rs discone

[yungstevedollaz]

hi, i just bought a rs discone on sale at radioshack for $50, and i have it mounted in my attic. It's not picking up any better than the ''sputnik'' antenna, actually that antenna does better up in the attic. Any one know what the problem is? thanks for any help

 

[gewecke]

What kind of coaxial cable are you using,and how many feet are you using for starters? Is there anything in the attic near your antenna like ducting,that might limit it's ability to receive?
N9ZAS.

 

[yungstevedollaz]

im using just 6 ft rg-58 cable, and im pretty sure theres nothing limiting its ability.

 

[gewecke]

Construction 0f it maybe? You maybe have to do some dinkin.?
N9ZAS.

 

[Brillian]

If your not using the antenna for transmitting, I would remove the top whip and jack the antenna as high as you can get it. I would then ad a piece of copper wire of a similar diameter to get it right to the top of the attic.

 

[yungstevedollaz]

i'll try it thanks

 

[yungstevedollaz]

could all of this be happening because its not on the roof?

 

[Brillian]

I found the performance of these antennas is very close. My advice would be to take the new discone back for a refund, and purchase a yagi cut to the frequency your are trying to receive. You can find one on Ebay for $50 or less. Their are a lot of good posts on the forum about the Yagi. They are amazing!!

 

[yungstevedollaz]

okay i might consider that

 

[Laxplurr06]

Another thing to check for is shorts in the coax or maybe a break. Both of these could cause the reception to be bad or none at all but if you are using the same coax as your other antenna the problem is in the antenna and not the coax.

 

[yungstevedollaz]

thanks every one for your help. i dont think there is a fault in the antenna. i think im gonna try some new coax cable before i make any returns. thanks everyone.

 

[prcguy]

In the 150 and 450MHz range the RS Sputnik and Discone will be very similar. Most everywhere else the Discone will work better like VHF and UHF mil air. I'm not up on 800MHz with the Sputnik so that could go either way.

A yagi is directional and only good for a single band at 450 and 800, for VHF it will not cover the entire band. Its also directional and if you receive things in various directions its a big hassle.
prcguy