Sunday, April 24, 2011

Shootout in the Lake District

How's that for a sensational headline? Second runner-up, was "size matters."

The story in question is actually about a comparison of various antennas for the 2 meter band. The author lives in Cumbria, the Lake District in the UK. (My in-laws lived there and I managed to visit once. It is a very beautiful place.)

What I found most interesting is how poorly some of the antennas performed. You never want an "upgrade" that moves you in the wrong direction. G4ILO says the telescoping antennas are inexpensive. Sounds like they'd be worth having around for a doubling of effective power and their convenient form factor. It is amazing how the last three antennas can really make a huge difference in your performance. Hams always talk about investing in antennas over everything else and this really drives that lesson home.

Here is a summary... measurements are relative to the stock antenna and I've done some rounding.

- 2in. 144MHz stubby ................................................................. -5dB
- A-137 dual band stubby ............................................................ -5dB
- 2m Stubby Duck from Smiley Antenna ................................... -2dB
- 6in. 2m helical antenna (from a TH-205E HT) ......................... -1dB
- Nagoya NA-701 dual band BNC antenna ................................... +0dB
- 8in. 2m helical antenna ............................................................ +0dB
- Standard Yaesu VX-8GR antenna ............................................. +0dB
- Yaesu FT-817ND standard antenna ........................................ +1dB
- A quarter wave telescopic BNC whip (19in) .............................. +3dB
- Nagoya NA-767 (38in) ............................................................ +9dB
- Sharman RH-770 dual band antenna (Diamond RH-770 clone) ..... +10dB
- 45.5inch Black Whip (5/8 wave single band) .............................. +11dB

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