JackRoberts23
Was Justin Schmidt
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2023
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- 290
Can a VHF antenna be used on a UHF radio? Will the signal be as good? Will it damage the radio?
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VHF antenna on UHF radio
- Thread starter JackRoberts23
- Start date
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Depends entirely on the antenna.
If it's a 1/4 wave VHF antenna, it'll act like a 3/4 wave on UHF. It will give nice low SWR, however the radiation pattern will send most of the UHF RF up above the horizon a bit.
I ran a 1/4 wave VHF antenna on a dual band radio for years. I didn't use UHF that often, but when I did, it wasn't an issue as I was surrounded by hills and sending a bit of that RF up high wasn't a bad thing.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Here's a sweep from a EM Wave VHF quarter wave antenna mounted on top of a pickup truck. The sweep shows the UHF band. Anything below 2:1 SWR (about 10% reflected power) is considered acceptable. The VHF quarter wave supplied that from 430MHz well up past 500MHz.
No, SWR isn't the only measurement you need to be concerned about, radiation pattern, as mentioned above, is critical also. But 2:1 or less SWR is -not- going to do any harm at all to the radio.
No, SWR isn't the only measurement you need to be concerned about, radiation pattern, as mentioned above, is critical also. But 2:1 or less SWR is -not- going to do any harm at all to the radio.
JackRoberts23
Was Justin Schmidt
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2023
- Messages
- 290
Thanks all
MTS2000des
5B2_BEE00 Czar
What he said. Just because the SWR is acceptable doesn't mean the antenna will work well.
ecps92
Member
Reception Only ? Likely will work - not the best, but will work
Transmission ? - use the right antenna for the right band
