Question 1

Amazon says it has a max power of 10w but Baofeng has it at 5w.  which is correct?

Accepted Answer

Baofeng radios (many of them) max out at 5 watts or just over. But there are other Baofeng radios that can transmit at 10 watts, and still other radios like the Radtel RT-470 that can transmit at 13-14 watts on VHF and 11 watts on UHF. The Nagoya antennas max out at 10 watts, so if you need anything more powerful, get an Abbree tactical antenna. They handle up to 20 watts and tend to work better.

Question 2

is their a better antenna than this one?

Accepted Answer

YES...the Abbree tri-band is half the price and tests out far better than Nagoya's 320A in all areas! It's18.89-inches high and covers the same bands as the Nagoya. It I had a 320A, I'd put it in a drawer and not use it. Oh, the Nagoya also has a power limitation of 10 watts, while the Abbree has a power rating of 20 watts! (Check out the Smokin’ Ape’s review of the two antennas on YouTube.) My radio has a power output of 13-14 watts on VHF and 11 watts on UHF.  I really wanted to love the Nagoya. It just couldn't happen!

Question 3

This says only 5W max power.  Has anyone used it with the BF-F8HP on 8W?  I may have bought the wrong one...

Accepted Answer

These antennas are fine for 10W radios, 8W radios and 10W radios. And you're not gonna see a whole lot of range difference unless you use decent antennas and you use the higher wattage in the woods or other environs; then the wattage can aid in penetrating such clutter. Woods or forests is one type of clutter; buildings are a step up in radio blockage, and the one thing radios cannot penetrate, period, are mountains. That's where repeaters come in handy.

One radio that's got a built in repeater in it for less than a hundred bucks is the TYT8000D or 8000E. You can attach this radio to a car antenna, put it a car trunk, then dial in other radios so they can transmit to the TYT. The TYT can then take the other radio tranmissions and re-transmit them over further distances. Some people buy these 10W TYTs just for that purpose alone. They do all the heavy lifting so you can have lower power radios transmitting to the TYT, which in turn transmits further and with greater efficiency using it's 10 watts and better antenna.

But don't worry about using this antenna up 10W. It works just fine. The 20W Retevis antenna will handle 1W-20W but it's thicker and heavier. I use both the Nagoya 24j and Retevis 20W for my Baofeng  BF-H6/H7 10W radios as some frequencies actually hit 12W. But not on frequenies I can use. The 24j and Signal Stick both score high points in reviews, but I've never tried the latter.

Question 4

Is the retractable version good or bad? There's a lot of mixed reviews

Accepted Answer

I am returning my retractable.  The stock rubber duck performs much better for both transmit and receive.

ASIN	B00KBZLOHC
Antenna	Radio
AntennaDescription	Radio
Best Sellers Rank	#1 in Two-Way Radio Antennas
Brand	BTECH
Color	Black
Customer Reviews	4.6 out of 5 stars 1,113 Reviews
Global Trade Identification Number	00701748709117
Impedance	50 Ohms
Item Type Name	two-way-radios
Item Weight	0.1 Pounds
Manufacturer	BTECH
Maximum Range	8 Inches
Mfr Part Number	NA-701
Model Number	NA-701
Number of Channels	8
Number of Items	1
UPC	701748709117 603786577676
Unit Count	1.0 Count
Warranty Description	3 year warranty provided only through "baofeng tech"

Authentic Genuine Nagoya NA-701 8-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna SMA-Female for BTECH and BaoFeng Radios

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