Broken Watson W-889

[jclarkr6]

I bought a Watson W-889 Tele Gainer BNC Portable Antenna brand new back in June and yesterday the black, flat "tip" of the antenna fell off. Besides being disappointed (I thought this was supposed to be a good antenna), I am concerned that this may affect the antenna's performance. Overall, the antenna still seems to be getting ok reception, I'm still listening carefully to see if I can tell a difference. Does anyone know if the black, flat tip of the W-889 affects the reception? Or is the tip only there to make it easier to grab the antenna to extend/retract it?

Also, should I bother to repair it? If so, how should it be repaired? I wondered if I could superglue the tip back on, as it looks like that might work. Would superglueing the tip back on have a negative effect on the performance of the antenna? I would appreciate anyone's input on this situation. Thank you.

 

[TheJerk]

I bought a Watson W-889 Tele Gainer BNC Portable Antenna brand new back in June and yesterday the black, flat "tip" of the antenna fell off.

If you bought it only that long ago, I would contact the place you purchased it from to see if they would replace it, if it is truly defective.

 

[jclarkr6]

If you bought it only that long ago, I would contact the place you purchased it from to see if they would replace it, if it is truly defective.

Thanks for replying. I bought it from ScannerMaster, so it could only be taken back after 30 days and it's been much longer than that. I'm not sure if the antenna was defective or if it was just poorly constructed; of course, one could consider poor construction a defect. I haven't been real hard on the antenna. I do extend and retract it quite frequently and I often gripped the tip of the antenna when I extended/retracted it, but I assumed the antenna was designed for that.

Regardless, I'm just trying to figure out if the tip falling off could affect my reception. I haven't been able to notice much of a difference in reception, except maybe my local Sheriff's Dept. is not coming in quite as well (but that could be due to other factors). I'm wondering if I should try to superglue the tip back on. I wouldn't think the superglue at the end of the antenna would affect reception, but I figured I might as well ask the RR community before I did anything drastic.

 

[tommyscan]

just call scannermaster and explain.I am sure they will replace it as their customer service is quite good and responsive.

 

[911scanner]

jclark,

I own 3 of these. I too had problems with my first one, hence owning 2 more.

That said, while I haven't had the exact problem you have, I would guess that the flat tip is only there so that the top section of the whip doesn't fall into the antenna itself.

I don't think it should/would be detrimental to receiving frequencies.


MM