Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Diamond SRH77CA Dual Band (2 m /70 CM) HT Antenna

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

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Diamond SRH77CA Dual Band (2 m /70 CM) HT Antenna
Reviews: 63MSRP: 29.95
Description:
15" long, male SMA connector, flexible dual-band antenna for handheld transceivers. 1/4 wave on 2 meters, 2.15 dbi gain on 70 cm (Mfgr claim).
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
11633.9
SWMAN Rating: 2012-11-01
No Good on 2m Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had this antenna for about a week then I finally returned it for something else. It works ok for 440 but on 2 meters it is no better than my stock rubber duck on my Yaesu FT-60. At times the stock ant was better on 2 meters.Maybe I will try a similar ant made by Commet.
73 Jim. W5JJG
KB9TMP Rating: 2012-10-31
Learned My Lesson Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had four of these in different versions. I've had two of the SMA, 1 BNC and one Jetstream branded SMA version. They all work great and they all break in the same spot. Right above the load where the metal case has a plastic piece screwed into it that becomes the antenna whip. The only "repair" that I found that works is to epoxy it back together and then use heat shrink tubing over the top of the joint to give it some extra strength. "IF" I ever get another one of these I will put the heat shrink tubing on FIRST before it breaks, which of course it WILL break. It's only a matter of time.
F4GFT Rating: 2012-10-31
Broke after about a year of use Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought the SRH77CA a few months after I got my FT-60. Most of the traffic here is on 70cm, and I surely noticed that I was able to open my usual repeaters with less power. This is the good part.
I give the antenna only 2 points because it broke right above the coil after about 18 months or so of admittedly heavy use. I often used the antenna on a bike, maybe that's too heavy a use. The upper part of the antenna is screwed to the bottom part over a small t
hreaded section, too small in my opinion to make a mechanically realiable connection. I replaced the Diamond with a telescope antenna and have the same results on 70cm, and better results on 2m. I need a robust antenna, and the SRH77CA did not stand the test.
W4JPS Rating: 2012-10-30
It is a Nagoya NA-771 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Waiting on the rigs for these, and will re-review after I get some empirical data points.

However, it appears to be a typical 1/4 wave unity gain antenna for 2m and 1/2 wave for 70cm.

It is more than noteworthy to mention that this antenna appears identical to the DIAMOND SRH77CA in every way vice the logo. Even that has the same font and the packaging is the same... I am guessing NAGOYA is either the OEM or somehow affiliated with DIAMOND.
KI4GTJ Rating: 2012-10-28
Great antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have own both RH77CA&SRH77CH and they both work great on D-STAR/Analog with the icom IC-80AD,ID-31A. Have placed the SRH77CH on the Back of a Kenwood TM-G707 and am able to get into some Analog repeaters from inside with 5w
AK4TO Rating: 2012-08-10
An Awesome SMA HT Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is one powerful little HT antenna!! I went from a MFJ 1715S HT antenna which provided me with no range what so ever inside my apartment to this Diamond SRH77CA, which provides me with a huge range of repeaters when I feel like operating my Yesau FT-60RE inside my apartment!! I definitely recommend this HT antenna!!
KK4EQE Rating: 2011-11-09
Nice Dual purpose duckie! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
All i can say is that it works well, ive had this antenna for a few months now & it definately works better than the stock duckie. From my apartment parking lot i hit the local repeater with my FT-60r @ 5 watts 37.7 miles away full quieting with an s7 return. The stock duckie it was scratchy s3 I also use it on a portable scanner & works great for that as well.
N1KSN Rating: 2010-09-12
Nothing special on 2m Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The previous review by KD8OPI confirms my own findings on this HT antenna. Recently I used an Agilent E8285A and a MiniCircuits combiner/splitter as a return loss bridge to study the impedance match (return loss) of several HT antennas. The match on 2m for this antenna was 3:1 or worse across the 2m band. It was 1.6:1 or better on 70cm. These results were quite similar to two BNC version RH77CA's I also tested. So I'd say this is a very good UHF monoband antenna, but not special on 2m.
KD8OPI Rating: 2010-09-11
The performance is half hype. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
So for my brand-new Yaesu FT-60R I considered this antenna largely because everyone here raves about it. I've also seen a youtube video review of my HT where the presenter stated that he noticed no difference in performance between the rubber-duck and an unnamed aftermarket antenna that was likely the SRH77CA. Where is the truth people? Well, truth is tricky to find, but I tried my best and will help you all make a decision with my tests.

I have a base station Icom IC-7000 and with a name-brand VHF/UHF antenna up about 15'; I can hit a total of thirty-five 2m and 70 cm repeaters within a 50-mile radius. I took all of these repeater frequencies and loaded them in to the FT-60R. I then simply pressed the PTT and listened to see if I could tag each repeater with either the duck or the SRH77CA attached. The real-world results were interesting.

On 2 meters, the SRH77CA performs no better than the stock rubber duck of the FT-60R. Not an iota. Each antenna hit the identical repeaters at identical power with the identical strength of "quieting" receive on the back-end. FYI, I could hit about 40% of my data set (the repeaters) on the ground, 60% at an elevation 12' above ground with either antenna with identical results. HT's are not base stations, and their antennas are no substitute for a real base antenna.

Ready to declare the antenna a waste of money, I tuned to the WX channels. This is where it got interesting. The Diamond pulled the local station in and pegged it to the right of the meter, an easy s-10. The rubber duck manages a 3-4 on the s-meter, clear copy to be sure but also a clear win for the Diamond. The SRH77CA also barely got one or two of the outlying stations, the rubber duck did not. For comparison, the base antenna pulls in 4-5 cleanly with a few more intelligible through an open squelch. Intrigued, I went to 70 cm.

This is where the Diamond shined most brightly (pun intended). It hit 4 of the 5 70 cm repeaters I use on the base station, compared to 3 of 5 for the rubber duck. It hit one at 0.5W where the duck required 2w. The receive was stronger as well, with stronger S-levels throughout.

Well so where does this leave us? While better on WX and 70 cm, there is NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL between this $20-25 antenna (10% of the cost of my radio)and the supplied duck on 2 m, where most of the vhf/uhf action is in the Dayton area and the rest of the country. Another way to look at it, for a $25 investment, I can hit one additional repeater on 70 cm, decrease power to a second, and listen to scratchy weather reports outside of my local area. Still a 3rd way to look at is is that the supplied duck with the FT-60r is pretty darn good on 2m, as good as a Diamond SRH77CA, and it screws all the way down to the case and seals cleanly where the SRH77CA does not.

It would appear that the reviews of this antenna on eham are a bit generous, a 3 for me.
K2CLH Rating: 2010-08-31
Pretty good! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have a Yeasu VX-7R and the stock antenna can hit everything that is around but all with a scratchy signal. The SRH77CA could hit two thirds of the repeaters the stock antenna can but gets it into all of the cleanly.

73,
K2CLH

----------------------
Earlier 4-star review posted by K2CLH on 2009-11-09

I have a SRH77CA and I have tested it with a FT-60R that I used and I have now up graded, it worked like a champ on the FT-60R I could 60+ miles on the SRH77CA and only about 30 miles on the stock antenna. But the Vx-7 I tryed it on and it failed I talked on it with the SRH and the guy said it was better with the stock rubber duck.

73,
K2CLH