In Part 1, I briefly explained the process from arriving in Taiwan to going to Guang Hua Digital Plaza.

In Part 2 of this issue, I would like to introduce amateur radio shops found near the Guang Hua Digital Plaza, where I purchased three types of antennas for dual band handheld transceivers.

1. Radio shops near the Guang Hua Digital Plaza

While wandering around near the Guang Hua Digital Plaza, I found two radio shops near the highway road. One shop name is “波音無線電,” the other one is “上洋通信.” 波音無線電 sells cellular phones in addition to Taiwanese and Chinese two-way radios. Their billboards do not show English names on them, but 波音無線電 is registered as Point Radio Inc. and 上洋通信 is registered as 747 Pro-Radio. These names may be useful to look for the shops.

Figure 1. （Left）波音無線電, （Right）上洋通信

Another window of 上洋通信, this shop's show-window is shown on the right side of Figure 1. You can see Icom and HYT, KENWOOD stickers affixed to the show-window glass. It is difficult to see in the picture, but the plaque with the logo of Icom and HYT are decorated inside the show-window. Chines characters written on the plaque seem to indicate that 上洋通信is a contracted special dealer.

Figure 2. Inside of the 上洋通信

2. Three types of antenna purchased

Figure 3 shows the three types of antennas I purchased. These packages look familiar, but the antennas are not from a Japanese manufacturer. The connector has a male SMA connector, and each antenna is a dual band antenna for VHF and UHF. The specifications that are 1/4λ for VHF and 1/2λ for UHF are printed on the surface of each plastic bag.

Figure 3. Three types of antenna purchased at Taiwan

I think these antennas are for handheld transceivers, but we measured the performance when the antennas were mounted on a magnet base for vehicles and used as mobile antennas. (Figure 4)

A Kuranishi* BR-510D antenna analyzer was connected to the end of the coaxial cable coming out of the antenna base, and the SWR characteristics in the 430 MHz band were examined. Figure 5 is a graph of the result.
* Kuranishi was a company that produced measuring equipment, but it does not exist now.

The SWR value of antenna (B) is low over a wide band, as compared with the other two antennas. Also, the SWR values of the three antennas can be said in common that the SWR value is as low as 1.5 or less in the frequency band of 440 to 450 MHz, and this frequency band is open for repeater operation in the United States. Thus, these antennas may not be aimed at the Japanese frequency band, but rather at the UHF band in the United States.

Figure 4. Antenna is measured as a mobile antenna with a mobile magnetic antenna base mount.

Figure 5. SWR characteristics

Since these antennas were developed for handheld transceivers, their performance will change when connected to handheld transceivers. If you attach antennas to a magnetic base, as described above, please use the measurement results as your reference to that extent.
FBDX