1/4 Wave VHF Vs N9TAX Slim Jim Dualband VHF/UHF Antenna.

[@inthenameofjustice8811]

I have a Dual band Slim Jim antenna at my home In Bromley, London that I bought after seeing your video about it. I run my Baofeng UV-5R off it and it hangs from a second floor window, vertically, on a piece of string. My home is at the top of a hill about 200 ft above sea level. I can hit a repeater on the other side of London to the North of my location that is 20 miles away as the crow flies in a very heavily built up urban area. It is a fantastic little antenna that cost very little money running on a transmitter that was also ridiculously cheap and between the two of them I have a great deal of fun. I highly recommend the Slim Jim as a versatile antenna that can be used where putting up a mast is not allowed or you simply need something portable and reliable to carry with you in the glove box of your car.

[@GUERRILLACOMM]

+InTheNameOfJustice Yup, the cost and convenience makes this a handy tool. Glad its working out for you.

[@challenger2ultralightadventure]

As an Astronomer, I'm asked "what is the best telescope to get". My answer for 30 years has been "one that you will actually use regularly"! As an amateur radio elmer, I've adopted that response to people who ask me "what is the best antenna for portable use"? The answer is the same, "one that you will actually use regularly". Simply put, it can not be complicated, must be durable, must be forgiving if installation conditions are not perfect, must be small to transport, fast to setup, must offer noticeable and useful gain over a whip antenna, and is inexpensive. A roll up antenna like this Slim Jim, either home made of purchased fits all those criteria. Like you said, tactically sound, even though not technically superior. Nice video.

[@kchoudri]

SKIP THE USELESS BLAH BLAH AND WATCH THE TEST FROM 9 MINUTES ONWARD

[@jornjacobsen3945]

Interesting. We need this kind of honesty and testing. I was disappointed with one installation of a slim jim vs a quarter wave antenna used nearby on the same frequencies. The quarter wave outperformed. I presumed the slim jim did not do as well in that situation because the receiving station was 2000 feet higher in elevation. I also found that a rabbit ear dipole, horizontal in orientation, outperformed both.

[@kissingbanditt]

Very well said.. Thank you for the study with your high end communications equipment...Excellent video..

[@TheReconPrepper]

love your vids keep up the good work brother. Don't let one nay sayer get you down. People are people and not everyone is going to like or agree with everything you say. Just keep plugging away and putting out the best content you can and people will appreciate it. :) thanks again.

[@Tenright77]

i have one and like it. Use it with the Baofeng. Thanks for the review.

[@SteveWrightNZ]

The slim jim has multiple resonant parts - the stubs as well as the elements. If you move the resonant frequency of one part, you will have to move the resonant frequency of the other parts as well or else it will lose all its gain.

[@jornjacobsen3945]

Good point. If all parts of the antenna are not tuned to the new frequency, then it cannot perform as expected or as theory suggests. When he fixed his slim jim and changed it's resonant to 149Mhz by adjusting only one of the elements, the antenna no longer operated as a slim jim should. His slim jim in this comparison test is no longer a true slim jim after the repair, therefore the test here is no good. An unaltered slim jim should be used in the test. I've made many slim jims and noted some of the quirks during tuning.

[@GreekPreparedness]

I see no reason a 1/4 wave groundplane antenna cannot be used afield. If you are to hoist/elevate the SlimJim you can elevate the 1/4 wave one. You just tie the cord to the center connector and make a loop around the top of the antenna radiating element, to keep it vertical. I have been doing this exact thing with a female-female connector with radials soldered, and my mobile antenna. An a DIY 1/4 grounplane is also backapable if you make the elements removable.

[@jornjacobsen3945]

I simply make up a dipole using rabbit ears. Works surprisingly well.

[@JohnTalbot-k6xi]

Good Test Run- I also have an Aeroflex 3920B. Likely Recliner Chair Criticizers don't have test equipment to begin with or understand how it works; something to consider. Real World(actual) vs. Theory (!!)

[@michaeldowns1303]

Hi I really like your videos keep them coming

[@cmvb69]

Have you tried the abbree antenna vs the slim jim, just curious of the results

[@brucewayne-cave]

Great Job, Thanks !

[@alijahfranklin4473]

I know it is kinda off topic but does anyone know of a good place to watch new series online ?

[@josuedraven3070]

@Alijah Franklin i would suggest FlixZone. You can find it by googling =)

[@ifell3]

So the guy was right that the 1/4 wave is a better antenna, but not by much, when you take into account of like others have said with the slim jim being practical. What i'm stuck on is with 5w of power from a HT, say using lmr400 to minimise cost and losses, is that a omni-directional antenna with a perfect match mounted up as high as you can would be best. So given losses from balun or matching stubs etc would a; j-pole, slim jim, dipole, 1/4 and 1/2 waves etc be more productive. My idea was to use a easy mounting antenna on a roach pole, find a signal, then to use a moxon or 3el yagi to home in on the signal, what would your input be? Regards

[@GUERRILLACOMM]

I guess it would be preference. Slim jims are qwerky when it comes to deployment, but then again its handy. 1/4 waves are just more practical in mobile applications. flat ground vertical distances 5/8th antenna is superior for that application. Your idea is great for when you get a week static signal then use a yagi to increase the gain. Basically field condition dependent.

[@stephenwilliams5201]

Have a coper J pole. And now a slim Jim. There easy to drive on low power. Baofengs fit this.

[@sgttackleberry1098]

I have one of the slim Jim's cut to my VHF public safety frequencies for use with a portable in the back country. would a quarter wave work better here in the rocky mountains? One of our main repeaters is way out on the planes about 25-30miles as the crow flies and can be pretty tough to hit without a mobile.

[@GUERRILLACOMM]

+SgtTackleberry My opinion, I doubt the extra weight is worth the trouble if you're humping it on foot. I would choose a 5/8 antenna then down tilt a towards the plains. the 5/8 antenna will make the radio waves feel twice as much as a 1/4 wave. but the beamwidth is a little narrower, so it could be a little tricky. I'm assuming you're elevated n the mountain pointing downwards toward the repeater? works the other way around too. Depending on your frequency, a yagi would be best if its UHF. a man portable VHF antenna is a pain to carry.

[@sgttackleberry1098]

+GUERRILLACOMM My main problem areas are actually in the canyons and valleys. From many of the sorta elevated positions in my district (3000' above the repeater 30ish miles away) getting out on a packset isn't too bad even with 400' ridges in the way. It's mainly the lowlands and canyons I have trouble with. And a few places where I have to pack deep into the bush on SAR & IA wildland fires that I run into the most trouble. I did get a 5/8 extendable antenna I've been trying out, but I'm still playing around with it. We've gotten pretty good at running radio relays from high spots, but we don't always have the personnel to pull that off. lol. Ironically, the district has great coverage from the Fed repeaters on the high mountains, but they won't share space on their sites... Narroebanding really killed our VHF radio coverage and the 800mhz DTR system isn't the greatest.

[@sgttackleberry1098]

+GUERRILLACOMM Maybe I'm looking down the wrong hole and a vehicular crossband or regular vehicle mounted repeater would be the best option.

[@GUERRILLACOMM]

+SgtTackleberry I'm picturing the stereotypical postcard terrain when I think about the Rockies. Pretty similar to the type of terrain I cover hear in an extended attack wildland fire with the same challenges. With the description you have given me, yeah, I would agree, a vehicle mounted repeater with higher power could penetrate through the vegetation if accessible. We've tried many types of antennas to try to do the same thing you want to do but covering that sort of terrain is tough with limited resources. I have not seen any solution to your problem that is solved with just handhelds despite a more efficient antenna, those deep gullies and drainages really make things difficult. The feds and state entities, as you know use portable repeaters with great success to get the coverage they need with a built in link radio to back haul it towards basecamp. Perhaps reviewing a topo map for an ideal site that is fast and easy to access where you could drop off a portable repeater/crossbander that would be on the way to your coverage area. That way the person setting it up could continue onto whatever you are responding to. Figured if the IA turns bigger and they order up an ICS team, they will bring their own comm accets and comm unit to make the necessary coverage. Yup, we lost a lot of coverage when they narrowbanded. I had to re-position some antennas to get some of our critical areas half way decent.

[@gjnezat]

your Tahoe, SSV package?

[@GUERRILLACOMM]

+scoped wrecker No, stock model. we don't get outfitted with code 3 stuff. We're just fancy cable guys..

[@OH8STN]

Hmmmm

[@staceyjohnson4227]

I need help with my radio help me plz

[@GUERRILLACOMM]

+stacey johnson What specifically is the problem?