Has anyone had any FIRST HAND experience with the: Comet BNC-W100RX?

[Omega-TI]

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Has anyone had any FIRST HAND experience with the Comet BNC-W100RX? The "rubber duck" that came with my SDS100 isn't quite living up to my expectations, but I need something to get me through the winter and early spring before I can erect an outside antenna. I thought this could be a possible alternative.

 

[trentbob]

I do own this antenna and it sits with all the other antennas that I have collected in large Ziploc bags for the last 50 + years.

Anytime you have such wide coverage on an antenna, some part of that range will suffer, this antenna actually benefits those who are looking for reception help with VHF low-band. It also works very well on VHF high band, fully collapsed it is decent on UHF, T band and 7-8-900 MHz.

The hinge is a little hinky but it allows you to fold the antenna over collapsed to the side of your portable. There have also been reports of the BNC connection being very tight.

As far as being a good match for the sds100 I don't know? It is telescoping so as to be tunable. It is a little unwieldy. I couldn't tell you if the sma version will make a good connection with the sds100 mount. You would have to use the BNC version with the BNC adapter that comes with the radio and that is going to put great stress on the SDS 100 and you are one drop away from breaking the radio. There is an after-market BNC adapter that has a lower profile and wider base that is safer.

We have discussed the REM 842s in the past so I'm not going to talk about that here. There are also many many other options including Diamond offerings like the RH77CA. Anything will work better than the crap stock antenna that comes with the radio but there are still those who swear by the stock antenna but I wouldn't know why.

If you want superior reception you need to get a rooftop with low loss coax which I see you plan to do. Until then you can get a low profile base antenna like a ground plane or mini discone and mount it on a floor lamp or hat rack or tripod that you can position for the best reception. You can also mount it in the attic or suspend it from the ceiling.

As far as portable application, you have so many choices and as I say anything will work better than what you have now, some of the offerings, not much better. Since you focus on the VHF High area, in a mobile application you are going to want an external antenna on the car as VHF High will be compromised inside a car.

Whatever you do for your go to daily antenna for portable use for the sds100 I advise you to stick to the KISS principal.

You have so much to choose from but... That's a good problem to have.

 

[popnokick]

Omega-TI - Since you are planning to put up an outdoor antenna for your SDS100 when weather permits, I'm going to assume you are willing to use a non-portable (fixed location) antenna with your scanner. In addition to the suggestions from trentbob regarding indoor antennas, consider these alternatives -
1) An HDTV flat panel, "blade", or "leaf" type antenna mounted on the highest window you have facing the majority of where your desired signals come from. Yes, TV antennas do work for scanning. Here is a user experience report from someone who "discovered" a simple indoor TV antenna works with their scanner -
Best $15 Scanner Antenna - By Accident
2) Another alternative is the hookup-wire version of the Off-Center Fed Dipole (OCFD) Scanner Antenna shown here in the RR Wiki. Scroll down the page to see the wire version. Hang it in the highest window you have or in the attic -
Homebrewed Off-Center Fed Dipole - The RadioReference Wiki

 

[Omega-TI]

I do own this antenna and it sits with all the other antennas that I have collected in large Ziploc bags for the last 50 + years.
Whatever you do for your go to daily antenna for portable use for the sds100 I advise you to stick to the KISS principal.

Gotcha, it's a pass then.

After looking at my reception log this morning, I decided to remove the dual band antenna off the TH-79AD. It's an improvement, and should hobble me through the next few months. That's following the KISS principle!

 

[popnokick]

Any of the non-portable indoor antennas proposed in this thread will work better than the rubber attenuators.

 

[Omega-TI]

Any of the non-portable indoor antennas proposed in this thread will work better than the rubber attenuators.

"Rubber Attenuators"... oh that's good! I'm gonna plagiarize that!

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

I have one, works great and brings in what I need it to. Love the elbow joints so it can be collapsed alongside the radio & doesn't protrude out of your pocket or bag, no need to remove for storage. Only complaint is having to tighten the joint screws every so often, no biggie though

 

[trentbob]

I have one, works great and brings in what I need it to. Love the elbow joints so it can be collapsed alongside the radio & doesn't protrude out of your pocket or bag, no need to remove for storage. Only complaint is having to tighten the joint screws every so often, no biggie though
View attachment 114777

Yep it is a good performer and I also like the fact that you can bend it over and lay it next to the radio while it's on your belt clip. Did you ever have a problem John with the BNC connector not clamping all the way on? I had to use a drop of WD-40.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Yep it is a good performer and I also like the fact that you can bend it over and lay it next to the radio while it's on your belt clip. Did you ever have a problem John with the BNC connector not clamping all the way on? I had to use a drop of WD-40.

Na, never had an issue with the BNC version. I bought the SMA version for my SDS100 but the shaft ended up snapping off of the connector from twisting it around a bit too much, DOH! I still use the BNC version for my wide band receivers (Icom IC-R20, AOR AR DV-10, AR-8200, etc). Still works well

 

[MDScanFan]

I use the SMA version of the W100RX with my R30 and really like it. The strongest selling point for me is that it can fully bend over to sit along side the radio while not in use. That makes for a compact, easily packable package that I can't get with a rigid antenna. It it very rugged and can be adjusted for the band of interest. Unless I am hunting a weak signal I tend to leave the antenna extended out a couple sections and that works well enough.

 

[DudleyG]

It the antenna any better receiving than the stock antenna on the R30?

 

[bearcatrp]

That W100RX looks just like the antenna on the R30 from what I can see. I see there is a W100RX2. Looks same but black.

Scanner Antennas | Comet Antenna

wireless mobile and fixed station voice and data

cometantenna.com

 

[Omega-TI]

Love the elbow joints so it can be collapsed alongside the radio & doesn't protrude out of your pocket or bag, no need to remove for storage.

That has been rolling around in my head, over and over again...

 

[MDScanFan]

The only real difference between the two is the extra length of the W100RX at 40" vs the 27" of the R30 stock antenna. For airband and above they should give equivalent performance. I have found that the extra length seems to help a bit for VHF Low and FMBCB.

It the antenna any better receiving than the stock antenna on the R30?

 

[DudleyG]

Thanks for the info, I have looked at trying to get an extra stock antenna for my R30, but ICOM doesn’t seem to want to offer the antenna as an optional accessory, so I was considering what would be a good backup if I break or damage the stock antenna. I have the Diamond SRH77CA and Watson WSMA-881, but they obviously don’t fold up well or shrink down to something you can put in your pocket

 

[bearcatrp]

Thanks for the info, I have looked at trying to get an extra stock antenna for my R30, but ICOM doesn’t seem to want to offer the antenna as an optional accessory

That sucks as I was going to see if I could get another R30 antenna. Looks like I will get the comet version.

 

[DudleyG]

The part number for the Icom R30 antenna is. ICOM FA-S01RE Antenna

All search results primarily show European or Asian sites, no USA sites come up. US dealers don’t think they can order it or don’t want to fool with it. Apparently, it is considered a repair or replacement part and US dealers aren't the ones who do Icom repairs in the US.

 

[trentbob]

That has been rolling around in my head, over and over again...

It really isn't a bad antenna and as we have pointed out, folding it over next to the radio while wearing it on your belt is a good feature. It will be fully collapsed.

The thing to keep in mind is that you adjust length to tune it... for your VHF High you're talking about 19 in long, give or take.

 

[Omega-TI]

It really isn't a bad antenna and as we have pointed out, folding it over next to the radio while wearing it on your belt is a good feature. It will be fully collapsed.

The thing to keep in mind is that you adjust length to tune it... for your VHF High you're talking about 19 in long, give or take.

I finally made a decision and went with the W100RX this morning. I wasn't satisfied with the rubber ducks. I know it should only make a marginal improvement (nothing beats an outside antenna). I may end up making a video on this one showing the improvement (if any).

 

[bearcatrp]

Will be ordering one my self for my 52A. Will see how it does on the R30 and may get another one. Where did you order yours? Seems HRO is the cheapest. Have to get the X2 for sma connection.