The ClearNode comes with a stubby antenna. The stubby has the advantage of having a low-profile. It has the disadvantages of being a compromise antenna - reduced efficiency, lower gain, and potentially some portion of the signal being reflected back into the transceiver.
You can improve your antenna gain and efficiency by swapping the stubby antenna for a larger 440m SMA vertical antenna. I happened to have a SMA 2m/440m dual band rubber duck antenna in a drawer, so it was a easy no-cost upgrade for my ClearNode.
ClearNode on the bench with a SMA 2m/440Mhz dual band rubber duck |
Upgrading my ClearNode antenna provided excellent coverage in my home, yard, and neighborhood with full quieting and crisp clean audio. I was surprised to find that I can even reach my node with an HT transmitting with 1w from 1 mile away.
1 comment:
Thank you for this, was having some RF issues and ended up running an external antenna about 3ft away and a lot of the humming disappeared.
- KN6WNO
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