Question For those who Had a Scantenna Break

[hoser147]

Hey all, Just wanted some input from those that have the scantenna or those that had it till it broke on them. Ive got mine inside and want to come up with a way to refurb it so it will take the elements and the wind mother nature puts out. Did yours Break at the plastic piece in the middle?? I know of 2 already that have done that. Did you have any trouble with any other part breaking??Did you use the coax that came with it or something else ? If so let me know. I appreciate your responses and will let you know what I come up with .Thanks In Advance Hoser
http://wiki.radioreference.com/images/8/8c/Reinforcescantenna.jpg

 

[MikeMike]

Check out this link...

Take a peek at this previous thread on the subject... It shows a way to add a fiberglass reinforcement. I've used this on a previous Scantenna installs and it seemed to help a good deal in the wind.

Best,
MikeMike

 

[hoser147]

Yep I have and am adding the rods to it, If the problem has been in the center plastic part I want to beef it up, with possibly another cover that supports the plastic piece.......Hoser

 

[kb2vxa]

What's the big deal about a Scantenna? Why not just by one that won't fall apart on you? It's about time people stopped buying crap and moaning about it when it falls to pieces.

 

[fuzzymoto]

What's the big deal about a Scantenna? Why not just by one that won't fall apart on you? It's about time people stopped buying crap and moaning about it when it falls to pieces.

So what wide-band antenna does as good or better than the Scantenna/ST-2 AND is better made?

By the way my ST-2 has the bicycle-antenna reinforcement and gets some pretty heavy wind loads and has not failed so far.

 

[zz0468]

So what wide-band antenna does as good or better than the Scantenna/ST-2 AND is better made?

Kreco discones: http://www.krecoantennas.com/

 

[fuzzymoto]

Kreco discones: http://www.krecoantennas.com/

So you have a Kreco discone up and an ST-2/Scantenna and the Kreco does better? I've read hundreds of antenna threads on here and I think I've only ever heard Kreco mentioned a few times. Looks like their widest-band discone runs about 150Mhz to 1200Mhz.

So why is there so little use of the Kreco if it is better than the ST-2? I can only assume they are expensive or not as wide-band?

Who else out there has a Kreco and ST-2 up side-by-side??

 

[zz0468]

So you have a Kreco discone up and an ST-2/Scantenna and the Kreco does better?

I never said I have a Scantenna up. I have said in previous posts that I won't use crappy antennas, which I consider the scanntenna to be. But I digress. Define "better"? The scanntenna is nothing more than several monopole antennas in parallel. The element that is closest to resonance is the element that contributes the most to the signal captured and sent down the feedline. Gain is minimal on some frequencies, negative on others. And they fall apart in wind storms.

Kreco's discone antennas are ruggedly built, professional grade antennas. Gain is consistently less than a dipole, but not by enough to matter. They will take heavy ice loads, 100+ mph winds, and pretty much whatever you throw at them. I've installed these on 9000 ft mountain tops and they last year after year after year.

So, by my measure, they're better.

I've read hundreds of antenna threads on here and I think I've only ever heard Kreco mentioned a few times. Looks like their widest-band discone runs about 150Mhz to 1200Mhz.

That's correct. What's your point? If you're a professional in the industry, building radio sites for systems that have to be on the air no matter what, and you need low band, Highband, or wideband antennas, Kreco is where you go. Especially if survivability is a factor.

So why is there so little use of the Kreco if it is better than the ST-2? I can only assume they are expensive or not as wide-band?

Let's clarify that. There is little hobby use of Kreco antennas. Go up to a busy mountain top here in southern california, and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Kreco antenna. Yeah, they're expensive. But I don't scrimp when it comes to antennas. You may argue that they're not as wideband. This is true. I prefer to handle that issue with multiple antennas and multiple radios. For those that prefer the Scantenna, be my guest. But don't be surprised when they break, and then complain about it. They're cheap, consumer grade antennas and I think they're junk.

 

[fuzzymoto]

For my purposes, I like to hear real-life experiences from people using the comparison antenna side-by-side. Unfortunately, I hear all too many people say this or that antenna is great and better than everything else, with no data or no real-life experience with both antenna at all. This is why I always ask if people actually have the antenna in question, have had the antenna in the past, or are just saying they "think" it is better with nothing to back it up. I'm not trying to question anyone's opinion, I just would prefer data or real-life experience over conjecture.

In your case I believe the Kreco is a commercial antenna and therefore constructed very well and probably does a good job in durability and reception categories. I'm not sure of the price so it's hard to say how good a value that makes it, but I agree on getting the best antenna and not scrimping on price....however I would like to hear from someone using them both.

Ultimately I'm looking for the best reception out of one antenna across everything from 30Mhz to 900Mhz and decent reliability. "Crap" or otherwise, if the Scantenna performs better (receives better across the bands I listen to) and even if I had to spend $40 every few years to put up a new one, personally I'd do that over putting up a more reliable lesser reception quality antenna regardless of the price. My mast is easy to get to and easy to work on. I do suspect the Kreco is probably a great antenna and I will look into it to see if it is a good option for me. I'm currently moving my shack and will be adding at least one radio and antenna. I have not decided how wide-band this antenna needs to be, but I'm reasonably sure it will be wide-band.

As far as the design of the ST-2 I guess I'm not that into the science of it that much. If it works well for my criteria, personally it doesn't matter to me if it is "several monopole antennas in parallel" or aluminum foil on a coat hanger. For me performance talks.

Finally, my point about not hearing about Kreco in RR discussions was just that simple. Check out just about any thread in the antenna forum that discusses antenna choice and try to swing a dead cat and not find mention of the Scantenna/ST-2. This is not a measure of quality but it does speak well for the antenna and it does explain my surprise to not have heard much chatter about the Kreco when you stated the Kreco was better.

I undertstand the benefits of a commercial antenna and I can say I have no problem spending the money for a quality antenna, but not if it does not receive as well as a non-commercial antenna...again assuming that difference is even perceivable. I do this for fun so yes it is only a hobby. And actually researching antenna and trying them out (commercial or otherwise) is what makes it fun. This is why I ask the basis for statements that say antenna A is better than antenna B.

..and for the record my ST-2 has been great and very solid so far(and we get icing and high winds in a big way) and even if it does break you won't hear me complaining...

I'll let the other owners decide for themselves if they think their Scantenna/ST-2 is "crap" or "junk".

 

[chris752]

Scantenna well worth replacing

I just lost my Scantenna and it was after being up for 3 years and survived Oklahoma thunderstorm winds in excess of 100mph. I have a Davis Weather station 15 feet away that recorded numerous 75mph winds that it survived as well as a 93mph wind and one thunderstorm producing 104mph winds. It took a 116mph wind to break it over and Im sure there is a lot of antennas that wouldnt have survived that. So I will gladly spend the $26 I just shelled out and pick up a couple extras to store away in case I need to replace it. I have a Ferret up as well and yes it survived and its a darn good antenna but for the price I paid for my Scantennas I will replace them every few years without saying a whole lot. I also can't remember anyone calling it a piece of crap until now so I will chalk that up for the Scantenna as positive since I have read hundreds of articles on the numerous forums and this is the first time I heard it called crap and it happened to be from someone that doesn't own one of them. You mentioned installing them on 9000 foot tall mountains and if I had to replace soemthing like that I would for sure put up a Ferret but for now I will climb up my 16 foot ladder and replace my Scantenna every now and then.

 

[PHOENIX_SCANNER]

It would seem to me people really concerned about distant signal reception would simply buy a good tri-band mobile antenna (VHF/UHF/800) for 30-40 bucks and put it on one of those ground plane bases, and be set. Why mess with something that is known to fall apart in the wind? Just my two cents.

I think a lot of users (like myself) who are in dense RF zones like myself, and don't have to pull anything really important in from long distance, are best served by the 20-176 RS sputnik. Yeah, it is unity gain at VHF-HI, but does fine in UHF and actually fine in 800/900 too since it has 800 mhz elements also. My oldest one is 16 years old now, and still works fine, after many monsoons and microbursts. How is that for durable?

I like the idea of the scantenna but the fact that they consistently fall apart bugs me personally.

A while back I was watching the show "Dallas SWAT" and as they were serving a warrant on drug dealers I laughed as the camera zoomed out and on the edge of their roof was what was left of a scantenna falling over the edge of the roof.

But, if you can fix one up to make it work right, then wonderful. Nothing wrong with that. My $500 PSR-500 came with a two cent junk antenna that wobbled around on the lug, and it had to be replaced, so cheap stuff is out there at every price range to be fair. That doesn't mean I scrap the scanner, I buy a diamond antenna and call it good.

 

[N1BHH]

The older version of the Scantenna is the one which is most affected by the wind. The folks at Antennacraft have made them better, thanks to input from their customers. The antenna is made from parts of television antennas, thus the construction similar to a television antenna. I haven't put mine up since I have been way too busy, it is an older version which was mounted in an attic, so it's in excellent shape.

 

[hoser147]

When I originally posted this Dubbin had a broken one at the plastic piece in the middle, and I suggested to him to make a second one for the unsupported side out of a material similar to cutting board type plastic. It seems antenna Craft already done so and thats how they make em now. So far with the bike flag deal mines still holding up fine and with the reception as it is if something happens to it I'll throw another one up..........Hoser

 

[blueangel-eric]

Ultimately I'm looking for the best reception out of one antenna across everything from 30Mhz to 900Mhz and decent reliability. "Crap" or otherwise, if the Scantenna performs better (receives better across the bands I listen to) and even if I had to spend $40 every few years to put up a new one, personally I'd do that over putting up a more reliable lesser reception quality antenna regardless of the price. My mast is easy to get to and easy to work on. I do suspect the Kreco is probably a great antenna and I will look into it to see if it is a good option for me. I'm currently moving my shack and will be adding at least one radio and antenna. I have not decided how wide-band this antenna needs to be, but I'm reasonably sure it will be wide-band.

As far as the design of the ST-2 I guess I'm not that into the science of it that much. If it works well for my criteria, personally it doesn't matter to me if it is "several monopole antennas in parallel" or aluminum foil on a coat hanger. For me performance talks.

I agree about that. I love my ST-2 if i can ever get a house again to put it back up. It's good for the money. It can't be any worse then TV antennas in quality. though every other TV antenna down the street has broken elements

Now if there was a higher quality version of the scantenna that would rock, except for the price that would be over my head.

Eric Burris

 

[KC0QNB]

What's the big deal about a Scantenna? Why not just by one that won't fall apart on you? It's about time people stopped buying crap and moaning about it when it falls to pieces.

Finally someone mentioned that, I wanted to just didn't.

 

[jon_k]

Ultimately I'm looking for the best reception out of one antenna across everything from 30Mhz to 900Mhz and decent reliability.

In my sole opinion, that won't be 'best' reception. You may be an all-in-one guy and that's fine by me. However you'd get 50% better reception if you had two antennas tuned for high and low. The more you add and smaller reception you seek to get, the better performance.

I can't say too much though. I use a simple Discone at my residence. However with the mobile rig, I keep adding antennas for selectivity in frequency.

 

[walterb]

What's the big deal about a Scantenna? Why not just by one that won't fall apart on you? It's about time people stopped buying crap and moaning about it when it falls to pieces.

I said the same thing about my wife.

 

[af5rn]

I said the same thing about my wife.

That's why I waited for the new, improved model rather than settling for my first impulses.