question about antennas usage for in the woods and hills

[hippieman556]

i have a question about setting up antennas for use in the home and also in a car

i have a cousin that lives in the woods and hills of fairfield county Ct. and would like to use an antenna on scanner with a bnc connecter

the frequency is in the in the 37 mhz band

please let me know what would work best for this

thanks

Art

[rwmitchell]

If your friend could get his hands on an old CB base antenna it would cover that frequency quite well. Most CB stuff would be PL259, but a trip to RadioShack for a pig tail of RG58 and a conversion from 259 to BNC connector would fix that problem. If he was concerned about space or size, a discone antenna would also work. The discone would be broadbanded enough to cover large portion of the spectrum if needed later on.

[kb2vxa]

Careful with that CB antenna, 5/8 wave ones have matching transformers in the base which restrict the frequency range. If you go that route a fiberglass 1/2 wave dipole type (two sections, no radials) or 1/4 wave ground plane would be your best bet. Just cut the top section down to 53" and they'll resonate just fine, don't forget to put a plastic boot on the fiberglass one to waterproof it.

As for a discone, one must have a vertical top section and a few of the "radials" must have loading coils both for VHF Lo Band operation. Ignore published frequency ranges, they're purely advertising BS lies and deception. Check the photos before you buy, you should easily see what I'm talking about.

[hippieman556]

what would be an easy setup for someone new to this type of stuff

also could you suggest some websites

thanks

Art

[kb2vxa]

What can be easier than taking a hacksaw to an old CB antenna? Don't answer, this grumpy old fart just might go Rolling Stones. (;->)

If you start me up
If you start me up I'll never stop
If you start me up
If you start me up I'll never stop
I've been running hot
You got me ticking gonna blow my top
If you start me up
If you start me up I'll never stop

[LtDoc]

One solution would be a simple wire thrown over a convenient tree. Receivers or scanners are just not that 'picky' about antenna impedances.
The CB antenna is certainly a viable solution. Something like a 1/4 wave groundplane ought'a work fine. It wouldn't be resonant, but like was said, a hacksaw would take care of that.
Higher rather than lower is a very nice idea!
- 'Doc