Stubby UHF aftermarket antenna for Motorola handhelds

[sflmonitor]

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this antenna or has ever dealt with this company.

C05 Motorola UHF 406 512 Stubby Antenna Mototrbo Digital XPR6100 XPR6350 XPR6550 | eBay

I'm considering purchasing one for my UHF TRBO radio as it appears to be compact and the company claims great swr. But I wanted to get any feedback from anyone who has used it before I decide to buy it. Sometimes things are just too good to be true.

 

[rapidcharger]

Sometimes things are just too good to be true.

And this is clearly one of those things.

Don't believe the hype. A rubber ducky is less than ideal no matter what claims someone makes of it. Especially a super stubby. And for less than that price you can buy a real OEM designed for that radio, not a knockoff that looks like it came off an HT220. Custom cut... LOL. I got a custom cut right here for ya.

 

[kayn1n32008]

I'm considering purchasing one for my UHF TRBO radio as it appears to be compact and the company claims great swr. But I wanted to get any feedback from anyone who has used it before I decide to buy it. Sometimes things are just too good to be true.

Having tested a bunch of antennas for Jerry for the CS-700 DMR radio, I can tell you that what ever the SWR is claimed to be goes right out the window when you put that antenna on the portable. Using a test jig to replicate a hand held, I saw SWR of no less than 2.5:1. This is on an antenna that showed under 2:1 when on a 50cmx50cm ground plane. Out of 5 antennas some were well over 3.5:1 on the antenna jig, but were under 2.5:1 on a 50x50cm ground plane. This was all from antennas that were spec'd 400-470MHz.

Go OEM if you can, I had a non-OEM stubby UHF antenna that was more dummy load than antenna for a TK-380 portable.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[rapidcharger]

Some other things to think about is if you are concerned about performance, don't get a stubby.
Second of all, the OEM antennas for the XPR6xxx line are very rigid and don't get bent out of shape easily like UHF helical antennas on practically every other radio I've ever seen, if that's what you're worried about. I can stick my entire radio, antenna and all, into a coat hands pocket and walk around all day and put it out and it looks no worse for the wear.

 

[jim202]

Let's cut through all the bs and hype about portable antennas. Unless your right near the antenna for the radio system your trying to listen to or talk to, the stubby antenna is a very bad choice. Put a normal antenna on the radio and put up with the long rubber stick that it has.

As someone else mentioned, the stubby antennas are not much more than a dummy load for the radio. Range is very poor. You might even have problems with the radio when you transmit with the RF getting back into the electronics of the radio.

I see a number of public safety agencies trying to use the stubby antennas on their portables. In asking how well their radios work, it goes from not very good to it doesn't work much further than I can throw the radio.

So do as you please on which antenna you select. Your the one that has to use it and live with your decision.

 

[N4KVE]

That stubby is about as efficient as sticking a 50 ohm resistor in the antenna jack. If you want a less rigid antenna, use a flexible Jedi antenna.

 

[sflmonitor]

Thanks for the input folks. I appreciate the info. I have a couple of OEM antenna versions and they both work as designed. And I am aware of the tradeoff when you go with some aftermarket antennas, especially stubbies. Physics can't be changed, obviously. I've been a ham for many years and hold an Extra Class license and have dealt with many types of antennas. But I am really just looking for info on this particular antenna. I just wanted to know if anyone actually had a hands-on experience. I would be willing to trade off a bit of performance (compared to OEM antennas) for the reduction in size. Mind you, just a "bit".