Diamond X50N on PMR

Has anyone used one of these antennas on the PMR446 frequencies? I am curious as it says that the bandwidth is 430-440Mzh, but I am sure I have heard others saying that they still work ok and that the SWR is acceptable.

Yout thoughts would be welcome.

Hey up Simon and I use a Comet GP1 very similar antenna and the SWR on PMR is spot on


Craig

Thanks Craig. I know that in an ideal world the X50NA would have been the version to buy but we cannot get them over this side of the pond.

the difference in SWR readings on 70cm and 446mhz is minimal.

One of the guys I chat to locally on PMR is using the X50 and I recently purchased the X30 myself at the recommendation of one of the other chaps I speak to as they give both antennas glowing reports! My own is still to go up on a chimney lashing kit, it is finding an installer at the moment I am struggling with as my days of climbing across rooftops are long past.

Thank you Alan. I am going to give it a try once my coax connectors turn up. It has to be miles better than the rubber duck on my H/H

Without a doubt it will be, I was advised to swap the rubber duck out immediately on my handset and have done so with each one I have bought noticing vast improvements over the original rubber duck. The standard one I am using on handsets is the Nagoya NA771 and I have purchased one of the goose-neck, folding tactical antennas, which, when out with the dog I was able to hear a cruise liner make its various stops around the coast on one of the Marine frequencies I was listening too at no less than 4 of its coastal pick-up points.
After joining the local group of radio operators I have found the majority who are using PMR have a mobile unit set up as a base station and even though I, like you, got all the connections for my handset(walkie-talkie) I have ordered one myself due to the various benefits it can offer although my handset accompanies me every time I go out with the dog pretty much!

I do have a Nagoya NA771 and use it regularly although I am thinking that it could be a fake. On 446 it doesn't really work any better than the stubby rubber duck that my Bumfeng came with. I also have one of those micro mag antennas for the car, but again it isn't great on performance. that could be down to the crappy coax it came with though...

I am too far inland to pick up much on the Marine band but I have listened in whilst at the coast a few times.

It may well be fake as I tried them all out making comparisons which went as you would expect the tactical one does best by far followed by the Nagoya then the standard one it shipped with, especially over distance I found.

My brother bought it for me and he just bought the cheapest he could find, it looks good enough but I'm almost certain it's a fake.

We have all been caught out with fake products back and forth, they look the part but more often than not have poor functionality, it is only then that you start to suspect they are a copy.
If you buy from a UK supplier you may pay a little more but are far less likely to get caught out with a fake but in saying that I just looked at others from abroad and some have very good reviews indeed and if I wasn't in a hurry I would be tempted to try them myself with prices like that.
I bought each radio bundled with the Nagoya antenna and recommended a some friends I have helped purchase/program their sets do the same and we have had no problems when I have purchased another I just ensured it had a decent write up from other customers.

Mudslinger wrote:

My brother bought it for me and he just bought the cheapest he could find, it looks good enough but I'm almost certain it's a fake.

A GENUINE NAGOYA NA-771 will have a tiny inverted triangle inside the letter "A" on the base (see photo). If it doesn't have this then its a fake (this information is from the manufacturer's site).

In that case it is definitely a fake. Thanks for the info.

Hi i use my X30 for PMR and it works really well.

i got my base antenna from Slovakia home made and its great and i have a home made with measurements from tm 01 and its into a 3/8 onto a mag mount and gets out well some say 1 to 2 max range i get further at home and lots further out mobile static next week if its like this the weather, will be out with pmr and my superstar 6900n and the t2lt antenna and try for some contacts

I know this is quite an old post but here goes, I'm considering purchasing a Diamond X-30 antenna for home base. My question is, will this be suitable for use with PMR446 also?

The x30 will be just fine for PMR but do remember it is illegal to TX using  a external antenna for this band 



Craig

Hi Craig

Thanks for the quick response, I'm aware I can't TX using an external antenna but cheers for the reminder.

73
Derek

Alan - Mirror Man wrote:

We have all been caught out with fake products back and forth, they look the part but more often than not have poor functionality, it is only then that you start to suspect they are a copy.  
If you buy from a UK supplier you may pay a little more but are far less likely to get caught out with a fake but in saying that I just looked at others from abroad and some have very good reviews indeed and if I wasn't in a hurry I would be tempted to try them myself with prices like that.
I bought each radio bundled with the Nagoya antenna and recommended a some friends I have helped purchase/program their sets do the same and we have had no problems when I have purchased another I just ensured it had a decent write up from other customers.

I bought a cheap NA-771 copy not long after the original Baofeng boom in 2013. The SWR is so bad that when I keyed up on high power, the text in the LCD display faded to almost nothing. I subsequently noticed my display is now permanently discoloured (burned) in the top left corner near the antenna connection.

I recently tested the SWR on genuine Nagoya antennas, specifally the NA-771 and the NA-701 respectively. And since then, I've not used them. 
I even tried a friend's two Nagoya (genuine) antennas and both had the same result...
SWR so high there's no way I'd use them on a decent HT. All 4 I tested which were genuine, SWR was over 2.5 on them all.

Into a dummy load on the HT's.

I ended up paying a bit extra and got some genuine Diamond HT whips instead which are reading below 1.5 

Sydthecat wrote:

The x30 will be just fine for PMR but do remember it is illegal to TX using  a external antenna for this band 



Craig

Tell that to the businesses that are using them with these and bigger antennas. 
Here we have the local gyms, B and Q, Homes for the elderly, schools the list goes on! All crammed on 16 channels!

26CT1074 wrote:

I recently tested the SWR on genuine Nagoya antennas, specifally the NA-771 and the NA-701 respectively. And since then, I've not used them. 
I even tried a friend's two Nagoya (genuine) antennas and both had the same result...
SWR so high there's no way I'd use them on a decent HT. All 4 I tested which were genuine, SWR was over 2.5 on them all.

Into a dummy load on the HT's.

I ended up paying a bit extra and got some genuine Diamond HT whips instead which are reading below 1.5 

I'll replace mine in that case.

What Diamond antennas did you get for your HT's?