VHF Airband Antenna question

[freyhaus1]

...asking for advice/info on purchasing a VHF Airband external antenna for my Tecsun S2200x (receiver coverage of 118 - 137mhz)...I live near 2 local and 1 regional airports, as well as 2 air force bases and cannot get much of anything with my receivers internal telescoping antenna...

thanks and 73!
Harry

 

[N9JCQ]

Hi Harry, Most portable SW receivers don't make great airband receivers even though they can "receive" 108 MHZ-137MHZ. A better investment would be a scanner like the Uniden 125.
That being said, I have used a discone antenna, up about 25 feet with great effect for my airband monitoring. You can find them as inexpensive antennas on Ebay. A discone is versatile enough so if you get into VHF/UHF ham or scanner monitoring, the antenna will work great for that.

 

[freyhaus1]

Hi Harry, Most portable SW receivers don't make great airband receivers even though they can "receive" 108 MHZ-137MHZ. A better investment would be a scanner like the Uniden 125.
That being said, I have used a discone antenna, up about 25 feet with great effect for my airband monitoring. You can find them as inexpensive antennas on Ebay. A discone is versatile enough so if you get into VHF/UHF ham or scanner monitoring, the antenna will work great for that.

..excellent info, thank you for the quick rsvp!
Harry

 

[bearcatrp]

Better to get a Omni X instead of a discone. The discone does work good but the omni X is allot better.

OmniX Scanner Base Antenna

Specs Gain: 3 VHF 4 UHF dBi Pattern: Omni-directional Wavelength: 1/2 Elements: 3 Tuned: 118-137, 148-175 & 225-900 MHz Band: UHF & VHF Connector: N Female Cable: RG8X Cable Length: 16 Inches Height: 45" Width: 30" Weight: 2 lb Features Multi Band-Wide Coverage: The uniquely...

dpdproductions.com

 

[AI7PM]

Better to get a Omni X instead of a discone. The discone does work good but the omni X is allot better.

OmniX Scanner Base Antenna

Specs Gain: 3 VHF 4 UHF dBi Pattern: Omni-directional Wavelength: 1/2 Elements: 3 Tuned: 118-137, 148-175 & 225-900 MHz Band: UHF & VHF Connector: N Female Cable: RG8X Cable Length: 16 Inches Height: 45" Width: 30" Weight: 2 lb Features Multi Band-Wide Coverage: The uniquely...

dpdproductions.com

Well, I've had great luck with a discone. Used to listen to shuttle launches and recoveries when I lived in FloriDUH. Discone was in the attic as a post storm backup, and could hear the UHF shuttle comms 800 miles out. BTW, for years the FAA and military used discones for airband.

 

[bearcatrp]

Prcguy posted a picture of a military discone awhile back. Said it works great. Expensive though if you can find one.

 

[dkcorlfla]

Mounting the antenna outdoors and getting it away from noise from computers, monitors Ect. will make a huge difference. Discone antennas like the Tram 1410 cost a lot less then the omni and work well on VHF

 

[freyhaus1]

Hi Harry, Most portable SW receivers don't make great airband receivers even though they can "receive" 108 MHZ-137MHZ. A better investment would be a scanner like the Uniden 125.
That being said, I have used a discone antenna, up about 25 feet with great effect for my airband monitoring. You can find them as inexpensive antennas on Ebay. A discone is versatile enough so if you get into VHF/UHF ham or scanner monitoring, the antenna will work great for that.

...thanks to all for your inputs...i have a follow-up question if i may?
what do you recommend for a mast to mount the antenna to?...because of gutters around the roof, i can't mount directly to the house. what material, diameter, length or height of mast etc, i see all sorts of antennas and antenna kits and most come with mounting brackets and necessary hardware, just need some direction on mast types? homebuilt?...store bought?

Thanks!
Harry

 

[bearcatrp]

Here is my setup using a tripod. Currently have a discone on it. PVC telescopic flag pole

 

[trp2525]

...asking for advice/info on purchasing a VHF Airband external antenna...

Centerfire Antenna manufactures/sells a 1/4 wave ground plane antenna specifically cut/tuned to the 118-137 MHz Aircraft Band. (Select the Aircraft Band model from the drop down list.) The antenna is made in the USA with heavy duty aluminum and stainless steel contruction. It terminates in an SO-239 (UHF female) connector and the price is $39.95. Flat Rate Shipping is $7.50 to the central states, $10.00 to the eastern/southern states and $12.50 to the western states.

The assembly instructions for the antenna can be found here if you want to have a look.

 

[popnokick]

Do you have a roof gable end or an eave? If so it likely has no gutter. Look up “gable mount” or “eave mount” at SolidSignal or other antenna supplier. Even some big box hardware stores carry them and they are suitable for the types of lightweight antennas mentioned in this thread.

 

[freyhaus1]

...i appreciate all the great info including pics and weblinks, thanks so much, i have good idea and general direction to go in now...RR community is the best!

 

[kc2asb]

With any outdoor antenna, proper grounding is a must. You might want to read up on the topic - plenty of threads here on RR and ask any questions that come up.

To ground, or not to ground, that is the question...

Hey yall, just a quick question, may open a big can of worms, but I am a asking, should a base antenna be grounded or not, I have a Comet DS-150S discone base antenna set up on a bracket off my porch, framed with PT lumber, and stainless antenna mounts, on a 10 ft pipe, a top rail of a chain...

forums.radioreference.com

Coax Arcing

During Thunderstorms, I disconnect my Disc Cone Antenna from the scanner. When it was disconnected, I kept hearing a pop similar to the sound heard by a spark plug arc. What can I do to make sure that my kids/me and other things are not in danger from this. (I put the connector down in a glass...

forums.radioreference.com

 

[Ubbe]

A Tram1410 Discone are a good investment if you also want to receive other frequency bands. If only wanting to improve VHF air then airplanes at high altitudes can be received with almost any antenna, as long as it is outdoors. Radio waves behaves the same as sun rays, if something are blocking them you will find yourself in the shadow and can't properly receive anything.

To be able to receive airplanes at lower altitudes closer to the horizon and also the ground stations like the Tower and ATC you could use an antenna that have more gain at the horizon. A 5/8 wave antenna are probably a good choice. BC100S - Diamond Antenna or even a yagi with more gain to point at the tower Sirio WY 108-3N 108-137 MHz Air Band 3 Element Yagi Antenna [SIR-AVIA-103N] - $149.00 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

You can buy a fixed length of RG6 coax that will have F connector at it ends that will require an adapter from F to probably PL259 for an antenna and then some other to fit your receiver. RG6 has practically no attenuation at VHF frequencies.

I have seen pictures here on RR where people have a mast next to their house and fixed to the wall with extenders so it clears the roof and gutters. Any antenna should go above the roof line or it will be in RF shadow from the house.

/Ubbe