Nagoya NA-320A (Tri-Band) vs Nagoya NA-701 (SMA-Female)

The NA-320A is the clear winner for most operators. It's a genuinely capable tri-band antenna with reasonable electrical lengths on all three bands, especially the 5/8-wave performance on UHF at 2.9 dBi. The NA-701 is severely compromised on VHF, where it's electrically short at just 0.10 wavelengths, resulting in realistic losses around 3.6 dBi. That's a significant handicap if you use the 2-meter band.

The single most important difference is electrical length on VHF. The NA-320A delivers a quarter-wave on 2-meter, which is the minimum acceptable for handheld operation. The NA-701 falls well short of this, making it unsuitable for serious VHF work despite its lower price.

Buy the NA-320A if you operate across the amateur bands and want balanced performance, especially if 2-meter is part of your regular use. The NA-701 is only worth considering if you operate primarily on UHF and rarely touch VHF, where its quarter-wave design at least provides adequate performance.

Get the NA-320A. The extra two dollars buys you genuine tri-band capability and eliminates the VHF dead weight. This is the antenna that makes sense.