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Weekend Pundit · 05-10-2008, 07:43 PM

I've used my 5 watt handheld with the rubber duck antenna supplied with it and with an antenna mounted on my boat. At best I'd get 6 to 10 miles over open water with the rubber duck antenna. Using it with the 'big' antenna on the boat I've been able to reach from one end of the lake to the other.

As someone involved with radio for almost 40 years, I can safely say the antenna makes a bigger difference than what's attached to it. The rubber duck antenna supplied with most handhelds aren't much better than a leaky dummy load. (A dummy load is a resistor used to emulate a properly tuned antenna. It is not supposed to radiate radio waves, which is why it is used while testing radio transmitters.) They are a compromise at best.

There are some aftermarket rubber duck style antennas that perform better than the ones supplied with the handhelds. Even so, they still won't perform as well as a full sized purpose built antenna.

NOTE: Not all handhelds have antennas that can be removed. But many do.

05-10-2008, 07:43 PM	#10
Weekend Pundit Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Gilford Posts: 354 Thanks: 26 Thanked 70 Times in 43 Posts	VHF handheld using better antenna I've used my 5 watt handheld with the rubber duck antenna supplied with it and with an antenna mounted on my boat. At best I'd get 6 to 10 miles over open water with the rubber duck antenna. Using it with the 'big' antenna on the boat I've been able to reach from one end of the lake to the other. As someone involved with radio for almost 40 years, I can safely say the antenna makes a bigger difference than what's attached to it. The rubber duck antenna supplied with most handhelds aren't much better than a leaky dummy load. (A dummy load is a resistor used to emulate a properly tuned antenna. It is not supposed to radiate radio waves, which is why it is used while testing radio transmitters.) They are a compromise at best. There are some aftermarket rubber duck style antennas that perform better than the ones supplied with the handhelds. Even so, they still won't perform as well as a full sized purpose built antenna. NOTE: Not all handhelds have antennas that can be removed. But many do. Last edited by Weekend Pundit; 05-10-2008 at 07:45 PM. Reason: Forgot to end a sentence!