gregpawlak
Member
I rent a place on the second floor of a 3 story house. I want to get a discone antenna for my
Discone Antenna
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An antenna doesn't care of a signal is digital, analog, data, etc. Focus on band as opposed to voice mode when it comes to antennas. Only you'll be able to answer the question if it will "be enough" as everyone's monitoring environment is unique. Will performance be on par with an outdoor antenna mounted high? Depends on how close the stations are you're monitoring. Experiment with it, have fun. Welcome to the forums!
I doubt you will notice a difference. A quick look says all you need is VHF approx 155 mHz.
Study this: Rockingham County, New Hampshire (NH) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference
Study this: Rockingham County, New Hampshire (NH) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference
The important issues are:
- can your antenna "see" the antenna of the signal you want to receive?
- you want "line-of-sight" with as few obstacles as possible
- make sure the coax from the antenna to the receiver doesn't lose 'too much' signal.
Yeah, there will be obstacles in the way, but keep to as minimal as reasonably possible. I like my antenna high just so it can see as far as it can over the curvature of the Earth.
I see people put up great antennas, even outside on their roofs; and then use cheap coax that loses more signal than they would have had with a rubber antenna connected directly to the radio. The higher the frequency you want to receive, the better coax you need. And don't make it longer than you absolutely need.
- can your antenna "see" the antenna of the signal you want to receive?
- you want "line-of-sight" with as few obstacles as possible
- make sure the coax from the antenna to the receiver doesn't lose 'too much' signal.
Yeah, there will be obstacles in the way, but keep to as minimal as reasonably possible. I like my antenna high just so it can see as far as it can over the curvature of the Earth.
I see people put up great antennas, even outside on their roofs; and then use cheap coax that loses more signal than they would have had with a rubber antenna connected directly to the radio. The higher the frequency you want to receive, the better coax you need. And don't make it longer than you absolutely need.
gregpawlak
Member
Well that's the thing, I have a decent whip antenna on my handheld, and it picks up a lot around me including aircraft, but all law enforcement here use digital, so my old scanner is analog and you hear that 'brrrr', so I upgraded but want to make sure the discone will work better than the whip as far as pulling in signals. Like i stated i can't put it outside due to landlord problems, but being up on the second floor i should at least be high enough to use it indoors. I just want to be sure im not throwing money out the window.
Good coax like a short piece of LMR 400 on the second floor will do well depending on your terrain,... I have a ground plane in the second floor attic with 30' of LMR 400 low loss coax and it does very well, Good Luck
I think you may be.
You are pretty new at this, spending time on learning more about the hobby will help you the most IMO.
When you feel like you know why the discone coverage of 20 to 6000 MHz isn't optimized for what you want to hear. Then you probably won't need or want it . Discone doesn't have gain like other antenna designs can have.
I suggest making a list of the frequencies you wish to monitor. Group those into the appropriate bands e.g., VHF, UHF.
Make a list of who you want to hear e.g., police, fire, EMS or secret encrypted stuff. Use the link I posted above. Ok, kidding on the secret stuff, you can't monitor it no matter what.
Post the info here, then we can give you good ideas on what might work better
gregpawlak
Member
Thanks!
K5MPH
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Yes a Discone antenna would be a great improvement over the rubber duck antenna you may be using now on your SDS100,try if you can to get it close to a window......
gregpawlak
Member
Perfect thanks
Should you decide to go with a discone (what it may lack in gain is offset by versatility), you might find this thread useful:
Indoor Discone Antenna
gregpawlak
Member
yeah this is what I have in mind. I already have the stand, I can go to Lowe's for decent coax, and I ordered the discone on Amazone should be here on Monday. thanks!
Your Lowes has 50 ohm low-loss coax?
Most Lowes only have RG-6 and RG-59 coax both of which are 75 ohm coax. If they have pre-installed connectors, they'll be F connectors. You'll need adapters for your radio and probably for your antenna.
If your house had metal siding and a metal roof which I doubt, that would make a big difference between the antenna being in- or outside. Metal buildings attenuate signals quite a bit.
A had a landlord many years ago that didn't allow anything other than TV antennas on the apartment roof. However, for an additional $5 a month he allowed me to install a vertical. The extra $5 was for additional wear and tear caused by me. I went for it.
I've experimented with indoor antennas a lot over the past 60+ years and they can be fun. Some advantages are that you don't have to worry about bad weather, like thunderstorms, no ladders to climb or roofs to imperil your life and there's no antenna wear and tear from Mother Nature.
A had a landlord many years ago that didn't allow anything other than TV antennas on the apartment roof. However, for an additional $5 a month he allowed me to install a vertical. The extra $5 was for additional wear and tear caused by me. I went for it.
I've experimented with indoor antennas a lot over the past 60+ years and they can be fun. Some advantages are that you don't have to worry about bad weather, like thunderstorms, no ladders to climb or roofs to imperil your life and there's no antenna wear and tear from Mother Nature.
Hi. I also live in an apartment but on lower floor. Im surrounded by buildings in center of city but Im also in the center of several towers. Close by. I have an sds200. I upgraded the telescopic antenna to this one from Amazon.
My question is can I do better? Maybe a destop or like this one...
The reason I'm questioning the reception is the scanner has alot to scan but doesnt pick up much.
My question is can I do better? Maybe a destop or like this one...
Amazon.com: 2m 70cm GMRS Antenna, Outdoor Indoor Desktop Police Scanner Antenna for House, 25-3000Mhz VHF UHF FM CB GMRS ADSB for SDR/Air FM Receiver/ADSB Flightaware,16.4ft Cable BNC SMA SO239 Magnetic Base : Electronics
Buy 2m 70cm GMRS Antenna, Outdoor Indoor Desktop Police Scanner Antenna for House, 25-3000Mhz VHF UHF FM CB GMRS ADSB for SDR/Air FM Receiver/ADSB Flightaware,16.4ft Cable BNC SMA SO239 Magnetic Base: Antennas - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
a.co
The reason I'm questioning the reception is the scanner has alot to scan but doesnt pick up much.
I did the first floor apt thing and what worked (better) for me was having the antenna in the window. Deck/scanner/sdr dongles were on opposite side of room as the window so I snaked coax from desk under carper to the window. Apartments can have foil backed insulation and firewalls between units.
I have mine hangging over curtain rod in window. Scanner is only 5 ft away
Im new. I dont know what sdr dongle is.
If you’re looking for one that works well for NWORPSS. I use a Remtronix 830B. I use one on my SDS200 and another one on my Unication amplified charger. Both are used in my basement. Definitely solved the issue of my G4 locking on the Wood County site. If you’re looking for a wider range antenna Remtronix also makes a Tri band antenna.
Hi GilliG40, nice to see you again. The issue im having is scanner only stops on about 4 different departments. I have many programmed.
