Super-Elastic Signal Stalk ½ wave

(4 customer reviews)

$55.00

NOTE: To use this antenna you need an NMO mount. There are many different types and they are easy to find, so we don’t carry them ourselves. (There isn’t enough room in KD7BBC’s garage to store them…)

In stock

SKU: NMO-HALFWAVE Category:

Description

The 1/4 wave Signal Stalk and has been very popular — so now we bring you the Super-Elastic Signal Stalk ½ wave! Still dual band, but now with 3dBi gain on 2m and 5.5dBi on 70cm!

  • Connector: NMO
  • Length: ~40 inches
  • Gain: 144-148Mhz 3.0dBi, 430-450Mhz 5.5dBi
  • Max power: 50 watts — more than this *will* damage the antenna!
  • Antenna may become less rigid at temperatures below 14 degrees Fahrenheit

These are super-elastic and should withstand punishment that would destroy any other antenna =] These come with a limited one year warranty; as tough as they are, they can still break if bent far enough or if they take enough abuse.

Some customers have had issues with getting good SWR readings on their mount; if the SWR is below 3:1 it’s probably something with your mount, if it’s 5:1 or worse then it is likely an issue with the antenna.

In order to fit in our envelopes this antenna has to be shipped disassembled; we will try to include the parts needed to assemble it but we’re still working through details! We discontinued selling this for awhile in 2023 but have reintroduced it as of Mar 2024!

Assembly instructions:

The antenna will arrive in several pieces:

  1. NMO base with logo
  2. Middle matching section with a 3mm hole on the bottom, 2.5mm hole on the top
  3. 3.0mm diameter short wire with silver on top and bottom
  4. 2.5mm diameter longer wire with silver on bottom and rubber cap on top
  5. Large and small size hex wrenches

It should not be possible to assemble incorrectly and have all the parts, but here are the basics:

  1. Using the larger hex wrench, loosen the hex grub screws (set screws) in the base; there are two at 90 degrees from each other. Careful not to remove them entirely
  2. Insert the shorter wire into the base, there should be no silver showing when it is fully inserted. If it doesn’t go all the way make sure you loosened the set screws sufficiently.
  3. Tighten both set screws on the base. They should be pretty tight, but careful not to strip the hex heads on the screws.
  4. Using the same hex wrench, loosen the larger set screw on the middle matching piece — this will be the side with the larger hole.
  5. Insert the other end of the short wire into the middle piece, making sure the set screw isn’t preventing it from going in all the way.
  6. Tighten the set screw on the bottom piece
  7. Using the small hex wrench, loosen the top side of the middle piece.
  8. Insert the silver side of the longer wire into the top side of the middle piece, making sure the set screw allows it in.
  9. Tighten the set screw.
  10. Double check that all set screws are tightened fully — you don’t want it to come out! Some may want to use loctite or similar to ensure everything remains tight.
  11. Enjoy!

Additional information

Weight 6.8 oz
Dimensions 20 × 1.5 × 1.5 in
Temperature

Normal, Low Temperature

4 reviews for Super-Elastic Signal Stalk ½ wave

  1. Chris

    Sounds like you are full aware of the temperature issues, and I can confirm that at 14F, its limp as a noodle, laying over at more than 90deg, and totally unusable. It’s very strange, you can bend it to odd, compound shapes, and it will stay briefly before it droops back out. Yes, we’ve had a little fun with it during this cold snap… Other than that, I’ve been very happy with the performance and durability of this antenna, its been banged around pretty hard in the woods and brush, with zero damage.

  2. Guy (verified owner)

    I’m vary satisfied with the 1/2 wave Signal Stalk. It is mounted on an nmo Diamond trunk lip mount on a 2014 Accord. The antenna has performed flawlessly. I have been able to rx and tx to a 2m repeater over 80 miles away on a regular basis with signal reports ranging from s6 to s9. Impressive to say the least, but the biggest plus is the flexibility of the antenna. I don’t worry about it being whacked by branches, garage doors drive thrus etc. All in all another winner from Signal Stuff keep it up!

  3. eric (verified owner)

    Have a number of 2/70’s.
    I have had this one nearly a year. Tried switching from time to time and stopped wasting my time with that. This is thee one. I have a multiple HT stalks and same thing. One and done with Richard’s. Now I’m just waiting for his next incarnation! How about a 10m? :)

  4. John Garnett

    Antenna concept seems fine. Happy with the antenna performance so far. Base is an issue.

    The set screws are either too soft/cheap/wrong material or I simply received something defective- not sure. Either way I was not able to appropriately tighten the antenna in place (and that is *not* very tight in this case) because the set screw rounded out. I don’t know how to test, but it simply doesn’t seem like quality stainless to me. It was a project to get the screw out and then a trip to the hardware store to replace with a quality stainless set screw. The time investment and hassle to replace a few cent screw exceeded the value of the base! Not a pleasant experience.

    I installed the antenna, it has been in place one week, not through any car wash yet, and when I removed the NMO mount from the base to add some anti-seize, the printed Signal brand half wiped off the mount. Although this is not intended to be eye-candy, it is rather annoying- I would desire my logo to look good.

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