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Reviews For: Diamond MR77 2m/70cm Mag Mount Ant.

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

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Review Summary For : Diamond MR77 2m/70cm Mag Mount Ant.
Reviews: 30MSRP: 39.95
Description:
2m/70cm Antanna with Magnetic Base.
19.5 Inches (0.5m) high, 13 Feet RG58C/U and terminates to a PL-259 plug.
2m = 1/4 Wave, 70cm = 1/2 wave.
Max Power = 70 Watts.
The Diamond MR77SMA is the identical, but terminates to an SMA plug.
1 Year Mfg. Warranty.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.rfparts.com/diamond/mr77.pdf
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00304.6
KJ4KKI Rating: 2009-07-17
Fantastic Antenna for the money. Tx/Rx is outstanding. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'd give it a 5, except that I have only had it now for about 2 1/2 weeks and only have gotten to try it a few times. However, the reception has been great. I live in Bowling Green, Kentucky and talked to the Mammoth Cave repeater in Glasgow, about 30-35 miles away. Rock solid on both directions. The kicker is that I was only using 1 watt on my Yaesu FT-60 HT. Small footprint, good performance, and at around $45-50, an affordable antenna. I have the SRH77CA as a replacement duck, and it performs fantastic also. With the high gain and wide receive, I get all the public safety and airport channels fine. With both antennas, I was able to hear Nashville approach/departure traffic. The airport is about 70-80 miles away. HRO advised me to go with the Diamond and the choice was well spent money.
KE5GDB Rating: 2009-03-16
Great Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This antenna is amazing.

Pros:
- Small and compact
- Good gain (maybe not by the specs, but on a size-to-gain ratio, it's wonderful)
- Good magnet => stays on the roof at over 80mph
- Dual band
- PRE-TUNED

Cons:
- Mine doesn't work any more (I shouldn't have tried it on the bike; see my QRZ pic)
- It'd be nice if they made one with BNC

Final Thoughts:
Despite the fact that I messed up the first one, I have the intentions of buying another, or maybe two more. The size is unbeatable, and so is the performance. The price is just right too, with it clocking in just over $40. Mine was hit by the top of the garage several times, and it never lost its shape. This is a great antenna, and I'd recommend it to anyone.
KI6PDQ Rating: 2008-07-11
The one and only Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Great mag. mount dual band antenna, strong magnet, great looks and great price. In my opinion no other antenna in the market can beat this little beauty. A solid 5! Available with sma and pl259 connectors.
KC0GWJ Rating: 2008-03-22
Great little mag mount! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is a great little antenna! I've owned it for a few months now have have nothing but good things to say. Great on transmission, great on reception, great on the eyes (very nice, low profile unit), and great constructioin. What more can I say? If you are in the market for a sharp, high quality mag mount duel bander, this is the way to go.
K8WT Rating: 2006-01-29
The Diamond Distance Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this antenna in use for about a year and a half. I use it primarily with an Icom IC-2720 dual-band mobile. The ground plane is the roof of my Chevy Silverado extended cab. The antenna is built sturdy (for being a short dual-bander) and looks good on the vehicle.

I have been impressed with the antenna's performance on many trips out of my local area. I once drove from the northeast corner of Ohio to the Columbus area. In about Akron, I hit up a conversation with Ham on a Mansfield repeater (146.940). When I arrived at my destination, just north of Columbus, he advised I was still completely readable with only a little noise. Check an Ohio map...that's almost half way accross the state and was one of my longest mobile conversations (thanks for making the drive shorter KC8JEZ :)

Overall:
good construction
great reception
running 50 watts...long reach
Magnet HOLDS good
for the money, have not one complaint

KC8SUR
KI4AFZ Rating: 2005-05-25
Great Little Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Mounted on an Explorer roof and used with a Vertex VX-150. I have transmitted on 2 meters with no problems, the right angle SMA connector is sturdy and does not come loose.

I monitor the rail bands and that's where I am impressed. It picks up comms as well as my Maxrad which is cut to the rail band.

I'm thinking about getting a dual band transceiver for the Explorer and will get the PL-259 version of this one.
COREUNX Rating: 2005-01-30
Works Good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'd really give it 3.5 and maybe better but have only used it twice in two days since I purchased it.

Mag mounted on top of my Astro Van right after purchase and connected to (with adapter) my Kenwood THG-71A HT. Worked Great. Picked up contacts 30km away through hills on 2m.

Worth the money so far. Will update once I have used it some more.

-KG6NJA
WD9IWC Rating: 2004-10-14
Better than the RX-2 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First impressions. Better made than the hustler rx-2.Packaging better, better connection of cable to mount, small "o" ring to prevent moisture seeping into coax, small cap to place on thread when whip removed. Reports say that I sound much better than when using hustler, less noise,etc. Mount itself is a better quality than the rx-2. Small whip that does not look like a ham antenna. In fact, I like the way it looks on the car. So far a big plus over the rx-2. We will see how it holds up when I remove it from the car.
KG6UAX Rating: 2004-06-22
Works great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been using one with a Yaesu VX-2R, and it works very well on the low power (1.5W) mode. The VX-2R is pretty much useless in a vehicle without an external antenna, even on high-power (3W). 440 works even better - probably since it's a half wave on 440.

This is my backup rig for rental cars, APRS, packet, etc, and it works great. I'm curious to see how well the antenna weathers, but then it's just used sporadically anyway.

The 90 degree SMA adaptor fits the VX-2 nicely.

I wouldn't give it a 5 because it doesn't use an NMO or SO-239 type mount that would be more universal. It uses a 1/4-20 threaded stud. But, for $39, as a package deal, I am very satisfied with this product.
N8XRV Rating: 2004-03-15
Nice Antenna. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This antenna is small enough to look nice, espically on the roof of a truck.
Right out of the box, with no tuning, 1.4:1 on 2m, 1.2:1 on 70cm. it is tunable if needed, though the instructions say it has be pre tuned.
On 2m, it performs as well as any 1/4 wave antenna, on 70cm, It does a little better than any other dual band antenna I have used. This is a great antenna if your looking for a simple 2m/70cm antenna. It has even survived my wife going through the car wash. (It did 'fall off' the roof in the automatic car wash, but sustained no damage)
I gave it a 4 because it does as expected, and has shown no problems in 5 months of use. (I save 5's for things that really blow me away, and go way above and beyond, The 4 doesn't mean there is anything wrong with this antenna)