Short answer: Most likely no.

SignalStuff exists to fund HamStudy and ExamTools, so making custom antennas would take time away from developing the software. While we might make more money, it would pull us away from our primary goal of supporting these tools and the community.

Possible Exceptions

For large orders of 50 or more antennas that are similar to existing designs, we may be able to accommodate a custom order. These requests are handled case by case and depend on the availability and discretion of our current manufacturing partner (currently David, KD7VQT, unless that changed and we forgot to update this page). If you’re interested in a large custom order, feel free to reach out, and we’ll see if it’s possible… but no promises.

Frequency-Specific Notes

• Airband (~121 MHz):
  An airband antenna would need to be about 3 inches longer than the dual-band Signal Stick. While the SWR won’t be perfect, the dual-band version may still work better than a typical rubber duck antenna. We don’t have a way to pre-cut antennas for airband since we order everything pre-cut to save time.

• GMRS / MURS:
  The standard dual-band Signal Stick (19 inches) works well for GMRS and MURS, though not perfectly. Many users report good results. To fine-tune the antenna for these bands, you could trim it by 1.1 inches, though in practice, factors like how you hold the radio might have a greater impact than the trimming itself.
  For the single-band 440 MHz version, trimming 1/4 inch might improve GMRS performance, but the difference is often minimal.

Warranty Note

If you decide to cut the antenna, please be aware that modifications void the warranty. We won’t offer a replacement if cutting doesn’t improve performance, though we’ll still honor the warranty if the antenna breaks for unrelated reasons.

In short, while we don’t typically make custom antennas, large orders similar to existing designs may be possible. For individual needs, the Signal Stick can often perform well across various frequencies with minor adjustments.

TL;DR

Some radios—particularly Baofeng models—can experience receiver overload when strong nearby signals overwhelm their filters. This means that upgrading to a higher-performance antenna, like the Signal Stick, may unexpectedly reduce receive performance, even though it improves transmission. Often moving the antenna around can cause the signal to cut in and out, making it seem like a connection is loose, but that’s not really possible with the way the antenna is constructed.

Understanding Receiver Overload with Baofeng Radios

Think of it like this: You’re on a mountain at night, trying to spot one specific light on a distant hillside. If it’s the only light out there, it’s easy to see. But if there are lots of bright lights nearby, they spread out and blur into each other, making it harder to pick out the one light you care about.

Some Baofeng radios have a hard time with this. When they encounter too many strong signals (like all the lights on the hillside), the radio can’t distinguish the one it’s listening for. Even though it’s tuned to the correct frequency, strong nearby signals can “deafen” the radio on that frequency. This is called receiver overload.

A better antenna like the Signal Stick pulls in more signals, which usually improves performance. However, if your radio struggles with strong signals, the additional signals it pulls in can overwhelm the radio, reducing its ability to pick out the one you want. This issue is especially noticeable in areas with high RF density, such as near FM radio or TV broadcast stations.

Antenna Movement: A Common Misunderstanding

When experiencing this issue, some users notice that swaying or moving the antenna back and forth can cause the signal to cut in and out. It’s a common conclusion that something must be loose inside the antenna, but with a Signal Stick, this isn’t the case.

Signal Sticks consist of a solid wire directly connected to the center conductor, with no moving parts, so there’s nothing inside that could be loose. The reason touching or moving the antenna causes the signal to cut in and out is that physical contact or movement attenuates (weakens) the signals. This brief attenuation reduces the overload effect, allowing the radio to temporarily pick up the signal it’s trying to hear.

Do All Baofeng Radios Have This Problem?

Not all Baofeng radios suffer from this. Some models have better filters to block unwanted signals, similar to placing a screen in front of your eyes with a small hole to focus on just one point of light. Radios with better filters will benefit from the Signal Stick without issues.

However, if your radio’s filters are poor, using a more sensitive antenna might worsen reception. This isn’t a fault of the Signal Stick—it simply means the radio can’t handle the extra signals well. If you experience degraded receive performance, this is likely due to the radio’s limitations, not the antenna.

In Summary

A high-quality antenna like the Signal Stick may reveal limitations in certain radios by pulling in more signals than the radio can handle. If you experience degraded reception or signal cut-outs with a Signal Stick, it may be a sign of receiver overload—not a problem with the antenna. Always ensure the antenna’s center conductor makes solid contact with the radio for optimal performance.

It’s certainly possible for the antenna to fail or be incorrectly assembled, but if so, the signs would include the center conductor moving with the wire, not being fully inserted, or the wire pulling out entirely.

The various colors are specially formulated to enable them to be easily distinguished on the visible light spectrum – for example, the “yellow” signal stick will appear to be the color Yellow. The “Glow in the Dark” signal stick will actually absorb energy from ambient light (particularly ultra-violet light) and then emit that when in low light conditions using special wavelengths which will appear to have a greenish tint using an effect called phosphorescence.

There is no impact on the actual performance as an antenna.

TL;DR

Before you celebrate or panic over your SWR readings, test the antenna in a real-world situation. The SWR you measure on a meter is not necessarily the SWR you’ll get during normal use.

Understanding SWR Readings

The Super-Elastic Signal Stick is a 1/4 wave design for 2 meters, which also happens to function as 3/4 wavelength on 70cm. This makes it a monopole antenna, or in other words, half of a dipole. The other half of the dipole is formed by your radio’s chassis and whatever happens to be around it—meaning your actual SWR will constantly change based on your environment and usage. This variability is typical with nearly all HT antennas, including rubber duck antennas, which are also monopoles with added coils to adjust electrical length.

Why Meter Readings Vary

Every SWR meter or analyzer will give you slightly different readings. Changing the coax, the meter, or even the position of the antenna will result in different measurements. It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers and think, “These results are awful!” But real-world performance matters far more than the meter reading.

Over many years and in many configurations, the Signal Stick has been carefully designed to perform consistently well in real-world scenarios. This is one of those cases where theory doesn’t always align perfectly with practice. (because in theory they are the same, but in practice they are not!)

Tips for More Consistent Readings

If you want to get more stable SWR readings, here are a couple of things that can help:

• RF Choke: Adding a large ferrite choke below the antenna connector to isolate the feedline and meter from the antenna can provide more consistent results. However, this isn’t usually how antennas are used in practice, so these readings may not reflect real-world performance.
• Counterpoise or Grounding: Adding a counterpoise to the shield or ensuring a solid ground on the shield can also improve readings.
• BNC Mag Mounts: Attaching the Signal Stick to a BNC Mag Mount can often stabilize SWR readings and improve performance by providing a better ground plane.

In summary, don’t get too hung up on SWR readings—especially with portable antennas like the Signal Stick. Use it, test it, and see how it performs in real use—that’s what matters most.

Signal Sticks are 1/4 wavelength on the primary frequency (2 meters); they handle 70cm by a convenience of math that says that a 1/4 wavelength on 146MHz is also a 3/4 wavelength on 440MHz.

In order to work on 6 meters it would need to be a 1/4 wavelength on 6 meters. A 6 meter signal stick would be about 51 inches long; we’ve been experimenting with making longer Signal Stalks (vehicle mount) and a 40" long Signal Stalk is only barely usable – and only because we use 3mm diameter wire for it. Signal Sticks are made with 1.5mm diameter wire. In short, a 6m signal stick would be too long to even stand up on its own.

We are not; for multiple reasons, but most particularly:

• A 40" long signal stick would not be able to hold itself erect even when stationary — much less if you moved around with it.

• We don’t currently have a good way to make the matching section at the base (or middle) which would be needed to make a 1/2 wave antenna viable.

We are experimenting with some designs which would have improved performance in the 70cm band at a similar length, but would have lower power limits. There are a lot of challenges, so we’ll see how it goes!

Sadly, no. We hope to some day, but we need some help from an antenna engineer with more skill than we have. Perhaps some day. If you have a design you want to share to make one of our current antennas tri-band please let us know =]

The easiest way is to email orders@signalstuff.com and we’ll answer as soon as we can.

Motorola radios can use a variety of antenna connector types, and unfortunately, we don’t have a practical way to support all of them.

Connector Compatibility

• If your Motorola radio uses a standard SMA connector, one of our Signal Sticks or adapters may fit. However, many Motorola radios use non-standard connectors that are not compatible with our products, even if they look nearly like a standard adapter.

What to Do If You’re Unsure

If you already know the connector type, we’re happy to help you find the right antenna or adapter. However, if you’re unsure which connector your Motorola radio uses, we likely won’t know either and won’t be able to assist further.

We recommend checking your radio’s documentation or reaching out to a Motorola-specific supplier to confirm the connector type. Your best bet is probably to find a BNC adapter which fits your radio and then you can use our BNC Signal Sticks.

If you have further questions, feel free to contact us at orders@signalstuff.com, and we’ll do our best to help where we can.

Yes, Signal Sticks can physically connect to any radio with the right adapter or connector, but performance depends on how close the operating frequency is to the antenna’s tuning. Since Signal Sticks are optimized for the amateur radio bands (2 meters and 70cm), performance will diminish the further you move from these frequencies.

Here’s what to expect on other common bands:

• Aircraft band (VHF, below 2 meters): Performance will be reduced, as this band is significantly lower than the tuned range. It may still work, but it won’t be ideal.
• MURS (VHF) and Marine band (VHF): These bands are closer to the tuned frequencies, so the antenna should work reasonably well, though not perfectly.
• GMRS (UHF): Signal Sticks perform adequately on GMRS, though they won’t provide as much gain as some commercial antennas. However, they can handle more power, offering an advantage in certain situations. The gain should be similar on any antenna with a similar length (about 6 inches long), even the stock antenna if it isn’t shorter than that.

If you plan to operate on frequencies above the tuned range, you have the option of trimming the antenna slightly shorter for better performance. However, measuring SWR accurately can be tricky, as anything you do to measure SWR will itself affect the reading. We recommend doing signal strength tests instead.

Tip: It’s usually best to try the antenna “as-is” before cutting it as it may work fine without changes; also, remember that this only helps for frequencies above the intended range. If you decide to cut it, leave us a note in your order, and we’ll include a spare tip that you can glue on using epoxy or gel superglue.

We do not sell the tips individually, but you can contact support at orders@signalstuff.com to request a replacement if yours has fallen off.

Tips can be reinstalled using gel superglue or epoxy. Many people also use a ball of hot glue if they lose the tip and don’t want to bother with a replacement part.

Note: For any kind of return or replacement, we require a photo of the product to understand the situation and confirm it’s one of ours.

If you ordered an antenna with the wrong connector, no problem! Just send it back in the original packaging to the following return address:

Signal Stuff
881 W State St Ste 140 PMB 203
Pleasant Grove, UT 84062

To avoid any kind of damage please ship the antenna in packaging which keeps it at least mostly straight, not coiled. A USPS flat rate envelope is fine, but is the most it should be bent during shipping. The original packaging is the easiest option if you still have it.

We recommend emailing us the tracking information at orders@signalstuff.com so we know to look out for it. This also helps in case the package gets lost or delayed in the mail, which we unfortunately see happen sometimes—especially with USPS shipments.

Please note:

• We will refund your order once we receive the return.
• Shipping costs will not be refunded since we cannot recover those costs.

The cheapest way to return the antenna is usually USPS First Class or USPS Ground Advantage.