DMR Base Station Antenna

[TailGator911]

Well, my wife saw I was having too much fun with my AnyTone 878 so she called a friend and told him I was getting interested in dmr and she asked him for a suggestion for a Christmas present and Friday I rec'd the Anytone AT-D578UVIIIPRO with gobs of accessories. She's too good to me! I think I'll keep her Anyway I was wondering what is the most popular antenna among the dmr dwellers. I plan to use this mobile rig as a base station. I have a roof mounted Cushcraft AR-270b vertical for my 2m base station (746Pro) and I am open to suggestions for a dmr-dedicated base station vertical antenna.. I have space on a mast 25-ft high. Budget set @ $500, 25-ft coax run underground. Thanks!

 

[sallen07]

I have a roof mounted Cushcraft AR-270b vertical for my 2m base station (746Pro) and I am open to suggestions for a dmr-dedicated base station vertical antenna.

Most important thing to remember is that there is no such thing as a DMR (or "digital") antenna. The fact that you're using DMR instead of analog is irrelevant; what matters is the frequencies you will be transmitting and receiving on, just like analog.

I took a quick look at Repeaterbook and looks like there are a couple 70cm DMR repeaters in your count so I'm guessing you'll be using your 578 on UHF. (I love mine BTW ... I use it for analog and DMR both.)

I believe your AR-270b is a dual-band antenna, no? (2m/70cm) If so, then one option would be installing a diplexer. That would allow both radios to share your existing antenna and would be a lot cheaper than a new antenna and coax!

Something like this would do the trick:

Duplexers | Comet Antenna

wireless mobile and fixed station voice and data

cometantenna.com

(Note that Comet calls their diplexers "duplexers".)

One of the CF-416 variants is probably what you would want. They differ in the connectors used.

 

[prcguy]

I have a D578 also and have dedicated a Comet CX-333 2m, 220, 440 antenna to the radio. The 333 is a very good tri-band antenna and no duplexer or triplexer is needed feeding a tri-band radio like the 578.

 

[sallen07]

tri-band antenna

Good point ... I tend to overlook the fact that the 578 is tri-band, since there is almost zero 1.25m around here.

Lots of options; that's one of the things that makes the hobby great. I started with the 578 then added a two-meter rig and putting up another antenna when I already had a really good dual-banded up was zero so I went the diplexer route. That limits me to 70cm on the 578 but that was my whole goal when I got the 2m rig.

So if the OP has the budget and space for another antenna, all the better. For me, I'd rather spend $50 than $500.

 

[MX350]

the DBJ-1 Dual Band VHF/UHF 2 meter/70cm ham base antenna is good I have one DBJ-1 Dual Band VHF/UHF 2 meter/70cm ham base antenna | eBay

 

[TailGator911]

Good pointers, thanks for the advice. Yes, the AR270b is a dual band antenna. I like the idea of dedicating my 578 with its own antenna and was just curious what others were using and if they were getting good results using the 578 as a base station. Very cool radio. Nice colorful graphics. If the 578 is anything like the 878 I know I will be pleased with it. That is one solid little radio.

 

[alcahuete]

She definitely sounds like a keeper!!!

As was mentioned, DMR is just a mode, like SSB, AM, etc. Any 2m/70cm antenna would work. I personally don't use 1.25m that much, so I don't worry about that. My base antenna that I have used for over 20 years is the Diamond X510. Hands down the best VHF/UHF antenna I have ever used. It's big...quite big, but boy does it work.

 

[sallen07]

I like the idea of dedicating my 578 with its own antenna and was just curious what others were using and if they were getting good results using the 578 as a base station.

As I said earlier, I really like my 578. There *are* a couple things I've noticed that I'm hoping will be fixed in future firmware. First, the scan function is buggy ... it doesn't resume correctly. There is also a HUGE difference in audio volume between analog and DMR.

Going back to your antenna question, if you're going to put up a new one I really think looking into a tri-band antenna would be a good idea. Looks like there is a 1.25m repeater in your county and hey, why not?

 

[jaspence]

The Ed Fong antenna is a reasonably priced choice. Mine has been up for several years and still shows good SWR. Ed's Antennas

 

[SuperG900]

I'm not using the 578's 220Mhz capability, so a dual-band Diamond X50A works for me.

 

[TailGator911]

At this point the duplexer sounds like it might be the way to go for me. Less hassle, I don't have to pay for somebody to get up on my roof. haha

Thanks much for the suggestions!