That's funny...on your first stop at 2500/3600, my house is in the background on your video. :)

If you have a ht on your belt with signal stick antenna you get +5 to nerding. Facts lol

For those who insist on sticking your antennas on an analyzer (not a bad thing, but also not the *only* thing; practical testing is obviously useful), don't forget that with an HT, unlike with standalone antennas, your body is often part of the antenna system. What you see when measuring SWR, Q, Z, etc. isolated on the bench may not be quite what is happening in actual operation with the radio held in your hand.

Thanks for taking the time to do real world testing! "How it works in the field" results are the ultimate info we're all after! Also, great job on keeping it short and sweet, while providing all the data one could want (PIP of the shack was awesome!)

Well done video. Short, sweet and to the point. I also appreciate your conclusion at the end with no equivocating, just your honest opinion. Keep up the good work.

I have several signal sticks. They work great, best antennas I've got! Great Video! Thanks!

Thanks for the testing. I agree with you 100% that lab tests are not the only answer. Real world testing like this is how to determine what works best for you.

I've owned a Signal Stick for some time now and have found it to be a fantastic antenna. I've ordered two more for a couple of cheap BaoFengs that I own. Will use those while riding motorcycles on the trails. Great video, Sir.

I'm going buy and try one of those signal sticks. Thank you for your time with this video I appreciate it.

Gotta say, I was impressed with the Signal Stick. I appreciate your comment about the geek factor of +15. :) Superb demonstration, Bob. Thanks for sharing this!

Thanks for the real world results and not just numbers made to fluff a product!

Excellent program Bob thank you for sharing it very very 👍

I use the Diamond SRH77CA on my ft60 it works great, good video by the way.

Hi Bob Good to see you making videos again. You needed the flats of Sothern Idaho for your testing. You could not have done your test in the hills of Penryn. The blocks being one mile in length is due to the great land grab that split the western land into townships with sections with each section being one square mile. The testing in real world conditions is just about the only way. Good luck to you!

Thank you very much for the video and setting me straight with my ham radio handheld

Great video. In my looking into antennas, a Comet does do better than a signal stick. I use comets on most of my handhelds. I do have an Icom IC V86 which I do have a Comet, MFJ 1714 half wave and a Diamond RH205 5/8 wave. The Diamond and the MFJ do an excellent job on the Icom. I also like the fact that Icom has a bnc connector.

Good video... Thx. I received my S-Stick a few days ago.

You make some really good points. Handhelds have little range. However, as your conversation about being in an airplane notes, if you have an antenna high up then you can talk long distances. In my area we have a booming repeater that is up about 2500 ft elevation, and you can talk to it with a handheld from 30 miles or so line of sight and it works great (its gmrs but same general idea). What's important is knowing what your radios limits are and working within those and if able, change the conditions, like getting some elevation.

Thank you I have one of the tacticool bending antennas and was looking into a signal stick for my 878

Great video, great testing. Youdaman Bob!

Fine! You sold me, I will be getting the glow in the dark model as soon as my SS check comes. Yes I’m old and on a fixed income. Thanks again!

Ha "GEEK FACTOR" is not a stranger to ham radio guys. Very strong work on the video.

Thank you for all the information

That Super Elastic Signal Stick is my go to antenna for my HTs. Unless I’m testing different stuff in the sky, that is the antenna that is attached to my HT.

Great comparisons.

Awesome video. I agree, the scientific bathtub is fun to bath in but the field is where it happens. Cheers!

Thanks for the real world testing.

Great info Bob…thanks

Good info, just what I needed to know! 🍺👍🤓

Good info... been considering one of those Signal Sticks, just not 100% keen on 18" flopping around my backpack.

exalant video I'm always after better reception

Well done!

Great video, thanks! N2SCD

Glad you touched on different environments, you need some shorties with different propagation patterns if you are in hilly terrain

An analyzer is crucial for designing, tuning, and trimming antennas. For pre-built plug-and-play antennas, the real world use is the only test appropriate for comparison. 🎉

"Probably here me now. You know why you can hear me? Because I'm on the mobile in the Jeep" For some reason this really made me crack up!

Hey Bob really Happy New Year to 👍u

Under 2 miles I've never noticed a difference with stock vs aftermarket. However lately at my local ski area, I'm using one of my ham radios to work with our mountain frequencies while on snow. The stock antenna on the Ailunce will not hit the broadside of a barn.

Great info. Looking forward to your video using an Elecraft KPX 100 with your IC 705. All the correct cables and settings on the radio and amp.

I have Signal Sticks on my FT5D and my FT70D. I receive distant signals clearly with the Signal Sticks that my stock antenna does not recognize at all. I'll have to purchase a Nagoya for my kit. Thanks for sharing! N7UGA

Thanks!

Actual Scientist - (yes sir!) - Great field work - thank you. It should be noted that there are many Diamond NH-771 knock-offs/counterfeit antennas on the 'market' Very similar to the Nagoya whip), I know, I bought one. It specs out perfectly on 70cm, but on 2 meters it's way above 3:1 - so if you buy one, get it from a a reputable dealer. Leave nanoVNA Aloooone! (lol) -it's at best 'ballparking' it to use nanoVNA on a whip/ducky because of human counterpoise or adding a radial wire on an alligator clip, but better than nothing. It was good to find out I had lousy SWR on 2 meters.

Ahhhh just in time. My FT5D arrived last week. So I know what antenna to get! cheers mate 73 VK6MMB ps Height is Might....I have made 2 contacts on 2m whilst on a local SOTA peak. I hit VK6RMJ from Mt Frankland with my VX6R...about 80Km roughly 50Mi and VK6RAA which is about the same give or take a few km.

thank you bob.

Very cool test, digital is clear, but drops off suddenly, analog will go further, but won't be as clear inside digital range as a digital signal.

I just bought a signal stick, Just before I got my license, I also used the program that they promote to get my technician license, The radio I use the signal stick on is on is both on my FT70A70 and my FT 5D Both the AC radios I just love they are great little handheld radios, I am looking for a tribander with with 220 or a quad with 220 there are several people in the area that have that band I am in a small apartment and cannot put up any intendance so I will have to get a magnet for my fridge, And/or something for the corner of my room if that will not work

Good testing. I'd like to see it done again with a counterpoise if you can be bothered, I have heard it makes a big difference in dx.

👏👏👏 Thank you

I bought Signal Sticks for all of my HTs.

The 4-mile issue may have more to do with the curvature of the Earth than the quality or performance of the antenna. The line-of-sight ability of handheld antennas is incredible. If you don't need to be contacted, you can tie the Signal.Stick up like a pretzel and carry it all day. But you won't be able to receive. I would have liked for you to step up on your bumper or something to get a little elevation. Randy, at NotARubicon was able to go ten miles on ten watts when one radio was on the second floor of his favorite cheeseburger joint. Came in loud and clear! The formal testing ended at 6.1 miles and the was using the stock Retevis RT-29 antenna with said radio. So I don't think we're talking distance as the chief factor. It also matters whether you're transmitting on VHF or UHF. If your home base antenna is on top of your house and your point of transmission is high enough to establish line of sight, you might have a good chance to be heard. If you used a 9W radio like a Baofeng BF-H6 or a 13/14W radtel RT-470, it may or may not help. The sheer height of the Signal.Stick may have been a factor in your reaching home base, not the quality of the antenna. I don't know.

So basically, the bigger antenna the better the range. It's good to see an actual demonstration. It makes sense when you consider the Signal Stick is basically a full quarter wave and the others are basically compromised shorter versions. How about a retest with the same antennas and adding the QuirkyQRP Ziptenna counterpoise? IIRC the signal stick glows in the dark. That could be good or bad ...

One antenna I've had good luck with is the Retevis RHD-771. There's a cheaper Retevis whip antenna that's trash, but the RHD-771 is my favorite whip antenna. I also love the Nagoya 24J, but (like the Signal Stick) you have to wait for it to stop flopping around. I'd love to see you repeat this test with a number of whip antennas four miles away, including one of those ridiculously long Abbree antennas (do you have one?). Also, instead of standing _by_ your truck, how about standing _on_ it? Maybe on the part over the engine or even just the running board. Don't know if you could stand on other parts, but that would add consistency. Retevis has an HT that actually hits 10W and HYS has a 25W HT, but I wouldn't want that antenna anywhere near my head when the [PTT] was pushed! HT antennas are a hot topic and a lot of users want to know, hype aside, which is better, the Diamond Signal Stick or the Nagoya 24J? A few years back, a man, his wife and two small children were trapped in their car in a snowbank on a logging road. They tried their phone, but they couldn't connect. Their family reported them missing and a helicopter was dispatched to locate them, but they were too far off the route they were supposed to have taken. The father took off on foot and died many miles away. The helicopter pilot followed his tracks back to the car and the man's family was rescued. Had they used a predetermined emergency frequency on a lowly Baofeng UV5R, they all might have been rescued. So one wonders, which antenna would be best suited for such emergencies, and which would be best for SHTF situations?

K6UDA always enjoy watching your videos HT Antennas are really cool to use! Merry Christmas and 73 KC9QVE Marion,Indiana

Range with a HT, also needs good LOS to the target radio, plus an unobstructed path. I.E. No buildings, or hills. I don't think tree's make a huge difference. So if you have good LOS,and a clear path to your receiving radio, and are on a hill top, you can send a signal a lot further. I use Signal Sticks on my HT's when I need to keep the radio in my pocket. But, if I really need to get a signal out. I use the 18.8 inch Abbree antenna. A very very good antenna, that I've been using for 4 or 5 years. Oh, the radio I use is the TYT UV8000D. Not sure if it affected your test, but at 4 miles, you where under or very near to power lines. And at four miles I have no doubt in my mind, that my Abbree antenna would have worked well.

fantastic review my friend thanks 73 from kb2uew

Nice video.

& quite interesting re the Signal Stick🤔

I've made contacts ten miles using an Ed Fong roll-up j-poll that I tacked to the ceiling of my second-floor office.

How near to a repeater do you have to be to use an HT with a stock antenna? I’m thinking of ordering an ICOM ID-52, and wondering if I need to upgrade the stock antenna.

I had a 10 miles simplex contact on 2m using ft5d. I was on third floor balcony.

Same test w/tiger tails ? Excellent vid

I use that 701 Antenna from Nagoya for my EDC. There is a bit better version from Diamond SRH701A that is a lot stiffer so its a bit harder to carry around as an EDC. You didn't test the receive aspects of the HT Antenna's which would be really interesting to see a difference if any. To test my antenna's receive I just turn on a distant weather station and see which one I hear better. Either of the 701 variants seem to be do better than the stock antenna's. The Signal Sticks that I have blow them all away, but yeah, way to long to carry EDC. Good to have incase to you need to reach out in an emergency or for SOTA.

If you get your antenna at home to 100' you will get some decent range LOL I sit 75' higher than surrounding terrain plus my dual band antenna is 30' up. I have one of the generic 17' antennas, gets used 99.99% on 2m which is where they really work well. Range to a handheld is about 10 miles, I easily cover my small town which is where the coverage is needed. Range to repeaters is 100+ miles for the tall repeaters.

Great video on the ht antennae, have you tried the Abrbree sma-male dual band 144/430 foldable tactical antenna? 73 W2DWL

Thanx for great info & 73 de WA4ELW in TN! 🇺🇸 dit dit 😃

real time use beats numbers anytime I talk to people through radios, not numbers on a piece of paper

We all know that Nagoya and Diamond antennas perform well. My big question is, what about these Tidradio, Abbree, Retevis and no-name antennas (five for $20) from Amazon? I've been _extremely_ impressed with the Retevis RHD-771 antennas (male/female), and many radios are being sold with no-name whip antennas. I've also been impressed with the 5-inch stock antennas. The whip antennas for the most part are 10W, but the aforementioned Retevis RHD-771s are 20W and are made from a thicker guage/stock. It's one thing to test antennas with known names and reputations like Nagoya and Diamond. They have, many of them, price tags of $22-$35. Many of us have more refined budgets that make the inexpensive antennas like the Abbree much more...attractive. I'd like to see you put some of these to the test. Not just the high-priced spread. Also, antennas that do well with VHF quite often fall on their faces with UHF. Thus, are there any true dual-band antennas?

It's all about location. If you're in the middle of a forest you're not going to get much distance, 1 mile if you're lucky. But be at a slight elevation with line of sight to the receiver, and you will get 10 to 20 miles. Be on top of a hill or mountain and you will get 50 miles

Bob, please share your thoughts on my wrangler setup. I’m running my FT-5 connected to a Mirage uhf/vhf amplifier which puts out 45 watts on vhf and 35 watts on uhf connected to a 770 on a k400 mount. Should I bite the bullet and order another ft400 or 300 or keep running the ht on my amp. 73 K9PAL

Great video K6UDA. I have a ft5dr on the was and need to watch a few test to see which antenna is best for road trips . Thanks again Subbed

Interesting test, but I would like to see it done standing further from your vehicle. I would bet there was some signal reflection/ absorption by standing so close.

Everybody says toss the rubber duck, that might be true with those cheep HTs, but yeasu seems to have an actual working usable antenna. KK7KLD Roger From Utah

Would like to see a UHF test. I have the Anytone 878+.

I see the power lines at the 4 mile mark. Could this have effected the results? Thanks for the video

I was thinking you were going to use a field strength meter. And test the antennas that way

Notification Bob how about testing Sickle stick against the Nagoya long version see which one does better

I wonder how the Nagoya 771 of the same length as that signal stick would compare.

At 4 miles I noticed power lines appeared to be nearly overhead. May have just been the camera angle. Likely minimum effect. Would a counterpoise make much difference?

Maybe run an SWR test to see it's sweet spot, I know I will when I get mine just because..

Put it on a nano vna, and truly test the swr, multiple antennas same exact thing will show different results, every antenna is different, test them on your own you will see Of course a longer antenna is most likely better

Have you tried a Rat Tail with your HT antennas? I have noticed a difference where they work when the stock without the Rat Tail does not work.

I invite anyone to put a VNA on one of these antennas. From the worst to the best they will be high one minute and good the next. I have a little watt/swr meter that is inline and connects directly to my antenna. I can get a general reading and that is enough. Then it goes to the field and we see real world applications and results!

Now add a tiger tail to that signal stick. I get 2s units increase added to my signal stick.

Up to 10 miles is possible, with a bigger antenna, and good LOS. And a radio like the TYT UV8000D, which is a ten watt radio, on one frequency.

I like the Signal Stick, IT'S JUST TOO D@%ED LONG! Never been impressed with the Nagoya. One thing i learned with commercial radios, never understate the stock antenna. More true on higher end radios. I had an 800 MHz radio when I was working. I had the short (about 2 inches) antenna, and it did very well. Yes I know, that was a "repeater" but I could go out the coverage area and it still worked. When I travel, I always take different antennas, and see what works well......and limit the "GEEK Factor" LOL

So which brand is the stock antenna so we can buy one?

Signal Stick + counter poise = BLISS

I like your Antenna test special with Antennas for HT's, but you really can't compare the signal stick with a 8 inch antenna. they are two different pair of shoes. I work a lot with HT's and therefore I gained a lot of experienc with HT Antennas. Because the limitations of The HT, it is very important to use the right antenna. I had to smile when I saw you using the Nagoya NA 701, because this antenna turns out to be one of the best antennas that type and length. I receive repeaters I can't reach with the stock antenna, it also beats the Diamond 701 . But one must make shure to get only the ORIGINAL Nagoya, since there are so many fake ones on the market , that are no good, wasted Money. The signal stick is for schure a very good antenna, when every other fail but not so good for always on, day to day. I like your videos, because they are realistic and no theory , greetings from a german subscriber

Maybe it's just me....but I would think you would not want to be near your vehicle, while making these type tests ? Seems having as clear a 360, as possible would be most fair ! As having anything metallic in close proximity, may effect the signal, good or bad ! I purchased a Signal Stick several months ago, and it seems to work very well ! Too, I wonder at your test distances, if attaching a counter poise to the radio, would benefit ? Something like the old Tiger Tails ? It may prove interesting to see these antennas with and without a counter poise ?

I'm a bit confused now because I just watched a video where a guy with a Radioddity GA-510 and a Diamond antenna reached a repeater 18 miles away and it was pretty clear.

oooowww what he said thanks anyways bud good test

I would add KNOW YOUR VENDOR. My original Kenwood needed replacement. I got one from Kenwood. I also have an old (Comet?) Like the Signalstick. No good, it causes picketfencing as it wiggles. One Nagoya is genuine, one is counterfeit. Surprisingly the counterfeit Nagoya outperforms the real Kenwood and the real Nagoya. So KNOW YOUR VENDOR. There's a lot of counterfeit out there, the question is how well it will hold up in 10 years, as well as how it works now. And only buy from vendors that take free returns!

👌

Hello What is the best antenna for VHF?

70 cuda cool

On Digital "Notice all the noise has been removed and I have been replaced by a robot"

Deffki zachotnye!

Did you know Ken Cluer? He lived in Twin, passed in 2003

Have you ever tested the Comet SMA503J?

Put a counterpoise on the signal stick and you will really be surprised by it's performance.