I’ve got one thing figured out. My Diamond 5/8 wave 2m/70 cm mobile antenna on top of my Ram truck is 2” below the drive through ceiling of In-N-Out burger. I’ll trade gain for a burger…
I go thru drive through's with the SG-7900 and the Diamond screwdriver antennas scraping and banging off things LOL took out the lights in one drive thru!
I have been a ham since 1993. I have never had any other mobile antenna than the Comet SBB 5. I currently own four of them. The older ones still work great but are faded by sunlight damage and pitted by the winter weather.
I’ve had the SBB-5 NMO for 3-4 years and I LOVE IT!!! It’s on my Silverado using a mag mount on the roof. Yes it’s tall. Yes, I park in a garage at work but I put the mag on the back wheel well and I’m good. I know, I know, not the best place but its works on my local repeaters. I drove TV news microwave & satellite trucks for almost 25 years so I’m very aware of vehicle heights, etc. and don’t have too much trouble with trees & drive thrus and always stop and take the antenna off the roof if needed. The more “tin in the wind” the better. The SBB-5 is great when I’m running the ARRL VHF contests. And now after seeing your video, I’m seriously looking at the B-10 for use on the roof when I’m in the garage. Thanks for all your hard work & kudos on the production value! 👍🏼 7-3 Michael-WA5AZQ
Bought an SBB-5 at a hamfest 2 years ago. Wanted some mag mount antennas. Guy had some. I grabbed 2-3 different ones. Realized I got the #1 antenna out there with an NMO mag mount for >$20 ! It does better than it’s big brother the 8 too! Thanks Josh for the science.
I have the uhf mounted 2x4 and Iove that antenna. Prior to that I had a tram mag mount. Needless to say the comet is miles better especially on receive.
I've ran the SBB-5, SBB-7 and the 2x4SR. Currently using the 2x4SR on my 400XD in my vehicle. It works great and doesn't scrape the overhang at the bank when I drive through. The SBB-5 works great as well, but some areas it isn't big enough for East Tennessee. The SBB-7 had no problem getting my signal out in most areas. One draw back is the it scrappes the overhang at the bank and low limbs can knock it over. The 2x4SR is the sweet spot for me on my vehicle. It's big enough to get my signal out and not easily knocked over or scrape overhangs.
I have one of the larger Comets on the van and wouldn't ya know it, the drive through took a section off. So I will be replacing it before I head out to Huntsville
Tip of my old SG-7900 is bent back 30 degrees from a bird strike at 80mph... I heard a twang, looked back in the rear view mirror and saw a cloud of feathers... friend driving behind me said it cut the bird in half and splattered him with guts, feathers, blood...
I actually purchased the SBB-5NBMO last night after looking at a few different antennas. It seemed like the perfect height for mounting on the bed rails of my F150. Glad to see I made a good choice.
Fantastic video! I just wish you would have tried 50 watts also and provided numbers for 50 too but the video still shows how amazing comet antennas are. It’s the only brand I use. I have a nice stockpile of comets in the shack. I’m working on and FTM 500 install right now and I’m running a short run of LMR400 Flex to a Breedlove stake pocket mount to get all my power out and on the air! Going to try a Comet CSB790A antenna. It’s a long 7/8 wave antenna with 5.1 DBi on 2M and 7.7BDi on 70cm
The SBB-5 is a half wave antenna on 2 meters. So if you need an antenna for a fiberglass car like a Corvette or to go on an RV or Camper shell, the SBB-5 is a great choice. Half wave antennas don't need a ground plane. 3:39
I run this on my full size pickup. Works great. Notice better preference on APRS. I usually run 5 watts off a Yeasu Ft5dr. Not too often I have to turn on the Mirage dual band amp. Think it’s about 45 watts with 5 watts in. Easy removal for getting into my garage.
I use the SBB-5 with mag mount on my aluminum Ford truck on a steel plate on top of a piece of unistrut stuck in the stake pocket. Its the same hight as my cab but stuck to a 5" square steel plate. I chose the sbb5 because of the poor ground plane i likely have with my compromised mount.
@@forgetyourlife it's 2x5/8 wave on 70 cm. It will require a ground plane on 70cm, but the ground plane will vary depending on how and where you mount it on what vehicle.
I have the CA-2X4SR (not NMO mount) connected to a LD-5M lip mount on my Civic. Its a great antenna. I have been able to send APRS packets to the ISS with it while driving.
I've got one as well. Added the spring kit to it... just in time...I went to a valet parking lot and they put my Jeep into the garage. I forgot about the height of the antenna! Got my Jeep back and found the antenna tilted backwards ( the screw on the mount was loose enough to let the antenna flex and not break) with only a few scratches. Checking with antenna analyzer and no issues. Great antenna for me. I got it specifically for 2m band openings for mobile and it's wide band operations. Trying to get a duplexer to run my 220 rig and my Yeasu 8800 through it...if possible. I'd get it again.
Hi Josh your favorite magician here. Love the antenna testing. I have an SBB-25 on my car, it's nice but way too tall over 50 inches, I think the SBB-5 would be better since it's only 38 inches and will fit in my garage without having to fold it over. Thanks for assuring me it would be great on my 2020 Ford Edge ST. Thanks.
I believe that cutout when receiving the test signal back was actually your ID5100 briefly switching to listen for WX tone. At least that's what I've experienced on my 5100. Also, I have the B10 on my wife's SUV and I've been very happy with it!
Was trying to decide which Comet I wanted for my vehicle and it was actually between the 2 you were testing I was swaying towards the SSB5 and you confirmed it, Thanks
A good antenna with a crap radio with almost always work better than a bad antenna with a good radio. I love these reviews. They give a great deal of information, especially shopping radios and antennas.
I know this test was 10 months ago, but the video just popped up in my feed. I have a 2023 Ford F-150 with the same 3rd brake light antenna mount and 5100 radio. I'm using the B-10 because it clears my 8' garage door (so it always stays on except for car washes), and that little antenna has surprising performance (I keep the radio on 15 watts). Anyway, hope this was helpful to anyone considering the smaller B-10 as an option. Cheers and 73. Pete in Arizona - KI7LIL
I have had great luck with the Comet CA-2X4SR Mobile VHF/UHF - with the added benefit of being able to use it for Public Safety VHF frequencies. The available spring add-on allows for more flexibility on taller trucks like mine. - KI5MEL
I actually use the comet CA-2x4SR with the Yaesu FTM-200 and like it. I like its folding capability and recently added the comet spring to help when hitting branches and such. I did look at the SBB-5 but liked the little UFO on the CA-2X4, lol.
Aloha Josh, what a great video but I have a great challenge for you. Please test the Tram 1185-a 19” 1/4 wave mag mount antenna against the SBB-5 and B-10 against the 1185. They are very similar in price and can be bought with different types of connectors. I also own and love my Comet antennas but I was so pleased with it’s performance that I bought two more for my two rigs in my Jeep and still have an extra one for a back up. I mentioned this Tram 1185 antenna because it’s one of only a few antennas that passed my VOAD Repeater test held on the first Saturday of each month for it’s 284 mile journey from Oahu to the VOAD repeater on top of Moana Kea on the Big Island of Hawai’i, which is five islands away from Oahu. I do have a 5/8 wave Comet antenna that does better but it’s over 50” tall. I’m not sure if HRO sells the Tram 1185? I bought all of mine on eBay a few years ago and they are still working great. I have two of them on top of my Jeep. One for my Yaesu FT-2900r and the other for my Anytone AT-5888 UVIII 50 watt tri-band transceiver. Yes, this antenna works great for 220 mhz also. My wife likes these antennas also for she likes to go to the Ala Moana Mall, which their underground parking structures use to interfere while looking for parking spaces, which my Comet and JetStream antennas use to bang against the overhead structure and pipes hanging down in those parking levels. I would love to try out that short B-10 antenna to compare performance and signal strength vs the Tram 1185 antennas that I’m already using, especially for the monthly VOAD repeater test for one hour each month. Are you up for this challenge? Todd de WH6DWF 🇺🇸
I use a Diamond SG-7900 but I also have a 10' garage door and 12' ceiling! HF is a Diamond screwdriver. Out where I live I need max gain... repeaters are 30-50 miles away!
I have the Comet ca2x4sr-nmo with the accessory spring which Comet makes specifically for this antenna. That spring is just the right tension to keep the antenna upright at highway speed, but it takes the shock if you do hit something. I've gone into the parking garage with the antenna up. I was going slow, and I stopped after the first impact and took the antenna down, but there was no damage.
Great video and a good test protocol. I've been running an SBB-7 for Public Service events and traveling for over 20 years, Works great out in the boonies. Too tall for my garage, so use a Z-750 (also 20+ years old and on it's 3rd vehicle) for day to day use on my TM-D710. I use the B-10 on the front hood of my Trailblazer for 13 years for the VHF/UHF side of my IC-706MKIIG. In the Dayton area we are saturated with repeaters and it works great in town. I put the Z-750 up there when using the SBB-7 on the back. While I know the NMO is the "professional" vehicle mount, all of my VHF/UHF mobile antennas are PL-259 and the mounts are SO-239. Much easier to remote antennas (such as up on a mast with my drive over mount) for ARES work. I have had no problems with those connectors in 20+ years of use. 73 Randy KAØAZS
Josh, I have been using the B-10 antenna on my Tacoma roof now for about 5 years. I use with a Connect System 800D on 70cm DMR at high power. I always get a clean signal in a 40-50 mile circle of the repeater. My opion is this is excellent shorty antenna. Thanks for all you videos. Tyler KF5ETZ
I have had the CA2X4SR with the optional spring extension for about 4 years. As you noted in your video the fold-over works great for parking structures and the spring section helps out with the occasional low-flying tree branch. I haven't had any issues with 70cm repeater usage, and I actually operate an HT in my Suburban with the Comet antenna so I am always low power. I also have to give Comet kudos because they offer replacement parts at reasonable prices. I had an antenna damaged in shipping. The vendor filed an insurance claim with the shipper and sent me a new antenna. I was able to replace the broken phasing coil for only $11 so now I have two of them.
I know these are (weirdly IMO) controversial, but I really love my set of Compactennas for my ham radio and scanner. They do very well in most conditions, including urban environments with a lot of multipath. The HAM band version when mounted on my hatchback's roof had very similar performance to my giant 'supergainer' mounted to the rear hatch. I've had them mounted for about 5 years and have done many long trips through all sorts of terrible weather and they've held up great. My next car antennas will be from Compactenna as long as they're still around.
I do have the COMET 2x4SR on two vehicles. Bought that one because, in my use case, I have a GMRS radio as well as a VHF/UHF radio connected with a switch and that antenna works well across all the frequencies needed (with only one antenna for my wife to not like). The SBB does look good too! All my HTs are fitted with signalsticks - good antennas and being able to coil them up for storage is great. Thank you for the review! 73! W7PMR
I've got the 2x4SR-NMO and paired with my Kenwood D710-GA it's amazing. The fold over was nice when I used to park with my old vehicle in a parking garage. Now I don't have an issue in my current garage with the current vehicle. But it's been a fantastic performer and I only get excellent feedback on my signal output at any wattage. But I was always extra impressed by the RX. I used to hear my club members on simplex from 50 or so miles away in the mountains. But because of trees I imagine they could never hear me.
I just got the Kenwood d710ga and 2x4SR NMO antenna - going to play from home office location till I learn the radio ..and get things sorted into my Lexus 350 .. and then shop for a base station antenna for the home .. but good to hear we have similar selections and that you have good results.. perhaps you have a suggestion for a home antenna too .. I have a lot of testing and learning to do ..
Suggestion on the sbb5 is to take a piece of large diameter heat shrink tubing around the coil. Otherwise you will constantly be telling your wife, "no, I don't hear any whistle"
I have that exact same setup before on my GMC 2500. Yaesu 8900 and the UHV-4 is a killer combo. When I go down south I can access all the 10 and 6 meter repeaters. Even if you don’t have a quad band the UHV-4 is one of the best 2 meters antennas you can buy. It’s only drawback is it’s so stiff you can get into trouble when you start hitting thing like branches and drive thru restaurant signs. It just won’t flex and can tear your mount up.
I put 2x4 sr on everything. A spring kit is a must if you are anywhere near brush or low limbs. They will break without the spring if you hit a limb or anything stout. Not cheap, but the wide band is a must for me.
Josh ... Excellent Video! I own an SBB-5, it was my First Mobile Antenna and its hasn't disappointed me. I only recently became a ham in Canada... decided while I am looking into HF units, I setup the SBB-5 As a Temporary Base Station Antenna on my Fence-9ft up! Fantastic Range... anywhere from 9 km to a max. 35 km range on 5 Watts with an HT ~ FT-65R! Recently I was able to open a Repeater about 60km away during a Net with a 3/3 ... So I totally Agree with you, its just the best Value for the money! Keep doing these great reviews! How about doing a review on the Comet UHV-4 ...been thinking of picking up one of these too! 73 ...
One test that's also important is how they sound on the road. I'm not referring to signal quality; instead, I'm referring to wind noise. Some antennas can be heard just a little, some whistle, and some howl. For example, on my GTI, the B10 whistles and the 2x4SR howls. The SBB5 makes some noise, but it's just a faint wind sound. I have the larger SBB7 and SBB15, too. They sound like cargo boxes! HAHA! That may be a result of my main mount being near the back of a long roof and very much in the wind. I didn't notice any of these noises when mounted on my previous car, a sedan where the antenna was on the trunk lid with the coil(s) being below the direct path of wind. Of course, now I have so much on the car that it probably doesn't matter. 🤣Nice work! -Scott, KE4WMF
Have the sbb5 and sbb7 and must say the sbb7 blows me away again and again. I run my Nmo mount on a lip mount on the truck bed of my ram and while suboptimal it still just works, haven’t found any repeaters I can’t hit that I could in any other situation.
A lot of the shorter 'dual band' antennas are nothing but a 1/4 wave on VHF, which is about a 3/4 wave on UHF - 3/4 wave on UHF means radiation pattern is pretty much aimed at the sky.
I'm loving these tests.. I was wondering, do you have a video of your RX setup and the DTMF TX setup? I'd love to learn how this works.. Especially how the DTMF TX works.. If some one else used this dtmf code, would it also TX for them?
I have both the SBB5 and UHV-4 that I will place on my truck lid. The height is definitely an issue with the UHV4, but worth it when trying to get weaker signals. The issue I had with the SBB5 was the fact I used Amazon. The packaging is the same between thr two connectors and Amazon screwed up the stock. I kept getting the wrong connector sent different from my order. Comet had to finally step in and make it right. I bought directly through them and they honored the price while they dealt with Amazon's stock.
Great video, i was reading the other day that they stopped making the signal stalk because of some design issues. Apparently they are currently working on fixing the problems. Thanks again for a great video!! Cheers 73 VA6GKT
Nice testing Josh! I’m currently using the SBB-5 NMO mounted on the hatch of my SUV and it’s been doing a great job. I also have the SBB-7 NMO but it’s pretty tall to clear most drive thru where I have it mounted.
One thing to consider is angle of radiation, ie lower angle is good for repeaters at a lower elevation and higher angle of radiation better for higher mountain repeater. For instance a two meter quarter wave has a higher angle of radiation than a 5/8 wave. Keep up the good work 😊 73 de KW7WP
So, I see you have a third brake light mount. Not a true NMO in the center of the roof mount. I’d guess that affects the performance. I have a through roof nmo mount and the 2x4 antenna and it’s a top notch performer. With the spring I do not worry about low hanging stuff. Good video!
I have an F150, a real one, with a gasoline power house of an engine, lol. I am looking at having a 10M tall antenna on one side of the bed with a 70cm 2m and 6m triple band in the middle. The radios I am looking at are 50watt units. Will the antennas interfere with each other, or the radiation pattern be altered by the presence of the other ones so close to each other. I am leaving 'baofengland" behind.
They will interact some, just tune for resonance... When I drove my F150 I had a diamond SG-7900A-nmo on one corner and a Diamond HF single band HF20CL whip on the other side. Carried the other band whips in a tube inside the bed rail... 20m was most used, sometimes 40, 80m at night, and 10m if we had a band opening
I've "graduated" from the 2x4 to the 7900. But there's very little to be gained in reality. The SBB25 was better on 2 meters than any other antenna I've tried.
So 1/4 wave antennas are short but need a good ground plane or poise. Longer antennas are most likely 1/2 wave antennas . 1/2 wave antennas don’t need a ground plane.
Have you ever tried the Comet SBB-680? I've been working with one for about 10 years and it holds up very well and it has decent range at mid level power (10w). I got it for the size (it's great for going in and out of drive throughs on top of my Jeep Grande Cherokee) and performance (I can hit repeaters 30+ miles away with a good signal at about 10w). Well built and works great.
Good information Josh. The dual band on my daily driver's trunk fits the car's shape and size (Acura iLX) but definitely loses in the performance category.
great test. with 70CM can be blocked in spots . sometimes just moving a foot or so makes a big difference. I like how the one will even due MURS and GMRS. looking for good performing GMRS antenna and this was helpful letting me know what else is out their. have Ford fusion car so looking into longer antenna .I have the Midland MNO 5DB GMRS one now and works pretty good. 73's
I know this all too well the dilemma of having a big stick on a truck. My mate has a 9 ft stainless whip for cb after trying many antenna's on his 4x4. That thing is tough as nails, would spring right back to vertical even after a few solid hits on trees when going bush. He still took it off going into a parking garage but drive throughs never phased it either, it just sprang right back after it hit the sign.
I love my SBB7, a perfect 1.0swr on both bands and i love my icom 5100, it's definitely the best mobile radio out there for traveling with that near repeater search. Yeasu's and any other radios are just a headache.
Again. Damn you RU-vid. I was bored at work for hours and i didn't get the notification got this video. I pay for premium like a schmuck and i keep missing literally everything i wanna watch...
Maybe I missed something, but I don't think you said anything about SWR, each time you changed antennas ? Which obviously would affect their performance !
Help, need suggestion for a single strong magnetic Ham radio vehicle antenna mount please. Not interested in the 3 magnet triangle one. Antenna will be the Comet SBB5. Thanks for suggestions
So I recommend Larsen or other commercial antennas. I’ve owned Diamond and Comet NMO and they both fell apart. They are cheaply made. So commercial or bust. Gain is not a game to play. Gain comes at the expense of lobes where RF power is concentrated. To have a lobe with gain you need a null with no gain or loss. Those nulls get you and can impact fringe repeater and station performance. UHF connections are not as good as NMO since the PL259 pin can and does Move around ever so slightly. This changes the impedance of the antenna and effects the effectiveness and efficiency of the antenna.
@Ham Radio Crash Course- Let’s say you want to pair an excellent mobile antenna for connecting the Kenwood TH-D75 in a Jeep wrangler application would the SBB-5nmo be the ticket or is there an awesome tri band that would be better?
In my test between comet sbb5 and the 2x4sr the comet 2x4sr did better on both bands .i tested them on the two far repeater and simplex with a friend of mineon both bands. but the 2x4 sr is more picky about ground . To get 1.3 to 1.4 swr on 70cm but you should know not 1 antenna perfect on all vehicles . Playing around is the only way to find what is best antenna and location for the vehicle your driving.
Hey why won’t comet take a defective Antenna’s back? I bought a ground plane a GP 95 and it had a swr of three on all bands, and they would not take it back.??
I'm looking for a dual band 2m/70cm mag-mount. Plenty of cheap Chin, and one I bought works surprisingly well, however nearly all that I can find have piddling little magnets which let go at about 70Mph or less with gusts of headwind. Any suggestions?
Good day, I'm planning to purchase either the Nagoya UT-72 or Nagoya UT-72G antenna. I'm primarily going to use frequencies between 451.000 to 455.000 most of the time, and occasionally frequencies between 144 to 145. I've heard that the Nagoya UT-72G might be a better choice since its frequency range extends from 155 to 462 compared to the Nagoya UT-72, which covers 144 to 430. However, I've noticed that the Nagoya UT-72G is more expensive in my area. Can you please provide guidance on which antenna would be the better option given my frequency usage and budget constraints? Your assistance is much appreciated. Thank you.
