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Reviews For: Arrow OSJ Model J146/440

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

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Review Summary For : Arrow OSJ Model J146/440
Reviews: 171MSRP: 39.95
Description:
Dual-band aluminum j-pole
Wtih better quality SO239 - 3/8-24 Connector. Better Threads and a more precise hole size for the PL259 connection. As of 4-10-05 All OSJ's will have the new connector.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.arrowantennas.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
351714.6
K9MOV Rating: 2023-06-18
SOLID Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Antenna is mounted on a fiberglass pole at 25 foot,fed with 35 foot of rg-213.
SWR below 1.8 on both bands.
Has been through more rain, snow, ice and high winds in 13 YEARS then I can count.
It works today as well as the day I put it up. On 2 mtrs, 35 miles simplex, 60 to 100 miles ft-8. No data on 70cm, but worked a few locals on fm simplex.
SOLID.
W4WHQ Rating: 2023-06-18
Fantastic 2m/70cm antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I installed this antenna about 35' in the air, bolted to an extension bracket on a pine tree. It is connected to the shack on about 65' of LMR-400. The highest SWR on 2m is 1.188:1. On 70cm the highest SWR is 1.87:1, with a much lower reading on the phone/repeater portions of the band.

The antenna has taken a beating in multiple storms, but it still performs better than my Diamond X200A, mounted at 30'. I can still hit the Mt. Mitchel repeater from almost 100 miles away on 5w.

This is my favorite 2m/70cm antenna. It takes a beating and just keeps on performing.
KM4QXW Rating: 2023-04-12
Great antenna... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had for a few years now, mounted outside about 25' up. Simple and just works. SWR on 2m is nearly flat at 1.2-1.3 across the entire band, and roughly 1.4-1.5 on 440.
KB1QYH Rating: 2022-08-06
One of the Finest Dual-band VHF/UHF Base antennas money can buy! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I must own half a dozen of these. They are a fantastic, well-built, and sturdy antenna. My first 1 is over 13 years old, and no problems! You'd think the nylon washer would go bad or SOMETHING after that long a time, but no- nothing- it keeps on ticking- SWR flat on 2m, and a bit higher on 70cm- (1.3:1) Those having SWR problems on 70cm would do good to get a high quality length of coax- (IE- Times Microwave LMR-400, Andrew-Commscope 1/2" or 7/8" Heliax!) and check, double check, and triple check that it is away from any metal objects. No problems with ANY of my Arrow OSJ antennas, and one of them has even been through a hurricane! It came out alive, and good as new!

NA5XX Rating: 2021-03-07
Don't Hesitate Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Update. I had a chance to put my antenna analyzer on the antenna. At 146.52 I had an SWR of 1.4 which I consider acceptable. At 444.40, a local repeater frequency, it was 4.9 SWR I guess it's a VHF antenna only.
N8AUC Rating: 2021-01-31
Built like a tank...works great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had one of these up on a mast for over 5 years. This is the beefiest construction I've ever seen on an antenna that wasn't built for commercial repeater applications. No clue what the gain figure is, but I can easily do 25 miles on simplex, and it's only about 20' off the ground. SWR is good on both bands, and I'm feeding it with LMR-400. It enables me to hit just about any repeater I can hear. The darn thing will probably outlive me, with it's solid aluminum elements (not tubing). I'm very happy with this antenna, and would recommend it without reservation.
M7NDY Rating: 2020-07-15
Unusable on 70cm Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought this to use on VHF/UHF as I needed something as a beginner. Came highly recommended on here, and the competitor (Diamond X-50) was out of stock everywhere.

So I bought this and installed it, but it always had a high SWR (4:1) on 70cm. Was fine on 2m, but really bad on 70cm.

Tried a number of things, including changing coax cable length, testing SWR at the feed point, and fitting some chokes. Nothing!

Ended up buying a Diamond X-50 and it worked straight out the box!

Arrow Antenna say that it might not work on 70cm because of "poor coax". I am using Ultraflex 7, some of the best cable available, and it does not work.

Appears to be a common problem with 70cm, so don't buy this if you ever want to Tx on 70cm!
W8IJN Rating: 2019-04-26
Works great (I have two of 'em) Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I like Arrow Antenna products. They're sturdy. They're inexpensive. You can get parts. They work.
. . . That said, this is the OSJ J146/440second dual band Jpole antenna that I have bought & installed. One is outside on a 30ft pole in the back yard. It's about six or maybe eight years in service, most of that outside. It works great on 2m and on 70cm. I can hit all the local and a few distant (50 miles) repeaters. I can hear people in cars some 20 miles away.
. . . The second one, just installed recently, is stuck on a chunk of aluminum stub screwed to a cross beam in the attic of my 2 storey house. That puts it about 25 ft in the air under the wood & shingles of the roof. It gets out and hears just about as well as the one on the pole.
. . . Both antennas worked low SWR out of the box on both band ranges. The UHF end is a bit more flat than the VHF and the one outside is a bit lower on 2m SWR than the insider. But the insider is low enough for me (1:1.6).
. . . Now you may ask why I have one inside when I already have one outside. Simple: Weather gets bad, that outsider is gonna take the first hit. (Same as the nearby 30ft tower.) I figure the one inside is less likely to get blammoed. I may be dreaming or delusional or have joined a sci-fi cult, but that's my logic.
. . . I have two very nice, solidly built 2 band VHF/UHF antennas and I'm happy with 'em both. Which is not delusional.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by W8IJN on 2002-11-22

I've had this antenna up & in use for about a month now. It didn't put a dent in my wallet & it was a lot less hassle then me building one for myself. I spent more time finding a place in the attic to mount it than I did puttin' it together.

I appreciate deeply the craftsmanship in the design. Good solid materials, clean machine work & very robust construction. I was so impressed with the quality of the work that I just ordered their 2m yagi.

Nice thing is, it made my brand-new IC-706Mk2G much happier than the junk I'd stapled to the attic rafters. If you're lookin' for an omni-directional for 2m & 70cm, the OSJ J146/440 is the best, easiest & most sturdy way to go.

KA0USE Rating: 2018-05-25
very nice antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
what do you write about something that has no moving parts?
aesthetically pleasing. ( well, it's a start! )
i have had mine for ~10 years with no problems.
i have had to replace the cable a few times due to weather.
mounted to a bathroom vent pipe on the roof.
a relative has 3 of them. we should buy stock in the company. 2 of them were used, from hamfests. he may try to phase them; i don't know... at any rate he's had the used ones longest and got his new one about the same time i did.
there is no tuning out of the box. only takes a few minutes to assemble. great, very easy project for you and kids. wear some eye protection- it's easy to poke yourself in the eye with the middle length element.
the elements are solid, not hollow.
if you want to put a tuner on it, ok, but really not needed. i used an antenna analyser to check the 2m band and got low readings across the band, measured at the feedpoint. the analyser (mfj 259c) doesn't cover 440, but my yeasu 817 has a rudimentary one built-in and the number of bars showing across the 440 band are 0 to 1 (4 bars being the highest swr, presumably >3:1). i'm comfortable with that.
you can buy these in packs of 10 for radio club projects, etc. there is a price break.

on my shopping list is an arrow low earth orbit duplex portable satellite antenna (model 146/437-10).
N0AVR Rating: 2018-02-26
Works great. Excellent quality. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Mine is on a fiberglass pole attached to my chimney (about 30ft.) It works great. I hit repeaters 40 miles away. VHF and UHF are equally good. Quality of materials and workmanship are first rate. Also a great value for the price.