Easily made my own short D2 antenna...you can too!

[ColonelDan]

I made one from rg174 coax cable and another from rg179. Both work great! The rg174 is more flexible than the rg179 which I like. I believe XP uses rg179 for their long factory cables....just my guess based on personnel observation. Supposedly, rg179 is a somewhat better transmitter than rg174 but both performed well in my tests for our purposes. I couldn't distinguish a difference in performance.

The most critical part of the whole operation is stripping the jacket and outer conductor from this very thin wire making sure the inner insulation with its embedded inner conductor is exposed and 31mm in length. I then applied heat shrink to the ends for added protection.

Worked great and is easily done.

 

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[Iron Buzz]

I recently had to replace my original antenna when it broke off at the shoe. I bought mine, although while waiting for it to arrive, I made do by tying a knot in the end, and attaching it with zip ties. But I was surprised when the replacement arrived that it was shorter... just perfect. It also had black insulation instead of the clear on the original.

Curious if the shielding on yours make any sort of EMI improvement?

 

[ColonelDan]

Iron Buzz, I haven't yet had an opportunity to check any effect on EMI but when I do, I’ll post it here.