Comet SBB-5 Professional Mobile Antenna 2 Meter 70 Cm
The Comet SBB-5 dual band is a 2 meter and 440 MHz mobile antenna. It is a 1/2 wave on 2 meters providing 3 dB gain and a 2 5/8 wave on 440 MHz providing 5.5 dB gain. VSWR 1.5 : 1 or less. This antenna can handle up to 120 watts. The color is black.
This antenna is 38 inches high with fold-over. The connector type is UHF . Mount is not included
Fold-Over Hinge
Most Comet mobile antennas over 29" length have a fold-over hinge built into the base section of the antenna. It is NOT an automatic fold-over, you must manually lift the element up out of the socket and lay the antenna whip down in order to enter garages, parking structures etc...
It is important that you lift the whip completely up and out of the socket before folding the hinge.
Like any hinge, it will BREAK if it is folded the wrong direction. The hinge rotates 360 deg inside the socket so it will fold in the direction needed.
Many Chinese and other look-a-like antennas have very annoying problems associated with their fold-over hinges. The most common is a weak spring. The antena lifts up and out of the socket all by itself at highway speeds! The antenna is unusable when it is laying down and most users need to defeat the hinge or constantly adjust the angle to keep it vertical.
And to be honest, Comet had this problem "initially" as well! The weak spring was almost always a problem with the larger antennas so Comet engineers went to work and re-designed the fold-over. Our larger antennas now have a threaded collar around the hinge: Loosen the collar, lift it up, and the hinge is exposed. No more problem.
**WARNING**Many antenna companies have now copied the Comet fold-over design but many have avoided making the improvement to save the cost.