2 Meter Antenna Recommendations

[jkholmes]

Sorry if this was posted in the wrong place, but I'm looking for good antenna recommendations. I've got a radio mast (about 25-30ft tall) behind the house that is on a slight hill and I'm wanting to put my HAM antenna on that. Both the wife and I have our tech license, and we're going to get a decent used base station to hook it up to, but I want to get the antenna and coax run first before we get the base station.

Any recommendations? Thanks!

Side note: both of us are fairly new to this, so go easy please! haha

 

[radar8756]

Sorry if this was posted in the wrong place, but I'm looking for good antenna recommendations. I've got a radio mast (about 25-30ft tall) behind the house that is on a slight hill and I'm wanting to put my HAM antenna on that. Both the wife and I have our tech license, and we're going to get a decent used base station to hook it up to, but I want to get the antenna and coax run first before we get the base station.

Any recommendations? Thanks!

Side note: both of us are fairly new to this, so go easy please! haha

Check Wind Loading to make sure you Mast can handle it

Antenna Wind Loading

 

[jkholmes]

Not sure how to do that really, but I know the previous owners had antennas on the radio mast before we moved in. It is set into a pretty serious concrete base. I wasn't planning on putting anything huge on it, just something that I can reach out a bit more than our mobile antennas.

 

[radar8756]

It changes based on the Antenna Size and Weather factors- 2" of Ice on a 20' antenna will put more stress due to Wind

Which is why big Dish Antenna's have Fiberglass Domes

A 2" diameter pipe bends easier than a 3 sided Tower

 

[jkholmes]

The radio mast I've got in the back yard is a 3 sided tower (alot like the one in the picture you attached. Just with no antennas on it (obviously).

Side note, I was kind of looking at antenna like this one:

Diamond Antenna X50A Base Antenna 2m/70cm UHF 6ft

Base antenna, 2m/70cm, UHF, 6ft

www.gigaparts.com

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Jump on gigaparts and get a full wave Omni antenna. Any of theirs will do. Just pick the price you're comfortable with.


With an omni wind loading shouldn't be an issue.

welcome to ham radio
73

 

[spankys56]

I don't have a license I just listen. I run a copper J pole antenna in my attic. Weather conditions affect it as with all setups, if you put one up on that pole it will probably work pretty good. Just depends if you catch a good signal off a repeater. You hear people from California and beyond. Guy makes and sells them on ebay. I have a old Kenwood ts-700A, neat old unit.

 

[jkholmes]

Jump on gigaparts and get a full wave Omni antenna. Any of theirs will do. Just pick the price you're comfortable with.


With an omni wind loading shouldn't be an issue.

welcome to ham radio
73

Thanks!

Looks like there was only one antenna listed, which was:

Hustler G7-220 Vertical 220MHz Omni Directional Antenna

220 MHz. Vertical G7-220 Omni Directional

www.gigaparts.com

It doesn't specifically mention 2 meter / 70cm, I assume this is ok for it?

 

[radar8756]

2 Meter amateur band is 144-148MHz
70 cm ITU amateur band is 430 to 440 MHz
70 cm in United States is 420 to 450 MHz.

 

[Gaffer]

Thanks!

Looks like there was only one antenna listed, which was:

Hustler G7-220 Vertical 220MHz Omni Directional Antenna

220 MHz. Vertical G7-220 Omni Directional

www.gigaparts.com

It doesn't specifically mention 2 meter / 70cm, I assume this is ok for it?

The g7-220 is for 1.25 meter.

This is the one for 2 meter:

https://www.gigaparts.com/hustler-g...MIstKjrLrt-gIVFpXICh2aSQXfEAQYAyABEgJoPfD_BwE

Ron

 

[Cameramonkey]

I love my diamond. You wont be disappointed with this model.

The radio mast I've got in the back yard is a 3 sided tower (alot like the one in the picture you attached. Just with no antennas on it (obviously).

Side note, I was kind of looking at antenna like this one:

Diamond Antenna X50A Base Antenna 2m/70cm UHF 6ft

Base antenna, 2m/70cm, UHF, 6ft

www.gigaparts.com

 

[CWMC]

Opek antenna's

 

[Cameramonkey]

.

Your post was an excellent. Why deleted?


I'll second it. check out https://www.dxengineering.com/ . excellent prices. FAST shipping to IN (They are in central OH) And usually their prices are cheaper than Amazon and other non ham specific sellers.

 

[hoglegs]

I'll also add make sure to use lmr400 coax at a minimum, especially if you plan on running a dual band 2m/70cm omni. Heres an eye opening experiment: tx with a short coax jumper into a decent wattmeter on 449mhz, note the wattage, then do the same down a 100' piece of "good" coax. When you realize that over half your signal burned up just getting to the antenna, you'll start thinking of lmr600 or heliax real quick lol. (I used LDF4.5) But up to 100' I think lmr400 is "ok" on 70cm & fine for 2m. Food for thought

 

[Bugzilla]

 

[laf]

I have a comet GP3 up about 15' over the ground. It gets out good enough to hit every repeater I'd like to work without issues. Fed with RG8u, about 50 feet long, and into a lightning arrester, then a bulkhead into the shack. LMR 400 is good, its much harder to work with than RG8u, you're wasting your money with LMR 600 for this. You won't notice the power loss unless you're working moonbounce. If you're just talking on local repeaters you're fine with 8u or 400. Don't go cheaper with 58 or 8x. Wind load on the verticals that size is negligible. Don't forget to use silicone tape to seal up the connections to keep water out. Water will destroy your expensive coax faster than UV light.

Make sure your tower is grounded properly as well. Much bigger target to hit than an antenna.

 

[Paul30]

I found that Harbor Freight has a 25 foot teloscopic flagpole that makes a nice mobile antenna mast for a camp sight or remote site. I have a flag pole holder that fits in my reciever hitch but I have also seen some that you park your tires over to hold it in place. It does make a difference getting the antenna up in the air a bit. I also used it for a temporary inverted V wire antenna for HF and picked up Germany when testing it. I found a bolt at Lowes that fit the threads of the bolt hole under the ball (I believe it was 12mm ) and drilled a hole in a short board to screw my center antenna board. Then staked the wires 50 feet out on both sides with the center up 25 feet. I have family that uses this same flagpole for a permanent mounted American Flag. It came with a sleeve you can concrete in the ground and just drop the pole inside it. I clamped a 2 meter / 70 cm antenna on the top segment and it got out nice. It is an omni directional fiberglass antenna so not much wind load compared to a yagi etc. There are nicer telescopic flag poles out there, Harbor Freight was a cheap option for me at the time.

20 Ft. Telescoping Flag Pole Kit

Amazing deals on this 20Ft Telescoping Flag Pole at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[DolomiteDave]

In my experiments and experience , I have found that on 2M Height matters way more than anything else. Been to several Rally events in the midwest using 5 watt Baofengs with nothing but a cable to connect the radio to the stock antenna, but having it 100 feet higher gets them all the range they need, several miles for the entire stage of the event.