Jerry,
I'm a retired electronic technician. I agree that there needs to be a strain
relief for the connector on the hand-held. But a better idea would be to get
a mobile or base radio. Either should have a better front end to enhance
reception, easier tuning, and more transmit power.
 Lynn
[log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jerry Neufeld" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 17, 2004 4:04 PM
Subject: external antennas with handhelds


> Hello again folks.
>
> Moments ago, I finished a conversation with an electrical engineer who
seems
> to know a lot about the design of current, multi-band handhelds. He tells
me
> that, electronically, designers now have the ability to build broadband,
> output circuits that will accommodate spreads in frequency as wide as 50
mhz
> to 500 mhz, thus allowing for any antenna that is close to 50 ohms and
> reasonably resonant. He echoed the comments of several people here,
> lamenting the rather fragil sma connectors, now on most of the modern
> equipment. His suggestion was to purchase a cable, the length to be
> specified by the customer, from a company that puts a sma connector at one
> end and a selectable connector at the other, the cable itself, apparently
> quite robust but rather thin and flexible. He's going to look for the name
> of this company and get back to me. I'll pass it along for anyone
> interested.
>
> Thanks to all who contributed to the discussion. I now feel a bit easier
> about attaching something a little more efficient than the bendable gadget
> that comes with the handheld.
>
> 73's.
>
> Jerry