So I bought a couple of the Baofeng UV-5Rs before the big ban, lol and am now looking into getting my license so I can legally transmit. I know a little about radio being a former electronic tech and repairman for radio frequency test equipment but that was all internal to the equipment and have no practical experience with antennas, etc.
I see antennas for sale of all lengths for these radios. I understand they are dual band and cover VHF and UHF for which I guess a fixed length antenna acts as a 1/4 wave for one band and 1/2 wave for the other, but it seems like they should all be the same length, or multiples of the same length.
In addition to the radios I bought 14.5" ExpertPower XP-771 whips which get god reviews to replace the stock antennas and this SWR meter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075H8FDDR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
What I'm seeing is that the stock rubber duckies only get below 1.5 SWR in a narrow VHF range, and the whips do the same but only in the UHF band.
So my question is this: Will a longer antenna perform better with a slightly higher SWR than a significantly shorter antenna, say a length ratio of 2:1?
And finally, what's the best handheld antenna you know of? I'm also interested in a full wave wire antenna (the kind you throw over a tree limb). There is one on amazon but it's $60, seems like a lot for a piece of wire and coax.
I see antennas for sale of all lengths for these radios. I understand they are dual band and cover VHF and UHF for which I guess a fixed length antenna acts as a 1/4 wave for one band and 1/2 wave for the other, but it seems like they should all be the same length, or multiples of the same length.
In addition to the radios I bought 14.5" ExpertPower XP-771 whips which get god reviews to replace the stock antennas and this SWR meter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075H8FDDR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
What I'm seeing is that the stock rubber duckies only get below 1.5 SWR in a narrow VHF range, and the whips do the same but only in the UHF band.
So my question is this: Will a longer antenna perform better with a slightly higher SWR than a significantly shorter antenna, say a length ratio of 2:1?
And finally, what's the best handheld antenna you know of? I'm also interested in a full wave wire antenna (the kind you throw over a tree limb). There is one on amazon but it's $60, seems like a lot for a piece of wire and coax.