Smiley Antenna Rocks!!

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Nasby

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Apr 4, 2004
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2,631
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Ohio
For the past ten yrs I've been looking for a rubber duckie antenna that will perform nearly as well as my Diamond RH77CA on the railroad bands. I've tried nearly every rubber ducke on the market but none could come close to the performace of the RH77CA. Last week I received a custom tuned (160 mhz) Smiley rubber duckie antenna that I had ordered.

First thing I did was compare it to the RH77CA. (I did not need to test it against my box full of rubber duckies which performed well below the RH77CA). With the RH77CA attached to my Yupiteru MVT-9000 I always receive five strong bars on the signal meter from a hotbox detector approximately 10 miles away. I always use the same hotbox detector to compare signal strength readings because it is consistent in power output, transmitter location, etc.

The Smiley antenna gave me a reading of four strong bars with the fifth bar flashing! None of my many other duckies ever got past three bars. A comparison with the NOAA weather radio sites gave similar results. While I cherish my RH77CA, I've found the Smiley antenna to be nearly as good. At less than 6 inches long, it offers carrying convenience that the RH77CA doesn't. The antenna is very well made in that the BNC fits perfectly on the scanner. It is neither too tight nor too loose. The antenna itself is very rugged and has a high quality rubber coating. The total price of the antenna was around $25.00.

I have no affiliation with this company but thought I would give the antenna a try. While the RH77CA remains king, I would highly recommend the Smiley antenna to anyone interested in a replacement antenna for monitoring the railroads. One additional note is that while the antenna I ordered was tuned for the 160 mhz band, it gives excellent performance in the 154-155 vhf-hi public safety frequencies as well.

Troy
 

N1BHH

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Joined
Mar 31, 2007
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1,845
Location
Jackson Square, East Weymouth, MA.
I have 3 sets of Smiley's for 2 meters, 220 and 440, and have enjoyed them a very long time. I bought them when they were sold in a package deal of the slim duck and the stubby duck. Been using them quite a lot. I was impressed with the ability to swap the antennas on the same base. I may be buying some more in the future.
 

FrankJ

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Joined
May 10, 2005
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Location
Euclid, Ohio
Yes, I bought a custom tuned duck for 260 Mhz from Smiley. I use it for MILSATS and it does a great job. I pick up all kinds of pirates on my PRO-43 in an upstair bedroom! Nice thing is they don't charge any more than their regular ducks. I also use a Diamond RH77CA as my main rubber duck.

Frank
 
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