Smiley Antennas: Field-Grade Rugged On Any Handheld

When it comes to field communications, there’s two hard and fast rules. First, your equipment is only as effective as its antenna. Second, whatever that antenna is, it needs to be robust. A joke among us Infantrymen, both Army or Marine Corps, is if you want to know how tough something is give it to us and come back in an hour. If it survives, it’s rugged enough. And although a little facetious, the joke points out that second rule. Your equipment in the field, especially handheld radios, are going to get beat up pretty hard. In my experience the first thing to go is the antenna- it’s normally the least robust component and if it gets broken as often happens when we least expect (or need) it to, a better design is a must. Enter Smiley Antenna Company and their ultra-rugged HT antennas.

In the RTO Course I teach people the basics of antenna theory and how to build their own out of next to nothing. We rig one up and demonstrate its capabilities with a Baofeng UV-5R right then and there. That point in training serves two purposes. The students gain the confidence that something they built can take bottom shelf equipment and make it work that much better, and second, its a great primer on repairing the most common fault in your communications equipment…antenna breakage. When, not if, something breaks in the unconventional environment, you have the skills to fix it and drive on with the mission. And building that Jungle Antenna beats the heck out of buying an overpriced strip of ladder line and calling it good. But then again that’s me. Stringing up that antenna is great but it ties you to that one transmitting spot once its rigged up. What about communications on the move?

As I said above, the first thing that’s gonna break on your radio you’ve strapped to your kit is the antenna. I know, I’ve broken plenty of them. Military whip antennas on the MBITR were routinely broken, and usually the commo section guys would just end up giving us the stubby antennas to work with. They didn’t have as much range, but they were much tougher- and we didn’t have to fold them out of the way. A lot of times the body of the antenna would be fine, but they’d break down by the connector. Since I’ve been on the civilian side I’ve found the same to be true for all of the commercial gear on the market, both low end and top shelf.

Everyone’s favorite $25 radio, the Baofeng UV-5R pictured with the superior Quansheng TG-UV2. Both outfitted with Smiley Antennas.

That was until I found Smiley Antenna. Their handheld antennas are every bit as rugged as anything used by .mil, maybe even more so. They are more stout than anything else I’ve found on the commercial market and through many commo and small unit classes, hunts, and private training sessions, I’ve run them on my kit with a few different brands of radios. The biggest thing to note, aside from the thick, overbuilt nature, is their flexibility. Stock whip antennas, even the higher quality 14-inch whips many people upgrade their Baofengs with, only have so much flexibility before they’ll snap. And the base is not made for a rugged environment. To be fair it wasn’t designed to be either, but if you’re planning on possibly needing that radio in a tactical role, the most basic upgrade is a more robust antenna. I’ve broken two of the chinese-made long whip antennas, while the long whip VHF from Smiley has survived a long while just fine.

Top: Broken Chinese-made antenna that comes stock on the otherwise excellent Quansheng TG-UV2. Bottom: Smiley UHF antenna. The difference in build quality should be clear.

Reception and transmit-wise, the Smiley models do not disappoint. While they were made to be the most rugged, they give up nothing in capability. Everything that I could do with my other antennas I’ve been able to do with most of the models from Smiley, except the ultra-stubby UHF antennas I have. But my reasons for having those is to limit the range of the signal…keeping a very low electronic profile in the woods of maybe only a couple hundred meters on low power. So even if I’m on a team that may not have digital / encryption / high tech cool guy enablers, I can still make the best use of my equipment in a tactical environment while coordinating teams. They are built to be frequency specific, and while that might turn some of you off, their ruggedness is unmatched.

There’s no doubt Smiley builds high quality antennas and I’ve got great use out of mine since I discovered them. But the best part is that they’re American owned and American made. They are the best on the market and a bargain for the cost. It’s a basic upgrade that can take even that basic Baofeng and make it that much tougher- something which may very well pay off in the long run.

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If you’re looking for off-grid and austere environment communications training, or just looking to expand your skillset, come check out the RTO Course. I’ve got one more on the schedule for the spring in NC and another in Montana. I’d love to train with you. 

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26 Comments

  1. patriotman February 4, 2019 at 08:00

    I also find that the longer whip antennas frequently get in my way and make it hard to set the radio down on a flat surface because they antenna keeps wiggling and knocks the radio over. I will definitely check these antennas out for testing.

  2. Mr. Prepper February 4, 2019 at 08:07

    Many thanks for the great article. Would you rank Smalley over both Diamond & MFJ? Also, which Smalley antennas would you recommend for a Yaesu FT-70 & Alinco DJ-MD5? Checked out their web site & what a great selection! Reasonably priced, too!

    • NC Scout February 4, 2019 at 15:07

      Smiley is in a different class than MFJ. Those are meant for hams that typically don’t run their gear that hard. Ideally you’d want one for each frequency band you plan on covering.

  3. PartisanMD February 4, 2019 at 10:30

    Looked these up after you mentioned them in the RTO class and meant to ask you about the different form factors Smiley offers. Smiley offers both the 7″ as well as the stubby and they say both are omnidirectional and show 3dB gain at 146.25. Seems the obvious choice is the stubby, but I feel like I have to be missing the advantages of the regular length? Looked like you had both running on different HTs.

    • NC Scout February 4, 2019 at 15:05

      The stubby is a little more rigid, and stays out of your way. I like it shorter on my kit.

  4. sam tronk February 4, 2019 at 12:31

    thx for the info – gonna get a couple 440’s, a stubby and a slim line.

  5. Bruno Pezzey February 4, 2019 at 15:08

    Thank you for the continued excellence on this topic and for sharing your expertise. When you say:

    “They are built to be frequency specific, and while that might turn some of you off, their ruggedness is unmatched”, do you mean that *all* of the Smiley products are frequency specific, or just the “…ultra-stubby UHF antennas [you] have.”?

    Thanks for clarifying the point to an FNG.

    • NC Scout February 4, 2019 at 15:13

      They make a couple of dual band antenna models. Those are not rugged (and not advertised to be).

      • Badger February 4, 2019 at 21:20

        Thanks for another good contribution. I like that the Smileys have a variety of terminating connectors available.

        Not to divert too much from the Smiley but if someone is looking for a decent dual-bander, the Yaesu YHA-63 is still available from HRO, ’bout $30. For those that have or remember the FT-817ND this was the duck that came with it. (Also came with an element for the middle to allow 6m operation, not needed here obviously). Actually in itself was a fine little antenna & much more rugged than the spaghetti-like offerings we’re familiar with. For many HT’s they’ll need an adaptere to get the SMA to a BNC interface. But makes for a pretty rugged setup for 2m & 70cm.

      • Lawless February 6, 2019 at 12:41

        Aren’t 1/4 wave 2m antennas also compatible with 440mhz by default?

        • NC Scout February 6, 2019 at 13:34

          They are. They’re just not optimum. That’s why most of the so-called dual band antennas actually are only resonant on one band, working ‘well enough’ on the others. Most people will never notice the difference and from a handheld antenna, its not a huge deal. When you really want to make a difference, you build an external antenna cut to a specific frequency. :)

  6. SemperFido February 4, 2019 at 15:20

    Went and read some write ups about the Quansheng TG-UV2. Sounds like a good radio for the price, but what about it makes you say it is superior to the Baofeng UV-5R? Better quality plastic? Louder speaker? Apparently you cannot use chirp with it.

    • NC Scout February 5, 2019 at 05:13

      Filtering, ease of use, and durability.

      • Chris February 5, 2019 at 12:23

        Greetings Scout, another informative article as always, I tried hitting you up at your email, but it came back as undeliverable. Can you try reaching out to me?

        • NC Scout February 5, 2019 at 12:39

          [email protected]

          All lower case.

          • Chris February 5, 2019 at 16:25

            Many thanks!

  7. Anonymous February 4, 2019 at 20:48

    4.5

  8. Randall Maness February 5, 2019 at 05:46

    The jungle antenna out performs a Slim Jim? I find that hard to believe! Plus a Slim Jim is compact, no ground plane needed so it deploys fast and easy to conceal. Takes less than a minute.

    I use a small fishing sinker weight and some 6- 8lb monofilament. Toss it over a limb and when its time to go cut the fishing line and go! But depending on situation you may want to recover the line. Normally i leave the fishing line behind. Plus you can grab the coax and pull, snap the fishing line and run if needed. If you built your Slim Jim right it will handle it.

    WW5RM

    • NC Scout February 5, 2019 at 12:43

      Yes it does. For many reasons, including the null all J poles have on the long (ground) side.

      I’d rather build something, teach people to build something, and gain skills to fix it when it breaks versus telling them to buy something that “everyone” says is so great, gaining neither confidence nor skill.

      • Mistermisfit February 5, 2019 at 17:27

        Yep I just stocked up on a bunch of “cobra heads” and connectors of all different flavors. And stock up I mean more than 1 each. 1 is none and 2 is one…

  9. Oldgreyguy February 6, 2019 at 19:03

    Many years ago in the days of Icom IC-2AT’s our radio club ran tests on HT antennas. We set up a simple antenna range in an open area with a mount for the HT so it would not move and used the Spectrum Analyzer on my Service Monitor with a remote mounted antenna in the far field of VHF to measure the received signal. We used a full 1/4 wave whip as our 0DB reference point. The best antenna tested was a Larsen HQ Kulduckey which was about 1db down. Most of the standard rubber ducky whips which were included with the radios measured about 3db down (1/2 lower ERP). The worst were the shorty antennas which measured about 10db lower than the quarter wave (1-10th the effective ERP) In short a 5 watt radio with a shorty is as effective as a 1/2 watt radio.

    Also, when I opened the antenna cover that came with my Baofeng UV-5R. there was a 50 ohm resistor inside. Half the transmitter power were being dissipated in the resistor. No wonder the base of the antenna got hot. 73.

  10. Devin S February 7, 2019 at 14:04

    I may purchase some, too bad they don’t make multi-banders. I’ve heard of them, thanks for the reminder.

  11. Adam February 7, 2019 at 22:49

    https://signalstuff.com/antennas/

    I’ve found these are super tuff and have much better gain than stock antennas.

    • NC Scout February 8, 2019 at 05:32

      The base of that antenna does not look rugged at all.

  12. Shadowfaxhound March 7, 2019 at 11:26

    thank you for the informative article…my funds allow me to have 4 Baofeng UV5r handhelds..all with the provided antennas. I have purchased a couple of 14″ whip antennas. could you give me the alternatives (best) antennas from Smiley for these radios? thank you

  13. Anonymous November 26, 2019 at 03:38

    5

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