If you have a Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu, or Alinco handheld they will require an SMA Male to SO-239 adapter. To make things a bit more complex, there are two different styles of SMA connectors, and you will need the right one for your brand of radio. You will need two items, an appropriate length of coaxial cable with PL-259 connectors on each end, and an SMA to SO-239 adapter.
So how do you connect a base station antenna to your handheld radio. Top: SMA Female for Baofeng/Wouxon radios, Bottom: SMA Male connector for Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu, and Alinco models.
This antenna will not only give you increased range, but also offer a upgrade path as you replace your handheld radio with a more powerful base station. A popular model for the new ham is the 2 meter J-Pole antenna. External antennas come in all shapes and sizes, from the simple quarter wave vertical to multi element beams. But to really boost your performance you need to use an external antenna. In a previous blog post, I’ve given tips on increasing your range with an attached antenna to your handheld radio. To make the biggest jump in transmit/receive performance, you will need to take the antenna off the radio and mount it in a advantageous location. These aftermarket antennas will certainly improve performance, but your range will still have limits. Nagoya makes an excellent aftermarket antenna for the popular Baofeng handheld radios and both Comet and Diamond both offer their version of the duck antenna with the female SMA connector that Baofeng radios require. There are certainly better designs for duck antennas than what comes with your radio. So to make an HT more convenient, we’re hobbled by a poor antenna.
Plus the duck antennas are more flexible and durable than a fixed or telescoping antenna. Handheld radios are designed to be worn on the hip, and who wants a quarter wave antenna poking them in the armpit or tickling their neck. These helically wound springs have the electrical length of a quarter wave antenna, but have a greatly shortened physical length.
Rubber duck antennas are basically a wound coil of wire encased in a rubberized sheath.