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I am about to purchase a Baofeng HT. I have one I am thinking of using primarily in work truck. I can't really drill holes or have antenna be too obvious. On Amazon I found a 2 meter 70cm 2m dipole. I am guessing it would have to be mounted vertically. It seems like it clips to inside of window. I know it is not optimal but would it be better than stock ducky? Has anyone used this antenna or have any ideas about really discreet antenna? 73 Joe

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I intended on writing a comment but took up too much space. I think your question is ripe for opinions and suggestions rather than answers.

However, I think if I were you I would operate first with just the antenna that comes with the HT before you decided you need something different from that. A case in point. I can generally reach all points of interest (a couple of repeaters in the area) with my HT without using a separate antenna.

But, in my pickup truck I also have a Yaesu FT-7800 (2m/70cm) rig and it has an external dual band (2m/70cm) antenna that has a easy to install and easy to remove antenna mount (screw clamp, no need for drilling holes). It works fine too.

It really depends on who you are talking to (simplex or duplex/repeater) and where they are located and any obstructions (hills, buildings, mountains) that might be in the way.

By the way, my mobile 2m/70cm antenna is a Comet SBB-5NMO (i.e. with an NMO mount). My clamp on mounting (supporting NMO mount) is also from Comet and model number CP-5NMO. No, these are not the cheapest possible antenna solutions but I usually never go for cheapest.

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  • $\begingroup$ It's going to depend on the characteristics of your vehicle. I have a Baofeng UV-82. The stock antenna works pretty well when I'm in my car (almost as well as the mag mount I have on the roof), but it doesn't work well at all in my wife's car. $\endgroup$
    – mrog
    Mar 22, 2016 at 18:18
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If the antenna is small enough to fit on the inside of your window, then it must be a “shortened” antenna — a true 2-meter-band dipole is about 1 meter (1/2 wavelength) long. This means it will be relatively inefficient — just like the “rubber duck” antenna that would be supplied with your handheld. It will have the advantage of being closer to being outside the vehicle than wherever you're holding or mounting the HT, but that's not a whole lot of benefit, and it only works well on one side of the vehicle.

I would advise not bothering with it.

If you want an effective antenna which can be temporarily mounted, get a magnet-mount quarter-wave antenna for the roof.

If you want a better antenna which stays inside the vehicle, get a quarter-wave flexible whip antenna, such as the Comet SMA-24J. This will not give you great performance since it's surrounded by the metal of the vehicle, but since it's on the HT itself you can always stop and step outside to improve the situation.

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