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| Reviews Summary for Arrow GP 146/440 |
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Reviews: 13
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Average rating: 4.8/5
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MSRP: $35
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Description: Arrow GP146/440 dual-band aluminum ground-plane antenna. 3/8 inch solid aluminum vertical elements for wide bandwidth. Stainless steel mounting hardware.
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Product is in production.
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More info: http://www.arrowantennas.com
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KB2HSH
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 19, 2011 10:11
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SOLID
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I purchased my GP146/440 last year when I took down my rapidly deteriorating eggbeaters. The GP146/440 assembles quickly and is quite well built. It has survived a harsh Buffalo winter, and all types of weather in between. This antenna not only does a great job for local FM work and APRS, but is quite useable on the LEO satellites. I have used this antenna successfully on AO-51, NO-44, ISS, and have copied RS01S with it. It isn't great at sat work, but it can be done.
Overall, I would buy another one should this one fail...but I don't see it happening.
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N0MUD
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 25, 2010 11:35
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Excellent base antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had mine for about five years and I use it indoors mounted on a PVC frame that I built. I have great swr's and have never ever had any problems. I have the antenna at one end of my living room and the radio at the other end. Go ahead and buy one. If you need an in door antenna this is the one. The price is great too.
73's Mike, NØmud
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WB0KFC
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 25, 2010 10:45
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Rock Solid
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have been a ham since 1973 and this is the 2nd antenna I have purchased - all others were homebrew. The GP assembles quickly and is very robust. I have it at 30' and it does a fine job on 2 meters. 440 the SWR is a little high but still ok for my 440 needs. I would buy more from this maker. Packed very well and shipped quickly.
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AB0RE
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Rating: 5/5
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May 19, 2009 15:55
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Great Antenna!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The GP146/440 is a great antenna - it's very durable and is something that you can put up and never have to worry about again. The quarterwave groundplane design is broadbanded and the radials provide for effective decoupling of the antenna from the feedline. The gain is VERY close to that of a J-pole antenna (the difference should not be discernable).
Regarding the previous review... if SWR is a problem it's likely that the feedline might have an issue causing high VSWR or that the antenna is interacting with a surrounding object. Hook a dummy load to the end of the feedline and do a sweep - if it raises about 1.1:1 you probably have a feedline issue going on.
Another reviewer mentioned the 1.5" mast limitation. With a little ingenuity (and a muffler clamp) the GP146/440 can be adapted to larger masts.
My only gripe about the antenna is that the red caps that go on the end of the element turn pink after being in the sun for a while (I want a MAN'S antenna, not anything with pink on it, hihi).
Also, it would be nice to have the ability to tune the antenna for the situations where surrounding objects or feedline problems de-tune the antenna. However, if moving parts were added to the antenna it's robustness would be compromised.
For the low price these are pretty nitpicky items. I looked for Arrow Antenna at Hamvention 2009 but never located him to purchase another antenna. :-(
73,
Dan / ab0re
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KJ4EOZ
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Rating: 3/5
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May 19, 2009 14:26
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used 1 time
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Its ok . the SWR's alittle high but its ok .
I'll stay with my X-50A antenna
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KC9BLT
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 15, 2008 09:29
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Well Built and effective
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had two of these antennas. I sold one, was sorry and bought another. I push them up into my Drake Elm trees on fiberglass mast poles. They get banged around quite a bit and they keep working with low SWR's across the band on 2 meters. I am using one on packet now and it direct connects to stations 40 miles away where a 17 foot Tram I had would not! Anyhow I recommend these if you want something that you want to put up for a long time and not have to worry about. Also if you want to deploy and re-deploy, they are sturdy and will take abuse! Thanks for reading and CUL!
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AF6DS
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 19, 2007 16:10
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Good antenna for satellite work
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I replaced my 5' copper J-pole with the GP146/440 for indoor use on mostly 2m meters.
With this antenna, the ISS (Intl Space Station) can digipeat my APRS packet using at most 25 watts on the current simplex FM freq of 145.825 Mhz - even with the ISS at an elevation of ~12 degrees above the horizon. My antenna is mounted indoors on a PVC pipe stand near a window.
This solid aluminum antenna has a VSWR of nearly 1:1, so check/replace your cable if you do not achieve that.
It's nice that you do not need to aim the antenna for satellites passing overhead (and can be located indoors) - great for armchair contacts.
- Peter AF6DS
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W6LBV
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 30, 2007 07:22
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Straight Arrow Stuff
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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If you need some basic omnidirectional VHF/low UHF antennas, you have three different choices depending upon your needs and the funds available. If low cost is paramount, find an SO-239 jack and some solid wire, and construct a little ground plane antenna (design and dimensions are in the handbooks). It will work well enough, but won't last very long in the weather. If the utmost in performance and survivability is critical and you want something that is qualified to go to sea aboard the USS Stennis, gather up your ground plane antenna design and dimensions and head for an aerospace machine shop. They can fix you up with a custom machined antenna out of stainless steel or perhaps titanium.
But if you want a low cost, "no fuss" performer that you can install once and use for years, then simplify your plans and just order an Arrow Antenna ground plane. There’s no point in trying to build one yourself: if you have to buy new aluminum stock and other parts it will probably cost more than the complete Arrow antenna, and you certainly can’t do the machining as well as Arrow can!
I now have both the GP-52 (6 meters), and the GP-146/440 (2 meter/70 cm combo) assembled, installed, and operating. Both were packed for shipping so well that they were impervious to the rampages of the Unified Parsnips System gorillas. The aluminum stock (3/8" solid radiators and 1/4" solid radials!), the stainless steel mounting hardware, and the machining are all first rate. It's obvious that these antennas will stand up to winter storms and high winds without fatiguing and snapping. But installing them on the USS Stennis? That would be an interesting experiment!
Assembly for each takes five minutes with simple hand tools, although the six meter antenna does require trimming of the driven element to length. Everything assembles easily on the first try. Cutting that 3/8" solid aluminum radiator is a great demonstration of how tough this antenna stock really is!
The major complaint, and it has been mentioned here before, is the desire for the antennas to accommodate up to 2" masts, rather than the current 1.5" maximum-sized mast. Some of the more rugged installation locations, including mountaintops, benefit from using 2" masts. A minor "nice to have" would be the optional availability of a Type N coax jack.
Given their incredible Quality/Price ratio, these ground planes should be "standard issue" for every VHF/UHF fixed station.
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KE6TAW
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 8, 2007 11:21
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Amazingly well built antenna
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Just got this in the mail yesterday. I was expecting good quality given the other reviews of this and other Arrow products, but I was blown away by exactly how high the quality is.
This antenna can be summarized in one word - solid. I would have no compunction leaving this antenna out in hurricane force winds. If you painted it olive green, you could easily convince people it was mil-spec :)
I agree with the comments of another reviewer - you could build your own 1/4 wave ground plane (and in fact I have) but unless you want to do it as a learning exercise, you're much better off paying the $35 for this antenna.
I expect that after World War III, the earth will be populated by cockroaches driving Dodge Darts and talking to each other on 2m using Arrow Antennas :D
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KB5ZA
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 18, 2007 19:14
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Great Solid Antenna
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I assembled the antenna in 5 minutes because I could not wait to try it out. Setting just four feet off the ground I was full quite into a repeater 40 miles away. The service was also great. Wyoming to Texas in 2 days.
You can't go wrong with these folks.
Jim
KB5ZA
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