It is well known that the standard “rubber duck” antenna that is supplied with a handheld VHF or UHF transceiver is not very efficient. It represents a compromise between size and efficiency, with size winning out. In other words, the antenna is small and doesn’t radiate very well.
I just came across an article by Dick Kiefer (KØDK) that explores this issue in detail, including a design for a 1/2-wave antenna for handhelds. I’ve been a big fan of telescoping 1/2-wave antennas. They are excellent performers while still being light in weight and compact for hiking and backpacking.
Brief highlights of the KØDK article:
For 2 Meters, a 1/2-wave antenna performs ~5 to 8 dB better than a rubber duck.
For 70 cm, a 1/2-wave antenna performs ~3 to 7 dB better than a rubber duck.
Not too surprisingly, the 70-cm (440 MHz) rubber ducks did a little better than their 2-Meter equivalents, since an antenna of a given physical length will be longer in terms of wavelength at the higher frequency.
Take a look at the article for more details.
73, Bob K0NR