I think I mentioned this antenna some time ago, but for you newer guys or people who live in areas with the Homeowners restrictions, this is a great antenna. It was the antenna I used for my base station when I had one. It is just over 1 foot tall, about 1 1/4" in diameter and is made of dark gray PVC with a cap on it. They have a single U type mount on them for a pipe.
The antenna is made by Sinclabs, a high end Mfg in Canada and costs only $19.95.
It comes with 30' of Belden RG58/U cable. It has 3 DB of gain which could as much as double the power that gets to the antenna. It looks like it was made to go with some kind of radio and is not an antenna sold just by itself, this would be why it's so low cost. It has a 450-480 MHz range.
First, they work fantastic. With a 25 watt radio and the antenna at about 40 feet, I could talk for many miles, anywhere within the valley I live in. I would not have replaced it with any other antenna, even though I can use any antenna I want where I live.
The first thing you do when you get it is to cut off all but one or two feet of the coax, it looses much to much signal. Put an "N" connector on the end of the cable and then run LMR 400 cable with an "N" fitting on the antenna end and whatever type of fitting your radio has on the other. Keep the coax run as short as possible and do ground the coax before it comes into the house.(Read about radio grounding on the American Radio Relay League | ARRL - The national association for AMATEUR RADIO site, there is more to it than one may think)
For those of you who do not know, the thin coax like the RG58 type have a lot of loss at UHF frequencies, it can cut the power of your radio in half or more depending on the length of the coax. The LMR 400 has far less loss than any other reasonably priced coax (LMR-400 is almost a dollar a foot, you can find it for a little less, but it's worth every cent). The "N" connectors also are made for UHF frequencies and works better than the regular UHF connector. I have no idea why they call a UHF connector a UHF connector when it does not work as well as it should at UHF frequencies.
The antenna is sold by RF Parts Home page 760-744-0500 for $19.95. It's part # SVU4500SP1 and is on page 184 of the catalog that I have.
It is easily hidden, you can paint it to match anything and because of the way it's made, you can even make it to look like it's part of something else. Not hidden and put as high in the air as you can, you will be hard pressed to find a antenna that will transmit a whole lot further. It would be a great repeater antenna for a place on a mountain where there is lots of wind, snow, ice, heat, you name it, it won't get blown over or ruined like most antennas. The repeater site on our mountain has eaten every antenna tried except this one and some very expensive loop dipole antennas, the wind and ice are very bad there.
For the price, there is no better antenna and it will about double the power that reaches the antenna. If 50 watts reaches the end of the coax that attaches to the antenna, it will radiate as if it was a 100 watt radio with this antenna, just a rough explanation of what the 3 DB of gain will do, there are other factors that are too much to go into here (for you experts, don't jump me, it could be less than double, but then again it could be, in any case, it does increase the radiated signal).
Buy one or two while they are still available, you will not be sorry and they are sure a money saver.
73's John
The antenna is made by Sinclabs, a high end Mfg in Canada and costs only $19.95.
It comes with 30' of Belden RG58/U cable. It has 3 DB of gain which could as much as double the power that gets to the antenna. It looks like it was made to go with some kind of radio and is not an antenna sold just by itself, this would be why it's so low cost. It has a 450-480 MHz range.
First, they work fantastic. With a 25 watt radio and the antenna at about 40 feet, I could talk for many miles, anywhere within the valley I live in. I would not have replaced it with any other antenna, even though I can use any antenna I want where I live.
The first thing you do when you get it is to cut off all but one or two feet of the coax, it looses much to much signal. Put an "N" connector on the end of the cable and then run LMR 400 cable with an "N" fitting on the antenna end and whatever type of fitting your radio has on the other. Keep the coax run as short as possible and do ground the coax before it comes into the house.(Read about radio grounding on the American Radio Relay League | ARRL - The national association for AMATEUR RADIO site, there is more to it than one may think)
For those of you who do not know, the thin coax like the RG58 type have a lot of loss at UHF frequencies, it can cut the power of your radio in half or more depending on the length of the coax. The LMR 400 has far less loss than any other reasonably priced coax (LMR-400 is almost a dollar a foot, you can find it for a little less, but it's worth every cent). The "N" connectors also are made for UHF frequencies and works better than the regular UHF connector. I have no idea why they call a UHF connector a UHF connector when it does not work as well as it should at UHF frequencies.
The antenna is sold by RF Parts Home page 760-744-0500 for $19.95. It's part # SVU4500SP1 and is on page 184 of the catalog that I have.
It is easily hidden, you can paint it to match anything and because of the way it's made, you can even make it to look like it's part of something else. Not hidden and put as high in the air as you can, you will be hard pressed to find a antenna that will transmit a whole lot further. It would be a great repeater antenna for a place on a mountain where there is lots of wind, snow, ice, heat, you name it, it won't get blown over or ruined like most antennas. The repeater site on our mountain has eaten every antenna tried except this one and some very expensive loop dipole antennas, the wind and ice are very bad there.
For the price, there is no better antenna and it will about double the power that reaches the antenna. If 50 watts reaches the end of the coax that attaches to the antenna, it will radiate as if it was a 100 watt radio with this antenna, just a rough explanation of what the 3 DB of gain will do, there are other factors that are too much to go into here (for you experts, don't jump me, it could be less than double, but then again it could be, in any case, it does increase the radiated signal).
Buy one or two while they are still available, you will not be sorry and they are sure a money saver.
73's John
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