|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
| Reviews Summary for SMA to BNC Antenna Adapter |
|
Reviews: 30
|
Average rating: 4.4/5
|
MSRP: $11.95
|
Description: Adapter allows you to:
Quickly change your antennas to base, mobile or different style use. Use the more popular and wider selection available of BNC antennas. Prevent chassis connector wear or from coming loose due to having to change antennas
|
|
More info: http://www.wa3hrl.com/smabnc/
|
|
You can
write your own review of the SMA to BNC Antenna Adapter.
|
KI6GVV
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 22, 2008 15:20
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Excellance at its best
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Just received the connector today for my ft-60 and what an awesome product. Even has the little ring part that does down inside just like the factory duck. Quality work. Stephen is a pleasure to do business with and responds quickly to emails.
Another great American product
Brad
N3BSW
|
|
AJ4EM
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jun 5, 2008 11:58
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Best defense for HT
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
|
I've now had the opportunity to recommend this for someone else in addition to the one I use on my Kenwood TH-G71A. Swapping the duck for the truck mag-mount daily as well as occasional satellite with a WA5VJB cheap yagi with the SMA was painful. Now I don't worry. It's not just a gasket, but a support as well. To be honest, I would prefer an SMA mount with this adapter to a pure BNC antenna connector on the H/T, it's that good.
|
|
VE4AMN
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Sep 28, 2007 18:47
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Excellent unit and support
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
This is a sturdy unit that protects the SMA connector. A rubber bushing provides support so there's no worry in connecting an oversize antenna on my FT-60R HT. No worries in snapping off the connector because too much pressure is placed on the connector. I had another HT where I did not invest in this protection and the cost of repair far exceeded the cost of these adaptors.
Steve has connectors for many units, ships fast on the honour system, and keeps in contact. Very pleasurable experience.
|
|
KE5JKJ
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Sep 18, 2007 20:25
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great Product & Support!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
When I was reading Kenwood HT reviews, a recurring suggestion was to replace the stock duck with a better antenna. There seemed to be more choices with a BNC connector so I focused on an SMA-to-BNC adapter as the first step. There are a lot of them out there but I had read about KC2BHO's custom made unit in several HT reviews. I had not seen the reviews posted here and, at first, $14 seemed a bit steep for one of these units. After reading a bit more about it, I took a chance and was pleasantly surprised at the level of response from Stephen.
He shipped without first receiving payment (his idea) and there was a regular exchange of emails throughout the transaction. If only I got that kind of support from the online retailers of ham gear. This was my first HT and first BNC adapter but I could see that it is well made, fits perfectly and, barring damage, I would expect it to last the useful life of the radio. If it had been defective, I am sure Stephen would have replaced it without delay. I plan to order another one shortly as a backup anyway.
|
|
W6WWE
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Feb 28, 2007 17:23
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
It Just Works !!!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I have a Yaesu FT60-R handheld and heard great things about the Pryme AL-800 telescoping antenna, so I bought one not realizing that the AL-800 had a bnc connector.
Since my Yaesu has a sma antenna connector, I needed an adaptor. When I got a bnc-sma connector from the radio shop, I was amazed at how flimsy the antenna connection was.
Hearing about Stephen Gulya’s adaptor, I decided to get one and try it. I was very impressed with Stephen’s rapid email correspondence and when the adaptor arrived, it made all the difference in the world on my radio’s antenna connection.
I have just recently received my adaptor and so far it appears to be a quality product capable of living up to the other GOOD to GREAT reviews listed here. And dealing with Stephen was a great experience.
Using any antenna longer than the factory supplied antenna is certainly going to put strain on the tiny sma connection on your radio.
Having said that, it would appear that using appropriate care, Stephen’s adaptor is well worth the $14.00.
|
|
WB4PAP
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jul 25, 2006 17:12
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great Product! Great Support!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Wanted a SMA to BNC adapter for my Kenwood TH-D7. Contacted Stephan and got an immediate reply. He was very helpful and knowledgeable about his product and offered to ship the connector before he received my check. A honor service he performs for fellow Ham's. So I ask myself, how could some people make such negative comments about a $14.00 product?? The guy trusts his fellow Ham's with his product before he gets a check and while it clears. He maintains excellent contact with you during shipping and follows up to make sure you're happy with the product and to verify it's been recieved. I can't believe that this guy wouldn't make good on a damaged connector!! OK, so I got the connector, it didn't break in my hand, I screwed it on my radio and didn't have to send the radio back to Kenwood to get it fixed. I like it a lot better than the SMA connector on the radio and quite frankly, It's pretty well made!! I try to avoid dropping my hand held mostly due to the $300 replacement cost of the radio more-so than the $14 cost of the connector. So if it does it's job it's money well spent.
Tom
|
|
KPAX1
|
Rating: 2/5
|
Apr 9, 2006 12:33
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Fell apart in my hands!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
Sounded like a good idea so I sent this guy $14.00 for an SMA/BNC adapter with a rubber hose glued to it. Item would not screw down tight on radio. When trying to attach rubber duck it just spun around. Wound up pulling off rubber hose, scewing SMA to connector and installing my own rubber gasket. $14.00 for a $1.50 adapter! Well, live and learn.
|
|
K6RSG
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Nov 15, 2005 15:46
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Over 3 yrs of durable use
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
Steve's excellent and durable adapters have been in use on my three (3) Kenwood TH-F6A HTs for over three years. There's not been a single problem. And, they've not received any special care nor pampering.
They've been dropped, thrown around, installed on and switched between many other radios and antennas at radio club, ski patrol, and other meetings. I've even bought a couple extra for my Go bag. They've come in very handy during Ski Patrolling and excel at keeping snow and moisture out of the rig housing.
As fit for their intended purpose and design, they've allowed my SMA HT's to interface to every BNC antenna connector encountered and have provided excellent strain relief for the SMA atop the HTs. I've tried the bare adapters (i.e those without the strain relief provided by Steve's design) and I opted not to expose my HT's to the obvious risk of those shearing off.
Very 73,
Rob - AK9G
(Prev. K6RSG)
|
|
NH7L
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Nov 15, 2005 14:56
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Excellent product
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
Been using one of these for a couple years on my Kenwood TH-G71A, which gets bounced around a lot and is used handheld, mobile and for travel. I've had no problems with it whatsoever.
The problem reported by some folks posting here -- the SMA pin on the transceiver breaking -- is a problem inherent with the SMA connector. That pin is the weakness, not the converter. That pin is subject to breaking regardless of whether you connect a stock rubber duckie to it or connect a sma/bnc converter. SMA just isn't the best connector to be sticking on top of an HT, period. Unfortunately, they're in common use, especially given how most manufacturers are focusing on making smaller HTs these days. Rather than complain here, you'd be better off sending something to your HT manufacturer, urging it to quit using the lousy little connectors. A BNC connector is superior for this use, and it's what your HT should have on it. The manufacturers chose small over larger and less attractive, even though the smaller alternative is junk. I like Steven's converter a lot. It's a good product. The glue on the rubber part of mine has given out, too. Hasn't been a problem. If it was, I'd apply rubber cement to the inside of the rubber.
|
|
KC0TKF
|
Rating: 1/5
|
Nov 15, 2005 09:36
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Needs work!!
|
Time owned: 6 to 12 months
|
|
Well it worked OK until the glue broke loose then after a few antenna flexes, the SMA center pin broke in the FT60. So back to Yaesu it goes for a $65+ repair. Too bad all radios couldn't have mandatory BNC connectors or that the SMA could be field fixable (unscrew the bad SMA "capsule" and replace with a new "SMA capsule".) When I get the radio back I will engineer an SMA to BNC adapter with a flexiable BNC to SMA inter-connection to strain releive the SMA center pin stress.
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
