The flat bar of aluminum is probably overkill as a simple rattail/counterpoise made with a piece of trimmed wire on a ring connector will suffice. Even with one, those blade antennas still suck and a Baofeng is better off with the stock rubberduck.
The trimmed wire tends to curl or take odd shapes that can change SWR. As well the surface area of the flatstrap helps add greater frequency coverage over a thiner wire. Thank you for watching and commenting back to me.. 73.
To correct my self I said 45 degrees angle but it's 90. And the length of the counterpoise needs to be 16.5 inch. Using a different length will change the swr.
surely there is no issue with using a BNC extension coax onto a ribbon antenna for just scanning/listening correct? Could this be solved for transmitting by using a tens pad attached to a patch of skin? or holding the radio firmly when one does transmit or touching the SMA to BNC adapter at the radio while transmitting? I have one of these ribbon antennas in my backpack for my bc125at but have when i have forgotten to put recharged batteries in, used my uv-5r for scanning since i carry both anyways. since i weaved this antenna in and with a bnc 3 foot extension cable, i had otherwise used bnc whip when i did want to speak with my uv-5r and uv-k5 , but had not thought about transmitting on my scanner's antenna. just wanted something where i could take my backpack off and on without getting tangled in wires. thoughts on other ways to counterpoise preferably without attaching something to my person? or just basically dipole with a brass sheet sticking off a bnc male to bnc female coupler's outer casing?
To just receive you will be good. The thing to remember is a high SWR means lower receive sensitivity. Not an issue for close comms. In the army they use it all the time but typically the only person transmitting is the leader everyone else just listens. A 16.5 inch wire in the same spot will lower SWR but the 1 inch thick flatstrap is king. More surface area makes it a broader band. When the system is set up it installs nicely into mollie. I've made several now and use them in back packs, radio boxes, plate carries and other use. Thanks for watching my video hope you enjoyed it.
