Thread: handheld UHF to external antenna?

Originally Posted by pohm66

Hi all,

Tried searching the Dbase but could see anything similar... The question I have is...

"Is it possible to connect and use a handheld UHF to a standard external antenna?"

I'm not a big user of the UHF and already have a 5w handheld with battery eliminator and mike and want to maximise what I've got without spending too much cash.

Cheers.......
pohm66

The answer is "it depends"!

In the case of my handheld Uniden UH-005 it is simply a matter of terminating the lead from the external antenna with the appropriate BNC connector and attaching this instead of the handheld's antenna.

If your handheld has a similar setup, it will be that easy, if not, the handheld will need to be modified to provide an external antenna connector, which is likely to be difficult and/or expensive, but depends on the handheld and your expertise.

John

JDNSW is right.
Depends on the model of handheld. Some you can screw a standard mini UHF or BNC connector with a standard 50 ohm coax cable and antenna on to where the little stub aerial mounts. Others you can attach an external antenna via a side accessory connector.
On most of the cheaper ones you're pretty limited in what you can do.

Let us know the model and we might be able to help further.

Thanks JDNSW and Waynep.

I have a TK338 5W UHF CTCSS FRS PMR Two Way Radio Transceivers - eBay Other Ham Radio, Ham Radio, Radios CB, Ham Shortwave, Consumer Electronics. (end time 12-Apr-08 11:59:33 AEST)

Looks not to be a std ariel mount........

Any thoughts???????

pohm66

Can't tell from the picture what antenna connector it has - best bet would be to ask the eBay shop you bought it from if they know the connector type, or have either an external antenna that fits, or a plug so you can terminate one yourself.

Yes can't tell from that.
If you can unscrew the antenna and it has a centre pin and outside thread at the bottom, you might have half a chance. You may be able to get an adaptor for a Kenwood or Motorola or similar that converts it to standard BNC or something. However the adaptor's likely to cost what you paid for the whole radio. Yes maybe contact the vendor and see if they can help.
What does the manual that came with it say ? Any accessories shown there ?
If it can't unscrew or has a solid centre I think you might be out of luck.

Warning though - It's probably highly unlikely that unit is type approved for use in Australia.

Maybe the best way is to keep the radio as a handheld and buy a proper in car unit.