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Reviews For: Comet Ht-224

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

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Review Summary For : Comet Ht-224
Reviews: 19MSRP: 47.00
Description:
SMA HT Tri-Band Antenna 146/223/446. 29cm long
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cometantenna.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00193.5
WU6X Rating: 2021-03-24
Expensive and Vulnerable Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After paying the big bucks and waiting 2 months for this tri-band antenna for my Kenwood TH-D74A, I was pleased to find performance was excellent. However, the antenna began to bend at the junction above the coil after only a couple months until it finally became intermittent (as measured with a NanoVNA), and SWR shot upward.
I called Comet and explained what I considered a design problem and they suggested slipping a piece of shrink tubing over the junction of the coil and antenna, and refused any other remedy. I added the shrink tubing but the antenna was history. For $45, my expectations were higher than delivered, and thus the negative review. I shouldn't have had to modify the design to make the antenna more robust.
If you buy this antenna, be VERY careful with that junction of antenna to coil, especially with the radio on your hip where it is being bent off-center.
K7BEN Rating: 2012-04-09
Great upgrade to my Icom 92AD antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Even though this is a tri-band antenna I bought one for my Icom 92-AD. I wanted something that would RX/TX better than the poor stock antenna but not look like some of the ridiculous 17 – 20+ inch antennas that I have seen. I noticed difference immediately. It’s better on 2m and I lot better on 440. It seems like the quality issues from some of the older post have been address. Also, the antenna comes with an o-ring now. I didn’t need it on the Icom 92-AD but I saw post where others were complaining about a gap.
W7MAG Rating: 2012-01-09
Works for me. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Seems to work a fair bit better than the stock antenna on 2 meters, a little better on 223 and a bunch better on 440.

Yes, I would recommend this to a friend if they felt compelled to replace the stock antenna.
AA8X Rating: 2011-12-12
Great antenna & outstanding support Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The Comet HT-224 has proven to be an excellent replacement for the stock Kenwood F6a antenna. It performed very well on all 3 bands and the slim flexible radiating element is a real plus. Yes, I had a problem and attempted to fix the antenna myself but ruined the coils. I called Comet and spoke with Mike Stwertnik. He did not hesitate to make things right even though the major problem was created by me. Now this is a company that manufactures great amateur accessories and goes the extra mile to stand by their products. I would highly recommend NCG Company as they have outstanding products, support and service. You won’t be disappointed with the HT-224.
W8STU Rating: 2011-03-30
GREAT ANTTENNA FOR THE PRICE Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Greetings,

I have had this antenna for over two years. It works great!!! I first used it on my Kenwood TH-F6A. I have since purchased a Diamond SRH320A for that HT and now use the HT-224 on my Yaesu VX-6R... It works great. You cannot go wrong with this antenna. I would highly recommend this antenna to new Hams and Elmer's alike. Thanks in advance. 73, Stu de W8STU
KB1OQA Rating: 2007-07-01
Vastly Improved Reception with this Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have only had this antenna for a short time, but have noted a great improvement over the stock antenna supplied with my Yaesu FT-60R HT since its installation. I'm able to receive and transmit on repeater sites twenty plus miles from my location. I would consider this a worthwile purchase. Mention has been made in prior postings of a gap between the antenna base and the radio unit. I was able to resolve this by placing an O-Ring over the mounting stud. When the antenna is installed, the gap is closed and appearance is improved.
KC4CP Rating: 2006-08-21
WORKS GREAT Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After reading over the reviews, it is hard to believe that we are all reviewing the same antenna. Nonetheless, here is my review.

Simply put, this antenna increases the performance of my Kenwood TH-F6. Luckily, many of the repeaters in my area have the capability of giving an HT user an actual signal report (as received by the repeater). With the Comet antenna, the repeaters report an average increase of 2 S units. In my opinion, this takes out any personal bias. I am simply reporting that the local repeaters receive a stronger signal from my HT, when the Comet antenna is in use.

For me, $45 is a cheap price to pay for 2 S units!
W6HBD Rating: 2006-06-12
Can't get out Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I read mixed reviews about this antenna. I've had a Kenwood TH-F6 for quite a while, but the stock antenna doesn't preform very well on 220. I went ahead and bought this antenna from Universal-Radio. When it came, I put it on inside and tried to bring up some 70cm repeaters located on a nearby mountain. I couldn't get in at all. I went outside and tried the same thing, on all bands, and I wasn't able to get into anything. If I held it up high enough, I was able to key up the repeater. I listened on my Uniden BCD 396T to the repeater I was trying to get into and it was all static.

I'm not sure if I got a bad antenna or what, but it didn't work out for me.
KD1ZD Rating: 2006-04-25
Good performance but flimsy Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This antenna works great for all the bands 144/220/440 that it was designed for. I have had very good performance with it.

My two year old got ahold of my radio when I wasn't looking, and then I noticed it had the "obscene bend" in it. I tried to bend it back, but it feels like something has broken.

The antenna is still performing the same, but I'm nervous now and will probably keep it around as a spare or in my briefcase going to work.
KD5WPX Rating: 2005-01-05
So far very good! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've had mine on my F6A for about a month and the performance has been GREAT! On both 2 and 440 I can talk from what were "dead spots" with the radio & antenna I had before. This is my first experience on 222 but it seems to work well there too. Be aware that there are two versions: mine has a "seperate" gold SMA connector at the bottom. I've also seen them with the SMA enclosed in the bottom of the plastic "load". It seems to me that mine would be the more fragile version and I take it off the radio two or three times daily (the radio travels in my briefcase). I've been careful with it because it does have a little "float" until the connector is snugged up. So far no problems and I'm fond enough of the performance that if it breaks I'll replace it with another ht-224.

73s - Bob