PMR446

Hi and welcome to my hubpage

I have received many emails during the last week or so asking for an antenna design for 446mhz this band has come very much alive in the past year with alot of users of this particular band taking there pmr rigs to mountain tops etc and have obtained long distance communications on a 500mw tx but most users have modified there sets by placing a bnc to there radio hence connecting an external antenna as we all know is illegal to do so !

Antennas

Antennas come in all shapes and sizes but for today i will give you the favouritable 1/2wave dipole this antenna is very easily constructed from any metalic form as long as the antenna is cut to frequency .

so you want an antenna for 446mhz well by doing your calculations properly you should end up with each leg of the dipole 6 1/4 inches long I have obtained 1.3 vswr.

for better performance and low loss please use rg213 heavy duty coax rg58 is ok for short runs but installing an antenna higher than 25ft its better to use rg213

Below I have started building this antenna it gives 11db gain and is very easy to build .Im using a 2" boom 57" long and the elements are aluminium welding rods purchased for €8 for ten yes these are a little expencive but it will be worth it when its all built .I had an uhf/vhf antenna lying about the shack so i used it for my dipole box and insulators these came in very handy indeed .