Austin Condor All Band portable anntena : good?

[Wahoos4Life]

has anybody used this antenna?

Austin Condor All-Band Portable BNC Antenna

preferibly on a pro 106?

If so how well does it work for you? noticable differnce over the stock?

Im in the market for a replacement antenna for my pro 106. and its either that one or the w-881super gainer

 

[W4KRR]

I do have the Condor. I think it works very well on VHF hi, UHF, and the 800MHz bands. It is long and fat, and may not be too convient for portable use, especially for low profile use. Yes, it is better than most of the stock antennas, though I have never used the R/S scanner you mentioned. That shouldn't matter.

 

[Jim41]

I have used the Condor on a BC245XLT. It provided improved performance on VHF Hi, UHF, and 800 MHz.

Jim41

 

[ka3jjz]

I agree completely with the other posters. A bit thick for walking around with, but a very good performer. On my BC396, I can easily hear the NOAA DC station even though I live a good 40 miles away, in a condo in an urban area. Probably one of the worst environments for a duckie

73 Mike

 

[bwhite]

Tried that and the RS antenna. Nearly the same on 800. I preferred the price and portability of the RS.

 

[runslow]

The Condor works fine. It's a bit too bulky for me to use as my main portable antenna.

 

[PittsburghPoPo]

I've tried the Condor and a speically tuned Smiley antenna. I primarily listen to 450Mhz. I have to say the RH77CA is the best performing HH antenna I've used. It is also very durable. I have a two year old that keeps picking up my HH by the antenna. It's been used,abused and bentand still receives as new.

http://forums.radioreference.com/antennas-coax-forum/14783-diamond-rh77ca-honest-opinions.html

Oh yeah, the RH77CA is less expensive as well

 

[texasemt13]

I've tried the Condor and a speically tuned Smiley antenna. I primarily listen to 450Mhz. I have to say the RH77CA is the best performing HH antenna I've used.

Oh yeah, the RH77CA is less expensive as well

I too have owned both the Condor and the Diamond. I used the Condor first and had a noticeable change when I switched to the Diamond RH77CA. The Diamond worked much better in the urban environment and the rural. I pick up VHF Hi and UHF much better with the Diamond. The Condor is a bit too "floppy" for my likes and the Diamond has a good rigi whip. From experience: the Diamond handles wear and tear a lot better (like being slammed in a car door more than once).

Overall the Condor is a much better antenna than the stock duck though. You will notice an improvement but, IMHO the Diamond is a much better buy.

 

[Wahoos4Life]

thanks for the info guys, can somebody link me to the Diamond that you all are talking about?

 

[texasemt13]

Here it is: Diamond RH77CA.

The SRH77CA comes with the SMA connector whereas the RH77CA is the BNC.

 

[Wahoos4Life]

Nice, So That instead of the condor ?

I usually scann all bands, air, rr,800,400, and whatever else Non digital freqs I pickup

The diamond would be a good improvement/replacement for me over the 106 stock antenna?

 

[texasemt13]

The diamond would be a good improvement/replacement for me over the 106 stock antenna?

By far. Night and day in my circumstances. I love getting skip too, and when I climb on top of the local parking garage it can reach out and grab them...

 

[Wahoos4Life]

By far. Night and day in my circumstances. I love getting skip too, and when I climb on top of the local parking garage it can reach out and grab them...

awesome, Thanks for the help

 

[riveter]

I have a Condor too, on a PSR-300, and I agree that it's way too big for effective carryaround use. Instead I use it as my stationary antenna when I'm listening from somewhere like my house. I generally have massive reception problems in my area- bad atmospheric conditions and lots of hills. However, the Condor performs well enough for me to almost qualify as a sniffer antenna: from southeast Columbia County NY I was getting traces of the Schoharie County Sheriff dispatcher 50 miles away yesterday (with my old antenna I had trouble hearing a state police tower 10 miles away, so that's quite a difference.). Personally, I quite like it despite its lack of portability.