(Part 2) Best radio antennas according to redditors

I haven't TXed with it because I dont have my license yet, but the RX is pretty good. I've been listening to my local nets every night and seem to have decent pickup.

Based on the reviews it's a pretty good antenna. A few minor things, but for $20...

ABBREE 42.5" Dual Band 144/430Mhz Foldable CS Tactical Antenna

The handset is working out so far as well. Good build quality.

WishRing Z117 H-250 PTT Handset Handheld Microphone

I used this file for the PTT/Volume cover

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2172755

I made a few modifications to fit my usage. M3 screws because I couldn't find m2.5, had to drill out the belt clip ever so slightly, and I wound up cutting off the mic wing because it interferes with my particular mic plug and it mostly blocks the charge port kn the extended battery.

I'm gonna tool around with this a bit and remix it to eliminate the wing and enlarge the screw holes.

Edit: biggest issue I'm having is that the connector between the whip and the induction coil tends to work itself loose. It's the work of a moment to fix it, but it keeps doing it. I hit it with some electrical tape to prevent that.

C5 is the feedback to make Q2 oscillate. Q2 is a grounded base amplifier. C3 is the RF ground, but allows the relatively low frequency audio to get through to the base. So the feedback of C5 is in phase and the amplifier becomes an oscillator. I had built this circuit in high school. It FM's, because the audio swings the base bias on Q2. The junction capacitance is a function of the bias. That capacitance is part of the tuned oscillator circuit. So audio swinging it FM's the frequency. Q1 is just an amplifier, When I built this circuit I used a darlington transistor as Q1 and a piezoelectric microphone.

Edit: You can still buy the darlington transistor.
I used this transistor for Q2.

A better antenna is to add about two loops of wire as a secondary to L1 and connect that to a folded dipole made from TV twin lead. Here's a ready made one. That way you can locate the antenna a distance away from the transmitter proper. Like up on a pole.

>...would like to get crunk with some tunes at night...

How backwoods are we talking about? You can go a little crazy with yagi or even rhombic antennas to receive FM radios, but you really need to know what station you want to hear and what direction it's coming from. You're going to need line of sight in most cases unless the FM signal is really strong.

>...followed by the news in the morning...

Now if you wanted news at night, you would probably be in luck. It's nearly forgotten in this day and age by most people, but at night, AM signals can travel half the country. The atmosphere and the ground work together to act as a kind of wave guide, and also many local AM stations reduce power to almost nothing so select stations can be heard. If you're anywhere on the east part of the lower 48, you will probably be able to tune in WFAN (660 kHz), WLW (700 kHz) and so on after the sun goes down.

As for radios, in the old days the champ was called the "GE Superadio II" but nowadays you'll probably want something with a Silicon Lab's chip in it. I have the RadioShack 12-586 in my kit. Here is an old review. The Tecsun Radio PL-380 is another popular low-cost model, and you'll get shortwave bands too.

For AM reception, a tunable loop antenna can really help bring in the local stations. Search: AM DX loop for DIY plans, or you can just buy something.

Looks much better than OEM, but I prefer the shaved look. I shaved mine off and it looks way better. I got one of these and its not perfect, but I dont listen to much radio anyways.

You can use a wire that is 1/4 the wave length of the frequency you are transmiting. Or you can use one of those t shapped antennas that come with home stereos that are about 6feet wide. Axis PET 10-8110 Fm Dipole Antenna https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EIOQBM/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_XBq.ub0KJ40Z3

If you don’t mind me asking, could you recommend the proper cabling for this antenna going to the SDR and to the Baofeng handset? My HT is the BF-F9V2+. Both the SDR and HT have the sma connections. The antenna description states UHF female (SO-239) connector.


Tram 1411 Broad Band Discone/Scanner Base Antenna https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QVNI1V0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_2lf1DbB3WCN8G

Longer is not always better. Or legal in this case. You (probably) need a license first. FRS are certainly not legally modifiable, but GMRS antennas are but it's not usable without a GMRS license.

That didn't stop me as a kid. I thought longer was better. Turns out that broke the RF power amp.

What you want is something that is designed for the frequency, usually a quarter wave (or about 16 cm). You can cheaply buy such antennas. Use search terms like "UHF antenna" "Land mobile" "450 470 MHz". For example. Trim that, stick it on a cookie sheet, and toss it on the roof.

You'll need a proper adapter as well.

But it's probably not legal. I'm not a lawyer though.

Yes. Been using mine with this antenna so I don't have to have earphones in.

uxcell Telescopic 4 Section 3.5mm Male Stereo Connector FM Radio Antenna 25cm 2pcs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W8Z38WM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_7ceYzbVJ5NBFB

Couple things that other comments seem to miss:

• The capacitors are probably fine, but if you really wanted to change them out, it's usually not that much of a process, but will be intimidating if you're not used to working with electronics.
  
  
• The MB (see /u/Australiapithecus comment) was intended to for police/fire/aircraft marine use, but you're not likely going to hear anything there in the US, these days, outside of pager systems. I haven't had much success with it myself, even being surrounded by the Great Lakes.
  
  
• Your physical location is going to dictate what you can hear far more than the radio ever will. If you are not in an area where propagation is reasonable, or you are far from broadcasters in general, a radio with access to all the bands isn't going to mean spit. In the US, especially in the Northeast, we're a tough audience for shortwave, and not much reaches us these days with any real clarity save for Radio Havanna and a few other stations that rebroadcast from within the US, and even they tend to get buried under the fire-and-brimstone preachers who take to the airwaves.
  
  
• Despite all that, you might still do well with a wire antenna and a clip adapter, sold fairly cheaply on Amazon. The clip will clasp on the end of your telescopic antenna, and you can unwind the wire and string it up as best you can to try and grab a bit more.
  
  
• I am not super familiar with that model radio, but the big inner knob (VFO, or variable frequency oscillator) is your main tuning knob, and the outer ring on the knob will be for fine tuning. You're going to want to get used to how both of those feel, especially the teeny tiny corrections the outer ring will allow.
  
  None of this, of course, is meant to be discouraging, but as a radio fan located in the Midwest US, it's a definite challenge and a test of patience to really get anything worth listening to. I just want you to have a realistic expectation, instead of another "listen to my favorite frequency!" reply, since i find those to be the least helpful thing here on /r/shortwave . Location is always most important, with the radio being a very close second, when it comes to what you can actually do with the shortwave hobby.

Looks like one of [these](https://www.amazon.com/weBoost-4G-OTR-Cellular-Antenna-Truck/dp/B01FUF1JAY/ref=asc_df_B01FUF1JAY/?, meant for trucks

I have no idea about the receiver but here is something you can do. Are you able to hook up speakers to the receiver? What you can do is run to Radio Shack or an audio store and buy an fm wire antenna. It will look something like this and cost $8 or so. http://www.amazon.com/Axis-PET-10-8110-Dipole-Antenna/dp/B000EIOQBM/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1427074162&sr=1-2&keywords=fm+antenna

This will allow you to pick of FM stations and listen to the radio. That way you can see if it works without having your TT. I am waiting for my AT-LP120 and that is what I did. Also that bar type thing that is sitting on top of your machine may be an AM antenna (could be wrong).

How about a big mag mount? https://www.amazon.com/Tram-Antenna-Connector-Kenwood-Mobiles/dp/B00PM849VQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519930382&sr=8-1&keywords=antenna+mag+mount

https://www.amazon.com/Tram-1411-Discone-Scanner-Antenna/dp/B00QVNI1V0

I picked up another identical looking aerial to the TE one and it didn't work, then I grabbed a couple of these and they're perfect:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00W8Z38WM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can also use a minijack cable, but it's nice to have the aerial.

I got the TE case, it's expensive but worth it to protect the OP-1 - unlike the PO cases which utterly f%£@!d my PO-12.

I don't think there is much overlap between quads and 4g antenna (someone smarter can correct me if I am wrong).

I had a mobile 4g booster setup that used this antenna...

Wilson Electronics 19-inch 4G Truck and RV Spring-Mount Antenna w/ 14 ft RG58 cable, SMA Male Connector https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FUF1JAY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZiBRDb30P3G9E

I had the antenna hooked up to a 4g booster cradle that the phone sat in and was powered by USB battery. It was all hooked up in a backpack I could walk into the forest with and get great 4g signal. I could then sit on top of a mountain to do my work 😎 best office I ever had.

I can't imagine putting that antenna on a quad 🙃

NooElec ADS-B Discovery 5dBi (High Gain) Antenna Bundle - 1090MHz & 978MHz Antenna Bundle for SMA and MCX-Connected Software Defined Radios (SDRs) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J9DH9U2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_WHPVzbMDW1JY2

Yeah. Just make sure you get the right type of adapter that fits your antenna and sdr receiver. Something like this is good for ADS-B on 1099MHz.

• Part of the problem could be the mismatch in speakers. This will be worse in your case as you're mixing a horn and a dome tweeters in the front three. Optimally you want all three front speakers to be the same speaker or series of speaker.
  
  
• The rears shouldn't have anything to do with dialogue and should be fine for now.
  
  
• After upgrading the fronts be sure to run your auto calibrate feature on your AVR. This will help get your levels to the correct spot. You can also go in and adjust the center up if you're still having issues with dialogue.
  
  The problem you'll have in upgrading is trying to match the fronts to the center. With a budget of $300 it's going to be hard to get three new front speakers so you'll need to try to match the Klipsch center you have.
  
  You currently have an older center so the best we can do is try to get a new version of the matching bookshelf speaker. The R-14m is currently on sale for $100. This is the smallest version but still should work. The larger R-15m is more at $250 but has the same size mid/bass driver as the center. While not prefect this is the closest that we are going to get without going used. Changing the front three to horn tweeters will help as will getting them to the same brand.
  
  The only other solution is to replace the front three with something else the only thing that comes to my mind would be the Micca MB42X and MB42X-C. My reservation about these is they are much less efficient than the Klipsch. For a large room efficient is good.

For the minimal price difference I'd still get a 5.x or 7.x receiver and in your case a Yamaha since they have a multitude of DSP enhancements that would help your 2.0 setup. If you like movies you may very well find that you may want to move to at least a 2.1 or 3.1 system.

So, were this me I'd get:

Receiver $170: http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrxv377bl/yamaha-rx-v377-5.1-ch-x-70-watts-a/v-receiver/1.html

2 options on the speakers if you purchase soon...

$99: https://smile.amazon.com/Klipsch-Reference-Bookshelf-Speakers-Bundle/dp/B01LWX3U4Y/ref=sr_1_12?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1479314831&sr=1-12&keywords=bookshelf+speakers

$90: https://smile.amazon.com/Micca-MB42X-Bookshelf-Speakers-Tweeter/dp/B00E7H8GG2/ref=sr_1_18?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1479314831&sr=1-18&keywords=bookshelf+speakers

Normally I do not recommend Klipsch speakers as I find them abnormally bright to the point of being harsh. Some people love them. Either way they are well built, quality speakers and the ones I list above were a good deal at $190 so they are a very good deal at $99. The Micca will have a more balanced sound but won't be as loud overall. With the receiver you have the option of adding a bluetooth module for about $50 if you want to stream audio from your phone/tablet.

> Was I expecting too much to think it would work fine?

Yes.

You might be able to drill a small hole into the case and mount this pigtail for an attachable external antenna: https://www.amazon.com/Stratux-GPYes-2-0-External-Antenna/dp/B07NDPXDDY

Another metal pipe for example

Look here

Wilson also makes this mount you can get it without the bracket.

Wilson 305-700 Aluminum CB Antenna Mount with Gum Drop Stud https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006NTK35O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_C1rZBbSKYC1GT

The AM and FM radio bands are very different in wavelength, so different antennas are required. Some antennas physically contain two antennas, one for each band.

AM is always going to be tricky to receive indoors, but some antennas are better than others. The antenna I use https://www.amazon.ca/Kaito-Tunable-Passive-Antenna-Panasonic/dp/B001KC579Q/ref=pd_lpo_23_tr_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XPQE8X6G7ESS12QW0Z95 is fairly large but works well. Most importantly it comes with a decent length of cable so you can relocate it to where your reception is best, and it has a tuning knob so you can optimize it for the frequency of the AM station you want.

For FM, you have a few choices depending on how good/poor your reception is. In most areas, a simple dipole antenna works fine and these can be made yourself or bought for a few dollars. The key is that they need to be fully extended for optimum reception. At our cottage we hid one of these inside the walls and it worked great, but they're kind of ugly if visible. The lower they are and the less extended the arms of the dipole are, the more poorly they work. The other option is to use a VHF TV antenna. In our area, TV is on VHF so I just run a splitter and a short coax run to my receiver and use the TV antenna for my FM reception. Many areas have UHF TV and antennas for these frequencies aren't optimal for FM radio, unfortunately.

I would just get an after market antenna. Example

You can just cut a small square of vinyl to put under a mag mount to prevent scratches, or you could put a lip mount on your hood.

I use this mount on the edge of the hood against the windshield and have great results with it.
New Tram Browning Black 1246-B Trunk Antenna Mount NMO With PL-259 connector and 17Ft of RG-58 Coax Cable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NP7D1BA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_t5M7CbSKYPSXW

Note that the Y526 is 7 feet long and 9 feet wide. VHF-low antennas are big. Normally they have to go outside.

Smaller antennas will just work worse. You can't beat the physics. If the bunny ears almost worked then it is very possible that a home made single element in the attic could work as the optimal width for the bunny ears put flat is 74.5" (ch 6):

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/RabbitEars.html

Chances are your bunny ears were not that large.

Channel 6 is fairly close to the FM band. Instead of making something you could try a FM twin lead antenna in the attic. Example:

http://www.amazon.com/FM-Dipole-Antenna-Male-connector/dp/B00EIB70N2/

You would need a UVSJ and a short 75 ohm cable to get things connected to the existing system.

Edit: found an example of an FM antenna with built in matching transformer.

Edit2: it says that the FM antenna I used as an example is a scam and has no matching transformer. So do something like this instead:

http://www.amazon.com/Axis-PET-10-8110-Dipole-Antenna/dp/B000EIOQBM/

http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Push-On-quot-Balun/dp/B0002ZPIOQ/

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/42-5-Inch-ABBREE-SMA-Female-Foldable-Tactical/dp/B07STB8BD6&ved=2ahUKEwjPmsvastPkAhV2JTQIHYqBDZkQFjAAegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw24JAzjelaqUFKqUgLVtqMn

This will satisfy your AM loop requirements pretty well

> I'm only getting a fix on two GPS satellites on the ground. Could the duct tape be causing interference?

According to wikipedia, "powdered aluminum pigment gives traditional duct tape its silvery grey colour".

So, it seems plausible to me that the duct tape is screwing up your GPS reception.

With the GPYes v2, you can get an external antenna that would probably solve your problem by not making the GPS signals try to get through powdered aluminum.

Also, I have no idea who runs stratux.co, but you should check out the parts list on the official Stratux website, http://stratux.me, for newer, better radios for your next build.

Is this the kind of antenna you are using?

https://www.amazon.com/Ancable-Antenna-Terminal-Marantz-Receiver/dp/B07BGY21GZ/

The reason I ask is it's not what I would consider "short," but it is the classic "basic" FM antenna. You have to hang it up in its T shape near your receiver (see product photos).

You can use 3M double-sided tape or Velcro strips to stick this type of device on your tablet:
https://www.amazon.com/Receiver-Antenna-Gmouse-Laptop-Navigation/dp/B073P3Y48Q


Typically they work better when separated from the metal chassis of the tablet though, so I would not permanently attaching it.

I've done this. It's not trivial, but it's also not all that difficult, either. I'm going to assume that you want a live view of the device (meaning you'd be able to view where the car currently is located, and track it in near-real-time), not a data logged view (meaning you'd drive around, offload the data later, then view it).

This is going to be a very high-level overview; you will likely require some kind of coding and database experience, along with familiarity with the Google Maps JavaScript API. It would simply be beyond the scope of this sub (and my willingness) to post every line of code and every step of setting things up.

First, the equipment you'll need for the Pi:

• A working pi, obviously, with OS installed and configured
  
• A USB GPS receiver (like this one)
  
• A USB 2G/3G/4G dongle (like this one, with associated SIM card (if applicable) and airtime
  
  First, you need to get the Pi communicating on the mobile network with the 2G/3G/4G aircard. You can follow the instructions here, but realize that tutorial references a specific 3G breakout board for the Pi. You're welcome to use that instead of the 3G one I linked above.
  
  Once you have the Pi communicating on the mobile network, you need to get the GPS receiver working. You can follow a tutorial for that here, realizing again that this tutorial references a Pi-specific GPS receiver, but should work with the USB one I linked above.
  
  Once you have those two things, you'll need to set up some kind of server somewhere to receive the data from the Pi (I used a standard LAMP setup: Linux, Apache, mySQL, php). A simple home-based server accessible over the internet, or perhaps an Azure or Google Cloud VM would work. In my solution, I simply did this:
  
  
• On the Pi, write a script that, on a timed interval (30 secs or so, adjust to your liking), requested GPS data from the USB GPS device, parsed it, then sent that info over the 3G network to the server. The server would then take that data, parse it out again, and insert it into a database (mySQL for simplicity).
  
  
• Then, I created a web page on the server that overlaid this GPS data from the mySQL database on top of a Google Map. I wrote it such that it would automatically update the GPS data on the map on a timed interval, so I could load the page and watch the slowest game of reverse-Pac-Man ever, so to speak.
  
  
• Then, I configured the Pi to execute any scripts, GPS daemons, and 3G connectivity processes on boot, so that I could simply power up the Pi headless (using a USB battery pack, like this, for portability) and start tracking immediately.
  
  Like I said, it's a straightforward list of steps to take, but requires some coding and database knowledge in order to completely pull together all the pieces. There might be "plug-and-play" solutions available (I did this back with the original Pi B, so some years ago), but I did it all custom just as a proof-of-concept.
  
  I work closely with telemetrics and GPS tracking as my profession, and honestly, unless you're looking to hone your skills or have a hobby/pet project, there are off-the-shelf solutions that would get you up and running with vehicle/personnel tracking much, much quicker and easier.

Ziptie and heatshrink is a good way to keep it safe and well positioned. Otherwise, 3D prints and antenna tubes I guess.

The fli14+ has rssi on channel 14, so you should be able to safely manage with one antenna. Just do some testing to figure out your range at different orientations.

I've had these in my Amazon cart for a while, ready to pull the trigger as soon as one of mine goes. You could cut the connector off and solder to the fli14+ easily enough. iFlight 2.4G Receiver Antenna with IPEX Interface Compatible with Futaba FrSky Silver-plated Feeder (20pcs) (non-affiliated amazon link)

As for soldering, you basically strip the outer layer of insulation, squash the shielding down and pull it to the sides, then strip the inner wire. From there, you've got the signal and ground wires to solder like normal.

I run DShot1200 on 32bit ESCs and don't use signal ground. I probably should. I just didn't feel like running the extra wire ;)

I feel like getting some thin coaxial cable might be the best option for noise rejection, though. Maybe I'll try that out this weekend.

EDIT 1: This oughta work: https://www.amazon.com/iFlight-Receiver-Interface-Compatible-Silver-plated/dp/B06XGH751J/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1511283014&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=2.4g+antenna+ipex&psc=1

EDIT 2: Actually, maybe not... I'll need to test for impedance.

Planning on actually deleting the antenna completely and adding a hidden one. Something similar to this, not exactly sure when and if I will, I like listening to local radio stations so getting rid of my antenna just for looks is hard. I would loose a lot of reception if I did go shorty, or if I did go the hidden one.

https://www.amazon.com/C-Crane-ANT-SW-CC-REEL/dp/B01I27ZOQM/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=tecsun+external+antenna&qid=1566589632&s=gateway&sr=8-2

This seems very portable.

This:

https://www.amazon.com/Tecsun-Professional-External-Compact-Shortwave/dp/B0104MT5HW/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=tecsun+external+antenna&qid=1566589632&s=gateway&sr=8-3

might also work

Taking a shot in the dark here, but try checking out this and this


Possibly could get one of those to fit? In my case i used half of something similar and some hanger strapping to get it to mount to a wide roof bar

he means avoid antennas marked rp-sma (its a different connector)

I think he means something like these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KAOT4LM/ref=wl_mb_recs_5_title

(you would have one on the transmitter, and one on the receiver/screen leaving the other as a standard ariel)

The transmitter will come with a default ariel, but the circular polarised ones give better video range.

Also, I found these. Would this antenna and cable be compatible with the midland micro mobile 15w that i've got? From what I understand, its just a coax cable, so that should be fine, and the antenna and mag mount are both NMO.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PM849VQ/ref=pd_luc_rh_bxgy_01_01_t_img_lh?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00794XNX6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1R3Y6LGYUQP2B&psc=1

[New Tram Browning] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NP7D1BA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1) off of Amazon. It's a pretty simple NMO mount, but it works well.

> I just don't want to be "another phantom" pilot.

Hate to break it to you, but that's essentially what anyone is who buys RTF and flies poorly. If you crash an alternative quad in a public, stupid, and reckless way, people will still think of you as "another phantom" pilot.

> Plus the prices for all their proprietary accessories is outrageous.

It's really not that bad. They get a slight premium for the DJI name. But any RTF or plug and play gear has a premium.

Total setup with a Phantom2 is $1200 before GoPro.

• $730 - Phantom 2 with H3-3D Gimbal is a solid price.
  
• $230 - Black Pearl 7" diversity receiver screen isn't much more than generic alternatives with the same feature set.
  
• $90 ImmersionRC 600mw vid transmitter
  
• $65 - DJI MiniOSD
  
• $45 Antenna Set
  
• $20 Plug'n play cable for ImmersionRC/DJI Mini iOSD
  
• $10 Monitor Mount

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Amazon Smile Link: For example.


|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|




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