I'm looking for a good portable antenna for my RS Pro-96 that is excellent for picking up railroad frequencies. I already have the 800 Mhz smaller antenna and the 9 sectioned telescoping antenna, both from my Radio Shack dealer. I'm looking for one I can buy in a store if possible. Thanks!
Railroad antenna
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DickH
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Extend the telescopic antenna to 17".
DickH
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No, that's 17" up. Do you need step by step instructions?
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this antenna works pretty good for the railroad band.
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantht/2368.html
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantht/2368.html
smokeyjones666
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The instructions for the RS telescoping antenna should tell you which sections to extend for the frequency range you'd like to monitor.
just get this one from Smiley http://www.smileyantenna.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_29&products_id=61
I have it and it works wonders. it's a longer duck that's 5/8 wave with some gain to it. you can specify what frequencies you want it tuned for. go for 160mhz and it will work well from 155-165mhz. you can specify what connector type and even buy xtra interchangeable connectors so you can covert it for radios with different jacks instead of using adapters.
the only downside is it works not so good as a multiband antenna. but if you only listen to one band it is the one you want. i sure wish Smiley would wake up and make some dual or multi band duck antennas since many ham radios and scanners are multiband these days.
I have it and it works wonders. it's a longer duck that's 5/8 wave with some gain to it. you can specify what frequencies you want it tuned for. go for 160mhz and it will work well from 155-165mhz. you can specify what connector type and even buy xtra interchangeable connectors so you can covert it for radios with different jacks instead of using adapters.
the only downside is it works not so good as a multiband antenna. but if you only listen to one band it is the one you want. i sure wish Smiley would wake up and make some dual or multi band duck antennas since many ham radios and scanners are multiband these days.
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Rather than quibble over antennas why not boil it down to two simple facts? First, an 800MHz antenna is as good as a dummy at 161MHz so toss that idea away. A telescopic or any rigid antenna on a portable is a personal safety hazard so you won't see any on "professional" radios. If it's railroad frequencies you want (and what foamer doesn't while out there stalking the iron horse) your best bet is a VHF rubber ducky. You can do what you want with it sitting on a table but in the field remember that famous line from Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story, "You'll shoot your eye out with that thing!" or at least stab yourself somewhere it hurts.
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If you use all the sections then the coil makes it for Low band and it will work bad for VHF. you only need the top 4 sections for VHF-Hi. The coil is bypassed for VHF-Hi. Stick the radio on the weaker WX station and pull the sections out of the coil and listen to signal cut out when the 5 section from top comes out of the coil. the bottom sections i adjust for UHF and doesn't affect VHF-hi that i noticed. if you do it right it will work as good as the Diamond antenna for VHF. on UHF nothing beats the Diamond.
I probably got ripped off but I went today and bought a RS 20-034 antenna for $21 from Radio Shack. I figured I'd give it a try. On the fly, I happened to be going by the train station when the Amtrak was ready to leave and I picked up the conductor to engineer transmission pretty clear. I don't know how well it will work when i'm home though. I may have to get one off the web.
lars128
Member
Would I see any noticeable difference between the Smiley 5/8 and 1/2 wave? I would like something a little shorter than the 5/8.
I have the Diamond antenna and it is my main railband handheld antenna, it's about as good as it gets.
Reviewing my own usage of the RH77CA to help others, I have found some wonderful improvements. I also have the smaller Radio Shack discone antenna attached to a railing in my house. I noticed today that the 161.385 railband for BNSF from that was more staticky, and clearer when I used the RH77CA on it just by having the scanner on top of my fridge. So far, no complaints!
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