Good mobile antenna for BC 246?

[jabo052]

Good mobile (truck) antenna for BC 246?

I grew up listening to ny grandmother's base scanner and just purchased my first mobile (Bearcat 246). I need a good antenna for my GMC pickup, but not sure which. I drive quite a bit for work and would like to cover most channels (public safety, cb, etc).

I would appreciate any help. Also, I seem to lose reception on some frequencies (cb) when I use an inverter with the ac adapter as opposed to battery power. I may look into getting a cig. adapter.

Josh

 

[ka3jjz]

You'll have to be a bit more specific about what you want to be able to hear, and where you are (city/county/state will do fine). That way folks can tailor their responses.

You don't want to get too fancy putting a mobile antenna on a handheld - too much gain, and you'll either hear lots of intermod (pagers, FM stations, ect . appearing where they shouldn't) or get so much signal that the 246 is swamped, and becomes less sensitive (a loose description of 'desense')

Our Scanner Antennas wiki page has numerous links, including to models that have been discussed on this forum in the past, and have been good performers.
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Scanner_Antennas

Re inverters - if you get a cheap one, they can cause a great deal of noise which can get into the scanner and desense it. I've never used one for that very reason, frankly - a cigarette lighter plug is a much better bet and less expensive too.

73s Mike

 

[N4JNW]

Universal Radio has a nice little magnetic mount that covers 25-1300 mhz I think. Price is right too, around $30 I'm thinking. Maybe cheaper.. I dont know the model number right off hand, but there has been some jabber about it here.

RadioShack also has a magnetic mount antenna that performs reasonably well.

I would advise you steer clear of through-glass type antennae. They're usually worse performers than your stock duckie.

 

[jabo052]

I live in GA, but......

travel much of the southeast for work (civil engineer). I've used it for work and driving and enjoy using the search feature. I'll scan cb, public safety and ham frequencies. Since I jump around alot, I guess I'm looking for a good general antenna that is better than the "rubber duckie", whether it be a mount for the vehicle or the scanner itself.

I'll check out the page.

 

[jabo052]

KG4LJF, thanks

I almost purchased the radio shack unit, but after reading reviews and speaking with a sales person, I decided to shop around more. The reviews and the sales person said that that antenna had issues with breaking. I'll check on your other suggestion.