Next antenna...options?

[TheJerk]

I'm probably going to move in the next few months and where ever I end up, I will put up a tower. I am looking for something better/sturdier/more sensitive than an ST2 since I only want to do this once.

Assuming a $200 limit,what would be a good choice for "fringe area" listening?? Assuming it will need to weather well, and size really won't matter at that point.

I see a lot of discones and, while the prices vary widely, they all appear the same?

 

[n5ims]

You list your maximum desired cost, but not what band or bands you're interested in. Also please indicate if you're mainly interested in signals in a single direction or if you need to get signals from all areas.

I could suggest an 800 MHz yagi that would work on the 800 MHz band, but not much on the other bands. This antenna would also be very directional and only work in one direction.

I could also suggest a dual band VHF/UHF ham vertical that would have pretty good gain and work in all directions, but may not work well on the 800 MHz band.

Discones are basically an antenna that is very wide band, but with no gain. The main difference in them is just how wide the bandwidth is (sometimes this is simply marketing, not actually what range the antenna actually works on) and to a lesser extent how well it is constructed.

 

[TheJerk]

Its got to be more/less omni-directional...most of the stations I want to hear are less than 20 miles, but I might want to hear further (a bonus).

I'm looking for mainly for VHF/UHF, and maybe the 800Mhz. Oh, this is for RX, not TX...

 

[TheJerk]

I should specify the main bands would include mostly the conventional 150-ish range and the conventional 450-ish range. Some of the trunked 850-ish range would be a bonus.

Since I may put up a antenna that requires a rotor, I might do two antennas, one directional and one omni...and piggy back the directional off the rotor (I would only need to use one of the two antennas on the rotor at a time).

 

[FLRAILMAN]

Recommended antennas

N5ims is correct, discones are not the best antennas for all band coverage with gain. You have a $200.00 limit, does that include coax & the tower? If it does I don't know what to tell you except if durability & other important factors don't count, I would recommend the Grove scanner beam & the Grove scantenna however you get what you pay for, as for coax I would stress nothing less then LMR400 or Belden 9913, it cost but coax is very very important in any communications setup & one should never skimp on that.
Home
If you let patience prevail & save just a little more money you could purchase the same type of antennas with much better quality from DPD productions whose owner is a RR member.
DPD Productions - Antennas & Accessories for the RF Professional & Radio Hobbyist
FLRAILMAN

 

[TheJerk]

N5ims is correct, discones are not the best antennas for all band coverage with gain. You have a $200.00 limit, does that include coax & the tower? If it does I don't know what to tell you except if durability & other important factors don't count, I would recommend the Grove scanner beam & the Grove scantenna however you get what you pay for, as for coax I would stress nothing less then LMR400 or Belden 9913, it cost but coax is very very important in any communications setup & one should never skimp on that.
Home
If you let patience prevail & save just a little more money you could purchase the same type of antennas with much better quality from DPD productions whose owner is a RR member.
DPD Productions - Antennas & Accessories for the RF Professional & Radio Hobbyist
FLRAILMAN

The $200 is just the antenna. And just a target...basically, this is a hobby and while I don't mind spending $$ on it, I don't have $1k to drop on just an antenna at this time...

I like the description of the dpd antenna, sounds very well built.

 

[prcguy]

For 20mi coverage on the bands you listed, a Discone mounted above any surrounding obstacles should pick up VHF/UHF mobiles and 800 base/repeaters fine over flat ground. Height is your best friend for distance.

Otherwise you should be able to get really good used commercial antennas for each band and a 150/450/800 triplexer within your budget.
prcguy

 

[radiopro52]

The $200 is just the antenna. And just a target...basically, this is a hobby and while I don't mind spending $$ on it, I don't have $1k to drop on just an antenna at this time...

I like the description of the dpd antenna, sounds very well built.

The DPD antennas are well built. The materials are very solid and high quality. Since you're looking for a wide band coverage, you'd have to choose between the OmniX and the LP. If you know what direction your signals of interest are coming from, the LP may benefit you better.

 

[TheJerk]

I like the description of the DPD, and the idea it has some gain.

Since I intend to put up a rotor, the directionality would actually be useful...the rotor isn't exactly for the scanner antenna but, between the scanner and CB, I could only use one at a time anyway.

 

[radiopro52]

Yeah, the LP is designed to have gain while still being semi-omni directional. Discones have no gain, and Yagi's can be fairly deaf from the sides and back. A rotor is a good idea for the LP since you can move it in the direction you want. In my experience, moving it even slightly can change reception of some frequencies.