Baofeng UV5R Antenna Performance

[SCPD]

For those that have a Baofeng UV5R radio ... here is a test of the performance of the stock antenna. Basically in summary .. it sucks at VHF frequencies (2 meters) and performs very very well at UHF frequencies (70 cm).

 

[mancow]

Yep, that's what I've noticed too. I got one of the rat tail whip antennas and it helped greatly.

 

[kf5qgf]

that's why i switched to the mfj 1717 and put on a counterpoise.

 

[prcguy]

VSWR doesn't really tell how an antenna performs. How did you check the match? The only realistic way to do that is with a mock up radio, hand held and decouple the feedline to the test equipment.
prcguy

 

[kayn1n32008]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9780; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.8+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.600 Mobile Safari/534.8+)

VSWR doesn't really tell how an antenna performs. How did you check the match? The only realistic way to do that is with a mock up radio, hand held and decouple the feedline to the test equipment.
prcguy

Done, done, and done. (I have watched edmscan test this and other antennas). This is done using a tin can to simulate the portable, LMR400 with snap on chokes, and an Anritsu Site Master to do the measurements. The results he posted do tell most of the story, short of going to an antenna test range...

 

[american121]

Replacements do not work either

For those that have a Baofeng UV5R radio ... here is a test of the performance of the stock antenna. Basically in summary .. it sucks at VHF frequencies (2 meters) and performs very very well at UHF frequencies (70 cm).

I upgraded my Baofeng antenna: SMA to BNC Antenna Adapter Kit for the Baofeng and Diamond RH77CA antenna.

In this case the Baofeng antenna is 100% better than the described setup. Because it could not receive, I did not try transmitting. If anyone has any ideas, I love to here from you.

 

[Bazel]

Has anyone experimented with rat tail antenna length. Seems like you should be able to make a simple rat tail or several that would connect with a connector that goes over the antenna screw on connection and by varying lengths make simple rat tail changes to adjust for frequencies that you are using.

 

[TheSpaceMan]

The Baofengs work really great when you hook them up to outdoor 2 Meter/440 antennas. You can build a small ground plane or Jpole, and your range will be increased considerably. If you hook them up to a beam antenna like the ELK or the Arrow, you will be amazed at how far these little radios can reach!

 

[vagrant]

I use a Baofeng with an SMA to BNC connector and the Diamond RH77CA. Works very well. Satellite contacts with it and hit the local repeaters all day long. Hook one up to an external 2M/440 antenna on your house and you'll be happy. I typically use the RH77CA antenna on the radio while in the vehicle versus an external antenna. As noted, no problem hitting the repeaters.

* My first QSO was using a Baofeng and the stock antenna via the SO50 satellite.

 

[jhooten]

OR you could buy the SRJ77CA and do away with the BNC adapter.

 

[jeepsandradios]

I found that the VHF HT1000 stubby antenna works night and day on VHF and UHF. I normally use it for monitoring but do tx on UHF repeaters often and it is alot better than the standard. The HT1000 uses the same mount so if i needed to talk on VHF alot I could drop on the standard leangth HT antenna.

 

[LtDoc]

Those graphs are probably about average for any HT's antenna. It isn't all that bad at 2 meters. The nice thing about a 2 meter and 70 Cm radio is that the two bands are harmonically related. A 2 meter antenna will 'work' on 70 Cm, not real well, but what do you expect out of an HT's antenna anyway?
I've found that just adding a 'rat's tail' to an HT's supplied antenna really does improve things. Not a huge improvement, but just 'better'. Using a 'real-live' 1/4 wave 2 meter antenna on an HT is less convenient but is an improvement over the supplied 'rubberduck' (both bands). It's a matter of expectations and what you have available.
- 'Doc