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.