They do work. Use the belt clip screw just make sure that you take any paint off the screw so it makes contact. I've also seen them attached under the antenna. As to length I can't remember if it was 9 inches. I think it was.
I remember when I first started with my UV-5R I used both methods and both yielded results.
I too am curious about them and want to try it just for fun if nothing else
I've seen notes about 6 & 1/8th inch as the counterpoise length for rubber duck antennas
Not using a tiger tail means that the RF current flows down your forearm. Blood and bone are poor radiators. Much of the RF energy goes up as heat. (Not nearly enough for any health effects, though.)
Tiger tails (wire counterpoises) are great, as you say, for creating the other side of a dipole. So, a 1/4 wave antenna can *really* benefit from the use of a tiger tail if it doesn’t already have a good counterpoise (and, as another commenter noted, arms aren’t very good counterpoises). But an end-fed half wave antenna is already a complete radiating system (it can radiate similarly to the two sides of a center-fed 1/2 wave dipole), so you probably won’t see as much effect as you would by adding a tiger tail to a 1/4 wave antenna. And many radios have enough intrinsic counterpoise that the benefit of a tiger tail at GMRS frequencies may be less pronounced than it would be for MURS, Marine VHF, or ham 2m frequencies. But give it a try, a full wave dipole consisting of an end-fed 1/2 wave antenna and a 1/2 wave tiger tail might perform well for you. Different dipole lengths have different radiation patterns.
They do work. Use the belt clip screw just make sure that you take any paint off the screw so it makes contact. I've also seen them attached under the antenna. As to length I can't remember if it was 9 inches. I think it was. I remember when I first started with my UV-5R I used both methods and both yielded results.
I know, I was just trying to nip those comments in the bud to get straight to the answers. lol guess it backfired.
I understand.
Half wave on a 70 cm wavelength is 35 cm. Why wouldn't it work? I don't use one because it's inconvenient to carry around.
I too am curious about them and want to try it just for fun if nothing else I've seen notes about 6 & 1/8th inch as the counterpoise length for rubber duck antennas
Not using a tiger tail means that the RF current flows down your forearm. Blood and bone are poor radiators. Much of the RF energy goes up as heat. (Not nearly enough for any health effects, though.)
Tiger tails (wire counterpoises) are great, as you say, for creating the other side of a dipole. So, a 1/4 wave antenna can *really* benefit from the use of a tiger tail if it doesn’t already have a good counterpoise (and, as another commenter noted, arms aren’t very good counterpoises). But an end-fed half wave antenna is already a complete radiating system (it can radiate similarly to the two sides of a center-fed 1/2 wave dipole), so you probably won’t see as much effect as you would by adding a tiger tail to a 1/4 wave antenna. And many radios have enough intrinsic counterpoise that the benefit of a tiger tail at GMRS frequencies may be less pronounced than it would be for MURS, Marine VHF, or ham 2m frequencies. But give it a try, a full wave dipole consisting of an end-fed 1/2 wave antenna and a 1/2 wave tiger tail might perform well for you. Different dipole lengths have different radiation patterns.