im a plane spotter, i was using a 125at but it was lost in the field, i found a great deall on a used 436hp, and aside from the learning curve I need to know the best antenna for aviation including mil air. its mobile with me when i go on locations so the portablility. help. forgive me is this was a prrevious post. i was not able to find it. thanks in advance.
best antenna for Aviation
- Thread starter Spooky527
- Start date
- Status
Bolt21
Spark Chariot Driver
Maldol AL-500H Air band Scanner Antenna - if you can find one (discontinued). I bought one many years ago, seems to work very well. It's long and it'll start wobbling if you simply walk into the same room that it's in, but I've found that some of my best antennas are not the most convenient ones.
Another option is Watson W901 W-901 Airband Portable Antenna | Scanner Master
I have both the 901 Air Gainer and several of the Maldol 500s. Both are good with the big nod going to the Maldol, again if you can find one. As mentioned, it's quite long and wobbly. I use it on my Uniden 325P2 and Yupiteru 7100. I also use the Diamond RH-77 as I feel the size of it is a decent compromise for the receive results I get. That usually is my go to antenna when I go to airshows. I recently became aware of an antenna made by a guy in the UK called the Broadsword. Darren is his name and the plane spotters in the UK seem to like his antennas. I ordered three different ones and the Civil Air antenna (D900 or 9000??) works better than any of the antennas listed here and they are quite reasonable, even with shipping from the UK. It is much longer though! Here is just one review using a 125 that you are familiar with. Look up the reviews on Youtube and you'll see what I mean.
If memory serves, the military freq.s are right above the amateur radio 220MH band while commercial aero is below the amateur radio 2M band. Either way, you could probably buy a good ham antenna and re-tune slightly (maybe they'll even be broad-band enough to not require re-tuning).
Another option is Aviation Handheld Radios
A radio like this operates on air without a hassle since it is programmed to suit this environment
A radio like this operates on air without a hassle since it is programmed to suit this environment
Best I have seen is a simple ground plane cut for 120 Mhz.
Seems to work great on MIL-AIR 300 Mhz also.
No gain but above roof line, far better than the scanner mounted whips.
A discone antenna will work great also. (that is what I use)
For field work, a good choice is the Maldol 500 series
Seems to work great on MIL-AIR 300 Mhz also.
No gain but above roof line, far better than the scanner mounted whips.
A discone antenna will work great also. (that is what I use)
For field work, a good choice is the Maldol 500 series
Last edited:
When asked “What’s the best”, it’s nice to list a category based upon cost. Obviously, the commercial/military grade is going to cost much more but if it’s performance AND durability you seek, it’s the way to go. You may find comparable performance with the average retail offerings but longevity may suffer. I expect this particular question relates to the type of gear you will find at Sporty’s.
I too have searched for a better aviation band antenna and settled on an antenna made by “Create”. It’s a directional antenna that I mounted vertically (aviation polarization). My need was for a gain antenna in order to hear the tower of my closest major airport. I’ve had only marginal success with it with my SDS200 but better with the BCD996XT. (I believe that’s due to the newer radios paying more attention to the trunking systems at the higher frequencies, where the older designs excelled at the VHF High and UHF bands.)
But if you are looking for the best of the best, it’s going to be the commercial/military offerings... and ridiculous prices.
I too have searched for a better aviation band antenna and settled on an antenna made by “Create”. It’s a directional antenna that I mounted vertically (aviation polarization). My need was for a gain antenna in order to hear the tower of my closest major airport. I’ve had only marginal success with it with my SDS200 but better with the BCD996XT. (I believe that’s due to the newer radios paying more attention to the trunking systems at the higher frequencies, where the older designs excelled at the VHF High and UHF bands.)
But if you are looking for the best of the best, it’s going to be the commercial/military offerings... and ridiculous prices.
This is the Create antenna I refer to... Create CLP-5130-1N VHF/UHF Log-Periodic Antenna.
'best' is there a single item ....the above replies correctly show there isn't.
So, a different view (excluding directional, noisy bird perches etc. which have little place in the mobile scenario).
The top one is the one I use most often for airband - Nagoya NA-771 dual-band amateur. Other makers do the same basic thing with similar numbering. First one like this I ever bought was from Revex. Flexible and works well for milair despite not being designed for it. Length is ok as it's very flexible. Longer flexible would be unwieldy.
Next is a (Waters & Stanton) Watson W-901 'air gainer' - expensive rubbish but better than the piece of bearcrap at the bottom
No3 - Watson W-801 'regular gainer' - see above but aimed at scanner enthusiasts instead of airband. Electrically identical to the 901
No 4 - a Watson that is a bit more useful. Telescopic so can be 'tuned' to some extent in use. Has a flexible joint so can be angled and helps with safety. When fully retracted its a touch smaller than the bearcrap, fully extended in the photo.
No5 - another favourite, Maldol AH-W1000RX. Two flexible joints which mean it can actually be folded downwards (surprisingly useful in crowds where you'd normally need to use a relaively short flexible whip), max length 1000mm so very 'tuneable'
No6 - Yupiteru standard telescopic. They downgraded to a short whip on later models. Cheap as chips, tuneable. Again has the flexible joint
No7 - Don't remember what make. 550mm telescopic with pocket clip. Handy as a backup but without the flexible joint it could place strain on the BNC/SMA plug if bumped.
No8 - some piece of crap that came attached to a bearcrap. Only advantage is it looks more like part of the receiver? For reception a damp cabbage leaf would be just as good.
Not shown - 'broadsword piece of wire. Darren siezed a piece of market - Watson are over-priced. Take a piece of copper wire, solder it to a connector and then shrink wrap it. Cheap and will do the job. Downsides, look battered when new and get worse, might as well make one yourself and save the money. Certainly not worth paying the postage on.
I have others but they never see the light of day and are variations on the theme rather than offering anything to the discussion anyway.
So options and ideas rather than 'best'....................
So, a different view (excluding directional, noisy bird perches etc. which have little place in the mobile scenario).
The top one is the one I use most often for airband - Nagoya NA-771 dual-band amateur. Other makers do the same basic thing with similar numbering. First one like this I ever bought was from Revex. Flexible and works well for milair despite not being designed for it. Length is ok as it's very flexible. Longer flexible would be unwieldy.
Next is a (Waters & Stanton) Watson W-901 'air gainer' - expensive rubbish but better than the piece of bearcrap at the bottom
No3 - Watson W-801 'regular gainer' - see above but aimed at scanner enthusiasts instead of airband. Electrically identical to the 901
No 4 - a Watson that is a bit more useful. Telescopic so can be 'tuned' to some extent in use. Has a flexible joint so can be angled and helps with safety. When fully retracted its a touch smaller than the bearcrap, fully extended in the photo.
No5 - another favourite, Maldol AH-W1000RX. Two flexible joints which mean it can actually be folded downwards (surprisingly useful in crowds where you'd normally need to use a relaively short flexible whip), max length 1000mm so very 'tuneable'
No6 - Yupiteru standard telescopic. They downgraded to a short whip on later models. Cheap as chips, tuneable. Again has the flexible joint
No7 - Don't remember what make. 550mm telescopic with pocket clip. Handy as a backup but without the flexible joint it could place strain on the BNC/SMA plug if bumped.
No8 - some piece of crap that came attached to a bearcrap. Only advantage is it looks more like part of the receiver? For reception a damp cabbage leaf would be just as good.
Not shown - 'broadsword piece of wire. Darren siezed a piece of market - Watson are over-priced. Take a piece of copper wire, solder it to a connector and then shrink wrap it. Cheap and will do the job. Downsides, look battered when new and get worse, might as well make one yourself and save the money. Certainly not worth paying the postage on.
I have others but they never see the light of day and are variations on the theme rather than offering anything to the discussion anyway.
So options and ideas rather than 'best'....................
There are also antennas in the nearby amateur radio 220MHz band (or adjacent maritime telephone band) that could probably be tuned (in this case shortened slightly) to cover the 300MHz air band.
- Status
Similar threads
