Must-have BaoFeng radio accessories for tactical comms, go-bags, and cars

Josh CentersContributor - November 16, 2020

BaoFeng radios like the UV-5R and BF-F8HP are some of the most popular ham radios in the world. They can be found for as little as $25, and sometimes
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Hi, question I am hoping someone can answer for me.  I replaced the antenna with the recommended Nagoya NA-771 on my BT UV-5R.  It actually makes receiving quality much worse.  I don’t have a HAM license and just getting into radio so I mostly monitor FRS/GMRS and MURS range with most traffic on FRS/GMRS bands.  I have two UV-5Rs so I left the original antenna on one to compare and reception is significantly worse with the NA-771 – even for NOAA weather bands.  Am I doing something wrong, or maybe its just a faulty antenna?  Any ideas? 

 

That’s weird, it should be at least somewhat better because the included antenna is so bad. Where did you buy the antenna? There are a lot of fakes out there. Here’s a video on spotting the difference.

 

I did forget that there are quite a few bootleg antennas out there. Thanks for bringing that up Josh.

 

I purchased from Amazon using the link in the article.  The packaging and the markings on the antenna look authentic.  However, it was in a too large box with a few other items like the extended UV-5r batteries and other heavier items.  It was obvious that the contents could move around considerably in the box.  The antenna looked undamaged, but maybe something happened to it.

I was also thinking that because most of the transmissions I have been picking up are in the UHF range (FRS/GMRS) that maybe this antenna was too long. But the VHF like NOAA stations are much worse with the NA-771 than the stock antenna, so I don’t think that is the issue. 

I think I will return this one and try ordering another one.  Hopefully that deals with the issue.  Thanks for the quick response.   

 

I don’t have a perfect answer for you, but I can share my experience that sounds somewhat similar to yours. 

I too use a UV-5R and upgraded the stock ‘rubber ducky’ antenna with a flexible antenna from Signal Stuff. I noticed that the rubber ducky was receiving some frequencies better than this new antenna I got, especially when my body was between the source and radio. The new antenna struggled to receive as well when my body was between the source and the radio. 

I contacted the manufacturer and they said this was fine and that our bodies made up of water are naturally a good block against signals. I do not know much about antennas, but I think that some antennas and their length are better to receiving signals in different frequencies than others. Maybe your stock antenna is better for receiving FRS than your new Nagoya, but your Nagoya is better for ham bands than the stock antenna. This is just a theory of mine, so if anyone knows better, please correct me.

Another thought that I have is that there are directional antennas and also omni directional antennas. One antenna might be better for receiving from all angles if the source is not known, but the directional antenna needs to be pointed towards the source for the best reception. One test you can do is to use an app on your phone called Repeater Book and find a local ham radio repeater. Then point your radio towards it with both radios and both antennas and see which is better when you know where the source is. 

Don’t know if any of this helped, but know that I faced something similar. 

 

(disclaimer: I make the Signal Sticks). A more common issue that I see with *all* aftermarket antennas on many Baofeng radios is that some of them have very poor filtering and in those cases you may find that the stock antenna receives better than the aftermarket antenna because the radio gets “deafened” by signals on frequencies other than what you are receiving on. It’s somewhat like how trying to pick out a single flashlight on a mountainside full of lights; it’s awfully difficult to see if it is on or off. If you can “filter out” all the other lights by looking through a pinhole at just exactly the right spot, though, you’d be able to see if it’s there or not.

With a radio with poor filters when you put a better antenna on it *all* of the signals get louder, not just the signal you want — and that causes the radio to not be able to pull out the signal that you need. With the stock antenna everything is “dimmer” which makes it easier to pick out what you want, but it also means that you aren’t able to pick out as much overall.

Not all baofengs suffer from this, but it’s common enough that I have a list of links that I send people having this issue to help show that I’m not just trying to excuse the performance of the antennas that I build and sell 😉

Either way, good luck all.

 

That is a great explanation with the flashlights on the mountainside.

 

Hi  I have a question regarding comms so I keep hearings things like echolink which you can communicate long distances that is powered by the internet so when the internet goes down how do we communicate with like let’s say a family member that’s in the other side of the country how would I go about communicating with them they also have a baofeng uv5r