Antenna help and suggestions

Hello,
I live in the Cornish ME area right near Rt. 25 and would like to put up an external scanning antenna.

If some of you would be kind enough to let me know your location and what kind of antenna your using if would be a great help.
At present I'm using a Uniden bc246T but would like to get a Digital receiver maybe a BCD 436 or 536.

If you could give me an idea of what kind of reception your getting and what kind of rig your using it would be greatly appreciated.

I would like to be able to scan Portland but that may be a bit of a stretch for me.

Thanks
Bob

I 'm located in Kennebunkport, Maine and use these two antennas (below) for scanning. Both are roof top mounted and fed with RG8 coax (Belden 8214). Coverage is good. The 800 MHz system in Portland comes in sometimes... I think if I had a bit more height and a directional Yagi, I could make it work. I have no problem picking up Kittery PD, York PD, Ogunquit, etc. to the south and Saco, Scarborough, Biddeford to the north. Also, can receive some stuff from NH. Scanners are Whistler TRX2 and a few others.

Most important consideration is antenna height and quality coax!

Dual Band antenna (VHF-UHF)
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dmn-x50na

Broadband Antenna
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dmn-d3000n

Dave
k1xd

Thanks

Thanks for the info, if you cant get Portland from Kennebunk which is 25 miles over level ground I dont think I have a chance here in Cornish which is 32 miles according to Google Earth.
Another problem I have here is that I'm in a little bit of a valley with some hills directly East of here.
Will keep those antenna in mind while I'm shopping.
Have you done any business with the Ham Radio outlet in Salem/Derry NH ?

Bob

I've made quite a few purchases from HRO in NH. No problems... I would recommend them.

bobsav1,

Good question to ask, lots of folks here with valuable experience. Here I use a Diamond discone purchased from Universal Radio, with about a 40' run of RG/6 coax. Use it for police, fire, RR, ham radio, NOAA Wx, NOAA satellites, CB, ADS-B, and even for strong AM BCB tations like WOR in NYC.. From West NJ can hear Philly taxis, NYC police in the 400 MHz band, and of course all the local xmissions. It's a chimney mount up about 25',very happy with it. The discone is omnidirectional, just what one would want for reception from all directions. Interestingly, when hooked up to the TV set it'll pick up a few TV stations too.

Good luck with your antenna hunt.

The ferret antenna is my best reccomendaion..
It will do the whole area.
DOT -- lo band, vhf, uhf, and Portland's 800 mhz trunk system..
When I bought mine, it was $280.00 in 2010..
It has stood up against the Maine cold and warmth, and is still recieving perfectly..
Ferret 8 Band Base Antenna | Scanner Master

If you want perfection, you gotta pay for it..
I did.. I also got the LMR 400 cable which helps with distance..
Best of luck

Pricey

That's a pretty pricey antenna that I never heard of..
You say your in York county , may I ask where abouts?
Seacoast or inland...I'm trying to coordinate antenna info with the reception range.
Are you using Uniden or some other brand.

Bob

Portland

k1xd said:

I 'm located in Kennebunkport, Maine and use these two antennas (below) for scanning. Both are roof top mounted and fed with RG8 coax (Belden 8214). Coverage is good. The 800 MHz system in Portland comes in sometimes... I think if I had a bit more height and a directional Yagi, I could make it work. I have no problem picking up Kittery PD, York PD, Ogunquit, etc. to the south and Saco, Scarborough, Biddeford to the north. Also, can receive some stuff from NH. Scanners are Whistler TRX2 and a few others.

Most important consideration is antenna height and quality coax!

Dual Band antenna (VHF-UHF)
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dmn-x50na

Broadband Antenna
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dmn-d3000n

Dave
k1xd

Click to expand...

Well I went to HRO in Salem/derry NH and got a Discone and 50 feet of lo loss coax.
The antenna is mounted in my attic here in Cornish.
To my surprise I'm getting the Portland PD and FD crystal clear at a distance of 32 miles according
to Google earth.
At present it's hooked to a bc246t handheld. I'm thinking of getting a BCD996P at try to get the ME state police. I monitor them now but it's off the VHF repeater.
I also catch the NH State Police once in a while, but they are a bit out of range and lots of static.
Going to hook up a LNA today and see what happens.
Bob

Glad it works well !

I like the discone antenna in that it covers such a broad range of frequencies. Antennas for specific bands have more gain, but that said, having a path and antenna height are the most important factors in reception. I find here on 450 and 800 MHz bands, reception is better after the leaves are off the trees.