NYC Apartment Setup

[the_sundance]

Hi all,

I've read through a bunch of similar topics here, but I couldn't really find what I was looking for, or I couldn't understand certain things.

I currently live in a brick-wall apartment building in Washington Heights, with plenty of open space on the east side of me and the Fort Tryon Park hill on the west side. With my two scanners, BC95XLT and BCD396XT, I use an Opek antenna, which does provide some more clarity to what I'm picking up inside of my apartment, but it doesn't look like the range is improved quite a lot. I'm mostly picking up NYPD, FDNY and EMS freqs from the Bronx, lower Manhattan and Queens (with pretty bad signal), as well as trunked NYCT Bus radio and a tiny little bit of federal P25 traffic.

I am wondering if there is a certain antenna setup that will improve the range and the variety of freqs to pick up. It doesn't look like I have a lot of outdoor possibilities because I don't have an AC to which I can magnet-mount an antenna, and I don't know if it's allowed to use the fire escape for these purposes (unless I can use the fire escape itself as an antenna ). What to do?

Thanks a lot!

 

[russellmaher]

I'm going to take a guess here - the fire escape is made of steel, I think - so why can't you mount a magnet base antenna to any flat surface on it? You might have to sand off some of the layers of paint to get a bare metal surface, but it's worth a try.

Russell

 

[the_sundance]

About the fire escape: the only thing I could find about it in the lease agreement is that it is not allowed to get out on there and have a smoke. It didn't say anything about installing things on it. Considering that people in the building do just about everything that is not allowed by the lease agreement, I can assume that if I put something on the railing, it won't cause immediate eviction because, first of all, good luck noticing it, and second, all the bolts and screws can be easily undone.

Could you please recommend any magnet-mount antennas? I have BNC and SMA inputs, obviously. I've also been looking at the Diamond D130J Discone with much desire and curiosity, but that might be slightly more difficult (and I don't know what its dimensions are).

Thanks again!

 

[russellmaher]

The Diamond D130J is a fine multi-band omni-directional antenna but at 5 feet 5 inches high, and with those radials fanned out at the base, isn't exactly un-noticeable by the neighbors and possibly the landlord; and aren't you trying to be less noticed?

For a more stealthy look, I would suggest an antenna without radials such as the Austin Spectra which is much shorter (33 inches) and covers the same 25 to 1300 MHz. I use it on my car and it's a fine unit and you can get it with mag mount.

 

[the_sundance]

Russell:

Yes, less noticed would be the idea, even though, as I said, the number of lease violations going on in my building will make someone's discone antenna on a fire escape the least of the management company's problems But then, there are also city regulations regarding fire escapes, which also prohibit using fire escapes for anything except for escaping fire, so I don't think it would be worth taking the risk, especially since this discone seems to be pretty damn huge.

Alright, I've just looked at the Spectra antenna, and it seems like a pretty reasonable deal, even though the price isn't the lowest. Also, the fact that I live next to a pretty big hill is actually a good thing in a way because I can still take my 396XT with the Opek, go up there and hear a mighty lot more than I will hear from my apartment with the same setup.

Thank you for the recommendation! One more question: if I decide to get into ham radio, will this antenna be useful enough for a beginner? I'm not gonna ask all the 200,000 questions I have about ham because it will throw us way off topic, but I'll limit myself to one of them, I guess.

 

[russellmaher]

Well, I hope this suggestion gets you thinking about other options. If the Spectra is too pricey, you may want to try Radio Shack for the antenna. They have a mag mount multiband for under $40, but who knows how good it is. I can't say since I haven't use it. I have used the Diamond (in the past) and now I use the Spectra, so I can attest they are good units.

As for the antenna usage on ham bands, I'll let you ask that question on an appropriate forum.

By the way, welcome to RR, it's good to have you aboard.

Russell

 

[dmg1969]

I use the Rat Shack mag mount on my vehicle and get fairly decent reception. I am only listening to VHF low and UHF for the most part.

 

[Drachen_Fire]

I had one of those RadShack scanner antennas years ago. The one with the two midline coils, right? It did OK. Not phenomenal, but OK.

As for the OP, I'd recommend a couple of things:

1 - You live in NYC, home of the closest governmental authority to the Nazi party that the US has ever seen. Your landlord might not care about something mounted to the fire escape, but if it gets noticed by an FDNY Fire Marshal or a building inspector, you could be in for a world of hurt.

2 - I am assuming you have cable, because most everyone does nowdays. In older apartments, especially highrise tenements and brownstones, there is a rooftop TV antenna array and a jack in every apartment. Check around your unit for an unexplained male F connector sticking out of the wall. Check your roof for a large commercial TV antenna array. If it's there, make a F to BNC patch cable and enjoy.

 

[the_sundance]

Drachen_Fire:

Neat idea about the already-there TV antenna! I have coax cable internet (Time Warner), but no TV cable (and I'm assuming the internet cable won't do the job, right?).

For now I've ordered the Spectra. I actually have another stupid question: does it get anyhow affected by weather? Or should I avoid leaving it on the fire escape under the rain?

 

[russellmaher]

the_sundance:

The Spectra is not affected by the weather and I'm speaking from my experience with it. I have used it on various vehicles since the fall of 2006 and although it isn't as bright and shiny as when I got it, the antenna still performs very well. Since my location is CT...my weather is the same as yours...so that won't be an issue.

Good luck with it and hope you enjoy it.

Russell

 

[the_sundance]

Russell:

Got the Spectra, installed it easily on the fire escape in the dark of night , enjoying the amazing results. The variety of channels I'm picking up became much bigger. I'm listening to train operators' conversations on NYCT Subway channels, and I'm also picking up a lot more HAM traffic than I did before. The mag mount is total monster: I accidentally stuck it to my window-sill, which also serves as the surface covering the heater and is thus made of steel, and it took me a mighty amount of effort to get the bloody thing off. It sticks rather nicely to the fire escape, and I put a thick envelope underneath it, so that I can remove it easily. The only disadvantage so far is that while I was putting it there, some mosquitoes flew into my living room

Again, thanks so much for the recommendation! My area is far from perfect for monitoring radio, but this antenna is still making a big difference.

 

[russellmaher]

Good news!

Hello the_sundance:

I am so glad to hear that the Spectra is living up to it's reputation, and that you're happy with the results. I have been using mine of various vehicles for a long time and I still like the comms that I receive.

I've been recommending this antenna to anyone that asks about them on here, but there have been some members that have had poor results with it ( I don't understand why) and since it's a rather pricey unit, some people have decided to not spend that much in case it doesn't perform as well as advertised.

So again, I'm happy for your success with it and hope you enjoy it for many happy years of scanning. The mosquitoes will probably enjoy listening to the scanner also. :lol:

Just for "show & tell", this is mine on the mobile..


Russell