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Reviews For: Comet SBB-2/SBB-2NMO

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

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Review Summary For : Comet SBB-2/SBB-2NMO
Reviews: 30MSRP: 39.95
Description:
20" long 2m/70cm dual band mobile antenna. 1/4 wave, 2.15 dB gain on 2m, 5/8 wave, 3.8 dB gain on 70cm. VSWR 1.5:1 or less. Maximum power 100W.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cometantenna.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00303.6
ACD201 Rating: 2006-11-08
Good performance for its size Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been using this antenna, trunk-lip mounted with RG-174 mini-coax, for over 2 years now. It's rugged with a sturdy rod which maintains vertical polarization even at high speeds. SWR is between 1.5 and 1.2 for both 2m and 440. It performs just as good as other antenna's twice its size. I keep it looking new by cleaning it with armour-all periodically.

My main limitation is not the antenna but with the trunk mount position that prevents good omni-directional receive/transmit that affects performance in repeater fringe areas.
KD5FX Rating: 2006-10-17
Great little antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had mine for MANY years, since around 1997. I used it on TOP of my mini-van for many years. It works well, bumped the garage door in and out EVERY day and still works fine. On the top like that it works as good as some 5/8 wave antennas I've used on the trunk of other cars.
I'm using now INSIDE my 'vette. Can't bring myself to drill any holes in my baby so it's sitting on a small piece of steel in the back of the 'vette and works OK, not great but OK.
MM30 Rating: 2006-05-28
Nice performance for its size Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Had this antenna for a little while and it does a pretty good job along with my yaesu FT-7800. I will say that it works well with a trunk/lip mount and is very low profile and looks good on the car, I am able to hit the repeater at my work (almost 38 miles away) with near full quiteing. If you need just a basic 2/70 antenna I would recommend this one to anyone. My only complaint would be the steep price of near 40.00 with shipping, Comet will have to be a little more reasonable if they want repeat customers.
KE7BZT Rating: 2005-11-29
Excellent for what it is... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently purchased this Comet SBB-2 antenna to replace my 40" Larsen. I wanted a small, low-profile, black antenna to mount on my trunk gutter NMO mount. I monitor local public safety channels, as I work in public safety and like to hear what goes on around me. I purchased the Comet at a ham shop about 100 miles north of my county's radio tower. They've switch to 800mhz trunking, but have a VHF patch for remote units, and only have two VHF repeaters, one at the sheriff's office, the other 40 miles southeast of the office. Well, I had picked up traffic with my Larsen, just before I pulled into the shops parking lot. I bought it, and screwed it on. The signal was almost full-quietting...nearly as good as the Larsen. Only 15 minutes or so on the freeway brought a crystal clear signal. So, obviously it's reception is not as good as the Larsen, but for an antenna half it's height and twice is covert, it does the job, and then some.

As for TX in town, I was able to hit all my local repeaters, even those not so local, using my 5 watt FT-470 HT. Reports I got from other hams was a solid signal.

Remember, this is not your ultra gain, super long, & heavy duty antenna, but if you are looking for something small that doesn't draw a lot of attention to yourself, get the Comet SBB-2. It is tuneable (no tuning was necessary on mine) and built rock solid. It does not wobble or wag. At freeway speeds it stands tall and proud, as it should. Plus, it is black. I had a black gutter mount, and so the whole setup is black and matches the black stock radio antenna on my Grand Am, adding further visual appeal. And last, but not least, it is a good performer. It provides great service, both TX & RX for its little size.

For $37.95 + tax, I have no complaints.
KG6YGT Rating: 2005-11-21
Good antenna - bad price! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this antenna to mount on the existing NMO mount which is installed on my van through the roof. Got tired of the coax getting chewed up by the door, and I thought that this antenna will outperform my sixteen dollar MFJ on the mag mount.
Well, when it was all done, I tested it with my MFJ 269 analyzer; antenna had a perfect match on 147 and 445, SWR 1:1, this is the best SWR I ever had on VHF/UHF. But when I compared it to the MFJ, accessing local repeaters there was virtually no difference…
This is good antenna, but I wouldn’t buy another on like this. For 42.99 plus 8.25% tax in CA it is too much, and that’s just for the whip, no coax, no mount. One more thing antenna is very solid, so if you mount it on the roof of you truck or van you really have to be careful as it can really damage the roof, in low parking lots. 73!


AL2I Rating: 2005-05-19
Watch OUT!!!! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is a great antenna for its size, but if you screw the antenna in too tightly to the NMO base you will have a short. I was ready to throw mine away, but when I learned about the design flaw I tried it without tightening it down so tight. It works very, very well and I use it all of the time now!

73,
Dave/al2i
KC0TMO Rating: 2004-12-22
False Advertisement Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this short and attractive antenna becasue comet's website (and many other websites) boasted that this antenna was capable of 100 watts. Much to my suprise of it arriving today....this antenna is only rated for 60 watts. Comet wants me to pay for return shipping and re-shipping in addition to another 25.00 for the sbb-5 (msrp 54.00)???? I'm not too impressed by this.
KC0ORM Rating: 2004-12-06
Bad first experience Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the SBB-2NMO antenna and the CP-5NMO mount from Ham Radio Outlet. The mount installed with no problems. I did have major problems with the antenna. I had been using a mag-mount dual-bander that was just too tall for the University of Iowa Hospital parking garages. I thought the SBB-2NMO would be the perfect height and had heard nothing but good things about Comet. Using the old mag-mount I would receive the Cedar Rapids NWS broadcast with full quieting in Iowa City (25+ miles away) and I could hit the W0GQ repeater using 5 watts. With the SBB-2NMO I couldn't hit W0GQ with 5 watts while in Cedar Rapids and the NWS came in very poorly. The mount cabling tested OK so I tried the antenna. The antenna was shorted to ground somewhere inside. Totally unusable. I installed a dual-band MJF antenna on the mount and everything came in crystal clear SWR was 1:1. SWR with the SBB-2NMO was off the scale. I'll have to return this antenna and I think I'll go with another manufacturer, probably MFJ.
KC2GYP Rating: 2004-12-03
Major Repeater Hitter Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Here's my story. I recently sold all my gear on Ebay to pick up the Yaesu FT 857D. I wanted an all-in-one do-it-all rig that I could use as a base. Anywhere. Even portable. The rig has two SO-239 ports on the back. One for HF, one for VHF/UHF. I figured I'd get a good antenna for the VHF/UHF that I could pop on via an elbow connector to keep the rig/station footprint small. Never owning a 2m/70cm base before, I first got the a Maldol AH 510R. Yes it's an HT antenna. Maximum output is 10w. I figured if I didn't have a problem hitting the repeater with a 5w HT, even if I ramped up the power to 10w it would be no problem. Right? NOT. Signal reports were so-so. Many spoke of a hiss while hitting the repeater. A problem I did NOT have with the Yaesu VX 150 (which I loved dearly but replaced with an equally loveable and quite, if not more capable FT 60R). So I went through the reviews and found the Comet SBB-2, coincidentally from the same distributer NCG. Even though there were few reviews it looked promising. And the others in the family seemed good too. The SBB-2 was a two band unit rated at 100w. Only 18" long. With a proclaimed gain on BOTH 2m and 70cm. Well it arrived today and first thing I noticed was how utterly ruggedly constructed the thing is. It is solid. Then it was time for the acid test. It hit the repeater and it was totally amazing. Super clear transmission. Reports of fantastic clarity. (Mind you the only thing changed was the antenna.) Then I tried other repeaters at far greater distances than the 15 mile distance of the local. Unbelievable. I was hitting the Manhattan repeater at WABC no problem. (Okay I cranked up the wattage which I couldn't do with the Maldol.) This is one truly amazing antenna. Highly recommended.

P.S. I also got the mag mount so I could use it in the car with the new Yaesu FT 60R.

73

Peter
KC2GYP
KG4ZIO Rating: 2004-02-25
Good antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I would rate this antenna as good. I have had it for about a year with no problems at all. Works great and the swr is very low. For a shorter less noticable antenna I would recommend it.