800mhz

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Al42

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Connected to the scanners? Mobile? Base? Omnidirectional? Directional? For what distance? There's no single "best" antenna for any frequency.
 

ke5lvt

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the best ones to use are the same the police are using on their radios, there are many different kinds of antennas some for mobile and some base
 

kb2vxa

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Hi all,

Best we wait until Al gets his answer? Mind, it may come as a shock but there are many "hobbyist" antennas every bit as good as those produced for commecial use, you just have to do some research to find them. No guys, I'm tired of doing your homework for you. I'll give you a clue though, for 800MHz think outside the box, think cell phone.
 

ke5lvt

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kb2vxa said:
Hi all,

Best we wait until Al gets his answer? Mind, it may come as a shock but there are many "hobbyist" antennas every bit as good as those produced for commecial use, you just have to do some research to find them. No guys, I'm tired of doing your homework for you. I'll give you a clue though, for 800MHz think outside the box, think cell phone.


yes this is true, being that i have been working with antennas for 18 years, i have tested and used almost every scanner antenna made. some are very good. i used a few for 2 or 3 years at a time. i even have made many custom scanner antennas. i dont mean to be a know-it-all. but i do know a few things. i just try to help as many people with this hobby as i can.
 

xusmarine1979

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For my Pro96 so far nothing has beaten my RS800MHz. I think it was less than $17. I haven't tried anything like the "seeker" though, but it's not bad at all for the price.
 

DaveH

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Ottawa, Ont.
kb2vxa said:
Hi all,

I'll give you a clue though, for 800MHz think outside the box, think cell phone.

(CLANK) (sound of nail hit on head).

You can still find high-grade surplus commercial 800MHz antennas from
the cell-phone and even land-mobile business. I've picked up a number of
different types from ham radio fleamarkets...mobiles (low and high gain),
bag phone rubber types with elbow joint (good for portables), even base-
station types complete with mounting pipe/hardware; and a 7-element
yagi slightly used but completley functional. I can't be too much more
specific on brands.

Dave
 

bwhite

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OK so, are " high-grade surplus commercial 800MHz antennas from
the cell-phone and even land-mobile business" and/or the ones ....police are using on their radios available with BNC connectors ? Sorry, my soldering skills are no longer, I don't want to remount them.
 

firescannerbob

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I agree that the best antenna is the same type used for 2-way communications in the same frequency range. I have a Antennex Phantom Elite on my car, and not only does it do a better job than any "scanner" antenna (IMHO), since it's made for 2-way communications, its going to be made better than a consumer grade antenna. Oh, and it wasn't very expensive, either. If you don't want something that radical looking, or want to save a bit and still get a good antenna, you can buy a decent 3DB gain 2-way antenna, with a professional NMO mount and cable for under $30 without even tryng hard.
 

wrngnmbr6

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I'm currently using a couple of RS 800mhz antennas but I have been doing some experimenting with the 2.5db gain Antenex antennas. I also only monitor 800mhz.....
 

bwhite

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Do any of these noteworthy "better than retail" antennas come with BNCs ?
Sounds like some mount changing is in order.
 
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