So I bought this Antennacraft ST2 "Scantenna"

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Baskt_Case

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So, theres varying opinions and lots of talk about this Antenna Craft ST-2. I just ordered one from Universal. It comes with 50' of RG6 with F connectors and a F to BNC adapter, so I bought a BNC to SMA adapter for my Homepatrol-1.

I've already got a 10' galvanized fence rail bolted to the side of the house. Ultimately, the antenna will be about 20' off the ground. Eventually, I plan to run the RG6 to a ground block, which will be connected to the house ground with #10 copper.

From there, I can make my own RG6 jumper into the house, terminated with an F-conn, use the F to BNC then the BNC to SMA.

Really looking forward to trying out this setup. I've never used a real outdoor antenna before, besides the ocassional mag-mount out the kitchen window. Hopefully, I can do a decent review for the RR since we lack one for the ST2. Supposedly the newest generation is "heavy-duty" and may survive without the fiberglass pole mod. We will see.

I hope I've covered everything, with a little luck, the antenna should be here by next Friday. Is there anything else I need to be aware of or perhaps a tip or two from the community?
 

vannossc

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So, theres varying opinions and lots of talk about this Antenna Craft ST-2. I just ordered one from Universal. It comes with 50' of RG6 with F connectors and a F to BNC adapter, so I bought a BNC to SMA adapter for my Homepatrol-1.

I've already got a 10' galvanized fence rail bolted to the side of the house. Ultimately, the antenna will be about 20' off the ground. Eventually, I plan to run the RG6 to a ground block, which will be connected to the house ground with #10 copper.

From there, I can make my own RG6 jumper into the house, terminated with an F-conn, use the F to BNC then the BNC to SMA.

Really looking forward to trying out this setup. I've never used a real outdoor antenna before, besides the ocassional mag-mount out the kitchen window. Hopefully, I can do a decent review for the RR since we lack one for the ST2. Supposedly the newest generation is "heavy-duty" and may survive without the fiberglass pole mod. We will see.

I hope I've covered everything, with a little luck, the antenna should be here by next Friday. Is there anything else I need to be aware of or perhaps a tip or two from the community?

My opinion is to seek some more advice about grounding that antenna to more than just the house ground. I may be a bit overzelous but a little prevention is worth a lot of insurnace hassle. I put up a 2m HAM and a no-name scanner discone about 10' above my 23' tall house. Ran #6 solid core from both into 1 and then down to an 8 foot copper clad rod. Put stand-offs every 18" for the solid core. Much of this advice came from other HAM radio sites - have the links somewhere on another machine and can provide.

Overkill? Maybe...but for $40 worth of parts from Lowe's it's relativley low cost.
 

SCPD

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i have had the st-2 for over a year, works great, been thru a couple 40+ wind storms, no problems, i did change the factory 300 to 75 ohm adapter, seems to have helped with a little better reception, i havent grounded mine, just unhook the scanner when there is lightning, i pretty sure that a little ground block isnt going to stop all that juice
 

Baskt_Case

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...i did change the factory 300 to 75 ohm adapter, seems to have helped with a little better reception...i pretty sure that a little ground block isnt going to stop all that juice

You changed the transformer? Why and what did you use? I'm definately interested in that, your the first person I've heard of doing that to this particular antenna.

And no, a ground block isnt really going to help much in the case of strike, its more for dissipation of static charge than anything. It can help to lower the noise floor in my experience. Your right, total disconnect is the best protection.
 

Baskt_Case

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Yea, I know they are out there. Somewhat hard to find, but they are out there. Its crazy, they range in price from $5 - $40, a piece!

But, at least now I've got the BNC for my HomePatrol. I'm betting this setup is gonna blow the doors off the stock HP-1 antenna anyway, extra adapter or not. I took an old 800MHz mag-mount stubby and chopped the Nokia adapter off and stuck the bare ends into the SMA jack on the HP-1. That alone was a 2X improvement over the stock antenna.
 

KJ6HCB

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BearMan... can you make a thread with pictures of your setup on the board? Im considering getting one of these and love hearing opinions and seeing pics. Thanks
 

wbowery

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We get very high winds on occasion here, and over the years many Scantennas I had the plastic middle that holds the thing together together snap. I think they are designed a little stronger now, but I hedged my bets during my last install by taping a fiberglass bicycle antenna flag pole the length of the VHF low band element. I read that tip online somewhere. This was well over two years ago (a record for me), and I have had no problems with my most recent ST-2.
 

BearMan54

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We get very high winds on occasion here, and over the years many Scantennas I had the plastic middle that holds the thing together together snap. I think they are designed a little stronger now, but I hedged my bets during my last install by taping a fiberglass bicycle antenna flag pole the length of the VHF low band element. I read that tip online somewhere. This was well over two years ago (a record for me), and I have had no problems with my most recent ST-2.


I'm like you, if mine breaks I'll surely buy another one, their that good antenna,,,,,, But I can see high winds snapping one or a good bit of ice...
 

NYRHKY94

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KJ6HCB:

Here's a picture of my ST-2 wall mounted at about 30'. The coax runs down to the first floor on that same side of the house where my shack is. This is my second ST-2. The first one did fall victim to an ice storm about 6 years ago. This one has held up fine since then. I did not do the fiberglass mod on either of my ST-2's. Both purchases were from Solid Signal. I've found the ST-2 to be a good all around antenna at a very nice price point. It does fine for me on the 800 MHz band.

P.S. I run 8 scanners off of the ST-2 (6 of them are RR feeds)

Thanks - Mike
 
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Rt169Radio

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KJ6HCB:

Here's a picture of my ST-2 wall mounted at about 30'. The coax runs down to the first floor on that same side of the house where my shack is. This is my second ST-2. The first one did fall victim to an ice storm about 6 years ago. This one has held up fine since then. I did not do the fiberglass mod on either of my ST-2's. Both purchases were from Solid Signal. I've found the ST-2 to be a good all around antenna at a very nice price point. It does fine for me on the 800 MHz band.

P.S. I run 8 scanners off of the ST-2 (6 of them are RR feeds)

Thanks - Mike

Looks great!
 

Baskt_Case

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Awesome feedback so far, yes I will take pictures when I get mine up. Ordered it late Friday night and with this holiday, I'll be lucky if it ships Tuesday afternoon, so hoping for this coming Friday at best.

A word on pricing...

$35.95 + $5.95 Shipping @ Universal Radio = $41.90

$33.99 + $14.95 Shipping @ Solid Signal = $48.94

$26.50 + $11.75 Shipping @ Summit Source = $38.25

Ebay? Your mileage may vary.

I bought from Universal. I am not affiliated with Universal, nor do I endorse them. I went with them feeling I got the best balance of price and trustworthyness. Their are quite a few more sources for these. Buyer beware.

We got ancy last night and chopped the connector off an old unused K30 Mag-Mount. KSP (P25) coming in clearer than most of my phone conversations now (25 miles from the nearest transmitter). Although its pulling more agencies, it has induced more noise than a proper antenna would in the VHF-Hi band. Cant wait to try out this Scantenna.
 
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375

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I have been using a couple RS discones for years. Aside from the radials being very fragile, best antenna ever… I thought. Mother Nature recently gave me the opportunity to purchase a new antenna. I went with the ST-2. $41.99 at RS but that’s not where I got mine. Seems to have been a big secret about the relationship between Antennacraft and RS, but I’m rambling now. Anyway, I put the ST-2 on the same pole of the former RS discone, aimed it, yes I know it’s supposed to be omnidirectional, and immediately noticed the difference. Here in northern Delaware I get our 800 MHz Public Safety without an antenna but I did notice, using ARC software, that my RSSI jumped from the 440’s +or – to sometimes in the 500’s. Definitely noticed better AM reception. Rarely could I hear the local airport tower 7 miles away, now, no problem. VHF high…sometimes the squelch isn’t even enough. Have to plain lock them out. I now use the RS discone for my 996T which is just for PS so I don’t need NACS, and 2 ST-2’s for my 996XT which I use mainly for searching, and when at home my 396XT also. I am quite happy with the ST-2!
 

safetyobc

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I used the Scantenna at my old house for a couple years. It worked great! Especially in the VHF High band. I have yet to put it up at out new house (been here 4 years now, lol). I thought about putting it in the attic but not sure how it would perform under the shingled roof?
 

KMG54

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I love my ST2!When hooked to my bct15 or my Pro 106 it does a wonderful job.But when I really have fun is when I hook it to my Icom R75 and spin the dial from 30 to 60 megs. The Icom and that antenna combo finds things that I can't get a whiff of on the scanners.
 
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