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Reviews For: Diamond RH77CA

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

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Review Summary For : Diamond RH77CA
Reviews: 41MSRP: 24.99
Description:
Dual-Band HT/Scanner Antenna (BNC)

Gain: 2.15dBi (430 MHz) Max Power: 50W (Watts) Impedance: 50 Ohm Length: 30 cm Weight: 40g Connector: BNC 1/4 wave length (144 MHz), 1/2 wave length (430 MHz) and finally Made in Japan.

Product is in production
More Info: http://www.diamondantenna.net
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00414.8
K9TSU Rating: 2012-02-18
Perfect Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have this and the SRH77ca, which has an SMA on it. SIMPLY AMAZING! It's solid, rugged, and gets into repeater amaingly!
ADAM2 Rating: 2011-06-01
AMEN Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Significantly improved signal strength for both Rx and Tx than the stock rubber duck. Almost as good as my Slim Jim.
M6FBS Rating: 2011-05-18
A-MAZE-ING! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This antenna is the an amazing performer with my Yaesu FT60. My one complaint is that I could not find anywhere in the UK selling it and the cost with import duty and postage from the USA would have been over £60. Fortunately, my cousin brought me one over from Canada on his last visit. It has transformed my handheld beyond belief. Ham friends watch in awe as I hit repeaters 60 miles away that half of them can't even touch with their home QTH set-ups. That said, the extra gain on 2m alone wouldn't be worth the hassle of 35cms of highly flexable whip on it's own but it is not on 2m where this antenna is most at home - it is on 70cms where it is a perfect half-wave where the gain is so impressive. On this band, the performance is nothing short of mind-blowing!I would not like to be without it!
Jonathan (M6FBS)
OLDWORLDER Rating: 2011-03-31
Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It blows the socks off of my Yaesu 250r's rubber duck. With it I can hit repeaters as far away as 50 to 60 ish miles.
AE2K Rating: 2011-01-05
Awesome antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned this antenna for a few years. I always consult this site for product reviews and have purchased other items that have turned out to be right on the money. I am currently using this antenna on an Alinco DJ-596T dual band HT. I hit many repeaters that are over 30 miles away with 1 watt of power from the inside of my apartment.
KD8MSS Rating: 2010-12-02
Wow! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Wow is it long, whippy and just about a pain in the behind. Then you fire up the HT and QSO and all that fades away. Talking thru a repeater with the HT as a mobile and made the transition to Pedsetrian Portable by unhooking the mag mount 3/8ths wave and installing the Diamond Whip. He could not tell any difference.

Is it long? Yes

Is it floppy? Yes

Is it worth working around the inconveniences of its size? Absolutely!
KD6ANF Rating: 2009-07-21
A MUST Have Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This review is for a Diamond RH-77B which is an older version of the current RH-77CA. My RH-77B was first purchased in the early '90's from HRO in Oakland, CA and still to this day is the best dual-band portable antenna I've used. It is not normally attached to my FT-470 or FT-51R however it is always carried along just in case. Personally it is just too long at about 15 inches, (a real armpit poker), to have on the radio all the time. However, when it is attached both RX/TX signals improve dramatically over the stock antennas available for these two particular hand-held portable radios. I have consistently brought up a repeater in the hills of Santa Barbara, CA form the park next to the Point Vicente Lighthouse in Palos Verdes, CA, a distance of better than 90 miles. This antenna is a real performer!

Best regards

george potter KD6ANF
KC2ULM Rating: 2009-04-30
Excellent for Sats Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have a Diamond 77 antenna (SMA version) I use for satellites in the backyard with a Yaesu FT-60 HT. For this setup I would recommend 40 degree pass or better on the birds.
Yesterday I had an 82 degree pass on the AO27, and made 5 QSOs! Not bad for a handheld with rubber ducky antenna in the backyard! It also works very well with the local repeaters.
Highly recommended replacement for the FT-60 stock antenna!
N6HPO Rating: 2009-04-03
Excellent, even on 220! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Just recently bought a mint Alinco DJ-280 H/T. The stock antenna was tossed in the drawer-of-no-return immediately. Was looking on EHAM for a SRH320A Triband HT Antenna. Although I found one, I thought for a moment; I had an RH77CA on my R/S scanner, so I thought I'd try it on the 220 H/T to gauge its performance.

Well, with 1 watt and the RH77CA installed, it hit a repeater 30 miles away...from inside my stuccoed garage.

With that kind of performance from the antenna, I believe it's found a new home on my 220.

Alan
KI4HNN Rating: 2008-10-17
OK antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought this antenna after reading the reviews to go with my FT60. It is a very nice antenna but I saw no improvement in reception over my stock FT60 antenna. Just slightly better improvements on UHF. Maybe my area but the stock works just as good as this antenna.