> by Ray Davis, KD6FHN 


Testing the 55 inch Comet SSB-7, 2M/440-4.5/7.2 dBi, the 44 1/2 inch-super light-super flexible Comet C767, 2M/440-3.5/60 dBi and the shorter 37 1/2 inch-super light-super flexible-open coil Comet C757, 2M/440-2.15/5 dBi. All three are fold over antennas.  

All summer and for about 32,000 miles, 3 of Comets newest breed of antennas traveled with me or Mike H. & John KC6ZOZ. We first tested them for durability by mounting them on the trunk rack on the back of our Gold Wings on 4 of our antenna brackets. We are not used to seeing these antennas with the very small bases holding up on any motorcycles. Eight or 9 years ago a bunch of the MARC Members who were doing the SCMA 3 Flags Classic together were given 8 antennas to test while doing that ride. Not one of the old school small base antennas made it to Canada and back. So needless to say when we were first issued these new breed of small base antennas, we were skeptical. Mick KB6JVT from the NCG Comet assured us that we would find these small base antennas could hold up on a motorcycle. Still it had to be proven to us. So off we went for the summer riding season with these new antennas mounted on our motorcycles.  

We also had the well known and proven Comet antennas, the Comet HP-32 and the Comet Z780 along with us just to make sure we would have something along that we knew from past experience, would work, if all else failed. We found out after some time we could have left the old stand by antennas at home. The 3 tested antennas passed the durability testing with no sign of breaking and are still working perfectly, with no repairs of any kind to them after 32,000 miles.  

The antennas that this new breed of antennas is designed to replace are as follows:  

1. The Comet SSB-7 is the replacement antenna for the Comet Z-780, one of our best antennas, performance wise and for durability. This new Comet SSB-7, 55 inch tall antenna is black and was equal to the Z780 in performance. In fact, at times the SSB-7 actually out performed the Z780 even though it is 6 inches shorter and is half the weight of the Z780. Weight is so important when mounting these antennas on the back of your trunk racks because of the stress they put on the top of the trunk. We used 2-20 lb. test monofilament fish lines to guy both the SSB-7 and the Z780 during all the testing on the motorcycles. This Comet SSB-7 is a winner and worth your serious consideration.  

2. The new super light, super flexible Comet C767 is electrically superior to the Comet HP-32. (3.5/6 to 3.5/5 dBi) The C767 is a beautiful black antenna, very stylish for those that are interested in looks. Although the C767 performed well at 55mph, it could not compete with the much heavier, stiffer & shorter, Comet HP-32 antenna at higher highway speeds. Being so flexible is a disadvantage when you are traveling 75/80 mph. This stylish antenna does flex in the high wind and therefore sends it's signal in a direction other then horizontal. It worked well at any speed if the two motorcycles were in close proximity of each other, but at distances of where the motorcycles were not line of sight, say 5 miles on simplex, it was a problem. Whereas the old standard, the Comet HP-32 was very good at the same distances and for much, much further any time we tested it against the C767, at higher speeds. To tell you the truth though, I love this Comet C767 around town. It is so stylish, it performs well enough where you need it for daily activities and you can come in and out of your garage without hurting it because of it's flexibility. This antenna is also a winner and well worth the money.  

3. The 37 1/2 inch, open coil, polished stainless steel, also very flexible Comet C757-2.15/5 dBi replaces the Comet B-20 and the Comet Z750. We did not use this antenna a lot on our trips because of the low 2.15 dBi on 2 meters which we were using for simplex communications between motorcycles. So therefore am not able to make a complete and well tested conclusion on this antenna. Again, being so flexible was a draw back while using it for simplex at high speeds. But around town and for use in close proximity to the repeaters of any local area it would work just fine. The 5 dBi gain on the 70cm/440 band also came into question because of it's performance in the real world application of motorcycle use. For the difference in price, $5, I would much rather have the C767.  

"SAFE RIDES AND CLEAR FREQUENCIES"
Ray Davis KD6FHN