Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Diamond NR770HNMOB

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 NR770HNMOB
Reviews: 36MSRP: 59.99
Description:
2M/70CM Open Coil Dual Band Mobile Antenna
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.rfparts.com/diamond/index.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00363.4
W8MPX Rating: 2012-03-13
bullet antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I HAD THIS ANTENNA FOR 2 YEARS I USE A TE SYSTEM 200 WATTS AMP WITH NO PROBLEM TX AND RX WORKS VERY GOOD NEVER HAD A PROBLEM THE ANTENNA IS 38 INCHES LOOKS GREAT ON MY CHEVY MONTE CARLO HOPE THIS HELP OK 73' FOR EVERYONE

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by W8MPX on 2011-05-05

i had this antenna for 1 year and it work very good i can hit rapeater 50 miles
WB4LCN Rating: 2011-10-18
Great Antenna for Motorcycle Mobile! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just recently mounted my rig (FTM-350AR), my Bluetooth headset (Scala Rider Q2 Pro) and this antenna on my Yamaha Roadliner.

Here in San Diego, there are a bunch of hills and canyons, so getting a signal out is a hard thing sometimes. However, with this antenna, I was able to hit distant repeaters reliably, while on my motorcycle, while traveling among them.

I very much recommend this antenna!
K5CPF Rating: 2011-08-02
Worked out well for me Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I am glad I bought this antenna before I read all the bad reviews. I needed an antenna that didn't require a good ground and this one seemed like the proper match for the Diamond K9000 motorized mount.

It works great and has withstood several instances of me forgetting to lower the antenna before entering parking garages.

After almost a year, I am very happy with this purchase.
K7NG Rating: 2011-04-04
Really can't complain Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had one of these for about 16 years, I guess. 1994, I think it was. It's been on four different vehicles, I suppose half a million miles' use. It still seems to be doing fine. I've found that it performs about like most dual-band mobile antennas, I've used a couple that did better on one band or the other, but this one does generally well on both. My best guess is that it is a better VHF antenna than UHF.
The length is about right for most uses, sure I could get another 1.5 dB on 2M and 2.5 dB on 440, with a great long antenna that I would be banging on overhead objects a lot, but I prefer taking it easy on the antenna and mount by not hitting too many objects. And 1.5 dB isn't a big change, people.
As long as it still works, I won't be replacing it.
W3RXO Rating: 2010-06-27
Fair antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am recently disappointed in the performance I am getting from 2 models of Diamond Antenna products, and this is one of them.
I believe Diamond's quality control has gone out the window.
I previously owned an NR770HNMO, and liked it's performance. But, I wanted to change to a UHF mount on one vehicle, for convenience, and when I did, I bought an SG 7900. Read my review of it, under it's section. Since then, I got an NR770HB-UHF, and while it is reliable, the gain on it is lacking, badly, and I am not happy with it's performance, like I was with the first 770 I had.
Recently, I needed a shorter antenna, with the power handling capability of 100-150 watts, on a vehicle with an NMO mount. So, I bought the NR770HBNMO.
WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! Immediately, it attenuated my receive, and showed signs of having high SWR, but I did not have an SWR meter of antenna analyzer handy, and was headed out of town. So, I grabbed an NMO adapter for the 770, with the UHF mount, and used it.
When I returned home, and was able to put an SWR meter AND antenna analyzer on it, BOTH of them showed SWR in excess of 7:1. I shipped it back to AES Las Vegas, and got my money back, as I am already having trouble resolving an issue with Diamond/RF Parts on an SG 7500, and AES has always been great at customer service.
If one is not in need of a high power capability, dual band antenna, I'd recommend you look at other manufacturers, as this antenna, and others from Diamond, seem to be being manufactured under POOR quality control standards. And if you do need a high power rated antenna, you might consider making one, rather than buying a Diamond NR770HBNMO.
KI4RGD Rating: 2009-07-13
Super Antenna! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I drive a 2-door Jeep Wrangler, soft top. I have two antenna mounts coming off the tailgate. The tailgate is grounded along with multiple points under the vehicle.

I purchased this antenna right after getting my Tech. License to run on my little Hyundai car. It worked great on that vehicle! When I bought my Jeep - I ordered two specialized antenna mounts - one cut for NMO. The other antenna mount holds my HF Tarheel, another tough antenna.

Jeeps are difficult for antennas due to the lack of a good ground plane. This antenna has worked great! Its SWR stays below 2.0 across the whole band. I'm using an FT meter with my FT-857D. It handles the full 50w the 857 will throw at it. I don't understand why this antenna has gotten so many bad reviews. I would most certainly get another when and if this one "gives up the ghost!"

After reading reviews of other antennas I thought I'd try the Larsen NMO. Don't get me wrong, the Larsen antenna is a great antenna, however on a Jeep - it just doesn't work. The SWR on the Larsen antenna stayed at 3.0 across the whole 2m band. It didn't go above 3.0 or below, it just stayed around 3.0. As they say - its a Jeep thing!!!
AE6PN Rating: 2009-03-20
work good without GND Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have NR770HA with male PL-259 connector on antenna side with silver color.

since this ANT is half wave on 144MHz , it work well with not so good GND. such as mag mount, etc.

I hit many trees, over heng, drive through roof, but it still solid and works well.

AE6ZW
AA2T Rating: 2009-02-07
on my third one Time Owned: more than 12 months.
They only last at about 5-10W level. Pump 50W into them and they die a quick death. I had picked up a couple for two cars and a replacement. Thought the first failure was a fluke, guess not.

----------------------
Earlier 2-star review posted by AA2T on 2005-01-04

I have had 3 of these and at high power levels >30 watts, the match has gone away on 2 of them on 2M. I did have one fail with in warrenty period and was replaced, the other was tossed. 73 Jerry
W2XAD Rating: 2008-07-01
I have never had any problems Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my first NR770 NMO in 1994 and it is still working. The only thing replaced were the NMO mag mounts.
Bought a second and third antenna. One is permanently connected to a HMO roof mount on my car.
That antenna was purchased in 2000 and still works well. The third one was mounted to the wifes car for 5 years. I now need another car to mount it on.
De W2XAD
N4VBH Rating: 2008-03-07
Stay away from this lemon! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Even after reading the problems here, I still opted to go with this antenna for my new Pathfinder. MISTAKE!

After 3 or 4 months of light use (with the matching Diamond luggage rack mount) the SWR on UHF went sky high. The SWR was better on UHF with the antenna removed!

After contacting Diamond, knowing that this antenna is an engineering or manufacturing disaster (just read the other reviews), they wanted me to mail it in to verify that I hadn't damaged it by excessive power, trees, etc. They know this antenna is at fault. Once they received it, they claimed the coil was lost in the mail, which may be true. Since the USPS won't cover the loss, I'm out an antenna altogether.

I understand the loss is not Diamond's fault, but they know that this antenna is prone to failure and should have simply sent me a replacement antenna coil. I felt used to have to pay shipping to send in a coil they know is defective from manufacture or design. I will NEVER purchase another Diamond product EVER. There are much better alternatives in companies and products.