Best comm antenna for application?

I have to replace my antenna on my RV 4 and would like to get opinions on best performing antenna available...
Old is a Comant CI 122... belly mount bent whip. Mounted forward of spar, slightly ahead of control stick. Seemed to work really good except had a few times it would not transmit well during ground ops at large airports, sensitive to direction aircraft was pointed. i know there will always be a few issues with shielding/blocking of signal from this mounting location, but I am willing to live with that...
I need to stay with one antenna, comm only, and will need to mount it in same location. Basically, I am finding different manufacturers of this style antenna, with varying price ranges, and I don't know how to decide best performance...I know performance is usually tied to price, but not always!
I appreciate any feedback/opinions!!!

Charles

Most of us are having very good luck with this one and it is about the cheapest.
http://www.deltapopaviation.com/Home.html

comm antenna

Mark, tried the link but it's not working...takes me to a page displaying http.com and language selection, with some background colors, but nothing else...
Also, wanted to clarify my post a little...my priorities are performance...don't care what the cost is for the antenna! (well, under $400.00 I suppose!! )

Charles

Hi Charles - we've also gotten excellent performance out of our Delta Pop antennas on the RV-3 - strong and solid comm, easy installation, and they are holding up very well after two and a half years. Don Pansier is a builder like us. Oh, his transponder blade antenna works great too.

I got the same result as you when I clicked on that link, but if I just type "deltapopaviation.com" in to my browser, I got to Don's page.

just put deltapopaviation.com in your browser window and it'll load fine.

A bent whip is a bent whip. Brand should be irrelevant in regards to rf performance assuming the manufacturer has a clue. That brings the differences down to cost and ease of install. For instance, replacing with same brand is easier than making a new reinforcement plate for a new whip with arbitrarily different bolt pattern that will not perform any better.

Antenna

Thanks all for the replies! Good point on the mounting. My 17 yr old plane has enough "old unused" holes as it is!!

Charles

Mr Charles said:

I have to replace my antenna .. belly mount bent whip, work really good except had a few times it would not transmit well during ground ops at large airports

Click to expand...

Charles, I had a COMM antenna problem with my old belly mount on my RV-8. The original builder tested a bent whip and a straight whip and ended up installed the straight whip.

When I replaced, I replaced with the Delta Pop bent whip. All seemed great until a X-country into Raleigh Durham, NC (RTP). I had issues at the boundary hand-offs.

I swapped the Delta Pop bent whip for a Delta Pop straight antenna (Don's website calls these "top mount" and "bottom mount" respectively).

The same RTP flight with the straight whip antenna had no issues.

Straight on belly?`

I thought if I mounted on belly, it had to be bent due to clearance issues? Will a straight antenna work on the belly of the 4? Mine was mounted just behind the first bulkhead to the rear of the firewall, or about a foot in front of the spar. Close to leading edge...
How about speed/drag considerations?

Charles

+1

Delta Pop's for me too.