Unplugging the antenna?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SquierStrat
well that sounds like a large portion of your problem
if you didnt use an 800mhz specific antenna, you wouldnt get so much 800mhz interference/overload
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This is the only intelligent answer on this thread. Everything else, like disconnecting the antenna, or running more and more attenuation, is a joke. If you plan on listening to any other band, you will be out of luck. There is a better solution! And it won't limit you range on anything!!!
I have tried many antennas, but this weekend I wanted to scan some of the low band skip on 6m and 10m, in addition to my usual VHF/UHF/800 stuff, when I took a trip through West Palm Beach and down into Ft. Lauderdale on I95. This is RF H3LL along I95 with many cell and RF towers, and I have made this trip many times using a VHF whip that worked fine for VHF and UHF, but bad on low band and had tons of interference on 800. The big county 800 systems would get wiped out in many spots and were generally always noisy...and I have the attenuator programmed on for all of my 800 stuff! So I put a 53.3" whip on my NMO mount and could not believe how well this worked on 800! Not only was I getting all the great 6m and 10m skip (I also discovered my KIA had VERY LOW ignition noise on low band
), but my VHF high band was also great as this works out to a resonant 3/4 wave on high band. But I expected 800 to bomb, and it did just the opposite. Not only could I pickup the systems well outside of each county (and clearly), but I had ZERO noise problems on 800 and ZERO dropouts. In-county reception was great! Plus I heard much more areas of each county that I had not heard before...like maybe the multi-site trunking was working better too. ??? Best mobile 800 reception I have ever heard with my GRE RS PRO-197. My UHF suffered a little, but I still heard all the local stuff just fine...just not two counties away. Even my CB reception improved so much that I had to attenuate those channels (9 & 19) so as not to get locked up on skip (heard the close traffic just fine). So this has been my best solution to hear all the bands...a straight unloaded (no coil) 53.3" whip. Larson sells the thin whips and has an NMO base too, but I like my old gutted Antenna Specialists UHF black base with the fiber contact plate and chrome spring the best. Maxrad makes a slightly longer thin whip if you want to tune it right to 6m (57"). I calculated the 53.3" to work well enough on 6m and act as a 3/4 wave on 166 MHz, and it worked perfect. 10m was strong too, so I was hearing all my friends up in NY loud and clear as well as all over the country. I also heard plenty around the country on 52.525. What a great antenna!
Give one a try. No sacrafice on any band except maybe UHF a little.
Phil
