Will RG-6 coax work w/ the RS Ham/Scanner Discone Antenna? - Page 2

Rt169Radio · #21 (**permalink**) 12-19-2012, 2:26 PM

Some other good discones would be the Diamond D-130J and the Comet DS150S which happens to come with 65 feet of RG-58A/U coax.

jhooten · #22 (**permalink**) 12-19-2012, 3:49 PM

I got the Comet because it has the cable and was $20 cheaper.

elk2370bruce · #23 (**permalink**) 12-19-2012, 4:33 PM

Try to avoid the Radio Shack cable RG-58 or 59. While cheap, it is total crap. Save up and get some RG8 or RG8x. While just a tad more expensive, it is worth the cost.

KC9VZV · #24 (**permalink**) 12-19-2012, 4:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rt169Radio

Some other good discones would be the Diamond D-130J and the Comet DS150S which happens to come with 65 feet of RG-58A/U coax.

I looked at both of those. The Comet is out because I want one that can transmit on the 2m ham band. While it looks good, the Diamond is a little bit more than I would like to spend. If I do get the RS discone, would end up getting the it for $70 instead of $80 because I have a $10 RS gift card. Plus, like I said, this is my first time putting up an antenna outside of my house, so I am trying to get one that is easy to install and relatively inexpensive. Do you think the RS discone, while not ideal, might the bill for that at least?
Thanks!

~~kb2vxa~~ · #25 (**permalink**) 12-19-2012, 6:59 PM

"...the Comet DS150S which happens to come with 65 feet of RG-58A/U coax."

Just because it comes with 58 doesn't say it's any good. The reason is it's cheap and easily packaged with the antenna. A 65 foot roll of RG8A-U (foam dielectric) type is more expensive, heavy and bulky. That's the stuff to use above 30MHz so save the 58 for HF where it exhibits far less loss.

"The Comet is out because I want one that can transmit on the 2m ham band."
Who said the Comet can't transmit on 2M? I'll let you in on a little secret, when it comes to a discone if it works on VHF it works on 2M.

KC9VZV · #26 (**permalink**) 12-19-2012, 7:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kb2vxa

"...the Comet DS150S which happens to come with 65 feet of RG-58A/U coax."

Just because it comes with 58 doesn't say it's any good. The reason is it's cheap and easily packaged with the antenna. A 65 foot roll of RG8A-U (foam dielectric) type is more expensive, heavy and bulky. That's the stuff to use above 30MHz so save the 58 for HF where it exhibits far less loss.

"The Comet is out because I want one that can transmit on the 2m ham band."
Who said the Comet can't transmit on 2M? I'll let you in on a little secret, when it comes to a discone if it works on VHF it works on 2M.

My mistake. I didn't notice that it says it can TX on ham bands. So, would you definitely suggest the Comet over the RS discone for someone who is completely inexperienced in putting up antennas and wants something easy to install and inexpensive? (I obviously still want something that will work, though.)
Thanks

Rt169Radio · #27 (**permalink**) 12-20-2012, 8:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC9VZV

My mistake. I didn't notice that it says it can TX on ham bands. So, would you definitely suggest the Comet over the RS discone for someone who is completely inexperienced in putting up antennas and wants something easy to install and inexpensive? (I obviously still want something that will work, though.)
Thanks

I would go with the Comet discone over the RadioShack discone.

jhooten · #28 (**permalink**) 12-20-2012, 9:26 AM

The supplied coax may not be the greatest. However "free" coax is free coax and it is doing quite well on the HF dipole with a much shorter run of LMR 240 going to the Discone.

W2NJS · #29 (**permalink**) 12-20-2012, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC9VZV

Thanks. I was hoping for a less expensive option but I may end up getting that.

Dan

You might want to do a little more research on antennas and take a look at the offerings from the ham stores instead of Radio Shack. You can find these stores online, and their names are HRO, GigaParts, and AES.They have excellent, full-line catalogs, they accept credit cards and online orders, and can offer you a much, much wider selection of antennas than Radio Shack does. I personally would not try to make any antenna work for transmitting unless I knew beforehand its impedance at some specific frequency point, such as
146 mHz and/or 445 mHz. Coax is cheap, and to put up two antennas is not a lot more work than putting
up only one, so you would have one for scanning and the other for transmitting, probably a dualband unit
that covers both VHF and UHF with low SWR on both bands, plus some gain to boot. The impedance of
the scanner's coax does not matter all that much, but the transmit antenna's coax should be 50 ohms for
best performance.

~~kb2vxa~~ · #30 (**permalink**) 12-20-2012, 1:27 PM

I'd go for just about anything BUT a Rat Shack antenna, fine electrically but mechanically not so good. Sturdy construction is paramount outdoors for pretty obvious reasons. As for the coax "50 ohms for best performance" is misleading, 75 ohm is tolerable if you don't mind a slightly higher SWR. Of much more importance is loss factor, the higher the frequency the greater the loss so the lowest loss practical is your FIRST consideration.

KC9VZV · #31 (**permalink**) 12-20-2012, 5:33 PM

Ok. All of you are being a great help. I am thinking I will get the Comet DS150S, but I do have one more question for anyone that has actually installed one. Can anyone speak to how easy it is to install? Since this is my first outdoor antenna, ease of installation is a big deal for me. Thanks again everyone!

jhooten · #32 (**permalink**) 12-20-2012, 6:17 PM

"So easy a Caveman can do it!"

KC9VZV · #33 (**permalink**) 12-20-2012, 6:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhooten

"So easy a Caveman can do it!"

Thank you, Geico!

Alright. Well, I will most likely go for that one then. Thanks again to everyone here!

~~kb2vxa~~ · #34 (**permalink**) 12-20-2012, 7:18 PM

Yeah, it's easy to put up as long as you don't get carried away with it.

KC9VZV · #35 (**permalink**) 12-20-2012, 7:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kb2vxa

Yeah, it's easy to put up as long as you don't get carried away with it.

Wow. That is impressive, and needless to say, very far out of my league! LOL

Rt169Radio · #36 (**permalink**) 12-21-2012, 8:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC9VZV

Ok. All of you are being a great help. I am thinking I will get the Comet DS150S, but I do have one more question for anyone that has actually installed one. Can anyone speak to how easy it is to install? Since this is my first outdoor antenna, ease of installation is a big deal for me. Thanks again everyone!

Well for me it was easy, just be careful and take it slow (don't rush around).

KC9VZV · #37 (**permalink**) 12-21-2012, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rt169Radio

Well for me it was easy, just be careful and take it slow (don't rush around).

Thanks. Well, I ordered the comet discone today on CheapHam.com so lets hope it goes well. Thanks everyone for your help!

Rt169Radio · #38 (**permalink**) 12-21-2012, 8:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC9VZV

Thanks. Well, I ordered the comet discone today on CheapHam.com so lets hope it goes well. Thanks everyone for your help!

Well I should note that it was my Diamond D-130J that I was talking about when I said it was easy, but I think the Comet DS150S is smaller then the Diamond one so it will probably easy. But like I said take it slow and try not to rush around when putting it up.

Also where are you going to put the antenna? On your roof, side of the house etc.?

KC9VZV · #39 (**permalink**) 12-22-2012, 6:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rt169Radio

Well I should note that it was my Diamond D-130J that I was talking about when I said it was easy, but I think the Comet DS150S is smaller then the Diamond one so it will probably easy. But like I said take it slow and try not to rush around when putting it up.

Also where are you going to put the antenna? On your roof, side of the house etc.?

I am planning to just put it on the side of the house, near my bedroom window so I won't have to feed the coax too far. Do you have any suggestions for that? Any help would be appreciated. I have a friend who is more experienced with stuff like this coming to help me put it up, but he has never actually put up an antenna, he is just better with the tools, etc. in general. So any advice from someone who actually has put up an antenna would be appreciated! Thanks!

Rt169Radio · #40 (**permalink**) 12-22-2012, 8:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC9VZV

I am planning to just put it on the side of the house, near my bedroom window so I won't have to feed the coax too far. Do you have any suggestions for that? Any help would be appreciated. I have a friend who is more experienced with stuff like this coming to help me put it up, but he has never actually put up an antenna, he is just better with the tools, etc. in general. So any advice from someone who actually has put up an antenna would be appreciated! Thanks!

Well my antennas are on poles off the ground, not on the house or anything so I guess I can't help you there. But am sure someone who has put antennas on their house will come along and give some advice and tips.