Handheld antenna for Calgary / Alberta Ham

[SCPD]

Hey Fellas! Its been a while, I have been mighty quite on this forum. Anyways as some of you know I am taking my Amateur Radio Course right now under the direction of a few members of CARA.

I have been doing some poking around for a hand held unit and have found a Yaesu VX-6R at a very reasonable price, so I plan on buying this. At this time a hand held unit is really all I can use as I do not have a house that is mine, therefor I can not put up any antennas on the house.

I was wondering if anyone had any input as to what aftermarket antenna would best suit this radio.

It is an SMA connector and it is capable of 70cm, 2m and I believe some of the 220mhz area <--- (I wont be using this much)

This radio is capable up to 5W
and is at the standard of 50 ohms

Due to the fact our main Ve6ryc repeater is both 70cm and 2m I really only need an antenna that suits these bands. Does anyone have any particular favorites?

Thanks in advance.

PS: HD if you see this post, I have yet to find a suitable NMO mount antenna for the base you gave me, any Idea if I could make my own? Perhaps one night soon you could show me what I would need / what I need to do. I plan on buying a separate mag mount or trunk mount for the new HAM radio I have too. But for now I have no scanning antenna on my truck.

EDIT:*** Found this antenna is it decent?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Comet-HT-55-VHF...5168886QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

 

[heinz_david]

Good to hear that you are taking the course. The 6R is a good choice as well. Have you seen the specs on the 8R? I have the 7R and am quite happy with it.

One option that may work for you is a mobile antenna for your "home". If you want something with some possible "gain", take a look at what Nick has to offer at NTF. 2 band mobile antennas are fairly cheap - and you will need to get a bit creative with where you mount it - stick/pole/magnetic, etc. - and some extra ground wires for possible counter-poise - and you have the makings of a good reliable antenna.

From Carstairs - to Calgary - with a mag mount antenna just chucked up on the roof - no extra connections to ground - I could hit RYC no problem. A little dirty on the send and receive - but for the distance - it did work. If you are in Calgary, you should have no problem.

Any other Hams in here to add $.02 ??


Good Luck !!

 

[SCPD]

Hey Fellas! Its been a while, I have been mighty quite on this forum. Anyways as some of you know I am taking my Amateur Radio Course right now under the direction of a few members of CARA.

I have been doing some poking around for a hand held unit and have found a Yaesu VX-6R at a very reasonable price, so I plan on buying this. At this time a hand held unit is really all I can use as I do not have a house that is mine, therefor I can not put up any antennas on the house.

I was wondering if anyone had any input as to what aftermarket antenna would best suit this radio.

It is an SMA connector and it is capable of 70cm, 2m and I believe some of the 220mhz area <--- (I wont be using this much)

This radio is capable up to 5W
and is at the standard of 50 ohms

Due to the fact our main Ve6ryc repeater is both 70cm and 2m I really only need an antenna that suits these bands. Does anyone have any particular favorites?

Thanks in advance.

PS: HD if you see this post, I have yet to find a suitable NMO mount antenna for the base you gave me, any Idea if I could make my own? Perhaps one night soon you could show me what I would need / what I need to do. I plan on buying a separate mag mount or trunk mount for the new HAM radio I have too. But for now I have no scanning antenna on my truck.

EDIT:*** Found this antenna is it decent?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Comet-HT-55-VHF...5168886QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

I really like the Diamond RH701 it does the job for me.

 

[smason]

What part of town are you in? There are some dead spots, but you can hit RYC from almost anywhere.

I used to live in Beddington, and couldn't hear repeaters near broadcast hill because I was in the shadow of Nose Hill.

 

[Jay911]

Geez, I hit RYC all day from deep in Kananaskis last year on the Kananaskis Rally. It's pretty much impossible to lose the VHF repeater from within a hundred KM of the city.

I use pro radios for my hammy comms (MT2000/XTS3000 radios) instead of ham rigs, so I don't know what antennas would be good for you. The SRH77CA has always been a good SMA antenna for my BCD396T - not sure if it's intended for transmit though.

 

[SCPD]

So here is what I decided on

1'st here is the radio I bought.
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ht/0666.html

2'nd here is the aftermarket antenna I decided to go with. It is not cheep but the reviews were perfect.
http://www.universal-radio.com/CATALOG/hamantht/0454.html

3'rd The review for the antenna is here.
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4298

Now I just have to wait until I am licensed to broadcast it but at least I am all set up. Can't wait.

 

[SCPD]

A word to the wise the antenna I ordered from the states is going to end up costing me around 100$ after all is said and done. Shipping was outrageous and border fees are going to be about the same I am guessing.