Increase the Range of Any Handheld Radio for 6 Cents
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- Increase the range of any handheld radio, A Baofeng, Yaesu or Icom with a counterpoise, otherwise known as a "tiger tail". A tiger tail is a length of wire added to an antenna to take the 1/4th wave rubber duck to a half wave dipole antenna.
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I would put a wire lug under the earth screw and have you two different wires with clips on the end.
Now you can change the counter poise between bands.
Top tip this one!
You dont need two wires, this is a counterpoise, the long one will work for both bands.
You can even have them both at the same time. That's what I've done.
@@robertbranam7013 It will work for 2m/70cm since a quarter wave at 2m is 3 quarters (or 6/8th, which is a famous ratio for vertical antennas) at 70cm because of the harmonic relation between the bands.
But it is not always the case ;)
@@ElektroLUDIKITS 😊
You left out an important step:
Accidentally knock the screw onto the floor and then spend the next 1/2 hour looking for it.
Did that but not with a screw but the spring to my 9mm pistol once. Took me 30mins to figure out where it launched to 😂
💀💀💀
ALWAYS -> Place a small dish on the table to put your tiny screws. 🙋🏻♀️
@@Koji-888magnet do the jobs too
@@thewanderingguy5436 magnet + @Koji-888 dish = magnetic tray.😂😂
I took the antenna off, connected a wire to the antenna pirt with an aligator clip, and attached the other end to my car antenna, also with an aligator clip. It dramatically extended the distance.
Tomorrow im testing it connected by wire to a coat hanger antenna (type in coat hanger antenna on youtube. Very easy to make)
Remember, the antenna length should be tuned to the frequency you're transmitting on. Having a mystery length of wire is not useful.
Take the 19.5 inch wire and make a coil by wrapping it around a pen or pencil. Do this coil on the end nearest the connector in such a way that the overall length is 6.5 inches. Tada! you have a dual band counterpoise!
Instructions unclear. Penis caught in wire. Send help.
There was once a commercial product to do this. It was called a Tigertail and it had a loose fitting ring meant for a BNC type antenna mount. I didn't trust the connection at all. Taking it one step further, I found that it did help on a bare radio, but add the wired external mike and it actually made reception worse. The solution was to either use the external microphone as the counterpoise OR the Tigertail, but never both.
Ymmv, fwiw, jmho, etc.
i had the same experience, i had ext speaker / mike in place and the tx was destroyed when i ran the tail.
Just solder a ring terminal on 19 inches of wire and put it on the antenna connector then put the antenna back on. (For 2 meters) this converts the antenna from a quarter wave whip to a vertical dipole.
What is the 2 meter and like 70cm thing I don't get it. Like how is that compared to how many miles I can talk to my friend in case if an emergency?
Those are wavelength measurements which directly affect the antenna wire length and thus the optimizations. 2 meter wavelength, 1.2 meter wavelength, 70cm wavelength, people also sometimes say ‘band’ in place of wavelength.
@@frankfreeman2316 these are amateur radio bands (frequency ranges) and require licensing through the FCC. 100% are useful during emergencies.
Please do not solder ring terminals without crimping them first.
Clever way to make a dipole.
The wire inside the stock antenna is coiled so it's manageable, but that also makes it less efficient and it could be 1/4, 1/2 or full, but most likely 1/2 going by its size.
Without knowing the length of the coil, you are just assuming that it's at full wavelength.
Open it and check. Sure you'll make a slight gain the way you did it, but you won't see its full potential unless you do it properly.
A well built dipole works very well for its size.
440 MHz is 681mm or 68.1cm. For UHF 430-450 MHz 70cm is acceptable but 68.1cm is better.
Aloha Hayden, I’ve been looking for that type of terminal connectors for a long time now and I will look for them again.
I have been using small gauge zipwire for speakers, which I cut at 19 1/2” and then trim off 11” on the other side in order to have a counterpoise for both, VHF and UHF. They might be purple but works great for this island terrain. 🇺🇸🤙🏻🤙🏻
It makes a difference but not huge but if your on the fringe with two handhelds in the bush it’ll make a big difference.
Lose the rubber duck and get a (I think it's na 320a) or some similar mini whip antenna and you'll get way better range. Also there are adapters that can allow you to use a stationary antenna on your handheld.
Well done !
These instructions are EXCELLENT 😮
That's some MacGyver stuff
Nah. If this was MacGyver stuff, he would've used a piece of chewing gum (used, of course) and a toothpick!
The MaacGyver tune instantly started to play in my head while i read this play ▶️
Try the belt clip to antenna on ohms. It's easier too. The rats tail or counterpoise is an awesome addition! I doubled my range. Top stuff mate! Subbed and liked 👍
there's no before and after data analysis to back that up
Uhhh... science?😂
It's a 60 second tops video, what do you expect? Try it out for yourself, the parts are probably a dollar total if you had to buy them all, but if you do much of anything with electrical, you probably have all of that just laying about.
@@justbired3.14
Did you try it?
What was the result?
Do you have any analytics and data for us?
...
Do you understand why has made the suggestion to use the radios ground?
Do you understand why he suggested the specific wire lengths?
Do you understand why he chose a green colored wire and not purple? 😳💁🤔🤔🤔
@@keshermedia no i did not try it because i did not make the video.
In The 70's I Cut my Antenna to my Favorite Rock Station,
I Remember Lambda was Part of the Formula. Buddy Of Mine Got me Interested in Amateure Radio Again,
Working On Technician License, Been In Electric and Electronics Since, Nice to see The Practice Test is all Familuar Stuff. Started 2 Days ago Studying, Think I will be Ready for 2 Saturdays from now.
so you have a piece of wire dangling and getting tangled into stuff. if you use a handheld microphone or headset, the shielding of this cable acts as counterpoise and it much cleaner approach or use an SMA Port-saver and attach the wire directly to the body of the port-saver adaptor and insert it between the antenna connector and the antenna. even easier use big wire-lug with a hole large enough for the sma antenna connector to go thru and clamp it by screwing the antenna on.
I Have Made A TigerTail For ANY Antenna I Use And Its Removable Just As Easy To Unscrew Antenna, Lucked Out To Have Thousands Of Washers That Pure Copper And Exacly The Hole Of The Aantennaa, I Jsut bend It So It Stands Good There
“And don’t loose it…” THIS is why I love HRDX!
*lose
The ground is half the antenna. Car body is too. In fibreglass auto you need to do this also for car antenna. Glue 40 inch radius steel circle under trunk/ boot lid to hold/ couple with mag mount whip.
Awesome. I always wondered. And two answers with one video. Cool to know now, the length of the cable determines the hz.
Rats-tail..proper term is Counterpoise..tiger-tail sounds Kool too.
Yeah, a counterpoise will always improve things 🤘
Another option would be a ring terminal for the baofeng. Or for best results, use pure copper wire.
So lets say on a quansheng, we have no screws... What if we just measure the cable and put it under the battery and place the battery back? In theory it should touch the back of the radio, as the back measured, should work, right?
the problem is, that baofeng dont work with better antena in urban enviroment. Receiver is very sensitive but without any filters. So you actualy get a deaf radio.
Great tip
Using imperial lengths with metric wavelengths made my brain cry 🤣🤣
This mod can improve signal strength when the set is not handheld. But if you really want to make a quarter-wave monopole ground plane antenna ┴ into a dipole half-wave antenna (mounted vertically top +ꞀΓ- bottom). You will have to modify both aerial and ground to half-wave. Or 5/8 = 0.625×wavelength for maximum power output.
I literally just came here to answer the question. Counter-poise
Pro tip: don't touch the end of the wire during transmit
Pro tip: it wont do anything. Its not the antenna and there is no voltage going to tiger tail..its essentially a ground.
@@realtyrocks1969...infatti...😅
I did. I touched it during transmit. I'll come quietly, the front door is unlocked so don't break it down, I'm unarmed.
What length for 1.25 meter band
Is there a online formula to determine the length of the wire for say airband?
If you’re not using a nagoya 771 at least, idk what you’re doing with your radio. Just ordered an abbree 48 inch antenna that should do the trick
And what’s the improvement in Range?
It's just an improvement. Significant and measurable.
-25dbd
I need the formula to calculate the length of the wire i needed. So i can make a specific wire for my specific frequency
75/FREQ * VF of wire should get close
I love how the frequency changed from 146.65 to 146.7
Definitely gonna try this
are those screws intentionally grounded to allow you to do that?
counterpoising done right
Where do I find the antenna formulas for UHF, VHF, and Air band?
Ground plane. But it looks like a coaxial antenna, so the calculations are probably off a bit.
I like your volt pen.
What brand is it?
Kaiweets
What length do you need for gmrs?
How much further can you get with this? I'm already able to go 20-40 miles with the stock baofeng antennaes depending on where I am
Fun fact:
This will work with any vertical antenna. Please make a note of it.
What do you think of that low battery indicator?
might just do this it helps the radio see a ground and just try it on pmr
Yes, it works.
How much improvement does this provide?
About 5 S points (guess)
Or use the radio to power a LDMOS PA and fire that into stacked yagis lol. Would have been good if you explained the theory.. ie ground plane..
What radio is that ? Do you recommend it. I need to get 6 for the family. Thank you
I lost it immediately
The screw? 😅
@@HamRadioDX yup
@@HamRadioDX I'm doing it in an Amish wagon on a dirt road
@@joeKisonue checks out
With Fanny Yoder?
What about (Silver) instead of (Copper) in Conductivity (MS/m)?
Asking as a newbie.
Conductivity (MS/m) Silver has (63.0)
Copper has (58.56). ?
What about extending a CB handheld ?
I'm new to radio so this could be a dumb question. Could I attach both lengths of wire at once to get both sets of frequencies?
I just screwed on a bigger and better antenna, the stock rubber ducks are rubbish.
its okay to use any metric but consider put too in m , cm , km , liters xd
DAMN…..the screw went flying onto the floor somewhere. I looked and looked and can’t find it. 😮😢
What exactly can these radio's do ???
Why go quarter wave? If you're using wire, just go full wave?
Tried it nothing happened got the same range with and without it
So different length of wire will change the operating frequency? Sorry I don’t know much about radio.
No, you chose the length of wire you will use based on what frequency you’re using, different lengths of wire will work better with different frequencies.
@@urlocalbeanboy oh wow that’s interesting. I was under the impression that the longer the better with radio. Thank you
@@wtfmrkratos well, I’m certainly not an expert, but i think maybe in certain cases with certain types of radio, yes. (I still might be wrong though)
So dos the lending where determined the frequency ?
Sir, how to program uv5r. Please explained.
That would be great if your antenna was a quarter wave. Just use a half wave antenna. No need for a counterpoise. Whats going on here. 3 short YT ago. You had a $1500USD 705. Now a $25USD Baofeng.
How long a wire for gmrs ?
Iam looking for more information on this post there.thing have out there
What about for a cb hand held ??
I see your'e in Austraila.
I tried this with a field meter and it does not work. Great theory but false.
How did u get 495mm for 440 MHz?
The 6.5 inches is correct which comes out to 165.1mm. If you take 0.25*(299792458/440,000,000) you'll get 0.1703 or 170.3mm for the quarter wavelength using 100% velocity factor.
495mm was for 2m, the metric length for 70cm was not noted in the video.
@@deirdre_anne i believe 70cm is already using metric...?
@@FMHikari Yes, but it's not talking about the nominal wavelength but the proper length of the wire. That's why it was 495mm for 2m wavelength band, . . . not 2m of wire.
So if i have a 0.5w radio what changes to give me more range i have no clue how these things work so of i get 1km lets say and i do this what can i expect to achieve
10 of them
Tiger tail
Tests screw, unscrews different screw
Or 6" for GMRS
So actually you need more than a wire & lug...wire strippers...a soldering gun...solder...shrink wrap...lol
Guess I need more than a lug and a wire
we need to put this wire on ground?
Its a floating ground plane, no need for it to be earthed.
No
I needed this tip but what kind of wire?
Easy get a better cheaper radio lol try uv5rh or uv13 pro 2 lol
Jakiej długości kabel ? 49.5 cm ?
Does Jim @ FEPLabs radio know this?!? You should tell him...
Face plate is cheap. More antenna will only Reduce reception
You tested top screw, then connected the wire to the bottom screw 🤣
He was testing between those two points to see if it had continuity. Lol
whats a good handheld radio for someone who wants to do small scale prepping. Like for a "go bag"
Probably a Baofeng UV-5R. Seems to be the go-to for the prepper community
One thing is, don't buy cheapo, no-name antennas. I tried a couple and they wouldn't even receive a signal.
How do i get rid of the unholy amount of interference I get on my baofeng. I live in a very mountainous area and I can transmit a fair distance but it's constantly giving me pulsing random transmissions and adjusting the squelch didn't do anything for it
Are you near any high power transmitters/phone cell towers or broadcasting stations?
Interference.. would be an interesting exercise tracking it down. Where are you ? Also handheld radios have a wide non selective receiver. A better radio may stop the unwanted signals from getting through.
Tiger tail!
It doesn't work for the 2 meter band. It works for CB
Of course it does, the 4 inches of the UV5R case make a crap ground plane
I can’t seem to get CB on my UV5R. Is that a new firmware update? 🤪
@@HowToHam_Tom You can get Australian CB on a UV5R on 477MHz
@@phillipsmiley5930 ilegal, but yes....😁😁👍
how long for GMRS? THanks!
12"?
I would say the long wire would work with both vhf and uhf frequencies. Although a designated gmrs ground plane wire I'd say a 6 ¼ inch piece would be sufficient
I lost my screw. Help. :(
About how far would this cover with 19.5 ?
Does this actually work ?
this does NOT work for yaesu ft5 hamedheld radios
"Counterpoise"
Nice
Hey you with you baofeng radios...press hold 3 or 6 and then turn on to see.seroal number or firmware version..also while on hold down zero for volts in decimals..you'll notice the 7.2volts reads 8volts or 8.1-8.2volts like mine..that's right....hold call and moni(monitor) down together and turn on into clone mode,you can't do anything without a cable and copy the number across,but do it to see and just turn off an on to be normal again..hehe if you trust it but that's to make it fun for you baofengs,,and finally not everything but,,you can expand the number rx tx ,, frequency down to 118mhz and listen to planes,which radios do now..but you can tx,,but don't tx,,and I don't know the upper expand limit,,or 220mhz band lowwer or upper..might be all the way between..I've never comported on a PC with mine but least I am interested in ham and camping etc ..apocolips zombies just kidding,,the news
Buy a antenna
So you added a counterpoise basically?
Yep