What would be my best option for replacing the stock antenna in the Home Patrol 2? Thanks.
I found more information on the equipment used by the Public Safety entities in my home county - Oakland County, MI. It is a state-of-the-art digital Voice over Internet Protocol 800 MHz system
The system uses of two types of OpenSky stations: High Profile sites which are intended to cover relatively large areas, and Cell sites, which are used primarily to fill in coverage "holes" between high-profile sites and improve in-building coverage. I hope this helps in recommending a good antenna. Thank you.
FYI per the Radio Reference Wiki, "OpenSky cannot be monitored by any scanner": OpenSky - The RadioReference Wiki
There's a rather glaring error in the linked page--it claims "Like ProVoice Open Sky cannot be monitored by any scanner, past or future."
This is laughable. Uniden scanners just got ProVoice capability, and if a radio can be built to receive something, a scanner can be built to receive it as well. Perhaps no current scanner receives OpenSky, but claiming no future scanner will ever receive it is right up there with "640K should be enough for anybody."
...I have discovered that surrounding counties are not on OpenSky and may very well be receivable for the HP2 that I am considering purchasing. I have received a couple of antenna suggestions, like the RS800 and comparable clones of it. As I will be trying to reach out to adjacent counties, it makes getting the best possible antenna even more important to me. That said, any further recommendations for the best antenna, is most welcomed...
...My thought process was that if spending $500 on a scanner, spending another $40 or so on a better performing antenna would also be prudent.