The Return of the Scantenna 2

[blueangel-eric]

I finally moved to an apartment house where i can have outside antennas!!! So, i finally figured out an easy way to mount my mast to the house so now i have my ST-2 and my homemade 2m/70cm dual band Jpole copied off of Arrow Antennas design. The reception is good as far as i can tell. since i haven't tried other antennas for comparison here i can only assume my antennas are working great. I can hit some far away 2 meter repeaters with the jpole so i can only assume its working as good as a ARx2B. My ARx2B and other antennas are in a storage unit. Someday i hope to have a house so i can put out my scanner beam as well on a rotor.

I inspected the ST-2 construction and man it's flimsy for being a sturdier version. I got an idea nobody else talks about. instead of reinforcing it. Why not buy or find some stronger tubing and just rebuild the whole thing or at least the main section? Somebody should start a ST-2 rebuild service. or email the company for this suggestion for a higher quality version. they have higher quality TV antennas and different product lines of different qualities. so why not have a higher quality scanner antennas?

Eric Burris kc0ldt

 

[hoser147]

Give it a try Eric, Its worth a shot.............

 

[blueangel-eric]

Give it a try Eric, Its worth a shot.............

I'm not going to rebuild it unless it breaks. my moneys beyond tight at the moment and i just spent it all to buy a big piece of metal to attach my mast to the house and had to cut it in half as there was no shorter piece. and then my drill bits was dull as well as my hack saw so then i had to spend for that just to get the job done, plus a stud finder. i did have some left over clear silicone and clear spray paint that has UV protection so i sealed my coax and sprayed my antenna to weatherproof it. with that in mind that should keep the plastic on the antenna from rotting as fast.

Eric Burris

 

[mrdinks]

why not just go to http://www.dpdproductions.com/ and order a good antenna, its amazing how well built they are.

 

[hoser147]

Eric, I was meaning shoot them an email and suggest that they build a heavier model..........hoser

 

[lost_in_maine]

Why not buy or find some stronger tubing and just rebuild the whole thing or at least the main section?
Eric Burris kc0ldt

Somebody has come up with a method of adding fiberglass flagpoles, ( the type u sometimes see on bicycles for visibility) for re-inforcement.

http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34932

I have had my scantenna up for a year in the Western Mountains of Maine with no ill effects so far.
Has seen winds 45+ mph at times, and a couple inches of ice.

 

[LordJ]

I'm sure I've seen that they have made yet another stronger model of the st2 for 2008 with even heavier duty components..

 

[user4950]

why not just go to http://www.dpdproductions.com/ and order a good antenna, its amazing how well built they are.

Has anyone compared the dpd 118-1000mhz scanner lp antenna to the scantenna? The dpd is expensive but is it more sensitive over the wide frequency range?

 

[mancow]

I have both and the DPD seems to be much more consistent across the bands. It's more responsive at higher frequencies as well. I have mine pointing to the nearest major city but it does well in all directions around it.

 

[blueangel-eric]

Somebody has come up with a method of adding fiberglass flagpoles, ( the type u sometimes see on bicycles for visibility) for re-inforcement.

http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34932

I have had my scantenna up for a year in the Western Mountains of Maine with no ill effects so far.
Has seen winds 45+ mph at times, and a couple inches of ice.

I'm aware of the modification. I mentioned it in my first post but i'm talking about replacing the rods with better ones.

Eric

 

[blueangel-eric]

why not just go to http://www.dpdproductions.com/ and order a good antenna, its amazing how well built they are.

I considered that antenna before. as of right now i can't afford that stuff right now. As I already stated my money is tight. I just split up from my wife and am on disablity and having borrow money from grandparents untill Social Security adjusts my SSI since i'm by myself now.

anyways i am not interested in buying another antenna, i was just discussing rebuilding the Scantenna to make it what is should be if it was a commercial grade antenna.

anyways someday i hope to get a Par Mon3 but that's out of the question since it's not made right now.
Eric burris kc0ldt

nice to hear others like the DPD model.