Excellent video, thanks. I had a very negative impression of body whips in the Army. Most of the team guys that wore them had terrible comms on the objective. They often favored what looked cool versus what actually worked, and never considered the frequencies used. I was a support guy and didn't have anyone to impress, so my team and I used long whips. Often times we could talk to each other and the JTAC who also knew what he was doing radio-wise, and had sporadic comms with everyone else. This antenna seems well built and your testing regime is great. Accepting a compromise is fine as long as you know what that compromise is. Keep up the great work!
I understand exactly where you're coming from. Your team made the correct choice and selected the best gear based on function and mission objectives. I am very new to body whips and they have a place, but at a cost. There is a "tacticool" factor. It's good to know what trade offs you're making when selecting gear. As much as I love my backpackable 4-element 2m yagi for its performance, it's impractical for lightweight trail runs. I always like to use a firearms analogy when talking about what's the right radio and antenna? It depends. For example, there's a place for .22, .223 and .308 calibers. What you select depends on the mission. I appreciate the view and comment. Thanks for your service and take care.
After digging around I found that you can fabricate a very similar antenna to a Caatail by making what's called a "vertical bazooka antenna" out of some spare coax cable. There's an article by VE3VDC that describes the formula to use for cutting the radiating element and the rolled down coax shield to size. It also helps to have a choke of some kind on the remaining coax to help get SWR down where you need it. Slide on some appropriately sized PET cable sleeve (I used 6mm) and seal the ends with liquid electrical tape and now you've got a wearable antenna cut for your frequency ready to go!
It seems counterintuitive to place the radiating portion of the antenna up against (or in proximity to) your body. The military (and commercial users) often use heavily compromised antennas, but doing so often requires an elaborate support infrastructure....or a use case which involves very short distance communications. For these reasons, I would think this antenna is suboptimal for amateur radio use, except for very specific applications. Thanks for the video! 73
Everything is a trade off. In my case, this is perfect for trail running as the speeds and movements are problematic with some vertical antennas. The whip antennas are a huge eye hazard. Even with the comprised antenna, I can hit the local repeater 10+ miles out on low power. Select the appropriate antenna for the given mission objective. 73 de KT1RUN
Excellent work! I think that is a great idea carrying your stock antenna along. A good RTO would have several antennas in his bag of tricks for different situations. When I walk, I normally carry a radio. Not so much when I run but when I do I normally have a pouch in my hand similar to trail runners carrying a hand held water bottle. Thanks and 73!
My pleasure. It's always good to carry and know when to use multiple purpose-built antennas. If I have my pack, I'll typically have a collapsible yagi and a BNC Cobra head with some 22 gauge wire to improvise an antenna for a given frequency in the field.
@@GigaBrand Possibly. I'll try that next time and sweep the bands with the NanoVNA. In general, I typically have a roll-up j-pole (Slim Jim J-Pole by N9TAX) with me for this purpose.
Why not a Roll Up J-pole? They’re my go-to-for kayaking, backcountry skiing and snow camping. Coax and twin lead, no balun necessary. I don’t know about “military frequencies”, but a j-pole tuned for 147 MHz will work well in both 2 meters, MARS/CAP, and acceptably good SWR in the 440 portion of the 70cm band (70cm is a third harmonic, so it won’t knock your socks off). It’s a j-pole, so I leave a little bit to coil the coax around a toroid for an RF choke If I’m feeling jee-jee, I’ll put in a quarter-wave shorting stub and connect it to ground. The same tuning at 147 MHz should cover all the subject frequencies mentioned (again, I don’t know what “military frequencies” are desired. But this works well for a backpack kit.)
I carry a Slim Jim (N9TAX) roll-up J-Pole while hiking or for SOTA, but I don't think it is suited while moving. They're great, compact and lightweight, but you definitely need to be stationary. I was using it for the fixed station in this test. Is there a smaller rollup j-pole that you're using?
Yes! (17:46) William is an incredible American serviceman with an attention to detail”. I didn’t understand most of what was said but that part was definitely true. - William’s Mom ❤️👵
Yes, you can. Personally, I have done APRS, Winlink packet, VARA FM, and several modems with fldigi/flmsg (MT63-2000L and 8PSK-1000F). Check out my Digital Modes playlist. I covered the DigiRig a few times. FT8 should be no problem.
It's a compromise, performance over function. I would place your radio on the lower left side of your plate carrier, with the external mic placed where your radio is currently, with a small/compact IFAK or pouch for one bandage/tourniquet. I know the radio is lightweight, but I preferred little to no weight on the support straps of my plate carrier. This allows easier/quicker access to the radio to check freqs or pull it out for whatever reason you have, and the rubber duck or flex/foldable antennas don't get in your face too much. I live in SE AZ, an antenna like the one you demo likely works fine for reaching repeaters in open areas, but its performance in urban areas may not be ideal.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll experiment with the radio running lower on the chest rig itself. I typically run the waterproof mic on my right chest/shoulder as it's easier to work the PTT with my left-hand. As for the IFAK, I run one under the chest rig using the Haley Strategic Mission Hanger. It rides at stomach height.
I would be nice if they make a cattail tuned antenna for GMRS. I am not a amateur licensed person. We use GMRS for hunting, working our property. Our prepping group also use GMRS main source of comms. Until a few more of us get our general license GMRS is it
I have the VX-6R "unlocked" with the MARS modification. While not legal, the radio can technically transmit on the FRS/GMRS/MURS frequencies. I'll check to see where the SWR falls for the GMRS frequencies. If it's under 3:1, it should work fine. GMRS is great for prepper groups. Check out MURS, too. No license needed. You can do a lot with 2 watts on MURS. I ran 300mW, so about 6x less power. Be safe and thanks for the comment.
It's the perfect idea since I would be able to hide the antenna into my hiking pack or cycling pack, but the SWR for 2m and 70cm doesn't make me happy being that high.
I like the design objectives. I am trying to convince CAATailAntennas to consider designing a wearable aimed purpose-built for amateur radio. I would be happy with a 2m version cut for 146MHz to start. This would be perfect cycling.
@@TheTechPrepper I fully agree. They may get a sizeable amount of people buying them if they can get them to work on the ham and/or gmrs bands with a lower SWR.
Simplex range between two stations gives us our best idea for planning ranges but this reduces itself when we add in net members, 3, 4, 5 etc... Positive comms between all members cannot be maintained for all the reasons might one imagine by seasoned radio experts. From this, some stations key up and not heard by others, they just get a squelch break and noise. This causes others to transmit at the same time while someone else keys. The net get particularly noisy and for tactical users with headsets, they do not need the aggravation and may turn down volumes. Repeaters can cure this or a fix could be to use a directed net and control transmissions along with planning for not getting extended apart. The military is switching to using mobile adhoc networking (MANET) waveforms that allows all radio to stay in net if they can hear at least one net member at any time as all are part of a mesh network. This then helps users have reduced profile antennas they desire as one hop distance is easy to maintain. I just retired from customer support for the green handhelds and the antenna(s) the radios come with are your best option and tested to standards the customers proposed. However in a previous lifetime, in a special job, I was inventing and seeking something that worked better at all times.
This video is gold, thank you for sharing! Note: there’s an “oops” I caught that ya may have missed: 19:23 first take mistake and did a second take but didn’t cut the first…lol
It happens occasionally where I goof on the editing. Glad you found it useful. I tried a number of antennas with this setup and while the CAATail is not the most performant, it has been the most reliable. My kit is permanently dressed with this antenna now.
@@TheTechPrepper this is good to know, because I too have been looking for something reliable enough that wasn’t a tri-fold whip type. But not as familiar with communications as I’d like to be, content like this accelerates my learning process. Appreciate ya 👍
Great video. It seems like you are trying to convert me to a Yae.., Yae..., Yaesu. LOL. To me that antenna was purpose built for certain frequencies and to fill a need while wearing gear. It will be interesting if he does a re-work for 2 metre band. Cheers, stay cool.
Thanks, Malen. I bleed Yaesu, so I'm biased towards their radios. Actually, I'm a fan of anything that resembles the Vertex Standard radios. I'm talking to William about a 2m option cut for 146.00MHz. It could be a hit for the amateur radio operators. We'll see what he says.
I would avoid the beacons as it would further increase an RF footprint and establish a pattern. When testing hand helds I adhere to a stricter maximum SWR of no greater than 2:1 as most whip antennas usually have a bandwidth no greater than 10Mhz in size and transceivers are designed to operate with these antennas. In field conditions, as the transceiver/antenna is in less than ideal test settings. The resulting SWR could be very disadvantageous. I also use the highest power setting to determine the bandwidth of a particular transceiver and antenna/cable combination. Test the antenna and cable together. Adding a 'tiger tail' connected where the whip is connected to the cable will make a better dipole, and improve propagation, and perhaps lower SWR. A whip antenna that has a 'tiger tail', (a proper dipole) mounted on a pack could be a better antenna as it could be mounted /2 wave length from potential objects it could couple with, including the body. This makes for a more efficient and better and more predictable propagation pattern. This is important when using low power and when on the edge of reception. And it will receive better as well........
The use of ARTS was just intended to establish relative antenna tests as a poor man's data analysis tool. In practice, I would only use ARTS when hiking with a group and for search and rescue. It would never be turned if operationally security was a concern.
I'm about to pull my hair out of my head I am so confused don't know what to do maybe you can help me I'm looking for a antenna or cat tail I don't care as long as it has a range of 136mhz too 520mhz all in one antenna. Please can u help me with some information I don't want to keep changing antennas from one to another they have the frequencies I want thanks for the video I enjoyed it
Active, portable operator - love that description! I may borrow that and use it myself. Like you my shack is in the field. Excellent video as always Gaston. 73, KI4ASK
Thanks, Joe. This should be an official classification for a subset of operators. I'm humbled to be in your class of operating style. Feel free to take this description. Cheers!
A very unusual and interesting antenna. Thank you for sharing. I would be intersted to see how this antenna would perform up on your portable mast on a length of coax away from your body and elevated?
The problem with "Broadband" Antennas is they don't do Anything GREAT (Proven with your VSWR readings). With something like the 148 (MBITR - Multi-Band Inter-Team Radio) or the 152, you literally can talk from 30 MHz up to 512 MHz. VHF-LO (30-88) might be used to talk LOS (think SINCGARS), VHF-HI (Chunks between 108 and 220) might be used Army Ground-Air and LMR-VHF, and UHF-LOS (225-400) would be used to talk Air Force Ground-Air and LMR-UHF. Don't forget UHF-SATCOM utilizing the "Repeater" function and plugging in up-link/XMT and down-link/RCV. Using a 13 inch broadband antenna gives you the ability to talk/receive across all of those freqs if you NEED to.....but a 1 Meter VHF-LO whip/blade antenna will ALWAYS give you better results if you are ONLY talking on VHF-LO Freqs. I can add a 20 Watt in-line amplifier to the mix and get better transmit, but that still doesn't Nothing for my reception. ONE of the ways to get better transmit / reception was to remote the antenna to your back, but HIGH on your back. That way, your body/armor wasn't impeding anything. It's secondary benefit is to get the antenna out of your face. But a BETTER way to improve your performance, if you aren't worried about quickly changing channels, is to move your RADIO to your back (high). That way, you don't introduce loss from the coax cable/adapters. IF I had a 3 or 4 band radio (with your mods), I would actually try and get antennas for each of those bands specifically and swap them out depending on what band I'm using. One of the things people forget about the Military body worn radios is.... if I'm not communicating, I move to a bigger (more powerful) radio. So, if the 152 isn't reaching out, then I move to the 117 (20 Watts). Not having that ability, your antenna and its performance is how to reach out further. Also......most Military people carrying radios aren't actual communicators. What they do with their systems/antennas was more about convivence than performance. Just because you see someone with their 1 meter antenna rolled up and rubber banded doesn't mean it works that way, but that it's not slapping them in the face. You're doing good things and thinking in the right direction. Don't get grumpy by what I say, I'm just an old Army communicator. I saw plenty of stupid stuff, done by some very "Smart" people, throughout my career. I talked, with an MBITR, over 40 miles utilizing a J-Pole antenna in Iraq. But the antenna was built (using 1/2" copper pipe) specifically to the freq and I knew the azimuth of my distant end and pointed it accordingly. I would look at the orientation of the J-Pole (which way is it "facing") and then look at the transmit characteristics of the antenna, then look at your route and see if you were walking into "Dead Spots" on your antenna and not specifically "power loss" at a distance. Keep doing what you're doing.
Hardcore testing, outstanding! By any chance did you record how you were facing when you lost /regained signal? I'm wonding with how the antenna is routed if you body was blocking some of the signal when facing toward your home base? Did you notice if orientation was an issue?
My back was always facing the antenna at the shack while on the way out. I'm sure that my body is attenuating the signal both ways, but was slightly more noticeable when my chest between the two antennas. It takes me longer to get back in range when running back home. My chest was facing the antenna on the run back home.
Yes. The SMA-to-BNC adapter has a great seal to the radio, but the BNC connector side to the antenna is likely going to be the point that you would expose it to water. It should be fine as long as you don't submerge the radio under water. Light rain should be fine. I recommend the Diamond adapter that I used versus the generic SMA adapters that are found online. I run this adapter on all four of my FT-60's.
@@TheTechPrepper depending upon the type of bnc connector you're using an o-ring from the plumbing section of your local hardware store fits well between the bnc and sma connections providing a bit more dust/water protection. You can also use self bonding silicon tape over both connections to complete the weather proofing.
No problem, Denis. This is a good choice for operators that are actively moving, but it is clearly a compromise in performance. Thanks for supporting American made products. 73's
As so many others have said, “ great video”. I also have one of Caatails for amateur, murs, basically civiliian radios (th-f6a) and I was really interested in seeing the results from the test equipment. Thanjs for doing these. And I sub’d. so +1. :)
Glad you enjoyed it. It's great that you're using MURS. It's often over looked. I prefer MURS over FRS. Based on these tests, MURS would do well as its 2 watt max RF power is 6x more power than I used. Welcome to the channel!
It's my pleasure. It was a lot fun testing it. I'll be benchmarking the CAATailAntennas relocation cable and 43" SMA-Male Abbree antenna with the same setup soon. Now that the benchmark is established let's see how that $24 antenna works from Amazon. I appreciate the kind comment. Cheers!
Sorry, I forgot. I should have run a sweep across 30MHz to 512MHz with my NanoVNA. It would have been nice to show the viewers the min and max SWR for this range. Next time. Cheers.
Do they sell one with an TNC male on it? The AN/PRC-152 radio has a TNC female on it. Hope you will have been doing well, I will be by you again in a few weeks. I send you an email when I'm there.
Thank you. I did not look into that as I do not have any equipment to test this. I alway assumed that 5 watts would be safe enough. In practice, I rarely run between 300mW and 2.5 watts. No RF burns are good sign.
No. These are designed for the military frequencies. I haven't checked where the SWR lands on the FRS/GMRS frequencies. I am asking William to consider making one for the 2m amateur radio band. Try shooting him a message about GMRS. That could be a big market.
Yes! Congratulations. Be honest, doesn't that radio feel solid in your hand compared to other radios? The stock antenna is not bad. Test them both and see which works best in your area.
@@TheTechPrepper I have a bit of a silly question. Is there a way to connect the caatail to an abbree? I know there are the relocation cables. But I'm curious, if one could have a caatail attached to the radio on one end, and then on the other end, it connects to the abbree? I'm just thinking, it would be nice to have an extra long antenna that partially weaves through the plate carrier, and then have the other part that can stick up when needed.? Or would having that really not change much as far as distance?
@@E.AllTheAbove There are actually two separate products from CAATail. One is The RTO. This a flexible antenna is meant to be woven through your gear. It's length is specially cut to length designed for the military bands, it's not perfect for the amateur radio bands. I tested this antenna in the video. They also have a relocation cable. I did a video on that as well. That's what I used to relocate the Abbree antenna. The relocation cable throws off the SWR antenna a bit. Any additional connectors and relocation cables you add to an antenna will impact its performance...usually negatively. Antennas are typically cut for the specific length to target a particular frequency.
Price point. It would be nice to have APRS built-in. I can't afford a fleet of four FT-5D's. I try to buy 3-4 units of the same radio when it becomes my EDC radio.
@@ericthemidget9685 I did a video in this series that covered the MSA Sordin ear pro and the PTT for the Yaesu's. Search my video channel page for "msa sordin".
Thanks for the view! Glad you enjoyed it! You may like the next one that is coming. If the parts arrive in time, it will be relate to this topic. Abbreee antenna testing with the relocation cable. I'll use the same baseline test for comparison.
Like Your Videos, I have a Alinco DJ-MD5X DMR HT and a Yeasu FT817, like the Japanese Brands Radios Only because of Their Quality Standards are Very High, also have a Open spot 4 Micro Repeater for Completion Portable Operation, My call here is N2MJF Advanced Class,
Thanks and welcome to the channel. I am not terribly familiar with the Alinco line of radios, but I am a heavy user of the Yaesu rigs. They have exception built quality. The FT-817 is the Swiss Army Knife of radios.
Yep. Makes sense. I'm running into the same issue with a new antenna I'm testing an antenna from Mountain Parameters. The addition of their Tiger Tail comprises the IPX rating. Are you sticking with the rubber duck or going with another antenna?
@@TheTechPrepper So, an easy work around is self fusing silicone tape. It's cheap, it works, but it sucks if you swap ants around on the reg. It's what I use for all of my outdoor, permanent connections. We all have special circumstances and it would appear running around in full kit, in the desert, is yours...... special...and all... :) I've got drawers full of HT's but I the 6R is my go to and what lured me to your channel. I do enjoy the content. FWIW I use the stock ant and keep a roll up j-pole I can toss into a tree. We have trees here..
Excellent video, thanks. I had a very negative impression of body whips in the Army. Most of the team guys that wore them had terrible comms on the objective. They often favored what looked cool versus what actually worked, and never considered the frequencies used. I was a support guy and didn't have anyone to impress, so my team and I used long whips. Often times we could talk to each other and the JTAC who also knew what he was doing radio-wise, and had sporadic comms with everyone else. This antenna seems well built and your testing regime is great. Accepting a compromise is fine as long as you know what that compromise is. Keep up the great work!
I understand exactly where you're coming from. Your team made the correct choice and selected the best gear based on function and mission objectives. I am very new to body whips and they have a place, but at a cost. There is a "tacticool" factor. It's good to know what trade offs you're making when selecting gear. As much as I love my backpackable 4-element 2m yagi for its performance, it's impractical for lightweight trail runs. I always like to use a firearms analogy when talking about what's the right radio and antenna? It depends. For example, there's a place for .22, .223 and .308 calibers. What you select depends on the mission. I appreciate the view and comment. Thanks for your service and take care.
After digging around I found that you can fabricate a very similar antenna to a Caatail by making what's called a "vertical bazooka antenna" out of some spare coax cable. There's an article by VE3VDC that describes the formula to use for cutting the radiating element and the rolled down coax shield to size. It also helps to have a choke of some kind on the remaining coax to help get SWR down where you need it. Slide on some appropriately sized PET cable sleeve (I used 6mm) and seal the ends with liquid electrical tape and now you've got a wearable antenna cut for your frequency ready to go!
Okay this is super helpful. The cattail is super expensive and I'll give this a shot. Thank you
It seems counterintuitive to place the radiating portion of the antenna up against (or in proximity to) your body. The military (and commercial users) often use heavily compromised antennas, but doing so often requires an elaborate support infrastructure....or a use case which involves very short distance communications. For these reasons, I would think this antenna is suboptimal for amateur radio use, except
for very specific applications. Thanks for the video! 73
Everything is a trade off. In my case, this is perfect for trail running as the speeds and movements are problematic with some vertical antennas. The whip antennas are a huge eye hazard. Even with the comprised antenna, I can hit the local repeater 10+ miles out on low power. Select the appropriate antenna for the given mission objective. 73 de KT1RUN
Excellent work! I think that is a great idea carrying your stock antenna along. A good RTO would have several antennas in his bag of tricks for different situations.
When I walk, I normally carry a radio. Not so much when I run but when I do I normally have a pouch in my hand similar to trail runners carrying a hand held water bottle. Thanks and 73!
My pleasure. It's always good to carry and know when to use multiple purpose-built antennas. If I have my pack, I'll typically have a collapsible yagi and a BNC Cobra head with some 22 gauge wire to improvise an antenna for a given frequency in the field.
Since the RTO is flexible could it be strung up on a tree or cactus?
@@GigaBrand Possibly. I'll try that next time and sweep the bands with the NanoVNA. In general, I typically have a roll-up j-pole (Slim Jim J-Pole by N9TAX) with me for this purpose.
I have same antenna from the same company. I have it through my plate carrier and love this antenna. Works very well.
Why not a Roll Up J-pole? They’re my go-to-for kayaking, backcountry skiing and snow camping. Coax and twin lead, no balun necessary.
I don’t know about “military frequencies”, but a j-pole tuned for 147 MHz will work well in both 2 meters, MARS/CAP, and acceptably good SWR in the 440 portion of the 70cm band (70cm is a third harmonic, so it won’t knock your socks off). It’s a j-pole, so I leave a little bit to coil the coax around a toroid for an RF choke
If I’m feeling jee-jee, I’ll put in a quarter-wave shorting stub and connect it to ground. The same tuning at 147 MHz should cover all the subject frequencies mentioned (again, I don’t know what “military frequencies” are desired. But this works well for a backpack kit.)
I carry a Slim Jim (N9TAX) roll-up J-Pole while hiking or for SOTA, but I don't think it is suited while moving. They're great, compact and lightweight, but you definitely need to be stationary. I was using it for the fixed station in this test. Is there a smaller rollup j-pole that you're using?
Have the caatail and also the disco 32 wearable antenna. Seem to get better reception with the disco 32 in vhf and down to hf.
Yes! (17:46) William is an incredible American serviceman with an attention to detail”. I didn’t understand most of what was said but that part was definitely true. - William’s Mom ❤️👵
Awe. Hi, William's mom! You raised a great young man. His products are top notch. Well done!
@@TheTechPrepper Your video was so thorough and detailed, I’m sure it helped a lot of people.
@@kathyfinn5996 Thanks. Your boy did all the work. I just ran around the desert for a week with his gear. Happy Sunday!
Really looking forward to any digital modes you get into with the VX6R! I heard of folks doing FT8 and other modes when paired with a Digirig.
Yes, you can. Personally, I have done APRS, Winlink packet, VARA FM, and several modems with fldigi/flmsg (MT63-2000L and 8PSK-1000F). Check out my Digital Modes playlist. I covered the DigiRig a few times. FT8 should be no problem.
It's a compromise, performance over function. I would place your radio on the lower left side of your plate carrier, with the external mic placed where your radio is currently, with a small/compact IFAK or pouch for one bandage/tourniquet. I know the radio is lightweight, but I preferred little to no weight on the support straps of my plate carrier. This allows easier/quicker access to the radio to check freqs or pull it out for whatever reason you have, and the rubber duck or flex/foldable antennas don't get in your face too much. I live in SE AZ, an antenna like the one you demo likely works fine for reaching repeaters in open areas, but its performance in urban areas may not be ideal.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll experiment with the radio running lower on the chest rig itself. I typically run the waterproof mic on my right chest/shoulder as it's easier to work the PTT with my left-hand. As for the IFAK, I run one under the chest rig using the Haley Strategic Mission Hanger. It rides at stomach height.
I would be nice if they make a cattail tuned antenna for GMRS. I am not a amateur licensed person.
We use GMRS for hunting, working our property. Our prepping group also use GMRS main source of comms. Until a few more of us get our general license GMRS is it
I have the VX-6R "unlocked" with the MARS modification. While not legal, the radio can technically transmit on the FRS/GMRS/MURS frequencies. I'll check to see where the SWR falls for the GMRS frequencies. If it's under 3:1, it should work fine. GMRS is great for prepper groups. Check out MURS, too. No license needed. You can do a lot with 2 watts on MURS. I ran 300mW, so about 6x less power. Be safe and thanks for the comment.
@@TheTechPrepper you are welcome. I would appreciate you checking the SWR on GMRS and FRS and MURS.
It's the perfect idea since I would be able to hide the antenna into my hiking pack or cycling pack, but the SWR for 2m and 70cm doesn't make me happy being that high.
I like the design objectives. I am trying to convince CAATailAntennas to consider designing a wearable aimed purpose-built for amateur radio. I would be happy with a 2m version cut for 146MHz to start. This would be perfect cycling.
@@TheTechPrepper I fully agree. They may get a sizeable amount of people buying them if they can get them to work on the ham and/or gmrs bands with a lower SWR.
Simplex range between two stations gives us our best idea for planning ranges but this reduces itself when we add in net members, 3, 4, 5 etc... Positive comms between all members cannot be maintained for all the reasons might one imagine by seasoned radio experts. From this, some stations key up and not heard by others, they just get a squelch break and noise. This causes others to transmit at the same time while someone else keys. The net get particularly noisy and for tactical users with headsets, they do not need the aggravation and may turn down volumes. Repeaters can cure this or a fix could be to use a directed net and control transmissions along with planning for not getting extended apart. The military is switching to using mobile adhoc networking (MANET) waveforms that allows all radio to stay in net if they can hear at least one net member at any time as all are part of a mesh network. This then helps users have reduced profile antennas they desire as one hop distance is easy to maintain. I just retired from customer support for the green handhelds and the antenna(s) the radios come with are your best option and tested to standards the customers proposed. However in a previous lifetime, in a special job, I was inventing and seeking something that worked better at all times.
Excellent video! thanks! I have a cuestion... How I make one? The Wearable Antena, can I make one of this?
This video is gold, thank you for sharing! Note: there’s an “oops” I caught that ya may have missed: 19:23 first take mistake and did a second take but didn’t cut the first…lol
It happens occasionally where I goof on the editing. Glad you found it useful. I tried a number of antennas with this setup and while the CAATail is not the most performant, it has been the most reliable. My kit is permanently dressed with this antenna now.
@@TheTechPrepper this is good to know, because I too have been looking for something reliable enough that wasn’t a tri-fold whip type. But not as familiar with communications as I’d like to be, content like this accelerates my learning process. Appreciate ya 👍
Excellent video as usual ALTHOUGH I will still be staying with my UV-5Rs as our AOR differs greatly! No criticism, just different circumstances.
Understood. If everyone had the same objectives there would likely only be a need for one radio. Use what works for you. Cheers!
Great video. It seems like you are trying to convert me to a Yae.., Yae..., Yaesu. LOL. To me that antenna was purpose built for certain frequencies and to fill a need while wearing gear. It will be interesting if he does a re-work for 2 metre band. Cheers, stay cool.
Thanks, Malen. I bleed Yaesu, so I'm biased towards their radios. Actually, I'm a fan of anything that resembles the Vertex Standard radios. I'm talking to William about a 2m option cut for 146.00MHz. It could be a hit for the amateur radio operators. We'll see what he says.
I would avoid the beacons as it would further increase an RF footprint and establish a pattern. When testing hand helds I adhere to a stricter maximum SWR of no greater than 2:1 as most whip antennas usually have a bandwidth no greater than 10Mhz in size and transceivers are designed to operate with these antennas. In field conditions, as the transceiver/antenna is in less than ideal test settings. The resulting SWR could be very disadvantageous. I also use the highest power setting to determine the bandwidth of a particular transceiver and antenna/cable combination. Test the antenna and cable together. Adding a 'tiger tail' connected where the whip is connected to the cable will make a better dipole, and improve propagation, and perhaps lower SWR. A whip antenna that has a 'tiger tail', (a proper dipole) mounted on a pack could be a better antenna as it could be mounted /2 wave length from potential objects it could couple with, including the body. This makes for a more efficient and better and more predictable propagation pattern. This is important when using low power and when on the edge of reception. And it will receive better as well........
The use of ARTS was just intended to establish relative antenna tests as a poor man's data analysis tool. In practice, I would only use ARTS when hiking with a group and for search and rescue. It would never be turned if operationally security was a concern.
I'm about to pull my hair out of my head I am so confused don't know what to do maybe you can help me I'm looking for a antenna or cat tail I don't care as long as it has a range of 136mhz too 520mhz all in one antenna. Please can u help me with some information I don't want to keep changing antennas from one to another they have the frequencies I want thanks for the video I enjoyed it
Active, portable operator - love that description! I may borrow that and use it myself. Like you my shack is in the field. Excellent video as always Gaston. 73, KI4ASK
Thanks, Joe. This should be an official classification for a subset of operators. I'm humbled to be in your class of operating style. Feel free to take this description. Cheers!
A very unusual and interesting antenna. Thank you for sharing. I would be intersted to see how this antenna would perform up on your portable mast on a length of coax away from your body and elevated?
That would be a very interesting test, especially out in the field. A little paracord and you're set. If I test it, there will be video. Cheers.
How long is the antenna?
The black section looks like a 1/4 wave for 70cm but also acts as a impedance matching section for the radiator
The problem with "Broadband" Antennas is they don't do Anything GREAT (Proven with your VSWR readings). With something like the 148 (MBITR - Multi-Band Inter-Team Radio) or the 152, you literally can talk from 30 MHz up to 512 MHz. VHF-LO (30-88) might be used to talk LOS (think SINCGARS), VHF-HI (Chunks between 108 and 220) might be used Army Ground-Air and LMR-VHF, and UHF-LOS (225-400) would be used to talk Air Force Ground-Air and LMR-UHF. Don't forget UHF-SATCOM utilizing the "Repeater" function and plugging in up-link/XMT and down-link/RCV.
Using a 13 inch broadband antenna gives you the ability to talk/receive across all of those freqs if you NEED to.....but a 1 Meter VHF-LO whip/blade antenna will ALWAYS give you better results if you are ONLY talking on VHF-LO Freqs. I can add a 20 Watt in-line amplifier to the mix and get better transmit, but that still doesn't Nothing for my reception.
ONE of the ways to get better transmit / reception was to remote the antenna to your back, but HIGH on your back. That way, your body/armor wasn't impeding anything. It's secondary benefit is to get the antenna out of your face. But a BETTER way to improve your performance, if you aren't worried about quickly changing channels, is to move your RADIO to your back (high). That way, you don't introduce loss from the coax cable/adapters.
IF I had a 3 or 4 band radio (with your mods), I would actually try and get antennas for each of those bands specifically and swap them out depending on what band I'm using. One of the things people forget about the Military body worn radios is.... if I'm not communicating, I move to a bigger (more powerful) radio. So, if the 152 isn't reaching out, then I move to the 117 (20 Watts). Not having that ability, your antenna and its performance is how to reach out further.
Also......most Military people carrying radios aren't actual communicators. What they do with their systems/antennas was more about convivence than performance. Just because you see someone with their 1 meter antenna rolled up and rubber banded doesn't mean it works that way, but that it's not slapping them in the face.
You're doing good things and thinking in the right direction. Don't get grumpy by what I say, I'm just an old Army communicator. I saw plenty of stupid stuff, done by some very "Smart" people, throughout my career. I talked, with an MBITR, over 40 miles utilizing a J-Pole antenna in Iraq. But the antenna was built (using 1/2" copper pipe) specifically to the freq and I knew the azimuth of my distant end and pointed it accordingly. I would look at the orientation of the J-Pole (which way is it "facing") and then look at the transmit characteristics of the antenna, then look at your route and see if you were walking into "Dead Spots" on your antenna and not specifically "power loss" at a distance.
Keep doing what you're doing.
another ham airsofter. i see that AMS shirt.. cheers brotha
Can you make a video on how to make wearable antennas? Or possible describe how to make one in the comments?
I have no experience in making wearable antennas. That would be an interesting topic.
would this antenna work if you ran it across the front of a rig?
disco32 has similar antenna, and relocation cables. similar specs, 30-512MHz
Hardcore testing, outstanding! By any chance did you record how you were facing when you lost /regained signal? I'm wonding with how the antenna is routed if you body was blocking some of the signal when facing toward your home base? Did you notice if orientation was an issue?
My back was always facing the antenna at the shack while on the way out. I'm sure that my body is attenuating the signal both ways, but was slightly more noticeable when my chest between the two antennas. It takes me longer to get back in range when running back home. My chest was facing the antenna on the run back home.
Does the BNC adapter affect the waterproofing of that radio? I have an FT60 now but it’s pretty old.
Yes. The SMA-to-BNC adapter has a great seal to the radio, but the BNC connector side to the antenna is likely going to be the point that you would expose it to water. It should be fine as long as you don't submerge the radio under water. Light rain should be fine. I recommend the Diamond adapter that I used versus the generic SMA adapters that are found online. I run this adapter on all four of my FT-60's.
@@TheTechPrepper depending upon the type of bnc connector you're using an o-ring from the plumbing section of your local hardware store fits well between the bnc and sma connections providing a bit more dust/water protection. You can also use self bonding silicon tape over both connections to complete the weather proofing.
Thanks for this, placed an order with CAATailAntennas and will try out. Hopefully will help with the antenna face slaps in future deployments.
No problem, Denis. This is a good choice for operators that are actively moving, but it is clearly a compromise in performance. Thanks for supporting American made products. 73's
As so many others have said, “ great video”. I also have one of Caatails for amateur, murs, basically civiliian radios (th-f6a) and I was really interested in seeing the results from the test equipment. Thanjs for doing these. And I sub’d. so +1. :)
Glad you enjoyed it. It's great that you're using MURS. It's often over looked. I prefer MURS over FRS. Based on these tests, MURS would do well as its 2 watt max RF power is 6x more power than I used. Welcome to the channel!
That is a great radio. Definitely my next purchase.
Interesting antenna. Great video man. Thanks for the upload.
It's my pleasure. It was a lot fun testing it. I'll be benchmarking the CAATailAntennas relocation cable and 43" SMA-Male Abbree antenna with the same setup soon. Now that the benchmark is established let's see how that $24 antenna works from Amazon. I appreciate the kind comment. Cheers!
Great vids!
Glad you like them!
Your testing would be enhanced greatly with at least a cheap VNA. A sweep and scan would tell a person all they need to know about his from 30 to 512.
Sorry, I forgot. I should have run a sweep across 30MHz to 512MHz with my NanoVNA. It would have been nice to show the viewers the min and max SWR for this range. Next time. Cheers.
Do they sell one with an TNC male on it? The AN/PRC-152 radio has a TNC female on it. Hope you will have been doing well, I will be by you again in a few weeks. I send you an email when I'm there.
Yes, they do. It's called "The Squad Leader". See you in a few. It's warm here. 🥵
Good video. Did you look at all at the RF characteristics of the RTO antenna in terms of RF safety - particularly when using at high power (5w)?
Thank you. I did not look into that as I do not have any equipment to test this. I alway assumed that 5 watts would be safe enough. In practice, I rarely run between 300mW and 2.5 watts. No RF burns are good sign.
Is there one available for FRS and GMRS?
No. These are designed for the military frequencies. I haven't checked where the SWR lands on the FRS/GMRS frequencies. I am asking William to consider making one for the 2m amateur radio band. Try shooting him a message about GMRS. That could be a big market.
Interesting product but not suitable for my use. I'm glad it has given you a good option for your lifestyle... options are always good to have. :)
Options are always good. Pick the best antenna that you can afford and works best for your needs. Cheers from the US.
I just picked up my vx6r.
Using a signal stick for now. Not sure what is a good rugged option for now. Similar use case to you
Yes! Congratulations. Be honest, doesn't that radio feel solid in your hand compared to other radios? The stock antenna is not bad. Test them both and see which works best in your area.
So, don't use the RTO on a baofeng uv5g?
You can, just make sure you get the correct connector type for the Baofeng. My Yaesu has a different SMA connector type than the Baofengs.
@@TheTechPrepper I have a bit of a silly question. Is there a way to connect the caatail to an abbree? I know there are the relocation cables. But I'm curious, if one could have a caatail attached to the radio on one end, and then on the other end, it connects to the abbree? I'm just thinking, it would be nice to have an extra long antenna that partially weaves through the plate carrier, and then have the other part that can stick up when needed.?
Or would having that really not change much as far as distance?
@@E.AllTheAbove There are actually two separate products from CAATail. One is The RTO. This a flexible antenna is meant to be woven through your gear. It's length is specially cut to length designed for the military bands, it's not perfect for the amateur radio bands. I tested this antenna in the video.
They also have a relocation cable. I did a video on that as well. That's what I used to relocate the Abbree antenna. The relocation cable throws off the SWR antenna a bit. Any additional connectors and relocation cables you add to an antenna will impact its performance...usually negatively. Antennas are typically cut for the specific length to target a particular frequency.
Why the VX-6 over the FT5d?
Price point. It would be nice to have APRS built-in. I can't afford a fleet of four FT-5D's. I try to buy 3-4 units of the same radio when it becomes my EDC radio.
Is there a good push to talk headset system for the Yaesu radios?
@@ericthemidget9685 I did a video in this series that covered the MSA Sordin ear pro and the PTT for the Yaesu's. Search my video channel page for "msa sordin".
Great video 👍
Thanks for the view! Glad you enjoyed it! You may like the next one that is coming. If the parts arrive in time, it will be relate to this topic. Abbreee antenna testing with the relocation cable. I'll use the same baseline test for comparison.
Relocation cable seems more ideal
Like Your Videos, I have a Alinco DJ-MD5X DMR HT and a Yeasu FT817, like the Japanese Brands Radios Only because of Their Quality Standards are Very High, also have a Open spot 4 Micro Repeater for Completion Portable Operation, My call here is N2MJF Advanced Class,
Thanks and welcome to the channel. I am not terribly familiar with the Alinco line of radios, but I am a heavy user of the Yaesu rigs. They have exception built quality. The FT-817 is the Swiss Army Knife of radios.
With the loss of IPX rating it's not even a consideration for me.
Yep. Makes sense. I'm running into the same issue with a new antenna I'm testing an antenna from Mountain Parameters. The addition of their Tiger Tail comprises the IPX rating. Are you sticking with the rubber duck or going with another antenna?
@@TheTechPrepper So, an easy work around is self fusing silicone tape. It's cheap, it works, but it sucks if you swap ants around on the reg. It's what I use for all of my outdoor, permanent connections. We all have special circumstances and it would appear running around in full kit, in the desert, is yours...... special...and all... :)
I've got drawers full of HT's but I the 6R is my go to and what lured me to your channel. I do enjoy the content.
FWIW I use the stock ant and keep a roll up j-pole I can toss into a tree. We have trees here..
Now everybody knows you are "wearing a wire"