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Yet another fake Diamond antenna
27 September 2011 | by I ordered a Nagoya NA-771 antenna on eBay. I was impressed with the shorter NA-701 and wanted something with a bit more gain that was not poke-you-in-the-eye long. The NA-771 had mostly good reviews on eHam.
I ordered from an eBay seller that shipped from the UK. The price was £4.99. When it arrived, I found the packaging and the antenna itself claimed to be a Diamond RH-771 not a Nagoya NA-771.
But this is clearly another fake Diamond. The lettering is white whereas the real Diamond product is lettered in blue. The lettering also contains nonsense. It claims “144/430 MHz & VDE BAND HECEMNG COVERAGE JAPAN.” Eh??? Perhaps it was supposed to say wide band general coverage? And the antenna is only 36cm long whereas the real RH-771 (and the NA-771) are supposed to be 39-40cm long.
None of this would matter if the antenna was any use, but in fact its resonant frequency is just below 120MHz. At 145MHz the SWR is more than 4 to 1 and it radiates a poorer signal than the shorter Nagoya NA-701 antenna.
Anyone want an air band antenna? Yours for a fiver. And can anyone recommend a seller that has the genuine Nagoya NA-771?
8 Responses to “Yet another fake Diamond antenna”
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Julian, I purchased and received a Nagoya 771 from seller radioshop888. Works great. Much improved RX and TX over the stock VX-5R antenna.
Additional FYI – mine measures just shy of 39 cm end to end.
You can find the Diamond RH-701 at DealExtreme for US$4.69 shipped (EUR 3.82). Hard to find a better deal than that. It has the SMA connection for Kenwood/Wouxun.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/replacement-antenna-for-kenwood-and-more-walkie-talkies-144-430mhz-10w-max-14942
My bet is the word is supposed to be “receiving” as in wide band receiving.
I ordered a Nagoya NA-771SF for $6.99 and received the Diamond RH-771 AND it doesnt even work! I’m in the process of contacting the seller the only problem is shipping the antenna back, it will cost more to ship it, than it was to buy the false product!
The Diamond RH-701, if found with a female SMA connector, is a fake Diamond antenna as well. Diamond DOES make a RH-701 but it has a BNC connector.
I was conned recently at a Hamfest with a so-called “Diamond” RH-701 with an SMA. How do I know this? 1) checking the official Diamond Japan website. 2) The base lettering was in blue and even the correct font and proper spelling and such but the lettering was not crisp and it smudged up a bit. 3) The package was a reasonably well done copy of a typical Yellow/Red Diamond package but the lettering, again, was not so hot and the usual diamond for the middle bar of the “E” in “Antenna” (the Diamond Logo) was not a real diamond, but an arrow, and the “BNC connector” writing was offset by a cheap “SMA Connector” sticker which Diamond apparently never does. 4) My antenna analyzer had outrageous SWR readings in the 2m band:
145.000 – 4.6:1, 146.000 – 5.5:1, 147.000 – 6.0:1, 148.000 – 7.0:1 The “sweet spot” or lowest SWR dip was at 134 Mhz, or right at some aircraft frequencies (134.100 is common on scanners at some air shows).
This is one of the better-looking Diamond antenna fakes.
I am going to see if I can get a real-live Nagoya RA-701 from radioshop888 as I am curious to see how a real one compares. I would expect a “Diamond RH-701” with SMA) would be dirt cheap to move fast. The Nagoya RA-701 was much more than $4.99
My apologies, I made a mistake when entering my callsign above
Is the Nagoya NA 701 is fake as well ? this is highly rated antenna. Cost’s 12.5 $ in 409shop. Is it waste money too ?