Antenna newbie here. It says "Grounded" metal plane, does that mean metal has to be touching the ground (earth) or is a metal object on roof ok?

"Grounded" metal plane depends on what band antenna you are talking about. For 2 meter and higher frequencies with mobile applications on vehicles, the metallic vehicle body serves as the ground plane. The antenna needs a 1/4 wavelength radius circle of metal at the base of the antenna to serve as a ground plane. This is easily accomplished on most vehicles. HOWEVER, the lower in frequency you go, the more difficult this is to obtain. As a result, antenna tuners may be needed to tune the radio to the antenna. Base station antennas are either of a vertical or horizontal design/polarization. Most HF verticals need a ground plane under them, usually buried under ground. Horizontal HF antennas do not usually use a ground plane if they are mounted at least 40 feet above ground. VHF/UHF antennas, both horizontal and vertical, usually use the metal mast it is mounted to as a ground plane. Horizontal beam antennas also have their own builtin "ground plane" in the antenna design.. Height above ground for these antennas is not important, EXCEPT if you are trying for more coverage area.

The title says "144/430" but the description says it will go up to 520mhz?

It will work there, but not at top efficiency.. Most likely the antenna is tuned for the middle of the 440 band (430), and the middle of the 2 meter band (144)..

Will this work as a base station antenna?

I don't see why it would not work. It's better than the small 'rubber duck'. However you may wish to consider a physically longer unit 1-2 meters (3-6ft) antenna that can be permanently secured.

Is this antenna waterproof and can it take the hot sun during the summer time?

I live in extreme Northern Maine on the Canadian border on the US side. We get temperature extremes -50 in the winter and we can certainly get up to 95 in the summer. Mine has served me well in all weather extremes, and I am about to purchase another one, not that mine is broken, but to add a second radio for APRS use.

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Reviews

A**R

Solid unit good for price

3.11.2025

M**B

The antenna had different thread spacing and would not attach to my NMO antenna mount. Disappointing.

12.08.2023

A**Y

Very nice unit. Loss is at normal level for vhf/uhf. Would be nice if they use lower loss cable. Yes, make the coax thicker but I could live that.

24.07.2025

M**R

Got this ground plane kit to test on my mobile rig. Tested this two different Comet antenna. One is a Comet CSB790A and a Comet CA-2x4SR. Both are dual banders. Though these antenna are mounted on a 1"x2" extrusion style rack. Though I have a decent grounding from the rack to the steel roof on my 1999 Toyota 4-Runner. This ground plane kit helps with the SWR a tad bit. On the Comet CSB790A antenna. It's a UHF style and I got a NMO adapter for the antenna mount. So with that being said. I tested the SWR and wattage output from my ICom 2730A mobile radio with the MARS mod using a Surecom SW102 meter and a Sysjoint NanoVNA-F V3 analyzer. One to test the harmonics and resonance of both antenna on 2m and 70cm bands. Both were tested on the 2m and 70cm calling frequency. Was able to make several contacts about 40+ miles away with full quieting. This kit did improve a tab but nut I don't plan on using this while being mobile. This kit best work on attaching the supplied stainless steel bracket to a post or pole using two supplied heavy duty hose clamp where there's no flat metal object to use a ground plane. I haphazardly attached this to my wooden fence and it did to reduce and lower the SWR quite a bit. Everything helps when you're trying to make that connection either simplex or trying to hit that long distance repeater long distant away. Also Nagoya said you can use this while mobile but my highly not the SWR don't help much or at all. But word of caution is that if you wish to use this while driving. I would recommend use medium strength thread locker on the hardware before you start driving. Great ground plane kit with no issues other than the set screw is small. I almost 4 of them. I would recommend this to any mobile HAM operatiors especially when you're at park with just a wooden post or tree you can attach the bracket to.

12.05.2024

M**K

Like. Is easy to apply.

15.12.2024

ASIN	B00XQ9H9OC
Best Sellers Rank	#48,402 in Electronics ( See Top 100 in Electronics ) #58 in Audio & Video Antennas #6,516 in Home Audio Accessories
Color	Black
Customer Reviews	4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,386)
Date First Available	28 May 2016
Item Weight	181 g
Item model number	Nagoya UT-308UV
Other display features	CE
Product Dimensions	55.88 x 10.16 x 10.16 cm; 181.44 g
Special features	Only BaoFeng Tech is Authorized to Resell Nagoya

B-Tech Authentic Genuine Nagoya UT-308UV 21-Inch Magnetic Mount VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna SMA-Female for and BaoFeng Radios

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