RH77CA on 800Mhz?

[ryangassxx]

Now, let me just say that I know that this antenna is not ideal for 800Mhz.. But from all accounts, it's a very good antenna overall.. Will the RH77CA at least perform better on 800Mhz than a stock duckie antenna?

The reason I ask is because I'd LIKE to be able to use my RH77CA on my scanner, and not have to toggle antennas all the time.. In order for me to not have to do that, all I ask is that the RH77CA does better than the duckie my scanner came with on 800Mhz..

Is that reasonable?..

 

[xpawel15x]

The RH77CA does not do better than a stock ducky on the 800mhz. I have the RH77CA on my scanner right now, and I don't scan any 800mhz with that scanner because I know that it doesn't do too well according to my experience. Currently I have my second scanner equipped with the RS Deluxe which does better on 800mhz. I did a lot of experimenting and out of all those antennas in my signature, the RH77CA was the worst in the 800mhz band.

 

[ryangassxx]

Which is the Radio Shack Deluxe? Are you talking about the Radio Shack 800Mhz antenna?

 

[xpawel15x]

No, RadioShack makes another antenna called Deluxe Scanner Antenna, here it is:

http://www.radioshack.com/sm-deluxe-antenna-for-handheld-scanner--pi-2102470.html

I'm sure the RS 800mhz is better on 800mhz though, I'm getting it soon, but for now I'm using that deluxe antenna for 800.

 

[br0adband]

That "Deluxe" one is a piece of... well, you put in the word.

I bought one on the hopes that it might give somewhat better all-around performance than the actual stock duckie (that came with the scanner) and the "Deluxe" one has absolutely horrid performance on all bands compared to the stock duckie. Don't waste your money. If you need something specific, grab the telescopic whip from RS - it's still the best overall handheld scanner antenna that I've ever used because of the ability to tune it by length for any given band. It'll outperform most any "wideband" antenna on any given frequency once you set the length as required.

Everytime I see that word "Deluxe" on that other antenna I just want to laugh, really. Definitely not something worth the money, unlike the 800 MHz duckie which is worth every cent.

 

[ryangassxx]

So the aluminum telescopic antenna is the best one? I've owned one of those before and kinda thought it was a cheapo antenna..

Did I make a mistake buying this RH77CA for $35?

 

[KT4HX]

You absolutely did not make a mistake buying the RH77CA. It is an excellent performer in the VHF/UHF bands. However, at 800 it is not going to perform nearly as well as say the RS800 duck. A lot of us, have both of these, and swap them out depending on what we are listening to. If you want to listen to VHF/UHF/800 at the same time, and you are trying to pick up your local 800 system, then the RH77CA will likely do well enough for you. But do not expect it to perform as well as a dedicted 800 antenna. It was primarily designed to function as a dual band antenna for ham radio HTs (146/440 MHz), and as an aside, Diamond advertises it as a wideband receive antenna.

While pretty much any antenna can function as a wideband receive antenna, the question is, just how well will it perform across the spectrum. The RH77CA like any other antenna, will only perform it's best at certain frequencies ranges, based on the design.

 

[VECTOR-77]

I thought 800Mhz was a cellular band, am I mistaken.

 

[jonny290]

I thought 800Mhz was a cellular band, am I mistaken.

pretty sure 95% of the cell phone networks are on 1.8 ghz or something like that; analog cell is still in the 800's but of course it's blocked and virtually nobody except crazy mountain folk with 3 watt manpack phones still use it. there may be some 800 digital bands, though, i'm not sure.

 

[VECTOR-77]

pretty sure 95% of the cell phone networks are on 1.8 ghz or something like that; analog cell is still in the 800's but of course it's blocked and virtually nobody except crazy mountain folk with 3 watt manpack phones still use it. there may be some 800 digital bands, though, i'm not sure.

well I mean my scanner has blocked out 800Mhz band and well their must be a reason for it. at the end do ya mean 3 watt bag phones

 

[n2mdk]

I thought 800Mhz was a cellular band, am I mistaken.

Yes your mistaken, part of the 800MHz band has "cell phone" service on it, both analog and digital. The rest of 800MHz has both conventional and trunking radio systems on it.

 

[n2mdk]

So the aluminum telescopic antenna is the best one? I've owned one of those before and kinda thought it was a cheapo antenna..

Did I make a mistake buying this RH77CA for $35?

I don't think the RH77CA is a mistake, it really depends upon what you want to listen to. in the frequency range between 108-500MHz the antenna works very well. It's my dual band HT antenna of choice.

 

[Gooser]

You absolutely did not make a mistake buying the RH77CA. It is an excellent performer in the VHF/UHF bands. However, at 800 it is not going to perform nearly as well as say the RS800 duck. ....

Hey ryangassxx...10-4 on what others have already said...I don't think you made a mistake in getting the 77 if you are looking to jump around.

I have the RH77CA and use it when I'm listening to "everything"...but I don't use it when I am locked on to 800. Then I use the RS800 duck. So, I still have to swap.

Took the stock Pro-97 antenna, RH77CA, GRE800, and RS800 to the roof. On weather band, CHP (42MHz freqs), and San Jose PD (1xxMhz & 460MHz freqs about 15 miles away), the RH77CA pulled in the most.

On 800, I could faintly pick up Oakland trunk (about 20 miles away) with the RS800 but nothing but static on any other antenna. For my local trunk, the RS800 does well in reducing static and clicks...BUT, outside of 800, the RS800 was not as good as the RH77CA.

Edit: FWIW, RH77CA seems to pick up as good, if not better, better across the spectrum than the telescoping antenna that came with the BCT15 when I tested 'em both on the Pro-97.

 

[hoser147]

Ryan alot of good antenna advise here. I run the RS 800 for dedicated digital. The Diamond for everything else, unless Im in the shack and can use a base antenna. Good Scannin Hoser

 

[hoser147]

Not to Hijack, but to through another one in there, Hey Jerri, how do you like the Maxrad?? Hoser

 

[n2mdk]

Not to Hijack, but to through another one in there, Hey Jerri, how do you like the Maxrad?? Hoser

I like the MAX Systems 800, different from MaxRad, don't know if it's any better than that Antenex half wave duckie I picked up on eBay for under $10, they were sold as Ericsson elevated feed point 800MHz antennas, which they are. As I said in another thread I think it looks cool.
I hate antennas, I'm always looking for the holy grail of them. Did that with my dual band HTs as well, until I found the S/RH77CA

 

[ryangassxx]

Ok well my RH77CA came in the mail the other day and I've been putting it through it's paces against the stock duckie. There is definitely a noticeable difference listening to the local 2meter hams. One cool thing about the PSR-300 is the signal strength meter, so I am able to look at that while swapping antennas to see what does what.

I notice that on a lot of stuff in the 450Mhz area that while maybe both antennas show a 2 bar signal, that the RH77CA pulls out the voices, and quiets the static noise a LOT.

On 800Mhz, the results are pretty much the same, but definitely not any worse. I listen to only 2 800Mhz trunked systems and get a 99% reception on the control channels with both the stock and the RH77CA, and they both sound very clear.. I think that I just happen to be in a very good geographic region for both of these systems anyways, I could probably pull them in with a paper clip.

The main thing I was looking for out of the RH77CA was for it to not actually perform WORSE than the stock duckie on 800Mhz. Thats all. Because I was always perfectly satisfied with the reception I got with the stock duckie.. But to be able to improve reception on VHF and UHF without taking the hit on 800 was key.. I can now leave the RH77CA on at all times...

 

[VECTOR-77]

Yes your mistaken, part of the 800MHz band has "cell phone" service on it, both analog and digital. The rest of 800MHz has both conventional and trunking radio systems on it.

well then why do scanners just lock out the entire band. Hopefully you can look at my second post, I think it may help.

 

[n2mdk]

well then why do scanners just lock out the entire band. Hopefully you can look at my second post, I think it may help.

What scanner do you have some scanners don't go up into the 800MHz band, how high does it go.

 

[kellykeeton]

well then why do scanners just lock out the entire band. Hopefully you can look at my second post, I think it may help.

i never heard of a scanner that will block 800-900 entirely, what scanner do you have and you will get about 20 replies about what it is blocking and what it isnt.

typically you can buy consumer USA like this xxHz-824MHz, 849-869, 894-xxxMHz range

and @n2mdk comment very true