I'm looking for a good antenna that I can hook up to my Bearcat 101. I recently moved, and all of the departments (Police, Fire, etc) moved to a new trunking system (806MHz+) that my scanner cannot receive. I'd like to pick up signals from my old location, which is roughly 40 miles away. I've already got a whip antenna that came with the scanner, but I still can't pick up those signals. What antenna could help me accomplish this? I'd like to just have a back-of-scanner antenna, but that might not increase my range enough. An antenna tuned for all bands would be great. I don't want any ridiculous prices... can anyone give me some suggestions? Thanks!
Need an antenna to increase range
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fmulder13
Member
Unfortunately an antenna tuned for all bands won't do you nearly as well as an antenna tuned for just the 800mhz band. Your best bet would be an antenna either mounted outside your house or mounted on the roof of your car, depending on where you use the scanner. A back-of-the scanner antenna will only do you so well, especially inside a house or vehicle, where either structure will act as an inhibitor to good reception. However, if back-of-the-scanner is absolutely necesssary, try an 800 mhz "rubber ducky" antenna from RadioShack. It cost about $20 maybe, and might give you a bit of a boost. It's hard to say with 40 miles difference... depending on the terrain in your area trying to receive 800 mhz from 40 miles away might be tough even with a decent antenna mounted outside your house. Best of luck either way.
The Bearcat 101 is an old scanner which doesn't receive the 800MHz band.
dirtfinder
Member
Depending on the freq. that you are trying to pull in from 40 miles away, a Discone will probably do the job. Now if you are still trying to pull 800 from that far go with a directional antenna more like a yagi.
Sorry guys, I miswrote: the place I recently moved to moved it's frequencies to 800MHz, so my scanner can't receive those frequencies. My old location is not on 800MHz. 
I'd like to get low (30-50MHz), VHF high (148-174MHz), and UHF (416-512MHz) bands. I'd probably mount the antenna on my roof.
dirtfinder: Do you really think I can pull in frequencies from 40+ miles away, including mobile? I'm just curious. The area I am in right now is quite hilly, which is why it's the main area for radio towers (there are quite a few of them just about 3-5 miles away from here).
The main dispatch for my old county (which is again, over 40 miles away) I can get pretty well, but the city I am really interested in getting, I cannot get at all. That'd be sweet if an antenna could really pull it in. I just don't feel comfortable with buying an outdoor antenna, and mounting it, only to find that I still can't receive those frequencies.
Thanks for the info, guys.
I'd like to get low (30-50MHz), VHF high (148-174MHz), and UHF (416-512MHz) bands. I'd probably mount the antenna on my roof.dirtfinder: Do you really think I can pull in frequencies from 40+ miles away, including mobile? I'm just curious. The area I am in right now is quite hilly, which is why it's the main area for radio towers (there are quite a few of them just about 3-5 miles away from here).
The main dispatch for my old county (which is again, over 40 miles away) I can get pretty well, but the city I am really interested in getting, I cannot get at all. That'd be sweet if an antenna could really pull it in. I just don't feel comfortable with buying an outdoor antenna, and mounting it, only to find that I still can't receive those frequencies.
Thanks for the info, guys.
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Don_Burke
Member
Getting mobiles from 40 miles is going to involve a really tall tower.
Go for all the height you can and be ready to use a beam antenna for UHF.
Go for all the height you can and be ready to use a beam antenna for UHF.
Ok, thanks. So would you recommend http://www.grove-ent.com/BEAMII.html or http://www.grove-ent.com/ANT7.html for my needs?
I would recommend a frequency-specific Yagi with high gain.
Antennex makes a good line of Commercial Yagi's. They are what
I use.
The problem is that they cost about 4-5x what your BC101 is worth.
Then you need good quality coax to feed them.
40 mile reception for simplex mobiles is not a practical expectation unless
you live on a hill.
Antennex makes a good line of Commercial Yagi's. They are what
I use.
The problem is that they cost about 4-5x what your BC101 is worth.
Then you need good quality coax to feed them.
40 mile reception for simplex mobiles is not a practical expectation unless
you live on a hill.
Don_Burke
Member
I think you are going to end up building antennas for the frequencies you are interested in.Patrick_ said:
I doubt that beam is going to be enough unless you are _really_ high up. The dipole has virtually no chance of picking up mobiles from 40 miles.
Ok, I think I am going to go with the Scantenna. I think it's the best all-around, and I've read a lot of cases of it performing better than a beam. The area I want to receive is 42 miles driving distance... as the crow flies, it's 30 miles. Where I'm at currently has an elevation of 302 feet, and the elevation of the area I want to receive has a 415 foot elevation. The roof I'll be putting this antenna on is probably about 30-45 feet. I've got a few questions:
1) What's a good, inexpensive (ha) mast you recommend I use? I've heard using a steel mast could cause the antenna to become directional.
2) Will I be able to mount this antenna on a peaked roof? If so, what type of mast will I need for this?
3) How do you recommend I ground this antenna? I've heard, besides the antenna, you should ground the coax? Is this true?
4) This antenna comes with 50-feet of Low Loss RG-6 Coax. Is this ok? I don't want to spend a heckload for cable if I don't need to, and Grove says this cable is great.
And last but not least, is coax usually male or female? I need a BNC to Motorola converter and need to know which type to get.
1) What's a good, inexpensive (ha) mast you recommend I use? I've heard using a steel mast could cause the antenna to become directional.
2) Will I be able to mount this antenna on a peaked roof? If so, what type of mast will I need for this?
3) How do you recommend I ground this antenna? I've heard, besides the antenna, you should ground the coax? Is this true?
4) This antenna comes with 50-feet of Low Loss RG-6 Coax. Is this ok? I don't want to spend a heckload for cable if I don't need to, and Grove says this cable is great.
And last but not least, is coax usually male or female? I need a BNC to Motorola converter and need to know which type to get.
Don_Burke
Member
I expect picking up the mobiles will be unusual with that setup, but it should give you plenty to listen to.Patrick_ said:
Some Radio Shacks may still have steel mast.Patrick_ said:
Put the antenna at the top of the mast.Patrick_ said:
YesPatrick_ said:
The mast is not the issue. The issue is the mount. My guess is that a tripod mount will be more grief than gain. I like gable mounts.Patrick_ said:
Unless local codes require more, I like two eight-foot driven grounds and the biggest solid wire that will fit through the clampsPatrick_ said:
It is always a good idea.Patrick_ said:
I would not say "great." It should be okay.Patrick_ said:
The question is really about the gender of the connectors. If your scanner takes a male Motorola and the cable has a male BNC, Radio Shack 278-0160 will work for you.Patrick_ said:
Thanks for the info. Can you recommend me a good, non-penetrating gable mount/other mount that can mount to a gable, that's <= $30? I'm finding some non-penetrating monsters, that are over $90. So far, this one looks good, but it penetrates: http://vssco.com/pc-1332-77-adjustable-gable-and-antenna-mount-gem-4060.aspx
Hi Patrick and all,
Ah, the good old BC-101, my first programmable scanner. I measured it's characteristics with a Cushman Station Monitor and found it hot as a pistol, one of the best receivers I have ever run through the paces. It's sensitivity ranks right up there with the best commercial equipment, this one sure doesn't need a preamplifier!
Starting with that you have a very good chance of receiving signals from 40 miles away if you put up even a minimal antenna like a discone (I recommend the Diamond) or Scantenna. It's not as rugged so it won't stand up to a harsh environment but has good electrical characteristics. If you get the antenna high enough to clear most obstructions and don't have high ground in the signal path like I have here blocking signals from New York City you should do reasonably well. Don't scrimp on the coax, the less loss the better and it becomes critical on UHF.
"Where I'm at currently has an elevation of 302 feet..."
That's about the way it was when I lived in North Jersey. Using a home made VHF ground plane and a commercial 5dB gain UHF mobile antenna fitted to a base plate and radials I could receive mobiles direct (no repeaters) 90 miles away with no problem. That's the 101 for you, my only problem was being blocked by a mountain range to the north but that's life.
Hey, don't ask so many questions unless you're deliberately trying to confuse yourself. Just put the antenna on a mast strong enough to support it (good old Rat Shack TV mast is VERY strong) and use the appropriate hardware so it doesn't rip part of the house off and you'll be OK. Common sense rules so that's all you need to know.
KISS, keep it simple stupid.
Ah, the good old BC-101, my first programmable scanner. I measured it's characteristics with a Cushman Station Monitor and found it hot as a pistol, one of the best receivers I have ever run through the paces. It's sensitivity ranks right up there with the best commercial equipment, this one sure doesn't need a preamplifier!
Starting with that you have a very good chance of receiving signals from 40 miles away if you put up even a minimal antenna like a discone (I recommend the Diamond) or Scantenna. It's not as rugged so it won't stand up to a harsh environment but has good electrical characteristics. If you get the antenna high enough to clear most obstructions and don't have high ground in the signal path like I have here blocking signals from New York City you should do reasonably well. Don't scrimp on the coax, the less loss the better and it becomes critical on UHF.
"Where I'm at currently has an elevation of 302 feet..."
That's about the way it was when I lived in North Jersey. Using a home made VHF ground plane and a commercial 5dB gain UHF mobile antenna fitted to a base plate and radials I could receive mobiles direct (no repeaters) 90 miles away with no problem. That's the 101 for you, my only problem was being blocked by a mountain range to the north but that's life.
Hey, don't ask so many questions unless you're deliberately trying to confuse yourself. Just put the antenna on a mast strong enough to support it (good old Rat Shack TV mast is VERY strong) and use the appropriate hardware so it doesn't rip part of the house off and you'll be OK. Common sense rules so that's all you need to know.
KISS, keep it simple stupid.
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