hey zack:
congrads on getting your license.
Dual band or even single band Mag mount antennas typically require minimal 
tuning.  They are cut and designed to be used right out of the box or 
package without the use of an SWR meter or cutting the whip to match the 
antenna.  You can tweak them yes, and sometimes that is done to achieve the 
absolute lowest SWR, but by the very nature of the design of a purchased 
antenna like this, it isn't necesary to work well.
There are many models of dual band magnetic mount antennas out there.
To get the most out of the radio and have the best gain and range, find a 
5/8's wave 2M antenna, or a dual band which would have a 5/8's on UHF and 
half wave or 5/8's on VHF.
These types of dual band antennas are about 33 inches long.  The key is to 
make sure you get the right adapter for your radio.  The UV5R has a male SMA 
on the radio itself.  So, you would need a Female SMA to so239 adapter to go 
from the radio's antenna jack to the standard PL259 connecter that comes 
with your typical dual band magnetic mount antenna.
Some magnetic mount antennas come with a male SMA connecter on the coax, and 
then you would just need a female to female (lesbian) connecter to attach it 
to the radio.
Anyway, the antenna choice really comes down to your budget and weather you 
want an antenna with some gain, or just a simple quarter wave style antenna 
that will get the signal out of the vehicle and offer far greater 
performance and range compared to the stock duck antenna inside the vehicle.
MFJ makes some relatively inexpensive antennas and mounts that work just 
fine.  There are also diamond, hussler, aero, larson, and several other 
manufacturers.
You can also buy generic clone style antennas from china off ebay that do 
the trick nicely...although there is quality control issues with those 
antennas and they may not be as reliable as one of the other better known 
brands.

So, in a nut shell, just do a search on your favorite ham store website or 
ebay for the dual band or single band magnetic mount and decide how much you 
want to spend.  Don't worry about tuning or matching the antenna at this 
point...unless you can find someone with an SWR meter or antenna analyzer 
that doesn't mind taking a quick look and tuning the whip for you before you 
go...but again, it's not vital to get good operation out of the antenna.

Personally, I use an MFJ 5 inch magnit bass with a generic chinese made dual 
band antenna that resembles an MFJ dual band whip.  It has 3db gain on UHF 
and 2 on VHF so they say.  It works just fine on the top of my explorer and 
has for a long time.
If you need to watch the budget, go with a quarter wave antenna from MFJ 
that will run you 20 or 30 bucks.  It won't last for more than a few years 
without major over hauling, but it'll get the job done if you only intend to 
use it occasionally etc.
hope this helps.
It's funny, your going to spend almost as much on an antenna for the radio 
as you did on the radio itself.
Not sure if you have checked this out already or perhaps you already have 
one, but you can get a cigarette lighter plug battery eliminator for the 
UV5R.  It slides into where the battery goes and you can plug it straight 
into the car's accessory power jack IE cigarette lighter jack.
Or, you can use a standard cigarette lighter adapter with the right sized 
barrel plug and use your battery charging cradle in the vehicle.
You have to take the radio out to transmit, but at least it'll stay charged 
while you are monitoring.
Also, one final note, when getting the connecter adapter, try to get one 
that is a short length of coax...IE a pigtail so that there is less strain 
on the radios antenna connecter when you have the larger coaxial cable 
connected to it.

Again, hope all this helps and please ask if anything doesn't quite make 
sence here.

Also, if you have any troubles programming the UV5R, don't hesitate to ask 
as several of us have that radio.

73
Colin, V A6BKX
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Zach Shifflett" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 05, 2013 12:05 AM
Subject: a couple antenna questions


> Hi all.
> Still haven't gotten my license yet, but it should be coming in some
> time this week.
> I just received my radio in the mail, though.  It's a baofeng uv5r
> duel band handheld.
> I'm taking an extended road trip in a few days, and assuming my
> license is in by that point, I want to work some repeaters up and down
> the east coast as we travel.
> I plan on replacing the standard rubber duck with a mag mount for the
> roof of our car, and am looking for some advice.
> I'd like one that I can use with relatively little hastle on both the
> 2 m and 70 cm bands, though if I would be better off using a single
> band antenna, I'd rather work 2m.
> I've read a lot of stuff online about tuning, and how much tuning is
> necessary for these antennas.  Is there a duel band I could use
> without tuning?  If not, could I get a single band to operate on 2m?
> If I do end up having to tune the antenna, what's the best way to
> accomplish this?  Is there a talking swr meter out there somewhere?
> I know I'll need to tune antennas in the future, especially for dxing
> and hf work, but as a total newbie, I'd kind of just like to get on
> the air for a little while before I have to spend a lot of money on
> talking tuners and taking my radio apart.
> Thanks for any advice!
> Zach