how do you aim scanner antenna

[opp37]

ok sorry if this has been posted the search on this site freezes at least on my pc

ok when i was installing satellites before they got fancy we just put a meter in line and tuned it until as close to perfect you can get

i have a tube antenna i guess with a load or whatever these new scanners and antennas use

anyway its not a bad antenna and can get allot if aimed

now im getting my home patrol back from the shop soon

right now im using the old bearcat uhf or whatever they are had for years

like i said in another post i lost reception after a move

but after some good help i got reception back but just schools and ems

i spent all day walking the porch where it was doing great reception on both scanners

i used different coax and walked outside held roof high everything but toss it on the roof because i dont have a ladder

i got bits and pieces sometimes get it in a spot that it would do some

the point of all this is like satellites there has to be a easier way

scanners are so advanced and fancy i cant believe its the ancient way of walking around with scanner and antenna till you find a good spot

sorry to bother and ask stupid questions

this stuff is just getting to be a pain i started with a programmable then the bearcat just rubber ducky or cheap whips on the car

all this new stuff is a mess and i know there has to be better and easier ways and im just doing it all wrong

thanks for your time patience and answers i really appreciate it

 

[DigitalSandwich]

Since you're talking about aiming the antenna, I assume you're talking about a directional antenna (yagi, log periodic, etc).

All you have to do is, tune to the desired frequency, and turn the antenna until the S-meter peaks.

-DS

 

[opp37]

ok thanks allot i will have to wait till my home patrol gets back the old bear cat scanners have no meter and no specific channel i am scanning police fire etc

and sorry about all the questions i just have never used this stuff

the antennas are tubes of pvc about as long as a pipe im pretty sure they are omni because i screwed one flat and it wouldn't pick anything up

i really appreciate your patience and teaching me how to use all this i really need knowledge

i look all over the net read the home patrol pdf ten times or more that and you guys im slowly getting there

just like i also realize the connections in my run and to the home patrol matter but how do you take away connections to home patrol it has to be turned from sma to bnc

thanks

 

[DigitalSandwich]

If the antenna is omnidirectional, get it as high as you can, and you should get decent coverage. Since most scanning is done at VHF/UHF, if you clear nearby structures (ie: mount the antenna on the top of the roof), you should have decent coverage.

Also, if you're coax run is long, don't forget the low-loss coax. (If you're really tight on budget, you can usually get away with RG-6 from the supermarket.)

-DS

 

[lep]

The HP-1 antenna connector is an SMA. If the "tube" antenna is terminated in a BNC, you will need a BNC/SMA adaptor. There are a number of these available either by mail order, at some RS stores, at Frys electronics if you have one in your city or at an amateur radio flea market (hamfest). The largest such gathering in the USA will be in 2 weeks in Dayton, OH (about 25,000 expected). I have no idea what a "tube" antenna is....it has been many years since I took the course in Antennas in College using the classic text by John Krause but I don't recall anything called a tube antenna. Good luck on your efforts.

 

[W8RMH]

I use Google Earth to find my location and the heading to the site I want to hear. I then use a compass at my antenna to direct it to the site heading.

 

[opp37]

thanks guys i have been waiting for the warmer weather and to collect the parts for the roof i have a sma to bnc but its the wrong one it takes a joint to connect it to a bnc cable i want to get the one that connects straight to bnc so theres less connenctions

i priced it once its like $50 or so im going to put it int 4 foot high pvc with probbibly medium or so coax

one last thing to bother you with if i put the omni in a pvc pipe capped on both ends will i loose signal i know thats a stupid qustion

thanks for everything and your time

 

[lep]

thanks guys i have been waiting for the warmer weather and to collect the parts for the roof i have a sma to bnc but its the wrong one it takes a joint to connect it to a bnc cable i want to get the one that connects straight to bnc so theres less connenctions

i priced it once its like $50 or so im going to put it int 4 foot high pvc with probbibly medium or so coax

I don't understand your terminology. I never heard of a coax "joint". The usual sma/BNC adaptor cost about $2 but I personally only use the one made by Diamond that is small and black anodized, retails for $9.95 usually but screws down close so no lateral strain is placed on the scanner body. Antenna cables normally end in a Male BNC. The usual adaptor ends in a Female BNC so the Antenna cable connects directly to the adaptor. I have no idea of what a "joint" is and I don't find it in the 75 page 2013 catalog of Bracke Manufacturing of RF components (www.bracekmfg.com). I am afraid I can't help any more as I just don't know what a tube antenna is nor a coax joint. GL.

 

[opp37]

ok my terminology is very lousy

and how much i know about this is zero im very sorry to upset you guys

all i know is it looks like something that you cant say on the internet anymore

i think its loaded

any my land lord screwed it under the over hang so i hope lighting won hit it that would be one hell of a twist

anyone have any other problems other wise im finally done posting i got my antenna cant wait to go finish the connections

thanks guys for putting up with me always annoying you your knowledge is greatly appreciated

 

[wtp]

dressler

could the pvc antenna be a dressler? my friend also calls it a pvc antenna.

 

[opp37]

Im almost positive its omni i was so stinking happy my landlord mounted it i used satellite rg6 checked and redid connectors and son of a it was dead

i forgot what i learned when i screwed the omni to the ceiling

its under the bloody eaves screwed to the house when it has to be above the overhang

im just going to screw it to the roof not even going to try to raise it land lord is a electrician and says the plastic case its in should stop from attracting lighting

i got very lucky i had two antennas brand new given to me showed me they worked

and they did inside stuck to the window so there good i found a long run of high grade rg6 from when i had cable all over the house i always have compression connectors

so it was all no cost

so unless a drastic problem thats how im going im tired of this new stuff and pulling my hair out

 

[wtp]

more questions

if it is a dressler it needs power.
if it is just a helix in a pipe then no power.
we need more information or some good photos.
and tell(ask) the landlord if lightning comes dowm 10 miles from the sky how a little pvc will stop it
this will not help you get the antenna over the roof but you really do not have to.
a friend of mine had trouble with an antenna on 800 mhz so to check the radio i used a paperclip and yes it worked better than his antenna.
so do not worry too much about how high it is or where.
but if you could give more info it would help

 

[opp37]

pics

there are a crap load of picks my uniden homepatrol in the shop uniden bearcat uhf

all you should need of the antenna

and mostly all i need to know is not the typ but is my landlord right no lighting protecton the plastic is good

or if it need lighting how cheap fast and easy

 

[opp37]

the black box is the connector straight from scanner the pic of my home patrol is the mess of adapters i use to get bnc to sma

 

[wtp]

well

well the good news is that it does not look like it needs power. that would be why you get nothing.
all i can find is a picture on ebay and it sell for cheap. another reason it would not be powered.
so some more questions.
can you receive any of the weather channels (noaa 162mhz area)?

 

[opp37]

i can receive most all weather and when it was on the porch before i got a chair and moved it it was receiving uhf or whatever 40 or more miles away when i had the home patrol state police tollway police my city and small radius around me it works great just a matter of location i had one stuck on the porch window and it receives everything around here on uhf so it has to be omni every time i mount it to a wall or any other way that it cant get a circle it wont do crap

and yes its ebay sorry not to say that didn't think of it i got two for free i chewed the guy about being one of those ebay sellers who require credit cards so i got two free

just let me know how to ground or keep lighting away i know its cheap but works great when put in right spot

 

[wtp]

could be

i am not sure but it sounds like you live in a cage...a faraday cage.
what could be happening is that the insulation in your walls has an aluminum face to it and blocks radio waves and that is why it works at the window. so get to the window or outside or even in the attic might help.

 

[opp37]

yea allot of crap is blocked this house is 1800 or somewhere in there all kinds of strange crap cell phones and lots more

right now i had it put under the peak of the roof witch seems to jam it

i am moving it to the peak of the roof just the bottom screw spot you saw and maybe a u clamp for strength

i just need to know a simple easy way to ground with out to much trouble or parts there is a pipe 2 feet or so that cable and others tie into

i would do the same tie it into the pipe but dont have a clue what to do on the roof so it picks the gound not the antenna

i am sure with how it has acted it will pick everything up once mounted on the peak

so any ground ideas i would greatly appreciate the help and sorry for confusing and bugging you guys so much

thank fully this is almost over hopefully if not i quit this new crap

thanks Dan

 

[RadioDaze]

...it takes a joint to connect it to a bnc cable

I don't think I'd be able to concentrate at all if I did that first.

 

[wtp]

oh

another thing have aluminum siding?
lightning does whatever it want to. it works on a charge difference (cloud to cloud or cloud to ground).
what you try to do is guide it to ground. also a close hit could fry your radio it does not have to hit it. it is called E.M.P. or electromagnetic pulse. the antenna picks up stuff and the difference in the radio could fry it.
not much to do for a direct hit, it just fries every thing.
why this hang up on lightning? i live in florida where some storms sound like continuous lightning.
all i do is pull the power when they are real close. if i had outside antennas i would just disconnect them.
i heard that some shortwave listeners with a long wire would throw the wire outside! if you were to put an antenna out on a mast(pipe) you could just run a good thick wire from the mast to ground.