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Good Scanner Antenna?
http://www.interceptradio.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5336		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Tyren [ Thu May 05, 2011 5:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Good Scanner Antenna?
I have a small dual band mag mount I use for my ham radio that works well for car use, but I wanted to get something a little better for in the home use.

I'd like something I can mount on the peak of my roof, not too tall (maybe 2-3 feet), but the cable would need to be long enough to reach downstairs and into the house (25'-50' maybe?).

Scanner: Uniden BCD396XT [SMA antenna type, but have BNC adapter, and can get SO239 adapter if needed]
Author:  N7QOR [ Thu May 05, 2011 7:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
Tyren wrote:
I have a small dual band mag mount I use for my ham radio that works well for car use, but I wanted to get something a little better for in the home use.

I'd like something I can mount on the peak of my roof, not too tall (maybe 2-3 feet), but the cable would need to be long enough to reach downstairs and into the house (25'-50' maybe?).

Scanner: Uniden BCD396XT [SMA antenna type, but have BNC adapter, and can get SO239 adapter if needed]


I like the discone for broadband receive.
Author:  SpudGunMan [ Thu May 05, 2011 7:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
all depends on what you want to monitor. to have the "best antenna" you need to match it to your frequency.

I run a dedicated 800mhz antenna and a all band discone

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ ... /5470.html
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/digital-an ... r=23728723
Author:  Tyren [ Thu May 05, 2011 8:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
Yikes! The discone looks.. UGLY! I'm hoping for something discreet. I seem to recall having long cables is bad... but does it really have an effect on scanners (receiving)? Or can I get a 30' cable and just put a little antenna on the roof?
Author:  jrw14493 [ Thu May 05, 2011 9:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
Tyren wrote:
Yikes! The discone looks.. UGLY! I'm hoping for something discreet. I seem to recall having long cables is bad... but does it really have an effect on scanners (receiving)? Or can I get a 30' cable and just put a little antenna on the roof?



Discones are not pretty by any means but they work like a charm. I've got 3 of Rat Shack's 20-176 in service ( http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2103641 ) without a hitch. Little less discone-ish.

The cable from radio shack you can buy already terminated and ready to go is pretty crappy, but it works. If you want low-loss for runs, look for LMR-400 or even LMR-240. Not cheap but it's low loss cable.
Author:  Tyren [ Thu May 05, 2011 9:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
Maybe I'll swing by VetCo tomorrow on the way home and see if I can pick up something. Thanks for the suggestions!
Author:  SpudGunMan [ Thu May 05, 2011 10:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
you want a good antenna that isnt ugly but you care about coax loss! hehe.

again coax loss depends on what you want to listen to, so you should state "what is a good antenna to listen to XXX"
if you want to listen to lets say HF weather fax.. coax quality dont matter as its less then 3dB loss for 100 ft
if you want to listen to lets say Police Trunking systems 100 ft of crap coax will double the loss

LMR 400 isnt anything special again for this same police trunking you would need to spend some serious cash to get 100ft of 800mhz with 3dB or less of loss (3dB being the magic S-Unit number)


So if someone says to me.. I dont want a ugly antenna and you dont know what you want yet.. dont waste your money on something expensive. Just find a free ham radio antenna ..use a ham radio antenna get some BNC cable and just put your rubber duck outside the house. This is all free or cheap with huge gains over a indoor antenna until you find out what you want to listen to. As mentioned if general coverage is key then get a discone if you have no idea find something cheap or free. ANY wire in the out door air is just fine for general coverage RX hell your gutters work.

As for coax dont worry about the run ...as mentioned rat shack prefab cables on the antennas suck they tend to leak which means dead coax. otherwise just buy anything if your gonna get fancy get LMR600 400 wont do a scanner casual-hobbiest anything special for the cost difference (400 vs RG8etc is double the price typically and half the loss)
Author:  SpudGunMan [ Thu May 05, 2011 10:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
Tyren wrote:
Maybe I'll swing by VetCo tomorrow on the way home and see if I can pick up something. Thanks for the suggestions!

and anything you buy there is going to be horrible price's so for sure double the cost on LMR
Author:  SpudGunMan [ Thu May 05, 2011 10:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
Other thought if you need instant gratification antenna call around rat shacks normally carry a 800mhz antenna BNC its a solid performer. Or if you show up to the scanner meet up on Saturday I can throw in a mag mount antenna you can have for 5 bucks.

just saw that you have a 396 from your other thread.. make sure you can convert that SMA plug to BNC so you can go to PL259 etc for any coax that you do.

Also with a 396 obviously trunking is 99% of the reason to buy that scanner, so I would get a 800mhz to start and use the duck on a leash outside so you can find out other things in the air..

also sounds like your big into getting GPS with the radio working.. you might also look for a mag mount general coverage antenna so you can put it in your car.
Author:  Tyren [ Thu May 05, 2011 10:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
Ehh. I should provide a little more feedback to let ya know what I have going on.

I have had my technician ham license for a couple of years. I mostly hang out on the 2m band. As such, I actually built my own 2m dipole antenna that gets just over 1 SWR and works awesome. I have kenwood tribander handheld that I use while in the car. In there, I have a dualband mag mount antenna that is SMA as well. I found this works well to "get the antenna outside" and that's what we are using for the scanner at the moment.

It works for now, but I really want a little more height and a bit more "permanent" setup for the house. I just dont' want a big old eye sore of an antenna. Which brought up the question...
* Need 25 or so feet to get the height
* A descent antenna for 800mhz (trunking) (2'-3' max height)

I can't get out this Saturday, I have a TON of stuff to catch up on after being sick for 2 weeks.
Author:  SpudGunMan [ Fri May 06, 2011 11:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
so it sounds like 800mhz is your goal. are you geographically difficult area? if you are in a dense area you dont need height you just need it out doors, its a bouncy signal. any 800mhz dedicated antenna will give you 1-3dB of gain and make any trunking system just dandy for hobbiest.

I would look at the rat-shack antenna or the antenna posted above for cheap starters, the ratshack antenna is a must own IMO.

If you are trying to get digital signals from a gov-base you will want to look at a directional antenna unless you happen to just live near.

with multi tower trunking systems you dont have to try hard if you live in the county, remember if the police depend on it it likely works where people are at.sa

remember that any mag mount antenna likely wants a ground plane (the side of a old computer case, your gutters)

my recommendation is get a rat shack antenna put it anywhere outside you can, use any putty waterproofing see how it goes for you then you find a new antenna.. as I said the ratshack 800 is IMO a required antenna I never leave home with out it in my bag.

dont over think the system, the biggest mistake is that you spend a lot of cash then learn it all works real cheap the same way. (look at your J pole)
Author:  Tyren [ Fri May 06, 2011 11:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
Fair enough... I guess my goal is to improve the quality of the signals that seem to on the fringe with my current antenna, but you are probably right... I may be overthinking the problem. Thanks for the candid feedback. :-)
Author:  K7CAR [ Fri May 06, 2011 7:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Good Scanner Antenna?
I've had good luck with the Antenna Craft ST-2http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=ST2&d=AntennaCraft-ST2-Scanner-Antenna-Kit-with-50-Foot-Cable-%28ST2%29&c=TV%20Antennas&sku= Comes with 50ft of coax and is easy to install. I think this ant. is about the best bang for your buck out there. The ST-2 compares as good or better to my RS discone and several dedicated narrow band antennas.
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