So I bought this Antennacraft ST2 "Scantenna"

[Rt169Radio]

If your not transmitting with that Yagi, it should be okay. And it looks good to.

Where did you get the pole?

[vhctruckie6]

Originally Posted by Rt169Radio

If your not transmitting with that Yagi, it should be okay. And it looks good to.

Where did you get the pole?

Channel Master CM-1820 20" Telescoping Steel Antenna Mast $59.99

https://www.channelmasterstore.com/T..._p/cm-1820.htm

[vhctruckie6]

Originally Posted by Rt169Radio

If your not transmitting with that Yagi, it should be okay. And it looks good to.

Where did you get the pole?

Not transmitting!...2 Scanners one to Yagi and one to ST2...the ST2 is the sh-t! Best scanner antenna that I have ever had for all freqs!

Thanks for your reply.

[funkytoad]

So I just did an attic install with this antenna. I ordered it from Solid Signal on Sunday night and had it in hand Friday afternoon. It cost me $40 with tax and shipping. I live in a rental house from 1891, so exterior mounting wasn't much of an option. I never realized how much wasted space is up in that attic.

I was very excited to plug this thing into my BCT15X. Much like everyone was reporting, suddenly I can hear the ATIS from the airport about ten miles from my house. I am easily pulling in public safety frequencies from over 100 miles away. Everything within that range comes in just about crystal clear. I am thoroughly impressed with this thing.

[Rt169Radio]

Originally Posted by funkytoad

So I just did an attic install with this antenna. I ordered it from Solid Signal on Sunday night and had it in hand Friday afternoon. It cost me $40 with tax and shipping. I live in a rental house from 1891, so exterior mounting wasn't much of an option. I never realized how much wasted space is up in that attic.

I was very excited to plug this thing into my BCT15X. Much like everyone was reporting, suddenly I can hear the ATIS from the airport about ten miles from my house. I am easily pulling in public safety frequencies from over 100 miles away. Everything within that range comes in just about crystal clear. I am thoroughly impressed with this thing.

Well that is something, a 100 miles. How can you tell?

[funkytoad]

Originally Posted by Rt169Radio

Well that is something, a 100 miles. How can you tell?

I can pick up a couple of law enforcement and fire frequencies for a city that is a little over 100 miles away. If the FCC ULS database is to be believed, the only transmitter for that frequency is in that city. It doesn't come in crystal clear most of the time, but you can certainly listen to it alright. I've routinely been able to pull in frequencies from 75-90 miles away that are perfect. I didn't expect this antenna to be this good. The fact that I am a couple hundred feet up on a little hill probably doesn't hurt either.

[Lexx333]

forgive me if this question has been asked: Does the ST-2 do okay receiving 2 meter frequencies?

[benbenrf]

Originally Posted by LexxLovesMusic

forgive me if this question has been asked: Does the ST-2 do okay receiving 2 meter frequencies?

Remember, it's designed to operate across a 1Ghz plus bandwidth, so at best it's going to offer maybe a couple dB at various points across that bandwidth - so nothing like a resonant omni-directional or directional antenna.

[Lexx333]

Thanks for the response. I have 2 other questions.

1: The wiki is somewhat confusing to me on the bicycle fiberglass pole modification for the st-2. What is the photo referring to when it says "rod must intersect boom insulator" ? Can anyone elaborate on this?
http://wiki.radioreference.com/image...escantenna.jpg

2: Does anyone else have an opinion on this fiberglass rod (4 ft) being adequate instead of a bike rod?
http://www.lowes.com/pd_236808-37672...ductId=3027086

thanks.

[davedaver1]

Originally Posted by Lexx333

Thanks for the response. I have 2 other questions.

1: The wiki is somewhat confusing to me on the bicycle fiberglass pole modification for the st-2. What is the photo referring to when it says "rod must intersect boom insulator" ? Can anyone elaborate on this?
http://wiki.radioreference.com/image...escantenna.jpg

2: Does anyone else have an opinion on this fiberglass rod (4 ft) being adequate instead of a bike rod?
http://www.lowes.com/pd_236808-37672...ductId=3027086

thanks.

1) since the upper and lower elements are split by the insulator, you want the fiberglass rod to be right in line over the center insulator.

2) Hard to know if it's adequate - it's probably good enough, because pretty much anything tied up along the rods will improve the strength. Thickness counts in this case, because you don't want whatever rod you use to bend (like fiberglass does well). You might check out both and pick the stiffer of the two. Many of the bike whips are tapered from bottom to top, so the lower part would be pretty stiff.

I would not use the tape - it will rot quickly if not UV-stabilized and it usually turns into a sticky mess. I use UV-stabilized ty-wraps for everything up on the roof. Even if you tape, use some of them anyway.

[Lexx333]

Originally Posted by davedaver1

1) since the upper and lower elements are split by the insulator, you want the fiberglass rod to be right in line over the center insulator.

2) Hard to know if it's adequate - it's probably good enough, because pretty much anything tied up along the rods will improve the strength. Thickness counts in this case, because you don't want whatever rod you use to bend (like fiberglass does well). You might check out both and pick the stiffer of the two. Many of the bike whips are tapered from bottom to top, so the lower part would be pretty stiff.

I would not use the tape - it will rot quickly if not UV-stabilized and it usually turns into a sticky mess. I use UV-stabilized ty-wraps for everything up on the roof. Even if you tape, use some of them anyway.

Thank you, kind sir, for your wisdom.

[benbenrf]

Lexx333

If you are looking for a P25 only antenna - and have reasonably clear space around you, at least towards the 1/3 of the horizontal arc direction towards the tower that broadcasts/receives/trunks the P25 transmission of interest, then do some online research for a "P25 5/8 wavelength base station antenna". Brand-name/manufacturer? - that's your call, but a 5/8 wavelength omnidirectional will provide you with a a nice tight omni-directional beam-width just above & below horizon level.

The result?
You'll get a received signal from the antenna that is going to present your receiver/scanner with a signal that will not only have greater Gain than a broad band width antenna, but will also be quieter (meaning: less noise) than the signal a 1/4wave, 1/2wave or similar antenna is going to offer your scanner/receiver.

[davedaver1]

Originally Posted by benbenrf

Lexx333

If you are looking for a P25 only antenna - and have reasonably clear space around you, at least towards the 1/3 of the horizontal arc direction towards the tower that broadcasts/receives/trunks the P25 transmission of interest, then do some online research for a "P25 5/8 wavelength base station antenna". Brand-name/manufacturer? - that's your call, but a 5/8 wavelength omnidirectional will provide you with a a nice tight omni-directional beam-width just above & below horizon level.

I think we were talking about how to strengthen an ST2 antenna.

What is a "P25 only antenna"? P25 is a standard and has nothing to do with antennas or bandwidth.

The rest of your post doesn't make much sense either.

[rylvir]

Found this picture in another thread which shows what I think is the correct antenna position for the antennas at the end of the boom. Haven't installed mine yet, but this thread has been very helpful. Thanks

[Rt169Radio]

Yes, that is the correct position for those antennas.

[benbenrf]

Originally Posted by davedaver1

I think we were talking about how to strengthen an ST2 antenna.

What is a "P25 only antenna"? P25 is a standard and has nothing to do with antennas or bandwidth.

The rest of your post doesn't make much sense either.

Okay - I'll try and put this all into lay- mans words.

You are 100% correct - it is a standard, which from a commercial usage (and therefore scanning) perspective at the moment, hardware and licensing is confined to

136Mhz – 174Mhz
403Mhz – 512Mhz
806Mhz – 870Mhz


FCC P25 Phase 1 licensing is also been extended and rolled out onto the up coming 746Mhz – 806Mhz digital public safety band.

So what I wrote could also have been written as “an antenna with bandwidth coverage for those bands occupied by P25 transmissions, or, the "P25 bandwidth (i.e. VHF or UHF) that you wish to monitor".

….. and the rest doesn’t make sense?

I’ll try and explain the rest as well: resonant/band/frequency specific antennas tend to provide better performance at and around the frequency for which they are designed to be used on, versus broad bandwidth antennas – which compromise optimum performance at any one or other frequency, or bandwidth, so that a broader range of frequencies can be covered

Then when you look at band or frequency specific antenna’s, you can further enhance performance if you have some insight or knowledge of the characteristics of the transmission you wish to monitor e.g. a 5/8 wavelength antenna for one or other of the above P25 bands is going to work better at ground level than a ½ wave or 1/4wave antenna for the same frequency.

Why?
Because the P25 transmision the OP wants to monitor are originating at or near to ground level – and that is the radiation pattern/coverage a omnidirectional 5/8’s wavelength antenna is optimized for.

If however he was wanting omni-directional monitoring capability (and this is a hypothetical example – no more than that) of a P25 transmission originating from an aircraft, I would not be suggesting a 5/8’s antenna (at ground level).

Why? Because a 5/8’s wavelength antenna ain’t much good for monitoring any signal with a high angle of approach. He would in then be much better off using a 1/4wavelength antenna (or some other design), which has a much more hemispherical radiation pattern, and would be more suited to monitoring signals with a higher angle of approach.

Does that help?

[rylvir]

Would a 4 foot copper coated ground rod be sufficient for the purpose of grounding the antenna for better performance not for lightning protection?

What brand RG6 Quad Shield coax is going to be better: Phillips, RadioShack, GE? It's probably less than a 30' run
I've done a lot of searching and it seems like 3-1 people don't like the radioshack Coax.. so I guess I will be taking that back.

[LtDoc]

Most antennas don't require grounding for RF purposes. (That word, 'grounding', is so confusing with all the different meanings is has that I really wish there was another word.) I honestly can't think of any commercially sold antennas that require an RF ground to work correctly. From the 'RF' point of view, that ground is the 'other half' of the antenna.
For safety purposes, a single ground rod is almost useless.
- 'Doc

[Tryton]

Hi Everyone, I just need some quick guidance. I ordered the Scantenna from strong signal. I need to connect it to both of my scanners. Can I just use a rf splitter like a cable splitter?

[Rt169Radio]

Originally Posted by Tryton

Hi Everyone, I just need some quick guidance. I ordered the Scantenna from strong signal. I need to connect it to both of my scanners. Can I just use a rf splitter like a cable splitter?

This is the place to read up about that.

http://forums.radioreference.com/passive-devices/