Best Scanner Antenna

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dmonty83

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Hi I have a multitude of questions b4 I go ahead and mount an exterior antenna to my house.

1. I am looking at the scantenna from antenna warehouse? Is this a pretty good antenna??

2. Where does the setup need to be grounded from? Do I ground it at the mast or from the antenna?

3. What is better RG6, RG8x, RG11 or LMR 4o00 for antenna wire? I am looking at a run of just under 100ft.


Thanks!

David
 
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Grivo

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The Scantenna rocks. Try Starke Electronics, they have it cheaper than Antenna Warehouse.

Ground the mast.

For the Scantenna, I would use Rg6 or other quality 75ohm coax. Rg6 is reasonable cost wise and easy to find/work with.
 

mass-man

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Yep the antenna is a good one...ground the mast is good advice!!!

If you can afford LMR400, and can snake it thru to where you need it, it is better than the other coax types you listed. 100ft. is a substantial run for RG6 and some signals might not make it to the end...do not use adapters to the scanner. Terminate it with the proper connector. If you can't afford the LMR400, look for the quad shield RG6!

It can't be stressed enuf that the better quality coax means you will hear more signals...but the other end of that is, you might just want to hear things a few miles away and for that the RG6 will be just fine. In the end it is about $$$ and how much work it takes to get the coax to the shack.
 

JGP

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ST2 Scantenna

If you get the ST2 Scantenna, use a roll of black electrical tape. Snap the upper and lower halves into place. Then tape around the black plastic support insulators that the halves snap into. Then tape around the top and bottom halves where they join the insulator to keep them from turning from strong winds. Now snap the two side elements into place and tape around where they snap into place. Do the same to the other half of the antenna. I feel that the two side elements don't snap into place strong enough.

With that antenna well over the roof line, the winds get really strong, and can damage the antenna. The little extra time to do this is worth it.
 

prcguy

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RG-6 quad shield doesn’t buy you much if anything as far a loss goes. For antennas that use “F” connectors, upgrading to CATV type RG-11 approaches LMR-400 loss specs and it’s real cheap at $130/1000ft.
prcguy
 
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I believe antenna warehouse sells the “strengthened” version. Grove sells (or did) the older model. The “strengthened” model had some extra material at the weak points that really helped the scantenna stand up to higher winds. They have a tendency to fail right at where the elements attach to the boom. That is the part they beefed up. All my older scantennas would fold over right there in our Midwest thunderstorms. A wind of about 60 or so would do it nicely. If it lasted long enough and you could pick the pieces up out of the yard too. The newer models stand up much, much better. The older models I finally started reinforcing with fiberglass rods and stuff which really helped.
 

k9rzz

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I see no problem with 100 ft of RG6 ... I run 100 ft from my Ku band dish that runs 950mhz to the receiver ... I have no complaints about loss. I like LMR400 (or bigger!) for transmitting purposes.

John K9RZZ
 

dmonty83

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well...

My ultimate goal is to hear Worcester, MA. I can just barely hear them on my BCT15 with the supplied antenna if I go to open squelch on the unit. So it is my hope that if I mount this thing 10-15 feet up above my roof line with some good coax, maybe I will be able to hear them. I have my fingers crossed.

David

If not, does any one have any suggestions? Ones that do not include moving :)
 
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If that is an 800 Mhz system you might want to look for a different antenna. The scantenna isn't known for it's 800Mhz performance. So I'm told anyway. I don't use mine for 800 work.
 

dmonty83

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a little update...

I was bored so tonight I climbed up on my roof with my BCT 15 and the antenna it comes with.

I could hear Worcester's TRS remarkable well, seeing how on the ground I cannot hear them at all. I am hoping my Scantenna will be able to pull them in a little better.

Someone had mentioned that I shouldn't use adapters with the LMR 400. I should terminate them with the proper connector. Does any one know if an F-Type connector and BNC can be crimped on?

Thanks for the input thus far. This place is a great resource! :)

David
 

hsdtech

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I use adapters and never have any problems. I also use my scantenna on 800MHz and it works GREAT.
 

kf4lne

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I somehow dont see you finding a BNC that will fit LMR400, but you may be able to get an F for RG11 and fit it to the LMR400. not sure, and the LMR400 has a larger center conductor than the RG11. I use RG11 on my scanner antenna and used a PL-259 on the antenna side and an N connector on the scanner side, but I removed the BNC from the back of the scanner and installed a chassis mount N connector.
 

timmer

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You should try a grove scanner beam (or antenna warehouse scanner beam, same thing) and mount it pointed toward your target signal. I almost gaurantee you will see a marked improvement in the reception. Mine works great and I wouldn't trade it for any other antenna (except maybe a create log periodic) which runs about 400 dollars.
 

cnmsales

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I think any kind of antenna mounted on your house is going to perform better then the insdie stock antenna you are using. If you are almost getting the signal inside with the stock antenna then you should be more than ok with a mounted antenna.
 
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