Radio Shack Antenna

[ansky]

I am thinking of getting this Radio Shack antenna:

Outdoor VHF-Hi/UHF Scanner Antenna : Scanner Antennas | RadioShack.com

It seems to have good reviews and the price is good. Does anyone have experience with it? I already have coax cable in place, so does this antenna have a coax connection or do I need to buy some kind of adapter?

 

[n5ims]

I am thinking of getting this Radio Shack antenna:

Outdoor VHF-Hi/UHF Scanner Antenna : Scanner Antennas | RadioShack.com

It seems to have good reviews and the price is good. Does anyone have experience with it? I already have coax cable in place, so does this antenna have a coax connection or do I need to buy some kind of adapter?

To connect to the antenna, your coax will need a PL-259 connector on the end. If your coax has something else, you'll need an adapter to adapt whatever you have to a PL-259.

 

[RadShackFan]

I have one of those in my attic - use it for ham radio (vhf/uhf) during severe weather and when I'm just too lazy to connect to my exterior antennas. Out-of-the-box it worked perfectly on 144-148mhz without any tuning. When used for scanning, it works great on 144-165mhz and 400-470mhz. I have even used it with my GRE 800 and picked up the local 800mhz EDACS system, but with a little white noise (hiss) in the background.

I think it has been in the attic for about 10 years. If something goes wrong with it, I'll buy another one to replace it.

Not meaning to insult you, but if you don't know what type of connector is already on your coax, post a photo and someone will tell you if it will fit the antenna.

 

[ansky]

Not meaning to insult you, but if you don't know what type of connector is already on your coax, post a photo and someone will tell you if it will fit the antenna.

Right now I have a standard coax cable which has a connection that you would screw into the back of your TV. I'm currently connected to a VHF/UHF TV antenna which gives pretty good results in all bands, but I'd like to try this antenna. Can someone post a link to the adapter I would need on the Radio Shack website? I already have a coax to BNC adapter that connects the coax to my scanner so I'm good on that end. It's just the coax to antenna connection I'm concerned about.

 

[RadShackFan]

If the connector on your cable plugs directly in to the tv, then you have an "F" male connector. If the other end (the one that you will plug into the antenna) is EXACTLY the same, then you need an "F to PL-259" adapter, item #278-258, on the radio shack website. (I couldn't get the link to paste here). Just type that item number in the search box and you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

[VE3TMT]

I'm using one with my PSR-410. Currently it's on the chimney at about 15' and I'm hearing NYS police and fire from Eastern Ontario. Going up on the tower at 32' shortly so I imagine it'll be pretty hot at that height.

 

[FoeHammer]

I have tried a few scanner antenna's & even the popular discone ,..many didnt last in the weather or did not perform as good as this one ,...it really does seem to perform better than you think it would , mine is quite old now ,...& theres no radio shacks around here anymore so I made my own , for whatever reason this design seems to be right up there with the best...