What wattage is best for a receive only antenna out of 2 choices?

[CorwinScansNM]

Hello Radio Reference users & members,

I have a quick question that I do not know or understand but that I know many of you will or already do know. I am planning on ordering a really high user rated Commercial Antenna on eBay for my scanner receiving only use & benefits. However, there is an option of choosing a (Maximum power input 75 watts) or a 250 watt version that is also available for this antenna.

I am not sure which of those 2 watts I would need or should choose for receiving the following specified frequency ranges that I plan to receive on my Uniden BCD536HP Digital Scanner. My frequency receiving ranges that I would be monitoring with this antenna are: 118-136 Mhz, 150-174 Mhz 400-470Mhz & lastly, 806-956 Mhz.
Then, my 50 foot LMR-400 Coax Cable from the antenna to a Electroline EDA 2100 Drop Amplifier & finally, from the drop amplifier to my scanner. I maybe & hopefully can eliminate using the Electroline EDA 2100 Drop Amplifier if this antenna works as expected & as well as previous buyers are saying that it does & raving about its performance.

Any advice or suggestions on what wattage out of the 2 available for this antenna I should choose for my specified use? Thanks!

 

[zz0468]

The power rating (watts) is a parameter applicable to transmitting, and has no relevance if it is used only for receive. You would want to know that the frequency range of the antenna is appropriate to what you want to listen to, and the gain, and what the radiation pattern looks like. But you don't care about how many watts it can handle just to receive.

 

[CorwinScansNM]

The power rating (watts) is a parameter applicable to transmitting, and has no relevance if it is used only for receive. You would want to know that the frequency range of the antenna is appropriate to what you want to listen to, and the gain, and what the radiation pattern looks like. But you don't care about how many watts it can handle just to receive.

OK, thanks. Awesome news that I don't need to worry or be concerned about the wattage for receive only use. That got one concern off of my mind now with the antenna.

This is the high user rated antenna that I am considering & talking about. https://www.ebay.com/itm/112894964287?ul_noapp=true

I contacted the seller & asked him about the Commercial version of his antenna receiving all of my specified frequency ranges & not just what he specifies for it? Ed wrote in reply to my question on eBay: "For receiving one does not need a resonant antenna, so the commercial antenna should do fine." It was not much information from him on my question but sounds like he is saying that his Commercial Antenna should do fine & work for my use & frequency ranges which I am still not sure about & am wondering if it really & truly will cover & receive in all of my specified frequency band ranges.

 

[Ubbe]

It's a slim jim twin lead j-pole antenna. You can try it out first by getting some 300 ohm twinlead and cut according to the picture for the ham band version and make the measurements 94% of the originals to make the commercial version. Attach it to a broom stick or hang it in a thread. If you like the performance you could get the kit from that person but it seems it comes without the pvc tube.

Google "slim jim twinlead" and add "calculator" to get the measurements for any frequency.
Most antennas work as good at triple it's fundamental frequency so a 155MHz antenna will also work at 3x155=465MHz. A higher wattage type requires the twinlead to have bigger diameter wires.

edit: I forgot to mention that when you put this kind of antenna in a pvc tube, its tuned frequency will drop up to 5% depending of the pvc quality. So if you make an antenna for 155MHz and want to put in i pvc tube you should calculate it's frequency to 160MHz.

/Ubbe

 

[I_am_Alpha1]

What is it you are trying to receive? I've not heard of anything to scan on the moon...hi, hi. I've seen a few posts lately confusing people regarding antennas. If you are receiving only, don't read information about transmitting--two completely different subjects. Antennas have a narrow transmit spectrum vs very wide reception capabilities. Nearly anything metal will work for reception--how well is another story. I've used a coat hanger to receive CB once...not as good as a proper antenna, but better than nothing. You don't need to spend all the money on LMR400 or amplifiers. You should be able to receive your local services with the stock antenna. If you are on the fringe, antenna altitude will be better. Try a cheap antenna with cheap feedline--you will be surprised (and you don't need a ground plane for reception). I have an XTL5000 and am using a cheap 2m/70cm mag mount antenna by the window and receive two county systems clearly--I've seen a video where one person just used a rubber duck antenna off the back and it worked great. Another scanner I have is using a Radio Shack mag mount scanner antenna that is rated by them for 25-1,000 MhZ--yet it won't work for transmit. The more information you provide will allow us to provide a better answer.

 

[lmrtek]

I put little value in reviews.
Most people are impressed by a discone which performs worse than a simple ground plane.

 

[bb911]

CorwinScansNM, see: https://edsantennas.weebly.com/, if you haven't already. I used a couple of 2m home brew J poles as scanner antennas and they worked great from 30 - 900 Mhz (copper pipe). I think you're making a great choice.

... Nearly anything metal will work for reception--how well is another story. I've used a coat hanger to receive CB once...not as good as a proper antenna, but better than nothing. ...

I can receive the local NWS high powered 162 Mhz transmitter with a 3/8 inch piece of a fine sewing needle layed loosely in the BNC center conductor slot. Touch it with my finger and it is full quieting.

 

[zz0468]

I put little value in reviews.
Most people are impressed by a discone which performs worse than a simple ground plane.

At that rate, it's an apple and orange comparison. Look at where you see serious deployment of discones, and from that you can extrapolate it's advantages.

Gain isn't one of them, but that's not the only measure of an antennas worth.

 

[jfarr318]

Scanner Antenna

Why not just by a discone scanner antenna? I would not waste my money on the antenna you referenced on Ebay. If you want true commercial grade antenna's they are going to cost a lot more than that thing.

 

[bb911]

Why not just by a discone scanner antenna? I would not waste my money on the antenna you referenced on Ebay. If you want true commercial grade antenna's they are going to cost a lot more than that thing.

The antenna that he linked to on ebay is not a waste of money. Check out the link I posted just a while ago:

https://edsantennas.weebly.com/ especially the bottom of this: https://edsantennas.weebly.com/about.html

 

[mmckenna]

The antenna that he linked to on ebay is not a waste of money. Check out the link I posted just a while ago:

https://edsantennas.weebly.com/ especially the bottom of this: https://edsantennas.weebly.com/about.html

No, not a waste of money, but easy to build on your own.
300Ω twin lead can be purchased pretty easily on e-Bay. PVC can be purchased at your own local hardware store. Calculators on line will give you the dimensions.
The benefit is that you can learn a lot by building your own antennas.

For those that don't have the time, skill, ability or tools to do that, then sure, it can be a good option.

There is nothing "magical" about that antenna, though. It's a simple design that works well. Getting just about any antenna outdoors and in the clear will improve performance of your radio.

 

[zz0468]

What is it you are trying to receive? I've not heard of anything to scan on the moon...

You have now...

A couple of amateur radio groups, one in Germany and one in Belgium are radiating signals to the moon whenever the moon is visible from their locations. This is essentially a moon bounce beacon. One is on 1296 MHz, the other on 10368 MHz.

 

[prcguy]

The Ed Fong antenna boasts 6dB gain. I know for a fact that on VHF it takes about 21ft linear ft of antenna to acheive 6dBd of omni gain and there is no magic way of getting that much omni directional gain without physical size. How do you explain the fantastic gain claims of a 5ft long antenna unless they are made up?

Oh, I see in the ad fine print "When deployed, it will give about +6dB of gain over a RUBBER DUCK antenna". No kidding, it actually says that. Dr. Fongster is using the dBrd standard (rubber duck) for his gain comparisons and that's not a standard I would ever accept. I wonder what Dr.Fongster got his doctorate in?

The antenna that he linked to on ebay is not a waste of money. Check out the link I posted just a while ago:

https://edsantennas.weebly.com/ especially the bottom of this: https://edsantennas.weebly.com/about.html

 

[bb911]

No, not a waste of money, but easy to build on your own.
300Ω twin lead can be purchased pretty easily on e-Bay. PVC can be purchased at your own local hardware store. Calculators on line will give you the dimensions.
The benefit is that you can learn a lot by building your own antennas.

For those that don't have the time, skill, ability or tools to do that, then sure, it can be a good option.

There is nothing "magical" about that antenna, though. It's a simple design that works well. Getting just about any antenna outdoors and in the clear will improve performance of your radio.

I mentioned that I have built 2 jpoles (2m) out of copper tubing. Fong: "Twinlead has long been obsoleted. All of our twinleads are special ordered from JSC wiring. It is 300 ohm open air ladder line design for transmitting". (Yes, I note the word transmitting. Statement goes to show the quality of the materials he uses.)

Someone questioned Fong's educational background. Like I posted earlier, see bottom of page: https://edsantennas.weebly.com/about.html

 

[mmckenna]

I mentioned that I have built 2 jpoles (2m) out of copper tubing. Fong: "Twinlead has long been obsoleted. All of our twinleads are special ordered from JSC wiring. It is 300 ohm open air ladder line design for transmitting". (Yes, I note the word transmitting. Statement goes to show the quality of the materials he uses.)

He mentions JSC cable, and if you search on 300Ω Twin Lead on e-Bay, it's the first one that comes up, along with Belden.

And at < 100 watts, it doesn't take a special cable to handle transmitting. Lots of amateurs have made J-poles out of twin lead.

 

[KK4JUG]

I put little value in reviews.

Probably a smart move. Having said that, I place more credibility on the reviews at eHam because nearly all the reviews come from reasonably knowledgeable radio-related individuals.

 

[bb911]

He mentions JSC cable, and if you search on 300&#937; Twin Lead on e-Bay, it's the first one that comes up, along with Belden.

And at < 100 watts, it doesn't take a special cable to handle transmitting. Lots of amateurs have made J-poles out of twin lead.

I'm not sure what Fong means about his ladder line being special order from JSC, but rest assured Fong is not trying to fool anyone. He gives detailed instructions on how one can build an antenna like his dual-band manufactured one. https://edsantennas.weebly.com/uploads/2/9/3/5/29358461/dbj-1_qst.pdf

The prices of his manufactured antennas have increased some since the QST article (above link) was published in Feb. of 2003.

I didn't make a J antenna out of twin lead, but I owned one, and it served its' dual purposes well: a wide banned scanner antenna and an indoor 2m ham antenna.

Now back to experimenting with high end handheld scanner/ham antennas vs. ball point pen antennas (or something similar).

 

[ChrisABQ]

Corwin, try building a half-wave dipole out of some aluminum or copper tube (Lowes has it), costs about $5 to do it, all the info is on the internet, calculators, etc. On this side of the mountain, I can receive Crownpoint PD and sometimes get hits from Sierra County down South.. I have it cut to resonate at about 156 mhz so I can get most Air band and forestry. It's a great sense of accomplishment.

 

[Ubbe]

I place more credibility on the reviews at eHam because nearly all the reviews come from reasonably knowledgeable radio-related individuals.

They are like everyone elses: "I put this antenna up and I can hit repeaters X miles away. Great antenna!"
I've never seen: "My old 1/4 GP could reach repaters X miles away and I exchange it with this antenna using the same coax and mast mount and now I can hit repeaters Y miles away!"

No, there's always that they raised the mast, switched to a better coax, put the antenna up at a totally different location, used to have a rubber ducky on a portable inside the house, or did some other changes at the same time that makes a truthful comparison impossible.

/Ubbe

 

[kayn1n32008]

The claim that one of his antennas will last at least 10 years in repeater service on a mountain top is laughable at best.


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