I should have mentioned this setup has worked very well for the last 12 months 
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That sounds handy. Is the *.stl available if possible?
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Itâs nothing fancy, this one is for the the BNC adapter I have.
I should add the intermittent fault turned out to be the mic jack, nothing to do with the antenna 
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Mega. Thanks!
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Iâm no antenna expert so Iâm on standby to be shot down in flames for the following opinion:-
The RH771, being a quarter-wave whip antenna, relies on a ground plane to act as the other quarter-wavelength, and the person (containing 50-65% water) holding the HT provides a crude counterpoise.
If you mount the RH771 on a pole and connect it to the HT via a coax feeder, you need to provide some kind of radials, maybe also the HT pigtails, like you have done.
By contrast the RH770, being a half-wave (end-fed) antenna is already electrically complete, and in principle, shouldnât need a counterpoise. That statement is one of the most hotly contested concepts in amateur radio with 100âs of mainly non-antenna experts on both sides of the debate convinced that they know the truth.
In practice [given the imperfections], a CP might help. For instance, I have noticed, especially with weaker stations, that the rx signal strength improves a bit when I clutch the HT as opposed to when I had the HT/RH770 resting on a wall of similar height.
As the RH770 was designed to mount directly to the HT, it seems a lot of trouble to go to try to compensate when itâs mounted on a pole. It just seems to me to be easier to use an antenna designed for vertical pole mounting (e.g. slim jim, j-pole) and connect via short length of RG174.
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Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner. 
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Other winning answers are available.
I had great success with these two the other day.
250g including antenna
If anyone can find a lighter and more compact 5w HT, then letâs all hear about it.
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Thatâs light! The FT65 wades in like Big Daddy on Dickie Davies World Of Sport, tipping the scales at a colossal 260g! 
Ah OK, youâre back to option 1 then! Good option only 80g and top of antenna 3.5m AGL.
Have you tried a RH770 with radials and a feeder? how did it go?
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367g!? How do you get that up a summit? Strap it to a St Bernard where the barrel of Scotch is supposed to be?
I suppose you could always have it airlifted up, like those extreme skiing folks do⌠
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This feels a bit like the guard scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
âNoo, noo, yooo stay 'ere and make sure 'e doesnât leave the room.â
No, I am not back to option 1 [flowerpot on short pole]. You appear to be reluctant to use a taller pole. They collapse down to rucksack size.
I prefer my options 4 and 5: [as I posted in #46 above], i.e.
- Standing up with HT/RH770 in one hand
- Sitting / laying down with a roll-up Slim Jim or J-pole (or flowerpot) on 6m pole with 1-2m of RG174 feeder
No, I wouldnât bother. As explained in #65 above, I use the RH770 as designed, mounted on the HT and havenât attempted to use it up a pole via coax feeder, but use a J-pole for that case.
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On the subject of 2m flowerpots, I fired up my newly made one on Billinge Hill G/SP-017 for the first time last week. It was on my 6m Decathlon pole & fed from my FT818 as I was testing a new external battery for that.
Results were very pleasing, 15 contacts in around 45 minutes around NW England plus a couple of S2S, one of each in G/LD & GW/NW land. Living in such a populous area helps, of course.
I used the design as per the Stufinnis website which gives the size for the UK band.
As someone has already mentioned, I like the way it fits on the pole, unlike my Slim Jim which does fly around if not tied down. The next test will be to try it on a âproperâ hill in N Wales.
With the same length of feeder coax (6m for now) as the S J, I thought it would be lighter, but is about 75g heavier. It is a different brand of RG58 which might explain some of the difference. I think it rolls up better than the S J, I didnât like compressing the ladder-line too much in case of damage.
So, a bit of fun in home construction if nothing else, but it seems to work well & I will use it in conjunction with my 4m Decathlon pole for big hills for a leisurely session. I will still use the RH770 clone for quick activations when out in company.
73 all, John G0MHF
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How was the FT818 with weaker chaser stations with the âBillinge Effectâ? [My first and only known 2m FM summit problem with towers in my case using a Yaesu FT1D]
Did one of those 3 transmission towers ~500m to the north-east cause a desensitising or cyclic digital noise problem? Ian @G7ADF has recently written that his FT817 was mostly okay.
Hi Andy, no problems noted the 3 times Iâve activated B Hill. The rigs used have been Kenwood TH71 & Yaesu FT65 handies & the FT818. No desensing or any other problems noted & have never needed my Sotabeans filter.
Unlike days of old, perhaps their transmissions these days donât cause problems, especially to good quality rigs. How a certain well-known Chinese rig might get on I donât know.
Having said that, I gather you had problems on your recent visit.
73 John
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Yes, during rx of weak stations it desensitised my radio briefly but regularly and I could hear short but periodic digital noises which blotted out the chaserâs voice. It wasnât noticeable with stronger stations.
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Hâmm, curiousâŚthe only desensitiving Iâve experienced has been on Brown Clee Hill & Cyrn y Brain before I bought a Sotabeams filter which seems to work OK.
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