The search for the great ANTENNA BALANCE

[Omega-TI]

Antennas do NOT have to be expensive to perform well.

The cost/benefit ratio is something many of us take into account because of retirement, radio not being a primary hobby, or just pain thrifty by nature. It follows that many of us are looking for the "best deal" we can find. We don't necessarily "need the best", but we don't want garbage either. Now there are a class of users here that do most of their scanning and/or monitoring between 25-1300Mhz. There are also true experts here who probably own one or more of these fine antennas. This is a shout out to you guys here for YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS.

Please let us know what you think of a specific antenna that you've used or currently own that you think is worthy. Oh yeah, if it's not too much to ask, please provide a link to a place to purchase your recommendation, sometimes the place one buys from is as important as the product itself.

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[mmckenna]

The humble 1/4 wave mobile antenna.

Some seem to think that the uglier an antenna is, the better it must work, or that high gain fixes all issues.
The basic 1/4 wave with wide useable bandwidth and durable design is hard to beat.

 

[trentbob]

It's true that antennas don't have to be expensive to work well but it's better to go more expensive if you want them to last longer.

In the long run it's better to get a good quality antenna for more money that will last you a long time and be very durable than it is having to keep buying cheap Chinese junk as it literally breaks apart.

Even if you're just a hobbyist, go with what the pros use, often you will find they DO work better.

 

[Omega-TI]

It's true that antennas don't have to be expensive to work well but it's better to go more expensive if you want them to last longer.

In the long run it's better to get a good quality antenna for more money that will last you a long time and be very durable than it is having to keep buying cheap Chinese junk as it literally breaks apart.

Even if you're just a hobbyist, go with what the pros use, often you will find they DO work better.

I dunno about you, but as an old man, I will not be around another 20 years, so I'm good with an antenna that will not last last 100 years with a price in the stratosphere. Then of course there is that additional HOA stuff I gotta deal with. Still, it beats moving grass every week, so the trade off is okay with me.

 

[trentbob]

I dunno about you, but as an old man, I will not be around another 20 years, so I'm good with an antenna that will not last last 100 years with a price in the stratosphere. Then of course there is that additional HOA stuff I gotta deal with. Still, it beats moving grass every week, so the trade off is okay with me.

Reminds me when Radio Shack was going out of business I went around and bought every Sputnik I could find in all the stores when they were having the 75% off sales. That's a ground plane that's a fairly good performer that I've been using since I started in radio, they were $5.95 in the sixties. Anyway, I ended up having to replace it just about every year, my area is always good for at least one powerful hurricane a season even though I would assemble it using Loctite I'd always come out in the morning after the hurricane and she was gone.😆

I picked up so many of them, thought they would last forever. When they break I just replaced them but I'm down to one left still in the shrink wrap, and I'm still going strong.

I guess a happy medium or a good balance in quality will work, you might hang around longer than you think.😉