Antenna recomendations for a R20?

d18ge · #1 (**permalink**) 06-23-2009, 09:46 AM

Anyone using an external antenna with there R20 ?
What model are you using and is it working well for you?
I hear folks talk about external antennas overloading handhelds so I wanted to check in here.
At this point I can't say what specific frequency I will listen to the most , just want to pull in distant signals the stock antenna can't get. I am in a pretty rural setting.

Thanks

carmelof · #2 (**permalink**) 06-23-2009, 01:54 PM

Hi I use an Icom-AH7000 discone with my R-20 and the results on vhf/uhf is excellent.

Regards Lino.

N4UMJ · #3 (**permalink**) 06-23-2009, 04:00 PM

The Icom AH7000 and the Diamond D-130J are two good discone choices for general HF VHF UHF coverage. I have both mounted in my attic and they do quite well. Other speciality band antennas will generally outperform the discone though.

I also have the Scantenna by Bob Grove of Monitoring Times and it really works well on the HF VHF portion without overloading.

Occasionaly I use my attic mounted dipole for HF but then I have to use the attenuator or get some serious overloading issues.

The coax that comes with the AH7000 and the Scantenna are both low loss. RG6U quad shield also works well for me on the Diamond and is fairly easy to obtain since it's used on Digital/Cable TV systems. You may need to get a few "F" to BNC or SO-239 adapters to make things fit.

Ed