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Reviews For: COMPACTenna 2M/220/440

Category: Antennas: VHF/UHF+ Omnidirectional: verticals, mobile, etc

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Review Summary For : COMPACTenna 2M/220/440
Reviews: 14MSRP: 99.95
Description:
Optimized compact high performance HAM radio 2 meter+220+440 bands. Only 7 1/2" long. Reliable leaf spring NMO connector on antenna for standard, center-stud style NMO mounts.
Product is in production
More Info: http://compactenna.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00144.6
KC3RMV Rating: 2021-10-13
Fantastic Antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The Tri-Band COMPACTenna is a solid antenna that provides amazing results. Although, I only had it a short amount of time before it got damaged, I loved knowing that I could hit repeaters without issue at 50 miles away in the Anthracite Coal Region of East Central Pennsylvania.

I recommend the COMPACTenna to anyone that is interested in keeping the height to a minimum while having a great, long distance antenna to make those long distance QSOs!

Since replacing the damaged unit, I have replaced it with a new COMPACTenna that I will offer a review after using it for a while. Dr. Jack Nilsson is surely making some amazing antennas!
NO9B Rating: 2021-07-20
Fantastic Antenna! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I gave the COMPACtenna a 5 star rating for the following reasons: I be buying a COMPACtenna for each of my vehicles since it works so well for such a small antenna. I met Dr. Nilsson and didn't know about his antennas. Once he described the antennas I was sold. I and another ham went and bought one, we have both been very happy. My other ham friend is a lawyer and spends a lot of time in his car going from courthouse to courthouse usually in a parking structure, with the COMPACtenna he doesn't have to get out and remove the antenna! I agree with other comments, if there is anything wrong with the antenna contact Dr. Nilsson and he will make it right. Works great, low profile, high quality, worth every dollar.
N8WB Rating: 2021-07-08
Fantastic VHF/UHF Antenna for the Price, Size, and Usefulness Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Let me start by saying that I have had my COMPACTantenna for more than two years now. It has been on my primary vehicle on a Diamond Lip Mount NMO.

I have had no issues with reception, transmission, or speed on the highways or roads that I drive on.

It has never fallen apart or had any breakage.

I have met Dr. Jack owner/designer of the COMPACTenna products, and have seen his work ethic first hand. If any of the COMPACTennas were to break I know that the manufacturer would do his best to check out every aspect of the problem and assist in rectifying the issue. These antennas are as solid as they come for the bands that they work on.

I also have two of the COMPACTenna Scan III's, one is on a 40-foot tower for VHF/UHF R/T work, and one I carry for emergency work when I need a low-profile antenna.

This is a solid product and I would suggest it to anyone.
K1SMD Rating: 2021-07-06
Failed at highway speeds Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
When it works it work very well. Unfortunately an antenna is only useful if it stays on the vehicle. Around town it's been great.

Looks like a manufacturing defect at the epoxy joint the the NMO connector. Everything beside that connector flew off the car cleanly within the first 30 minutes of highway driving.

Manufacture support is argumentative, came up with a litany of possible not our problems.
W4PIG Rating: 2021-01-10
very good Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
i had to buy this small antenna for 2-220-440 just to try out got it yesterday done some test it was amazing how well this antenna worked. its was as good as the diamond antenna i was using. i emailed n7lk he gave me some information on this antenna and how to mount it. will give up date later on if it continues to work well i am sold on it 73 have had mine for year now it works great for my use cant beat it.
KC5BOD Rating: 2020-12-14
Pretty awesome little antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is I believe my 10th mobile radio install as a HAM, this install was an FTM-400XDR in a 2018 Grand Cherokee Traihawk. I decided to try the compactenna to clear my work parking garage and to keep the height down. I figured why not I have another antenna I can screw on if this thing doesn't perform. I am glad to report that it works as well as my 1/2 wave antenna and the SWR looks good as well.

I have only one gripe, the base is aluminum, I don't know why they went with this material however a little silicon dielectric grease helps!
I may try compact antenna for a GMRS install.
W5ZYX Rating: 2020-12-14
Report on Additional Testing of the COMPACTenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is the second update to my original review of the COMPACTenna 2m/220/440 version and is written to include urban testing that was conducted primarily in urban Houston/Harris County, Texas, on 12/12-13/2020. It incorporates the results of prior testing in a rural environment that included moderate hilly terrain and an extensive pine forest, and was repeated during the above noted second testing noted period.

I've been both an amateur licensee and communications professional for many years and decided recently to buy and evaluate the COMPACTenna 2m/220/440. The initial mostly rural test occurred at several locations along an approximately 70 mile section of IH-45 between Houston and Madisonville, TX, and was replicated in that same area in the recent second test. The urban test was conducted at various points in Harris County--an extremely large county which is almost 100 miles across east to west, contains more than 20 cities including the city of Houston, and has a population in excess of 3.7 million which exceeds that of several states. It also has several distinct central business districts, the largest of which is downtown Houston. Building height and density in the Houston CBD is of sufficient magnitude to create an "urban canyon" effect on downtown streets. The urban canyon doesn't always play nice with signals in the VHF and higher spectrum.

The test methodology involved measuring received signal strength and the ability to key repeaters from a number of fixed spots, testing both with the COMPACTenna, quarter-wave whips resonant for 2M, 222, and 440, and a tri-band gain-type antenna.

For the first rural test, the COMPACTenna was mag mounted on the left side of my SUV's roof and just behind the back door. The quarter wave whips and gain antenna were interchangeably mag mounted on the center of the roof and from a cowl mounted NMO base.

The initial rural testing in these configurations indicated that the reliable communication range in a rural and hilly environment was well below what was possible with a quarter wave or gain-type antenna. I discussed these results with Dr. Jack Nilsson, the antenna inventor, who noted that the COMPACTenna should perform better if mounted near the left or right side of the roof as far to the back of the roof line as possible.

Accordingly, for the tests on 12/12-13/2020, the COMPACTenna was mounted in the suggested roof location and results were significantly better. While with the COMPACTenna's initial mounting it was sometimes virtually impossible to connect with 2M repeaters as close as 10 miles, with the rear mounting the reliable coverage area with the COMPACTenna increased to a an average of 16 miles in the rural test and gave 20-30 mile results in the flatter urban test area.

My transmitter output power was 50 watts on 2M, 5 watts on 220, and 40 on 440.

The rural testing primarily involved 2-meter repeaters near Huntsville and Conroe, Texas. In both the first and second test sequence I was able to communicate on the Huntsville 2M repeater from 35 miles out using the gain antenna and 20 miles using a 2M whip. The rural results of both the first and second tests with the COMPACTenna are noted in a preceding paragraph.

In the urban test there was no particularly notable range difference between results with the COMPACTenna and resonant whips, with the exception of on 222. On 222, a resonant quarter wave whip gave slightly better performance. Like the whips, the COMPACTenna is a unitary gain antenna.

In tests in the urban canyon of downtown Houston, the COMPACTenna performed very well on all three bands. It demonstrated no received signal fade or flutter and to an easterly direction resulted in a very strong contact with 2M and 440 repeaters almost 30 miles away. The COMPACTenna design obviously handles and concentrates reflected signals more effectively than a resonant quarter wave whip. In our earlier conversation, Dr. Nilsson stated that this is expected due to the antenna's internal design.

So, based on the two rounds of tests, how do I rate the COMPACTenna? In the first test, I wasn't happy with it at all but that was prior to moving the mag mount to Dr. Nilksson's recommended location. To be completely fair and objective, it is necessary to produce two ratings.

In a rural environment, and particularly in one with hilly or heavily wooded terrain, my rating is at best "OK" and trends to "Needs Help". If you are seeking to communicate through distant repeaters and are going to be operating in a mostly rural setting, a commercially made gain-type antenna will better meet your needs.

On the other hand, I have to give the COMPACTenna a rating of Good in an urban environment. If your operation is mostly in a city or its near-in suburbs, the COMPACTenna is very unobtrusive when mounted on a vehicle. In my case, since my wife neither likes whip antennas on cars (or wires connected to radios in the house for that matter) she actually thought the COMPACTenna looked good and its color closely matched the color of the vehicle.

It happens that my amateur VHF and UHF operations frequently occur in both the urban and rural setting. My answer to this will be to leave the COMPACTenna permanently mounted on the left rear of the SUV roof, and screw a Larsen 2/70 NMO antenna to the cowl mount. The transceiver part of my mobile setup is mounted under the driver's seat, and I added a VHF/UHF rated coaxial switch that I can simply flip to change between the COMPACTenna and the Larsen on the fly.

Since my only 222 activity is in the Houston urban area, the COMPACTenna will serve my needs on that band.

My telephone conversation with Dr.Nilsson was both pleasant and informative. For a better understanding of the COMPACTenna's theory of operation, he has produced several YouTube videos that you will find interesting.


KF4GGK Rating: 2020-11-25
Best Motorhome antenna in 17 years Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Being a member of our local county emergency service Amateur Radio group that relies exclusively on hand-held transceivers and several repeaters, the 144, 220 and 440 bands are used exclusively. The COMPCTenna was the only one that would meet this requirement and was suitable for mounting on the top of the motor home ladder. It has an incredible reception sensitivity on all bands that compares very well to the house-roof mounted vertical. The transmitter output is not attenuated like it happens with other similar shaped antennas, and it proved to have a VSWR below 1.5 according to my Vector Network Analyzer on all bands. I added a tilt mount to the antenna to get out of the way from tree branches that have caused the loss of seven other fixed and flexible antenna types.
The designer of the antenna has been very helpful in determining the best placement for the antenna and in exchanging complex technical details that convinced me of the solid theory behind the antenna design, especially the reason for the great performance without the need of a conventional ground plane.
Finally, after 17 years of searching, an excellent low profile high performance antenna was found that is suitable for motor-home ladder-top mounting without the need for a ground plane or protruding radials.
KP4CA Rating: 2020-10-03
Really Good!!!!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this antenna for the past 2 years. I recently had problems with my SWR and contacted COMPACtenna. Personally, Dr. Nilsson answered my questions and found the problem quickly. The magnetic base I was using had deteriorated causing the SWR to go up. Now again the antenna is at 1.01 SWR where I need it. I use this antenna to activate my DMR repeaters and my high powered Hotspots. The antenna gain is incredible compared to my old antennas. I highly recommend them.
KB3CBC Rating: 2020-01-02
Outstanding low profile unity gain antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is an outstanding low profile unity gain antenna and recommend it for that application. It is especially useful for mobile and space restricted — even indoor — environments. Real world indoor, urban, suburban, and rural testing shows that this antenna significantly reduces picket fencing and flutter in situations where other major manufacturers fall short. For indoor use: do not locate this antenna near ferrous objects, pipes, wiring, etc. due to coupling. I recommend a clearance of at least 3 feet, with the obvious exception of your ground plane and coax.

For one specific case: there is a venerable major manufacturer whose antennas are used by first responders and amateur radio operators (me) for decades. The particular antenna by this manufacturer is used on 2/70 and gave me a benchmark to compare the CompacTenna side by side. In urban, NLOS environments, the CompacTenna beat the 2/70 antenna in every case.

Now for the gritty detail. I’ve used the CompacTenna 2/220/440 antenna for over 6 months. This antenna, per the documentation, requires a steep ground plane angle. After a series of tests using a RigExpert AA-600 and my own analysis it appears the antenna requires a counterpoise to bring the resistance closer to 50 ohms and the SWR below 2:1. This is especially critical for the 2m and 220 frequencies. You can use this antenna on 440MHz with a large flat ground plane (e.g., middle of a vehicle roof) and see SWR’s between 1.43:1 at 444.000 to 1.8:1 at 448.000, but you will experience some heating.

The antenna seems to function well on the corner of a vehicle or on the edge of a truck bed cover, just as long as it has some access to metal for a counterpoise. In one application, the antenna was mounted in the middle of a steel truck bed cover on the passenger side edge with the cover firmly bonded to the truck body at that location. In these two locations, the SWR ranged from 1.1:1 to 1.5:1 across all three amateur bands. While the antenna is primarily resonant at the 144/220/440MHz frequencies, it also demonstrated ample wide band receive-only capability on weather, air, and rail frequencies.

With regards to the magnetic vs electric fields: a fast but inaccurate translation would be to say that this antenna functions as an omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna, and if you didn’t know any better, that’s what you would hear on the radio and see from your reception and transmission reports. It’s a lot more complicated than that and would recommend you review the various YouTube videos Dr. Jack put together to address this topic. Antenna analyzers and plots only give you part of the story, primarily based upon the E-field. It doesn’t show you, directly, what’s happening from the H-field side. Use a spectrum analyzer to compare received signals, though, and you’ll see the difference. The noise floor was reduced by approximately 3db and the signals were more evenly distributed. Signals that were close to the noise floor were observed to have increased by 3-6db, and stronger signals were slightly attenuated. The result is that there was minimal fading and the capability to hear signals that I could not using other manufacturer’s antennas.