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Reviews For: Diamond NR72BNMO 2 meter and 70 cm mobile antenna

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

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Review Summary For : Diamond NR72BNMO 2 meter and 70 cm mobile antenna
Reviews: 22MSRP: 41.95
Description:
It is a 1/4 wave on 2 meters providing 2.15 dBi gain and a 1/2 wave on 440 providing 2.15 dB gain. This antenna can handle up to 100 watts. VSWR is less than 1.5:1.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15224.4
KE0VFA Rating: 2023-02-21
Great value and perfect if you need a shorter rooftop antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I needed a shorter dual-band antenna for a roof-mounted application, as I have a tall vehicle and limited room when entering the garage. I did find references to purchasing the NR72BNMOC version for center roof mounting onto an NMO mount, so that's the model I purchased. Arrived quickly from DX Engineering. Once mounted, I swept the 144-148 and 440-450 bands with my Bird SiteHawk analyzer, and found that the optimum response was just a tad low in frequency. I snipped off less than 1/4" of the whip and found the response to be perfect for both bands, with very, very low SWR in both cases. The return loss is better than 20 dB from 145.5 to 147.5 and better than 20 dB from 440 to 450. Very impressive. I'll follow up once I have the rig connected and am on the air. I couldn't ask for more than what this antenna offers. Short, high performance and low cost.
KK6LIG Rating: 2021-05-03
Many people are probably buying the wrong antenna... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a good quality antenna as is the case with most Diamonds. I initially ordered the NR72BNMO version, but after reading the documentation, I realized that this antenna is *not* suitable for installation atop a vehicle. If you plan to install this antenna on top of a car using an NMO-style mount, you must purchase the NR72BNMO-C version, which is specifically designed to use the roof of the car as the ground plane.

I called the Diamond rep and he mentioned that because these antennas are designed overseas (the parent company is Japanese), most people outside of the US do not drill holes on their cars. Instead, they choose to use lip mounts or trunk mounts which is what the NR72BNMO is designed for. The "non-C" version of this antenna is designed specifically to use the lip mount as the ground plane. You will get high-SWR's if you don't purchase the correct antenna!
KD2DRM Rating: 2018-04-05
crapped out at 3 years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Purchased in April of 2015 and waited 2 months for delivery. Supposedly had been production issues and were on back-order. Arrived and installed on NMO on roof of Acura MDX. SWR perfect on both bands. Happened to check SWR a few weeks ago and found 70cm perfect but 2M had 40 forward and 10 reflected. Moved to different mount on vehicle with same result. Tried adjusting with no change. Very disappointed as this antenna had excellent performance mirroring my Diamond 770. I like the low profile mount. Finding the antenna is once again out of stock everywhere. Am looking at the Larsen NMO2/70SH but really want black antenna. Also looking at Comet NCGSBB-2NMO but it lacks the gain of the Diamond or Larsen.
KD9IAQ Rating: 2017-08-09
Looks great but not recommended Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This antenna is small and looks great and looks to be of quality build, however its electrical functionality is grossly unacceptable, I do not recommend the purchase of this antenna. These antennas perform well on 70 cm with about 1/8 watt reflected, however on 2 meter the reflected power is practically "off the chart" at a whopping 12 watts!

My project called for two of these antennas but I initially purchased only one to try out to see if I liked it before investing in two, but discovered the reflected issue I assumed it was a single defective antenna, warranty claim, so because I liked the look of the antenna so much I decided to purchase two more. So now having THREE of these NR72BNMO antennas I found them all doing the same thing, upon investigation the cause was not the installation or a grounding issue, most likely an issue in the antenna design. They have since been sent back to Ham Radio Outlet for a refund and forwarded on to Diamond for inspection.

For those of you who already own one of these NR72BNMO antennas and think they are absolutely awesome/perfect, you might want to check your antenna's reflected power with a "quality grade" meter, you might be highly surprised at what you observe on that meter...
N5CSU Rating: 2016-05-07
Great Little Antemna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using this antenna on the roof of my Subaru Forester for over 10 years and have been very pleased with its performance on both 2M and 440. I also have a Diamond NR770HNMOB, which is almost 3 times its size. With side by side comparison with users on fringe repeaters, there is almost no difference! Incredible performance!
KJ1H Rating: 2015-09-25
Requires good ground, then works great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I use a trunk lip mount on my Subaru BRZ, and bought this antenna for its low profile that wouldn't make my car look like an R/C toy. When I first installed it, performance was terrible. My radio even shut down when I tried to transmit on high power. I investigated and discovered that I had not properly grounded my trunk lip mount all the way through the paint to bare metal. which the antenna's documentation is very clear is required. That was entirely my fault, not Diamond's. I reattached the mount, making sure to screw through the paint to bare metal, and instantly the antenna worked perfectly on both 2m and 70cm, from one end of each band to the other. I can get into and receive all of my local repeaters, up to and including on high power.

Diamond is serious that this antenna absolutely requires an excellent ground to function properly. They are absolutely correct. You can't use this with a magmount, or a bad ground. But as long as your ground connection touches bare metal, you should be fine.
W5GSR Rating: 2015-06-04
Works Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have this antenna on the roof of my 2002 Toyota Tundra and it works great very low swr on both bands.I can work the repeaters in my area even some that are 30 miles away.
W7MAG Rating: 2014-09-22
10 years and running Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this over 10 years ago and
'temporarily' installed it on a mag
mount on the roof of my wife's minivan.
I never did get around to doing
a permanent install.

So over 10 years and 200k+ miles later,
it's still working great. The SWR is
still good and I'm happy with it.



AE9C Rating: 2014-09-19
None Better..!! AE9C Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have this antenna on my Jeep for about 3 years,, works very well for its size..A big antenna in a small package !! Have a Diamond X50 for My base, cant beat em ! Diamond Quality...Money well spent.
N1EZH Rating: 2012-01-14
One Great Little Antenna! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using the Diamond NR72BNMO on my Pickup Truck for a couple of years now. It works great being able to get into several local 2 Meter Repeaters and I am able to get into a 2 Meter Repeater with it from about 35 miles away on a regular basis! I am able to get into our local 440 Repeater too, although there is limited activity on 440 in our area. The short length makes it perfect for getting into my garage without having to get out of my truck to either remove it or fold it over as with other larger antennas.