One thing that I've learned from my ham radio experience over the years is that hams fall in one of two categories.....the ones that will spend tens of thousands of dollars or more on gear and have homes that look like Radio Free Europe, or they're dirt cheap and cripe about actually having to buy a better antenna for their $25 Baofeng.
And no matter what, most every ham cheaps out when it comes to 2m/440 antennas. Most use homemade J-poles (never had luck with them for some reason) or coat hanger ground planes (which I used for a long time I admit). Hell, I could probably walk right over the top of most stations even if I QRP it and kick the power down to a watt or so
. I put up a Tram 1480 on a mast about 20 feet up and I have to say that the great reviews on the antenna are dead on.
Here's what I'm thinking about getting:
http://www.zerofive-antennas.com/pro...dipole-antenna
Gear, I might change out frequently but when it comes to antennas I'd rather not screw around and just get something that does the job best given the area it has to live in. Zerofive antennas seem to have great reviews across the board.