Honest review of the Super Elastic Signal Stick by SignalStuff

[@PileofBrass]

You cost me $54.00 today. I ordered 3 of these. Thanks for the review.

[@NoPipeLeftBehind]

Great review! Your honesty is truly appreciated...anyone can sing the praises of a product but it's especially difficult and sometimes a bit awkward to give listeners a peek into the "not so good" as well as the good. No product is perfect and the only way that developers can improve is through honest feedback. Kudos for offering yet another unbiased and candid review on a piece of kit that many of us might be considering purchasing. 73!

[@ModernHam]

Glad you enjoyed the review!

[@yllib68]

I originally got one for my 878 and did a real world test. I kept switching from the stock antenna to the Signal Stick. Now while both transmitted about the same, the Signal Stick most definitely received signals much better than stock. Across the board, it gave me at least two signal bars more than the stock antenna. And it did just as well against my Nagoya as well. That being said, I got another for my FT2DR. Just love this antenna!! Thanks for the review.

[@longrider42]

Update. That 3D plastic bit over the connector, sure enough it broke on me. So I taped it up, and used some shrink fit tubing and its fine now. Yes I could have sent it back. But I knew I could fix it.

[@MerchantsOfMisery]

Just bought two of these thanks to you. Great review. I really love that the radio community has so many helpful people willing to make free educational content like this.

[@JosephDZaks]

This antenna is GREAT. I have other major manufacturer's antennas. This outperforms them all. The twisty-turny stuff is cool.. but does it work? Yes. This is based on actual on the air reports comparing this and several other antennas. I am about to order two more. Thank you for a great product.

[@TXLorenzo]

Every ham should buy one of these antennas. You get a twofer, great antenna and help others get into the hobby. BTW, I have gotten over 20 miles range from my HT back to my home station with this antenna.

[@ModernHam]

Yeah they are great antennas!

[@HamstudyOrg]

20 miles is not bad -- you must have a strong arm! I can't throw them nearly that far....

[@TXLorenzo]

@@HamstudyOrg You don't throw them. You attach it to your radio.

[@HamstudyOrg]

@@TXLorenzo I knew I was doing something wrong! ;-)

[@Maine307]

i got one in the mail, arriving in a day or 2 ! they shipped out wicked fast. Great video !! many thanx!

[@ModernHam]

Hope you enjoy!

[@N4EJM]

Love mine, just got one of the new colored ones. I got blue.

[@mclovengarcia2883]

SO WHICH ONE IS TUNE FOR GMRS ANYBODY KNOWS GOOD OPTIONS?

[@SecretMan299]

Good day, I hope you’re well. I have a question regarding the Signal Stick antenna. If I mount it on a vehicle, I’m concerned about its flexibility. Would it be able to handle high speeds over long periods without deforming or being damaged by the wind? I’d appreciate your thoughts on this. Thank you!

[@w4srp]

Absolutely fantastic antenna for many reasons, including how light it is. It makes the HT easier to move around, and doesn't put as much stress on the connection points. Going to order a couple more! W4SRP

[@ModernHam]

They are great antennas!

[@Demosophist]

Do you sell one that's tuned for GMRS? Would that be the 440?

[@AlexGonzalez-g7b]

would this work on an c crane cc pocket am/fm radio?

[@darrellmillner930]

Appreciate the pros and cons, quality review, this newbie thanks you.

[@Lee784447]

I don’t have this antenna but I have one like it. The way I use mine is I have my radio in in a pouch attach to my backpack with the antenna going though some loops that go up the side, to key the radio I use a speaker mike.

[@chefbrittan84]

So this don’t overload the front end on baofengs? Usually with those the stock rubber ducky is the best bet.

[@rilosvideos877]

Great and honest review! You should have measured the SWR with the antenna wrapped around to see the difference ;-) Maybe time for an update? Thanks!

[@christianronn5301]

Would the signal stick be useful for marine VHF use? I have a Standard HX890E handheld DSC transceiver.

[@ModernHam]

I'm not sure to be honest. But I'm gonna bet there are better options for marine VHF.

[@Whiskey6Radio]

Best antenna on the market. I have one for each ht I own. What I like most is that there flexible. I’m an avid outdoorsman and my ht is with me all the time. In a nut shell I don’t have to worry about snapping it if I’m bush whacking. Just a Thought but you might want to get a BNC connector adapter on your Ft3D. It’s a wide base and doesn’t cause any stress on the antenna port. 73’s W6MDE

[@BradSnyder1]

I agree.

[@spatha2456]

Got an FT3DR about a month ago with the bnc adapter he showed in the video, got a signal stick right a way. Next I replaced the bnc sma adapter with a wide base adapter exactly like you described so much better. This video doesn't seem like real negatives just personal preferences.

[@Whiskey6Radio]

A Spatha you can’t go wrong with the wide base adaptor. It likes it’s part of the radio and doesn’t look flimsy or weak like the narrow one that screws on does. It’s worth the $10 to get the better adaptor

[@jima4656]

When I look on the signal stuff website, I see that they make these for a few different bands. I do not see an option that is tuned specifically for GMRS. I guess that these guys are geared towards Ham only.

[@andrewhamop6665]

Great video as always, I honestly wish I had gotten one of these instead of a Nagoya lol.

[@ModernHam]

They are pretty cool, but I honestly find myself using my nagoaya still quite a bit.

[@escapetherace1943]

you'll need it when you get two handhelds

[@arupian666]

I have the Diamond for my FT3DR... and the Nagoya... I think I need this too... And they do these RED

[@twalters51]

I didn't know the end was glow-in-the-dark guess I didn't read all the description haha. I got one of these antennas mostly because of its ability to "pack away". Its just a good as my Nagoya 771 if not slightly better on my baofeng. It does flop around but the 771 would cause my baofeng to fall over. With the signal stick my radio is more bottom heavy now and is less likely to fall over from a slight breeze or if the table its sitting on gets bumped. Best thing I learned from this antenna is how nice it is to have BNC connectors on HTs as its nice to quick connect to a mag mount when I get in the car. 73 KD8ZME

[@ndrthrdr1]

How close to a repeater do you have to be to use it with a 5 watt HT and a Signal Stick with no obstructions like buildings or trees?

[@mickjaejohnson]

I can hit repeaters with my Baofeng UV-5R around 10-20 miles

[@escapetherace1943]

Can you compare it to the Nagoya NA-24J? It's the supposedly upgraded version of the 771 and it's basically the same thing as a Signal stick, only a couple inches shorter (but still half an inch longer than the 771). It would be worthy to compare them saying they're both direct competitors and nitinol antennas, or whatever magic alloy they are. Also I've had the na-24j for a while and just ordered the Signal, but have no way to really scientifically compare them.

[@imeprezime1069]

1 year later what do you think is better, and which one would you recommend, Nagoya 771 or NA-24J or Signal Stick?

[@escapetherace1943]

@@imeprezime1069 signal stick actually gets better listening range, I tested it out by swapping it on my baofengs and listening to the same people broadcasting from set areas. They're pretty close though, the nagoya is a lot less bulky and feels more professionally made. So there's that.

[@wipout1]

are these any good across 225-380 ?

[@fox1actual]

Do you know if you can take the BNC connector off? I got mine with a BNC but it’s black and I would like to put one that is chrome.

[@rohitbokade5771]

Thinking of using this for an amateur radio satellite

[@benmeyer2916]

Interestingly my signal stick gets droopy in cold weather, does this happen to anyone else?

[@ModernHam]

I've never used it in cold weather. It might be an odd property of the metal.

[@benmeyer2916]

@@ModernHam yeah I believe it’s the crystal structure on the metal

[@AlvinMcManus]

@@benmeyer2916 You nailed it sir. l

[@benmeyer2916]

@@AlvinMcManus wait seriously lol I don’t remember if my info was accurate especially from 2 years ago

[@AlvinMcManus]

@@benmeyer2916 It is a property of the metal that at cold temps it looses it's rigidity.

[@markroles7304]

You stated that the antenna analyzer methode that you were using would not be accurate, why is this so? And how would you make then a proper accurate reading from it.

[@HamstudyOrg]

The problem with analyzing an HT antenna on an analyzer is that by their nature nearly all HT antennas are actually only half of the dipole; the other half is going to be provided by your radio, your arm, your surroundings, etc. Thus when you put it on an analyzer you change the antenna system; when you connect feedline you change the system. When you add an SWR meter you change the system. There are two ways that arguably get a "proper" reading: the first is to reproduce as exactly as you can a "real world" use, such as building an RF choke into an HT-shaped holder and measuring it while holding the radio the way you'd expect; the RF choke isolates it from the feed line and the rest means that you should in theory have a realistic look at what is happening. The trouble of course is that every person holding it will give slightly different results... The other way is to use a RF choke (large ferrite works) at the feed point of the antenna (where the antenna connects to the feedline/device) and then add a wire "tiger tail" counterpoise; this gives you consistent readings across different instruments, but is arguably not "realistic" since it's not the way you'd normally use it. Some HT antennas will have less variance in SWR, but that's not always a good sign because sometimes it means that the antenna has poor resonance and a whole lot of impedance matching -- remember that SWR is only telling you how well the impedance matches up. A dummy load has fantastic SWR, but not much in the way of resonance =] At the end of the day for an HT antenna I always recommend that you just try it -- if it works well, then great. If not, consider a different antenna.

[@gerhardmoeller774]

Thanks... helped me a lot...especially the part about adapters. I might buy this antenna for my FT3D... but I definitely found the adapter I need for my (just received) Nagoya antenna! BTW... the Diamond SRH320-A works great on the FT3D. I’ve never even tried the supplied “rubber duck”. Your vids are great! Keep it up.....O7 (salute)..... 73... KI5NEK

[@ModernHam]

Glad i could help!

[@GKB.official]

What about 460mhz?

[@rightpedaldown9346]

Thanks for the honest review!

[@patricklozito7042]

It would have been much better to have ordered the antenna with and SMA connector since it was going on a radio with an SMA base. It would have much less leverage on the connector that way.

[@ModernHam]

I like the bnc connector because It's easy to use with my other products.

[@longrider42]

Just ordered one for my TYT UV8000E, HT. in Orange, SMA-M. I am interested too see how it stacks up against my ABBREE 18? inch antenna. That I am using now. Good review by the way. Except you didn't say what frequencies the lowest SWR's where on.

[@scottintexas]

Do you think the SMA-M will fit on an FT-3DR without need of a spacer?

[@MarvinParnell]

I was going to say the same, that adapter and heavier BNC connection is adding more leverage, If you get the SMA-M version there shouldn't be anymore stress on the port than what would be considered acceptable. I understand the need for a quick solution if hooking into a mobile setup "that is what I started with" but you can also figure anywhere from 1 to 3db loss through those adapters too depending on the quality and materials used.

[@HamstudyOrg]

Yes it fits the FT-3DR without a spacer.

[@GKB.official]

How do i get one like this for 27mhz band?

[@Tiburon.hd1]

Thanks for your review, so which one should I get ? I have the FT3DR, and I also have a baofeng bf-8HP Or what adaptors ? I’m a bit confused thanks

[@HamstudyOrg]

The FT-3DR would need an antenna with a SMA-M connector. The BF-8HP would need one with a SMA-F connector. (note that the gender of the connector follows the center conductor). Some people choose to get SMA-F to BNC and SMA-M to BNC adapters and then a BNC will fit both types.

[@Bob814u]

If you think it is floppy walking you should try it with satellite activations. Talk about signal fade as it bounces around at the slightest jitter. I was without my Yagi one day and tried it. Pass! For hitting the local repeater 30 miles away it is great if you are still.

[@xDNYEx]

Love your accent! Thanks for the review

[@forgetyourlife]

I've owned a few of these and ended up selling all of them, Its just to floppy. They even made them stiffer in the last year and they still move to much. I stuck with my 15 inch Diamond.

[@HamstudyOrg]

Great for some things, less great for others -- use what works best for you! People keep asking me to make longer ones and I'm just shaking my head given how floppy they already are... good for many things, but not all.

[@TheGraeme61]

What is the gain of these antennas ?

[@fashnek]

The creator has a lot to say about this, so you really should read the FAQ on the website. A short snippet is "hese should be about +6dB compared to typical stock HT antennas" but that really only tells part of the story.

[@SIGINT007]

@@fashnek 6dB better than a -20dB stock antenna is still crap, right? it’s all about manipulating the numbers...

[@HamstudyOrg]

That's more or less it, yeah. In "theory" it's probably a bit less than a 2.5dBi gain, and should be comparable to any other antenna of similar length, but at the end of the day it's still a half of a dipole mounted to an HT; any HT antenna is compromising somewhere, so finding the right antenna for your use case comes down to deciding what is the most important. If you need signal above all else I strongly recommend a tower with a solid base antenna on top of it ;-) Seriously, though, the stock antenna shouldn't be nearly that bad, and a good quarter wave antenna (like the signal stick or most other similar length antennas) is a good "standard" gain antenna on an HT; to get much better you need to get really long and do funny things that tend to be less portable.

[@miriamsmith7135]

Good antenna.. I have one but use Comet antennas onevery handheld I have but one ..

[@assocpress]

Did he say “dodo”? 1:06 And did he say “An-tana”? 😆 Thanks for the vid. I think even though the thing is wabbly, I’ll still get one. So I can be cool like everyone else. 😁

[@ModernHam]

I did say do-do 😅

[@KevinW8BRY]

Thanks for the review I was literally searching for antenna's like this today for my FT-3DR that I just got for SOTA. Can't help but wonder if you had just the SMA male version rather than the BNC with a SMA male adapter on the radio if there would be less stress on the connection. I take into account it may not have been available when you purchased and did this review. Either way thanks for the video. Have watched several of yours lately relating to the FT-3DR. Kevin

[@ModernHam]

I think i bought the adapter elsewhere. It would for sure be less stress on the connection though. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@georgemullin7772]

If my radio is on my hip in a case and im walking while hunting the antenna moving around wouldn't bother me one bit , it looks light so no big deal, if you're going to wrap it in a circle why even bother with the long whip in my opinion leave it alone let it do it's job by staying straight up.

[@ModernHam]

This is my review after having used it for a few weeks. If you had the antenna you may understand why I talked about the things I did. A review is there for people who haven't used the product to find out the quirks from those who have after all. It's about the material and the feel of the antenna. Hunting with this thing extended out on your hip will basically eventually rip the antenna port off your radio. That's why it's curled up.It makes it usable while mobile.

[@georgemullin7772]

@@ModernHam I understand what the purpose of your video was , you wanted input I gave it thanks

[@davidaix5771]

Do you happen to know what the maximum power you can put into this antenna because I have an HT that can put out 25 watts and it really dose do you know if this antenna can take that?

[@ModernHam]

I don't think this antenna can handle that, What model HT do you have that will put out 25 Watts? I don't think this would fall under safe exposure levels if you are holding it to your face when transmitting.

[@davidaix5771]

@@ModernHam leixen uv-25d

[@maddog57ful]

I would advise the use of a Hand Mic.​@@davidaix5771

[@villysantos3527]

Can i get that one

[@MikesPOV]

The Super Elastic Signal Stick made no difference in signal strength on my Yaesu FT-60R. In fact, I see no real difference in performance compared to the original stock antenna.

[@rpestess]

I have one of these and they are just too long! Also, if you get that antenna wobbling it will tip your radio right over if not supported.

[@docalexander2853]

Any long antenna will cause some problems carrying it on you.

[@markr.1984]

They don't like temps much under 40 degrees though, they start drooping and going limp. And my wife bitterly complains about that. Oh, that's not the antenna...LOL

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

Similar on eBay for under $10

[@jediwompa]

Good review but it's antenna. Not antanna

[@justaguy4788]

1.1 swr, "not bad". whatever, that's awesome

[@fashnek]

SWR is highly variable on any HT from moment to moment. They are designed to use your body, the HT itself, etc. as part of the antenna.

[@HamstudyOrg]

Yeah, I get about the same number of people emailing me about how awesome the SWR is that I get about how awful it is... SWR measurements on an HT antenna are just this side of useless, unfortunately.

[@DJ369-Miami]

Nothing scientific here. You have to hook it to a NVA and check what the SWR is at 144 and 440 or so. Saying I get good signal reports is totally subjective.

[@ModernHam]

I did in the next video. This is only a review. Not an in-depth analysis of the frequency resonance.

[@fashnek]

Intanna :D

[@shiftintohigh5564]

👍👍😎🇺🇸

[@Soupie62]

TL; DR = it's wobbly (and puts stress on the connector port)

[@lightswitch9012]

"My honest review" the way you say antenna makes me wanna puke

[@Mrevilpsychojokerclown]

Chomo