1/2 wave v's 5/8 wave

I am planning on purchasing a new base station antenna in the near future and would like a few opinions.

I haven't got much to spend so I am looking at 1/2 wave and 5/8 wave Hi-gain silver rod type antennas.

Is there a massive difference in performance between 1/5 and 5/8 wave designs? I had a 1/2 wave Silver rod many years ago (17 to be exact) and was quite happy with it, but this time I fancy something a bit different.

The extra length of the 5/8 wave is an attraction as I may have to mount it closer to the ground than in the old days.

So am I going to notice much differebce in performance between the two of them?

Many Thanks.

If erriccson still has his Siro 827 up for sale they are excellent antennas.
A five eighth wave antenna does not normally use a groundplane, but it provides a higher gain than a shorter antenna, typically a 5/8th wave is around 1 - 1.5 dbd over a quarter wave dipole, (ignore manufacturers boastful claims) it also has a lower angle of radiation, making it a better DX antenna, but it does require some form of matching as is does not naturally give 50 ohms, but 100 Ohms. This reduces effcience slightly & also adds to price.
A reasonable 5/8th wave gets my vote over a half wave every time, if there is a choice.

Cheers for the reply,

Unfortunately I don't think I would be able to have an 827 as the ground planes would make it a bit unsightly.

It has to be quite straight and not too noticeable. I could get an Antron 99, but I don't think they work any better than a regular half wave to be honest.

antron 99 are very good antennas but a little more money

daxi wrote:If erriccson still has his Siro 827 up for sale they are excellent antennas.
A five eighth wave antenna does not normally use a groundplane, but it provides a higher gain than a shorter antenna, typically a 5/8th wave is around 1 - 1.5 dbd over a quarter wave dipole, (ignore manufacturers boastful claims) it also has a lower angle of radiation, making it a better DX antenna, but it does require some form of matching as is does not naturally give 50 ohms, but 100 Ohms. This reduces effcience slightly & also adds to price.
A reasonable 5/8th wave gets my vote over a half wave every time, if there is a choice.

ive had 2 division on this sirio 827 and about 40 odd peeps were listening to me hehe austin texas unit 66 steve 5/8 that 2.5 mins was a life time best contact yet in 22 yrs a long time coming .. and the 827 24 feet off the ground .. 50 quid to get 2 division bargain lol ..

porky.69 wrote:antron 99 are very good antennas but a little more money

See the link below
Anton 99 exsposed.

The 99 is not a bad cheap antenna, but their own publicity seems to have over ridden the reality of a good cheap antenna sold over price by the use of dishonest claims.
A cheaper antenna will give the same performance as an Anton 99 & the Anton 99 does not perform even half as well as it's manufacturer claims it does & personally I would say given the lies of Anton about the 99 it is poor value for money as I dislike companies that treat consumers like idiots & buying one new only encourages these lies to continue.
But yes it should perform almost as well as a Siro 827. that is the performance difference will be VERY minimal & not noticeable.

Edited to add. Don't discount the 99, being shunt fed it has the advantage that it is less susceptible to lightning due to it's direct grounding. The 99 also has a height advantage being a half wave antenna with a quarter wave coil at it's base making it electrically a three quarter wave, but being a three quarter wave length lifts the radiation angle over a five eighth wave. So don't discount the the 99 especially if you can buy a decent cheap one or if you need something less intrusive than a 5/8th wave, but also don't look at it as being as good as, as it's only almost as good as, unless you compare radiation patterns when the 99 has a slightly higher radiation pattern & a few percent does make a difference on real DX.
But choice is often a compromise & if I wanted a low profile antenna the 99 would win EVERY time over a 5/8th wave.