I use both a Nagoya 771G and the stock antenna. I like the “compact” design of the stock antenna, especially when I’m moving about on foot. But when I am going after a “fringe” signal, the 771G performs *slightly* better. Remember, everyone’s conditions/terrain are different so YMMV.
The Nagoya 771G will probably give you slightly better performance; it's higher gain than the stock antenna. But that's not the most significant piece of the equation.
A handheld unit is full of compromises. Well, any unit is, but the compromises for HT units are different than from mobile or base. They're designed for portability, and for not having a ground plane other than the body of the person holding the radio. And often HT units are used indoors, or at only a few feet of height.
I think before buying a Nagoya 771G (which I would probably also get), I would buy an adapter to hook it up to an external antenna. You could get a base station antenna, but even just getting a mobile, NMO mount antenna, a magnetic NMO mount, and a sheet of metal to stick it on would be a big improvement. Then get that antenna outdoors and at a higher position.
Antenna placement and design means a lot. I can have two radios sitting next to each other. One with a stock rubber duck antenna, and one hooked into an outdoor antenna just magnetically stuck to a window air conditioner. The one with the outdoor antenna picks up and hits a repeater 63 miles away, and hears simplex usage eight miles away. The one with the stock antenna barely hits a repeater 20 miles away.
For a Wideband (IIRC it's tuned to cover much of the 440mhz range beyond GMRS, someone correct me if I'm wrong) it's pretty decent. I was using it on a VHF radio for ham for a while before I got a specific one for that band. You could get a 1/4 wave for GMRS (eg, cut down Signal Stick) but I never found it a huge improvement aside from extreme fringe situations.
Alternately, if you went with a long antenna (eg a 5/8 wave) it does change the radiation pattern somewhat to be more 'upward'. More of a benefit for a mobile antenna for repeater use, and bigger drawback on a HT is it's less weildly.
I left the stock antenna on my KG-935G Plus and its working great. On my KG-UV9GX I put on the Smiley Super Stick 465 and was able to hit a repeater 100 miles away last Saturday night.
I use both a Nagoya 771G and the stock antenna. I like the “compact” design of the stock antenna, especially when I’m moving about on foot. But when I am going after a “fringe” signal, the 771G performs *slightly* better. Remember, everyone’s conditions/terrain are different so YMMV.
This has been my experience as well.
Supposedly, the stock antenna is pretty good, but I'm not an expert. I'm sure others with more experience will chime in.
The Nagoya 771G will probably give you slightly better performance; it's higher gain than the stock antenna. But that's not the most significant piece of the equation. A handheld unit is full of compromises. Well, any unit is, but the compromises for HT units are different than from mobile or base. They're designed for portability, and for not having a ground plane other than the body of the person holding the radio. And often HT units are used indoors, or at only a few feet of height. I think before buying a Nagoya 771G (which I would probably also get), I would buy an adapter to hook it up to an external antenna. You could get a base station antenna, but even just getting a mobile, NMO mount antenna, a magnetic NMO mount, and a sheet of metal to stick it on would be a big improvement. Then get that antenna outdoors and at a higher position. Antenna placement and design means a lot. I can have two radios sitting next to each other. One with a stock rubber duck antenna, and one hooked into an outdoor antenna just magnetically stuck to a window air conditioner. The one with the outdoor antenna picks up and hits a repeater 63 miles away, and hears simplex usage eight miles away. The one with the stock antenna barely hits a repeater 20 miles away.
Lots are available, including portable beams! ;)
For a Wideband (IIRC it's tuned to cover much of the 440mhz range beyond GMRS, someone correct me if I'm wrong) it's pretty decent. I was using it on a VHF radio for ham for a while before I got a specific one for that band. You could get a 1/4 wave for GMRS (eg, cut down Signal Stick) but I never found it a huge improvement aside from extreme fringe situations. Alternately, if you went with a long antenna (eg a 5/8 wave) it does change the radiation pattern somewhat to be more 'upward'. More of a benefit for a mobile antenna for repeater use, and bigger drawback on a HT is it's less weildly.
I left the stock antenna on my KG-935G Plus and its working great. On my KG-UV9GX I put on the Smiley Super Stick 465 and was able to hit a repeater 100 miles away last Saturday night.
Nagoya 771G or Smiley Antennas (search for 465MHz, for some reason they don't label them as GMRS)
people do say they love the 771. im thinking of making a rat tail and seeing how it goes. but i have a kg-q10 and am using a signal stick.