Help me pick a base antenna

[skunkhaze]

Hello, everyone

I moved into a small quiet apartment complex with a large balcony which is situated by all the other units; my bedroom window faces the street. There is where i will be running coax into somehow, for the base station.

What would you guys suggest for a good base station antenna, it has to be somewhat clandestine lol. What kinda of Yagi Antenna or Mini-Discone would you recomend? Theres no way in hell i can mount my D130J without attracting too much attention from my landlord rofl. I am on the top unit, so getting on the roof at night wont be an issue

 

[Jim41]

Hello, everyone

I moved into a small quiet apartment complex with a large balcony which is situated by all the other units; my bedroom window faces the street. There is where i will be running coax into somehow, for the base station.

What would you guys suggest for a good base station antenna, it has to be somewhat clandestine lol. What kinda of Yagi Antenna or Mini-Discone would you recomend? Theres no way in hell i can mount my D130J without attracting too much attention from my landlord rofl. I am on the top unit, so getting on the roof at night wont be an issue

I am a bit confused by your question.
Are you looking for an antenna to put on the roof? Is it a flat roof or pitched roof?
Are you looking for an antenna to put on the balcony?

What frequencies do you monitor?

There are several possibilities you can consider:
1. If you have access to an attic space, you might be able to put the discone up there.
2. An offset center fed diapole made of thin wire could be mounted in the balcony area or on an exterior wall.
3. A J-pole made from 300 ohm twin lead could be mounted in the balcony area.
4. A random length of thin wire could be mounted in the balcony area. Results may surprise you. It is a relatively inexpensive approach to try and experiment with.

Jim41

 

[neondesert]

Hello, everyone
What would you guys suggest for a good base station antenna, it has to be somewhat clandestine lol.

You might want to give the Radio Shack 20-176 a try. I had decent performance with it, even in the 800Mhz band. It's also fairly small and would not attract nearly as much attention as your Diamond.

 

[skunkhaze]

I am a bit confused by your question.
Are you looking for an antenna to put on the roof? Is it a flat roof or pitched roof?
Are you looking for an antenna to put on the balcony?

What frequencies do you monitor?

There are several possibilities you can consider:
1. If you have access to an attic space, you might be able to put the discone up there.
2. An offset center fed diapole made of thin wire could be mounted in the balcony area or on an exterior wall.
3. A J-pole made from 300 ohm twin lead could be mounted in the balcony area.
4. A random length of thin wire could be mounted in the balcony area. Results may surprise you. It is a relatively inexpensive approach to try and experiment with.

Jim41

Sorry for the confusion, The roof is slightly slanted ;but near the balcony towards the bottom of the roof looks like their is a good point to mount a antenna with a mount or bracket. I will be mostly monitoring 800 MHZ P-25 and Airband VHF/UHF.

 

[LouCheese]

Just disguise your Diamond antenna as a work of art and hang it inside. That's what I did with my Antennacraft ST2. It helps that the building I am in has very high ceilings, and I have an eclectic sense of style to begin with.

 

[ridgescan]

I am you-top floor, apartment complex. Here are my antennas-two D130Js. You can mount one low and in the middle of the roof so they cant spot it from the ground. If they do and question you, you can tell them what I told mine-"other people have dishes up there for TV, this is MY medium choice and that is its antenna. How can they argue (unless it is in your contract)