In this video we review the CAATail antenna. The CAAtail antenna is an antenna that can be woven in and around your plate carrier so you don’t have to deal with the mess of radio antennas smacking you in the face.

This also makes swapping between different radios much simpler because you don’t have to unhook the radio antenna from where ever you may have it secured.

The unit I ordered also included an SMA adapter for Beofang/Alinco type radios. But you can also purchase other adapters such as a TNC adapter. By using this, you can place all the corresponding adapters on your radios but then leave the antenna woven into the plate carrier.

Then when you swap radios or move them from different equipment, you only have to turn and click to connect the antenna. It’s a much much easier setup.

Taken from the CAATail antenna website they had the following information concerning signal receive and transmit:

“Antenna Frequency and SWR info:

This antenna has been designed to work in the 30-512MHz range with an exception of these two SWR peaks: 174-232MHz and 255-333MHz. At the start of the peak there is an SWR of 3 and continues up, ending at an SWR of 3. The frequencies between and around these two high SWR peaks SWR stays in the 1.5-1.9 range. (Tests when gathering this information are done when the antenna is over the users shoulder and in a “U” shape on the back molle panel.) Be advised that results may vary with how the antenna is weaved. Never place the antenna under a hydration source.”

We did some testing and found there was a bit of signal loss as you begin to go out to distance. As CAATail noted in their info, I believe this was my own fault as I needed to better understand how I had the signal directed. Just aware that your mileage may vary as the signal propagation is dependent on how you have the antenna wrapped around your carrier.

For recieve, I initially had a lot of issues during testing. Then I put the plate carrier on and the receive strength went through the roof. So you body and gear is helping to amplify the signal. I was super impressed how the signal for a hard to hear channel suddenly became crystal clear.

Overall I’m very impressed with the CAATail antenna. The ease of use and creature comforts far outweigh the minor issues the antenna introduces. I want to do more testing to see if I can achieve the optimal signal strength and better direct the signal to exactly where I want it based on how I have it woven into the carrier

Get your own CAATail antenna!

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