Dakota Alert M538-HT MURS rubber duck antenna question

MURS Radios
1

Hello all,
I am a brand new member and this is my very first post here. I have a Dakota Alert M538-HT MURS transceiver that seems to work fairly well but could definately use a portable antenna upgrade compared to it’s stock 5.25" length (short) rubber duck. The connector they use for that antenna seems to be a single conductor with 1/8" diameter threads protruding out of the base of the antenna a little less than 1/4" in length. The radio has the threaded hole.

So here are the questions:

  1. Does anyone know what that connector is called (note: it is not SMA because it is smaller than SMA)

  2. Does anyone know where I could get an adapter for it so I can run the 19" telescoping antenna that came with my MURS M538-BS base? That antenna has a BNC connector.

  3. The radio appears to have very simple operation which is good for some people but I was wondering what other MURS handheld units are out there that have even better features such as scan capability, memory of CTCSS codes for each of the 5 channels, more than 4 call tones…

  4. Since the connector appears to be a single conductor, if I use a BNC adapters for it, it would seem one of the conductors of the BNC connector wont be electrically connected to anything so is that bad?

I considered just using 2 base units but I like the portability of one handheld unit. I would really like to try that 19" telescoping antenna on the HT. Any suggestions?

Thank you and happy new year.

2

To answer your questions,

  1. Apparently this is called an “M4 70 Pitch” connector.

  2. According to Dakota Alert, this is a proprietary connector that they chose when they originally designed the M528-HT and as far as they know there is no antenna or adapter on the market that will fit it other than the one included with the radio.

  3. The Wouxun KG-805M is a powerful MURS radio that is loaded with features, including channel scan, CTCSS tones/DCS codes and customizable channels. It’s part of the KG-805 series, so the battery, charger and other accessories for the KG-805F FRS and KG-805G GMRS versions are fully compatible with it. We have a video on it in the forum as well. Plus, it’s $5 less than the M538-HT.

  4. The short answer is, I wouldn’t try a BNC adapter on it. I’ve been told some hams have modified the M538-HT by replacing the factory installed connector and soldering in a BNC or SMA connector, but I wouldn’t recommend this either myself.

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