TapRackBang
Cheaper Than Diamonds
Yaesu's are very, very good. But if you only spend $1 on the radio, it's going to be a Baofeng.
The slim-jim antenna is a good antenna, and cheap if you already have or can easily get a short length of ladder line. Can't go buy it by the foot at Radio Shaft anymore, sadly.
Another stupid-cheap-and-simple option is a 1/4 wave ground-plane built on an SO-239 (UHF Female bulkhead connector). Make it out of spare copper wire or even coat hangers; any wire that can be soldered or clamped to the SO-239 and will hold its shape.
http://www.hamuniverse.com/2metergp.html
https://offgridsurvival.com/2meterantenna-homebrewdroopygroundplane/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkmD3Sgz7Q0
The 1/4 wave doesn't have the gain of the slim-jim, but for casual use I don't think it's needed. I'm using a 30-year-old 1/4 wave mag mount on top of a metal shelf under a metal roof inside my house deep in a narrow valley. I don't have any issues hitting the repeaters in the area with a couple Watts from a connected HT.
The slim-jim antenna is a good antenna, and cheap if you already have or can easily get a short length of ladder line. Can't go buy it by the foot at Radio Shaft anymore, sadly.
Another stupid-cheap-and-simple option is a 1/4 wave ground-plane built on an SO-239 (UHF Female bulkhead connector). Make it out of spare copper wire or even coat hangers; any wire that can be soldered or clamped to the SO-239 and will hold its shape.
http://www.hamuniverse.com/2metergp.html
https://offgridsurvival.com/2meterantenna-homebrewdroopygroundplane/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkmD3Sgz7Q0
The 1/4 wave doesn't have the gain of the slim-jim, but for casual use I don't think it's needed. I'm using a 30-year-old 1/4 wave mag mount on top of a metal shelf under a metal roof inside my house deep in a narrow valley. I don't have any issues hitting the repeaters in the area with a couple Watts from a connected HT.