If your antenna on the MD-2017 has become damaged or the antenna whip has bent over. You may have poor receive on the handset.
As the radio is a dual band handset and covers the UHF and VHF spectrum, this antenna is a direct replacement for the stock antenna that comes with the radio.
The antenna connects via SMA onto the radio.
VHF: 136-174Mhz
UHF: 400-480Mhz