Diamond Dj130 vs Scantenna

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BFIFM790

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Dec 19, 2002
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Hey Everyone,


I am looking for my first base antenna and was hoping you all could help.

Due to size restrictions, the scantenna is too big for my operation, so I was looking at the Diamond DJ130 instead. Is this a comparable antenna in terms of what I need?

I monitor primarily VHF Low/VHF High/UHF/800mhz and I was planning a roof mount with RG8 coax

Any help would be appreciated...especially thoughts on the quality and reception of the Diamond discone

Thanks in advance
 

JackTV

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Mar 1, 2003
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From what I have seen and heard on the web & else where the discone is not
as good on the VHF low band compared to the scantenna.But the discone is not as large
as the scantenna.If you go with the Diamond Discone I would recomend going
with the "N" connector instead of the SO 239.The N is a better more efficicant
connector with the higher freqs.If you get some cable made up try to get
a N connector to hook up to the antenna. Try not to use alot of connectors you loose
signals.

Good Luck,
Jack
 

scannerfreak

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Have you looked at the Nil-Jon Super M Base? Include this in your research, it's by far the best Base antenna I have ever had, and I have had just about all of them, including the Diamond. It is also smaller then them all :) I wouldn't trade mine for any other antenna. It uses PL-259 and I don't think it's an issue. My reception is amazing, and VHF is where it shines the brightest. 800 is very good considering it's an all band antenna.
 
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BFIFM790

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Dec 19, 2002
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Njon...thats good to know....I came here cause everyone is so knowledgeable that I have never been steered wrong.


I knew that I was going to take a loss in the Low band department but I can sacrifice there for the other areas (uhf/vhf/800) I saw that the Diamond has an extra vertical element that supposedly helps with Low reception.

The cable might be the toughest part because I am going to have to get the connectors attached. Dont know the first thing about soldering. I just wanted to make sure I got good cable though to try to avoid loss especially for 800.

Does the Diamond DJ130 or Njon have N connector options?

Thank you again in advance
 

timmer

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Dec 11, 2003
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Location
Springfield, Il
I can tell you from experience the Diamond 130j may not be the best antenna but it does what a discone is supposed to do. It gives very wide band coverage and is very, very sturdy. I have had mine for 12 years and it has survived many storms, including a f-2 tornado this past spring which destroyed my scanner beam. It's best reception area is vhf hi band and it is great on vhf air band and uhf air band. It is ok on low band but not great. You need a specific antenna for low band, (a cb antenna is a real good choice), for 30-50 mhz. If you want an antenna that you can put up, and not have to mess with or worry about it surviving wind, hail, and even ice storms, then that is the antenna to get. It probably is not as good (on vhf hi band as the scantenna), but it's not bad. If you had the space, I would suggest putting another antenna up along with the discone, maybe a scanner beam or omni, which is fairly small and is a single element, which would give you a second antenna to use.
 

RISC777

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Oct 19, 2005
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BFIFM790,

You may have size / space restrictions, but for me the Scantenna gives me one additional signal strength bar over the D130J. So for a P25 site that's 65 miles distant from me (with a decent enough height install), A. it performs better and B. it has surprised me in its performance over-all.

The Scantenna is less expensive. It is not as rugged as other antennas (but for less than $50 including 50' of feedline). It "takes up more space." All in all I'd buy another Scantenna over any discone.

So with the caveat that "your mileage may vary," just throwing out some personal experience.

`Doug
 
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