Review on 📻 Radioddity RD-301 Tri-Band Antenna: Optimal Range for Baofeng, BTECH, Kenwood Two Way Radios by Jose Isaacs

UPDATE: Radioddity customer service was very nice and gave me a replacement but had the same issue. HOWEVER, they also let me try the RD-371 (a longer tri-band antenna) and that seems to work pretty well. If you're having trouble with the RD-301, try the RD-371! I bought it to work with a Baofeng UV-5RX3 tri-band radio. The radio comes with 2 antennas, each of which is dual band. Not wanting to switch antennas, I decided this article would be my solution. My radio is even listed as particularly compatible with the antenna. I installed it and it didn't fit well, with a fairly wide gap at the antenna mount. A washer is included but too thin to fill the gap. This antenna worked well on 2m and 70cm but could not pick up 220 repeaters. I turned off the radio and set it to factory defaults and was able to hit 2 nearby repeaters with total silence. Baofeng factory antennas are usually considered bad, but somehow this RD-301 is even worse. Other reviews have shown a REALLY bad SWR for the 220 and I'm inclined to think so from experience.