adapters-320/ About $7

As for an antenna:
I personally used this one for many years. Again, never have had an issue with any of the Larsen products:
http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/larsen-nmo2-70sh-1715.html

My brother in law uses this one, has for many years:
http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/larsen-nmo2-70b-1712.html

There are a lot of options out there, everyone has their own preferred brand, I'll only recommend those that I've either actually used or know someone who has. I'm always reluctant to recommend the "amateur" grade antennas or the Chinese brands. Just too many unknowns. The few amateur grade/brand antennas I've used have been disappointing.

Also, a basic 1/4 wave VHF whip (about $10) will work fine on VHF and will act as a 3/4 wave on UHF. I ran this for many years on one of my old trucks with a dual band mobile. Actually tuned up really well on UHF and performed well on both bands.

 

[sofasurfer]

Thanks! Antenna Farm is definately one of the better sites I have seen. Looks like the best options for me are available there.

 

[AB4BF]

KE0GXN - I've got that figured out. But thanks for sharing. Can't get enough.
Now I'm having a little difficulty locating an affordable coax/NMO mount kit ($20ish) and an antenna ($30ish).
Wouldn't mind hearing what sites other people use frequently for their supplies.

Barry008 - I have learned that the RG58U cable, mentioned above) is a higher loss cable. I then learned that this comes into play at longer distances and at the short distance required in a mobile installation this should be ok. Am I correct on this or do you still think this is a risky cable.
I'm open to suggestions.

If the cable is truly RG-58U, then you should have no problems. Basically the cable has no loss up to 50 Watts and under 20 feet in length. On mobile installations, I prefer RG-8X (the skinny RG-8). It has even less loss, and is pretty flexible.

However, losses increase as your frequency increases. RG-58U should be OK for 2 meter and 70 centimeter in a mobile application.

The reason I asked to beware, was I purchased an adapter from SMA to SO-239 from Radio Shack. It had about a foot of unknown cable connecting them, was advertised as an antenna adapter. I installed it between a BaoFeng UV-82 and a Wilson 2 meter 5/8 wave magnetic mount antenna. The analyzer said that I was putting out just less than 2 watts and the SWR was 4:1. Removed the adapter and replaced it with an SMA female to SO-239 solid metal connector about an inch long and the SWR went to 1:1 and the watts picked up to just slightly more than 5.

Took it back and got my money back. YMMV

 

[sofasurfer]

Well, I took a step. Ordered this http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/tram-1252-smaf-7661.html
Still looking at antennas. I'm liking the prices on this page but they all seem pretty much the same. Trying to make a wise desicion but can't figure out the differances. http://www.theantennafarm.com/catal...high-gain-dual-band-antennas-453/index-5.html

 

[rivardj]

You ordered an NMO style mount, that is good the NMO is the way to go. Some of the antennas on the page you linked to are PL-259 style mount, not so good and not compatible with your mount.

Be careful when you order the antenna and make sure you order the NMO style antenna to match your mount.

 

[sofasurfer]

These two antennas...
http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/comet-sbb-2nmo-8132.html
http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/comet-sbb-1nmo-8131.html

They seem to be pretty much the same except for....
One is a 5/8 wave on the 70cm and the other is 1/2 wave
One is 2.15/3.8 gain and one is 1.5/2.15 gain.

All I know about these specs is that 5/8 wave is a long antenna than a 1/2 wave. Correct?
Higher gain (bigger numbers) means farther reach. Correct? Is this on both transmit and recieve?

Please explain if I am wrong. Thanks

 

[mmckenna]

These two antennas...
http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/comet-sbb-2nmo-8132.html
http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/comet-sbb-1nmo-8131.html

They seem to be pretty much the same except for....
One is a 5/8 wave on the 70cm and the other is 1/2 wave
One is 2.15/3.8 gain and one is 1.5/2.15 gain.

All I know about these specs is that 5/8 wave is a long antenna than a 1/2 wave. Correct?

Yes, by 1/8th wave length, but these are "shortened" antennas, so that doesn't translate into actual length.

Higher gain (bigger numbers) means farther reach. Correct? Is this on both transmit and recieve?

Not necessarily. Higher gain means a higher ERP (Effective Radiated Power). Higher ERP comes at the expense of the radiation pattern. A higher gain antenna with a narrower radiation pattern might "work" better out on the flat lands/plains, where a lower gain, wider radiation antenna might "work" better in the mountains.

honestly, though, it's really hard to tell the difference without test equipment. Usually the average person won't be able to hear the difference between a 2.5dB gain half wave and a 3dB gain 5/8th's wave.

My dad ran a similar antenna on his trunk mount for a while. I wasn't impressed with the performance and if i recall correctly, the lower part of the antenna was really stiff and not flexible. I gave him a 1/4 wave VHF whip to try out and he stuck with it. More flexible and lower profile (blended in better). My own personal experience is that 1/4 wave antennas work really well for me out here in California. Someone out in Kansas might have a different experience. Higher gain/ERP isn't always the best answer to every install.