What adapter do i need?

[mots-a]

hi all,

i am trying to connect a rs 20-176 antenna, but it seems i have the wrong adapter, and i cant seem to find the one i need. i bought lmr-400 cable, and a pl 259 to bnc adapter. but that adapter doesnt work. ive been to a couple radio shacks, with no match. is there an adapter for this or do i have to buy a different cable?
any help would be appreciated. as u can tell i dont know alot about installing antennas

-chris

 

[W6KRU]

Sounds like you need one of these.

 

[kirka127]

Are you sure you have a BNC and not a SMA as used on some newer scanners??

 

[fineshot1]

According to RS specs this antenna has an SO-239 connector(female PL-259) which already mates with a PL-259 connector. What connector do you have on the LMR400? What are you trying to connect to on the radio end? More info please.

 

[specman]

hi all,

i am trying to connect a rs 20-176 antenna, but it seems i have the wrong adapter, and i cant seem to find the one i need. i bought lmr-400 cable, and a pl 259 to bnc adapter. but that adapter doesnt work. ive been to a couple radio shacks, with no match. is there an adapter for this or do i have to buy a different cable?
any help would be appreciated. as u can tell i dont know alot about installing antennas

-chris

What end are you having trouble with? The antenna end? A PL 259 should go right on there. If it doesn't then something is out of whack. I'd also recommend not using a BNC at the antenna end.. they're extremely prone to moisture instrusion. Best to put a PL259 right on the cable and connect to the antenna with that. Use whatever works at your scanner end.

 

[mots-a]

im going to put the 20-176 in the attic, connecting to a pro-96(right now) but down the road i am going to buy a base scanner. anyways, the end im having trouble with is the scanner side. i need a adapter that goes from the lmr-400 end to the pro -96(both conectors on the cable are the same) and as stated above the antenna end connects fine. thanks again for all the help

-chris

 

[fineshot1]

im going to put the 20-176 in the attic, connecting to a pro-96(right now) but down the road i am going to buy a base scanner. anyways, the end im having trouble with is the scanner side. i need a adapter that goes from the lmr-400 end to the pro -96(both conectors on the cable are the same) and as stated above the antenna end connects fine. thanks again for all the help

-chris

You need one of these adapter cords below, not sure what you have now.

Firestik KAR3 PL-259 to BNC Female Adapter Cord - CB Radio Superstore WalcottCB.com

 

[W6KRU]

You need one of these adapter cords below, not sure what you have now.

Firestik KAR3 PL-259 to BNC Female Adapter Cord - CB Radio Superstore WalcottCB.com

That cord would be more convenient for hooking LMR-400 to a handheld than the adapter I suggested above for sure. However I suspect that there would be pretty heavy loss at 800 MHz which the 20-176 is weak on to begin with.

 

[fineshot1]

That cord would be more convenient for hooking LMR-400 to a handheld than the adapter I suggested above for sure. However I suspect that there would be pretty heavy loss at 800 MHz which the 20-176 is weak on to begin with.

The cable is short enough so that the loss's should be negligable and should not pose a problem.

 

[W6KRU]

The cable is short enough so that the loss's should be negligable and should not pose a problem.

I'm not so sure. They don't list the length but it looks to be at least 6' and maybe 10'. They also don't say what kind of cable it is but it would seem to be similar to RG-174. I would guess the loss at 800 to be up to 3db at 10'.

 

[James04TJ]

The adapter cable linked would not be ideal if the LMR-400 is terminated to PL-259's on both sides. In order to use it you would need an SO-239 barrel adapter. All you need is a simple SO-239 to BNC Male adapter. Radio Shack sells them under PN 178-120 (although radio shack connectors suck). At the same time, connecting LMR-400 to a handheld radio is going to place a lot of stress on the chassis connector. I would recommend that rather than worrying about an adapter, you go to a local commercial radio shop (or one of the online coax shops) and order a 3' section of RG-58 (or RG-8x if receive only) terminated to a BNC on one end and SO-239 on the other. This will provide you the adaptation that you need as well as reduce stress on the chassis connector and LMR-400.

 

[W6KRU]

The adapter cable linked would not be ideal if the LMR-400 is terminated to PL-259's on both sides. In order to use it you would need an SO-239 barrel adapter. All you need is a simple SO-239 to BNC Male adapter. Radio Shack sells them under PN 178-120 (although radio shack connectors suck). At the same time, connecting LMR-400 to a handheld radio is going to place a lot of stress on the chassis connector. I would recommend that rather than worrying about an adapter, you go to a local commercial radio shop (or one of the online coax shops) and order a 3' section of RG-58 (or RG-8x if receive only) terminated to a BNC on one end and SO-239 on the other. This will provide you the adaptation that you need as well as reduce stress on the chassis connector and LMR-400.

Perfect. I agree.

 

[mots-a]

thanks for all the replys. it seems that i only need 10-12ft run, so i probally am just going to save lmr-400 for a future project, and order a more appropaite cable to connect to the pro-96. will the one linked earlier (firestik kar-3)fit the 20-176 antenna directly?

-chris