PCTEL Maxrad 406-470 3dB antenna

I have been running the antenna for about two weeks now, and I am pleased with it. I spend quite a bit of time on the road regionally, and so far the MWU4063s antenna has compared well with the one that it replaced. The previous antenna performed well for it’s size (almost the same as MWU4063S), but was not as broad banded. If you need an antenna that covers the US Interoperability frequencies in the 410 – 420 range, as well as the Public Safety / Mutual Aid frequencies in the 450 – 460 range, then this one is a good option. The previous antenna was rated at about 4dbd gain, but only worked in the upper portion of UHF range 1. My testing while travelling the area has indicated roughly the same performance in that upper part of the range with the MWU4063S. After a couple of weeks of use on the road, I checked the antenna with the Anritsu analyzer. I have not cut the whip or made any other adjustments. In hindsight, I should have captured a snapshot. The graph looks pretty good from 405 to 470, with four or five peaks and valleys (I cannot remember exactly). All but one of the peaks had VSWR below 1.5:1 . The best performance according to the Anritsu was in the 460 area, +- 2 Mhz. The graph looks good across the whole Amateur allocation, the bulk of Range 1. The poorest performance according to the Anritsu was in the 410 - 420 area, with VSWR between 1.5:1 and 2:1 in that part of the range. Still that is usable for a broad banded antenna with some gain. That lower part of the range would typically be used less by most state and local agencies anyway. However, that is still usable when needed, and that is what matters. So this antenna appears to be a good match for the 400 – 470 radios out there, and performs reasonably well.