New 396xt user - antenna suggestions?

[dg175]

Hi, I've had a uniden 396xt for a few months now but don't use it on a regular basis. I've had some police and fire channels programmed into it by a friend by cloning his radio settings.

Recently I've been trying to make use of the search for services feature to try and pick up some CB and Ham but have been unsuccessful. A couple of times, I have heard some weak/broken CB communication, but have never heard anything when searching for Ham radio.

Any suggestions on what type of antenna to get? I have the stock one, and a telescoping whip antenna that's about 2.5 feet long but it doesn't seem to be much better at all. Also, is the antenna the problem when searching for Ham transmissions? Or are the default settings for ham incorrect on the scanner? I don't know if it's even searching the right frequencies or not, but I would assume it would be able to at least pick up something once in a while other than static!

thanks,

 

[wtp]

timing

c.b. is not what it once was
ham listening is usually about timing, you have to listen when they talk, best times after 5pm and before 9pm
on the xt the service search goes through 902 to 928mhz and is rarely used (rule of thumb)
most are 144 to 148 and 440 to 450 range. the radio is set for the most popular repeater output so set up a custom search for the bands

 

[dg175]

Thanks for the feedback, I'll try it out again.
As far as the other service ranges (rail, air, news, etc.) are those ranges typically set properly by default? I briefly heard something once searching 'air', but have never heard anything on news or rail..
I did just pick something up on the ham radio search though, just after 5 as you said!

 

[LordJ]

I typically have my Nagoya NA-666 on the radio, as this fits my general listening requirements (140-155.00) and is flexible. The other antenna I reallly like is the Wilson WSMA-889 telescopic... Small in size when not extended, and can be angled 90 degrees if I set the daio down.. Works well for me..

 

[wtp]

but wait there's more

on that radio you can scan your pd/fd system AND set the custom search or the service search by going to edit service and going to the one or more that you want to search with scan unlock it or them and hit scan. the radio could if you want pd/fd then ham then cb then special or whatever
feel free to give me a pm for more questions. the other thing is to set the hold time on each (i set all mine to zero) now delay is what time the radio waits after a squelch trip (set to 2 on mine)
ok go play and if you want get back to me.

 

[questnz]

Also, Nagoya NA-771, Watson 801, Watson 881, Diamond RH77CA, Diamond RH789 telescopic are top of the crop. Watson 801 excellent for out of the vehicle and out of house all round antenna due to smaller size. Cant go wrong with any of them. Check reviews on here RR forums and on eham.net.

 

[wtp]

size matters

you could hear the space station with just the stock ducky (i have, and its got to be near you)
if you want to hear cb try a cb antenna, longer is better
if you want to hear 800 mhz try a paperclip
some of the fun is in trying
low freqs do better with a long antenna and high do better with a short one
my 396t just has the 800 mhz from radio shack all the time and is not too bad across the board
just have fun