I am getting a SDS100 for use in and out of my vehicle. I need a recommendation for the rubber duck antenna. I am monitoring the AIRS p25 phase 2 simulcast system in the Birmingham area. Ideally the rubber duck antenna will be as low profile as possible without suffering a major performance loss. I also need an antenna for the sds100 to use in my car that I will attach to an NMO mount on my vehicles roof. I would like this to be as low-profile and look tactical as possible. I like the stubby antennas on police vehicles and like this design but I do not know if this will sacrifice long range scanning performance. I am also trying to monitor air band and federal frequencies. They both need to be very durable and high performing without looking obnoxiously large and intrusive. Thanks for the help!
Antennas
- Thread starter lcat06
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IC-R20
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This works good for mobile NR72BNMO-C - Diamond Antenna
If the included SDS antenna is too tall for your portable use then look into racing stubs.
If the included SDS antenna is too tall for your portable use then look into racing stubs.
This isn’t for ham though… that antenna looks like a 2m/70cm antenna
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It doesn't matter. You won't be transmitting. It'll work from airband to 900 no problem.
Like the HAF4013? If I had this mounted on the roof of my car in the dead middle how well will it receive? How many miles? I don’t want a long antenna on my roof due to clearmace issues. Do I even need to have a antenna on my car if I wanted to use a rubber duck on the sds100? How well will that Motorola antenna work on the simulcast and then on the other frequencies I can put on other antennas of the same nature and use a duplexer/diplexer to have multiple antennas? Would that work
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Yes those would work. I've used them before for 400 and 800 reception and they work reasonably well with a single antenna, I would only get an additional one for VHF if you wanted to receive that band and diplex them together, I've seen Stringers in Los Angeles do that. With the SDS radio you'll be fine for receiving simulcast.
Okay so the Motorola antenna will work. What is my range with this? Do you think this would have a significant advantage over a Remtronix rubber duck antenna for use in the car? If I wanted to add other antennas and combine them how will I do that.
An antenna outside of the vehicle will work better than a rubber duck inside.
If you get one based on performance with a decent amount of gain, you should get some decent range. Often the low profile/tactical antenna have less gain.
An antenna tuned for the desired band will usually yield the best results. A vhf antenna will not do great on 800 and an 800 will not do great on vhf. Best to get one for each band and use a diplexer which takes different band antennas and combines them letting you run one feed line to your scanner.
- If you have a proper ground plane the Larsen 150/450/758 is a good choice.
- If you have a poor, or no ground plane mounting location the Compactenna Scan 3 is the choice.
Those other short nub antennas will work with very strong signals, but not as well as the two above. You could use a diplexer, or triplexer to connect two, or three nub antennas together to feed your scanner. You won’t need a diplexer with either of the above antennas.
! Before you purchase an antenna, experiment with what you have. If you’re satisfied with the result you win. They also make suction cup mounts so you could place a rubber duck on a window. That’s rather low profile.
- If you have a poor, or no ground plane mounting location the Compactenna Scan 3 is the choice.
Those other short nub antennas will work with very strong signals, but not as well as the two above. You could use a diplexer, or triplexer to connect two, or three nub antennas together to feed your scanner. You won’t need a diplexer with either of the above antennas.
! Before you purchase an antenna, experiment with what you have. If you’re satisfied with the result you win. They also make suction cup mounts so you could place a rubber duck on a window. That’s rather low profile.
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I dont recall posting an antenna.
There are many factors involved so range would be hard to predict. Anything in-between you and the transmitting source would affect range. Hills, valleys, trees, elevation etc.
+1 for the Compactenna. I use one because it's only about 9 inches tall, so my SUV fits in my garage with no clearance issue. It's designed for VHF, UHF, and 800MHz bands. If you need to go with something shorter like the low profile "shotgun shell" style, keep in mind that they will receive poorly on the VHF band.
mmckenna
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Those little low profile antennas are going to work OK on their specific band only. If 800MHz is the only band you want to listen to, then it would be an option.
They are not a high performance antenna. They are designed primarily for low profile, performance is secondary. If all you want is the looks, then go for it. But if you want something that works well, then it's not what you want.
If this is -only- for a scanner, get one antenna that covers what you need. Yes, you can install multiple antennas and multiplex them together, but that gets expensive. Get one antenna that does what you need. Mount it properly on the roof of your vehicle and enjoy. Since your SUV should provide a good ground plane for the antenna, get something like the Larsen mentioned above or the EMWave. It'll work well on VHF, UHF and 700/800MHz.
Larsen NMO150/450/758SF Tri-band Mobile Antenna covers 150-174, 430-520 & 750-870, 100 Watts, Length 16.5 in, NMO Mount, Spring Base
Larsen NMO150/450/758SF Tri-band Mobile Antenna covers 150-174, 430-520 & 750-870, 100 Watts, Length 16.5 in, NMO Mount, Spring Base
theantennafarm.com
EM Wave EM-M43002 Tri-Band 150-162/450-490/763-870 MHz Mobile Antenna - 17.7 in - NMO - Spring Base
EM Wave EM-M43002 Tri-Band 150-162/450-490/763-870 MHz Mobile Antenna - 17.7 in - NMO - Spring Base
theantennafarm.com
Skip the ham radio antennas. While they'll work, they are tuned for specific portions of the VHF and UHF bands only. You'll get better performance out of an antenna that is actually designed to work where you want it. Since AIRS uses 700 and 800MHz band, you want something that will cover that. The two above antennas will. Plus they'll give you some decent performance on VHF and UHF.
Remember that the antenna needs to be properly mounted. Permanent mount in the center of the roof is ideal. You want that metal plane under the antenna for it to work to it's full potential.
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