Any tips on testing a RTK whip antenna aside from field swapping? Can it be somehow tested inside, with a tester of some kind?
Our field guys are pretty hard on them for some reasons.
Try your local Motorola shop. They will even cut an antenna for the frequency range you on which you are broadcasting.
James,
"Our field guys are pretty hard on them for some reasons."
Time for new field guys.
The best way to test an antenna is to use an SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) meter. It's the only way to make sure that all the transmitter power is being radiated. If you've got a buddy who is a ham radio operator, he'll probably have one and be happy to check your antenna.
Dave
Radio-antenna testing/tuning
[msg=142077]Discussion from a couple of years ago[/msg]
There are antenna analyzers that do not cost (or do) as much, such as the MFJ-229. I do not have any experience with those, but I believe a well-respected poster to this forum has one of these or a similar MFJ product and says it meets his needs.
Not to diminish the value of Dave's suggestion above, but I doubt the SWR tester on the typical ham-radio operator's bench will reach anything close to the 450-470-MHz frequency range on which you are probably broadcasting.
Also, make sure not to mix up the load coils and antenna rods from different antenna models - they won't work right if mismatched. Just because the threads mate mechanically does not mean things will work at radio frequency.
GB