Going Limp!

[kudzu_kid]

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,

I recent bought a duck for RR band scanning when mobile (a Smiley 5/8 duck for RR). Problem is, I needed a 90° elbow to use with my Uniden SDS200 - the BNC on that is horizontal (more or less). The elbow I got (NOT from Smiley) is rather loose at the joint and swings pretty freely thus allowing the duck to freely flop to one side or the other. Sure, if I were running cable instead of a duck, the free swivel might be desirable, but not in this case. Anyone know where I can get a elbow that's a little, well, "stiffer"? Or is there a special nomenclature / specification I should be looking at?

Thanks for your thoughts and comments.

--Pete

 

[jonwienke]

This is a much better solution:

Ground Plane Kits

Use your favorite mobile or handheld antenna as a field-expedient base station antenna! Select from BNC, SO239 or N connections and three ground radial options below. Use this kit to quickly conver…

centerfireantenna.com

 

[kudzu_kid]

This is a much better solution:

Ground Plane Kits

Use your favorite mobile or handheld antenna as a field-expedient base station antenna! Select from BNC, SO239 or N connections and three ground radial options below. Use this kit to quickly conver…

centerfireantenna.com

This is certainly interesting but it might be overkill & excess baggage if I'm already sitting adjacent to the (rail) yard. That said, I might have a use for it... I think the 1/2" plain hole one would do for the Smiley or factory telescoping whip.

Thanks for contributing that interesting info...

--Pete

 

[jonwienke]

A simple elbow is never going to work all that well, because the radio case ground plane blocks signal from one side, and makes your reception pattern more vertical than horizontal. An external ground plane solves both problems at once, even if you shorten the coax to about a foot and stick it to the top of the scanner with magnets.

 

[kudzu_kid]

Interesting... I wasn't thinking about the the scanner frame itself weighing in the mix. Thanks for the education!