If you're going to use the radio in your vehicle, DON'T buy a handheld! While they are passible in some respects, they are not the stuff of champions.
Rubber ducky antennas don't have gain, they have loss, and a lot of it! In most cases, handheld radios have rather hot front ends. Hooking them to a decent antenna results in intermod city!
The other unasked question has to do with 6 meters. We're at the bottom of the sunspot cycle, and it's getting to be Winter. All of this adds up to the band being dead for some time. Add the fact that FM requires much higher signals than SSB, it will be about 4 years or so before 6 meter FM will be worth worrying about. My advice is, forget 6 meters at least for the present.
Lastly, almost all of the 3 band VHF antennas (6, 2 and 70 cm) are imports. Their performance is sub-standard, regardless of their popularity.
Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
