1/4 wave....1/2 wave 2M
- Thread starter Flipper
- Start date
Member III
Normally you'll have a 1/4 wave or a 5/8 wave but the 1/2 or 5/8 wave will have higher gain which tends to have stronger signals at longer distances but they are longer and more likely to be damaged in dense brush. I run a cheap 1/4 wave that costs $12. If I wreck it, oh well. I've not had any issues making contacts.
Same here, I lost a few expensive antennas and went to cheaper ones. Funny thing, is I haven't lost one of them since.
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Member III
I go the other way but thanks to NMO I use two antennas. I use 1/4 for in town so my rig can clear the garage door. I use ANLI EX-270HD High Gain NMO DualBand VHF/UHF Mobile Ham Radio Antenna for out in the woods as it can take a beating. I carry the small 1/4 wave in the glove box in case I did kill the 5/8 one. I have killed one ANLI but that took three years. Antenna got hooked on a tree branch and it pulled it apart before I knew what was happening. The ANLI folds over and takes a good amount of abuse as mine is on the middle of my roof.
Point taken, that also crossed my mind, my mount is on a fiberglass roof with a ground strap going to the body. God only knows what type of pattern that configuration is producing.
Member III
Hard to say with certainty, but being a short wave-length, probably the same as a vertical dipole, using the ground wire you have as the other half of the antenna and basically isolating itself from the body ground, opting for the coax back to the radio instead. I'm not a physicist, so take my opinion for the very little it's worth, but that would be my thought on it. You might try just lifting the ground from the chassis end and see what you get SWR wise, might not change all that much.
I'll offer a full refund on this advice if I'm wrong though!
Member III
I run a 5/8 wave dual band diamond on my TJ off the back and a 1/2 wave dual band comet on the center of my roof on my FJ80 (dont remember part numbers). Both are base loaded and have a spring on top of the coil. The 5/8 antenna on the jeep needs a better ground plane and is somewhat directional towards the back. The half wave dosent require a ground plane and does very well on the center of my roof. I should switch the antennas because the half wave would be happier on the jeep. Ive played with the short 1/4 waves and i can get almost the same distance as the other two but the reception isnt as good. Most of my trips are desert. We can get a mile or more apart in the group due to dust. Ive found the longer the antenna the better the receive over the distance. The diamond on the Jeep is mounted as high as i can get it with the main coil just under the roll cage. Its smacked a number of branches (I do some mountain) and haven't managed to break it yet.
The one thing to consider is, your set up needs to work for what your doing and the antenna is the most important part.
Scott
The one thing to consider is, your set up needs to work for what your doing and the antenna is the most important part.
Scott
Member III
No...Really.... It followed me home. Can I keep it??
