A long wire antenna for receiving 2m/70cm?

[5600]

I won a couple of radios at work (UV5R and UV5K) which I thought was fun as I enjoyed scanning and using a CB as a youngster and thought I could perhaps start listening in again.

My problem is that my landlord won't allow an antenna on the house or in the garden and as I'm living in a slight dip/valley I think it's going to be very difficult to get listening again. I did notice some screws sticking out of the brickwork about 15ft up so would it be viable to use some speaker wire and tie on a screw and run it down into an SMA? I'm only looking to listen.

My knowledge of antennas is about zero as you can probably tell.

Open to suggestions!

 

[ladn]

My problem is that my landlord won't allow an antenna on the house or in the garden and as I'm living in a slight dip/valley I think it's going to be very difficult to get listening again. I did notice some screws sticking out of the brickwork about 15ft up so would it be viable to use some speaker wire and tie on a screw and run it down into an SMA? I'm only looking to listen.

Speaker wire will work as the antenna part, but you you'll need to "feed" the radio with coaxial cable terminated in the proper connector.

Before you get into outside antenna experimentation, you should determine what you want to listen to. Your radios are capable of receiving only in the VHF (high), about 136-174 MHz, and UHF, about 420-512 MHz parts of the radio spectrum, with analog FM modulation. You should check (here on RR) you area to see if the agency systems are within the capabilities of your radios. You should also check if there area any active amateur radio repeater systems as well.

If the frequencies are within the capabilities of your radios, you can try programming some of the frequencies into your radios and see how they receive using the stock antenna. Know that Baofengs are reasonably sensitive, but have very poor selectivity and filtering so they may pick up a lot of interference.

Assuming the above steps are successful, you can then use the speaker wire to make a simple dipole antenna (

) or a coaxial antenna using RG-58 or RG-6 cable.

Another alternative would be an indoor scanner antenna with a magnetic mount (depending on how your home is constructed), https://www.amazon.com/Bingfu-20-13...ocphy=1014226&hvtargid=pla-1212613135617&th=1. You'd need to also get a BNC ------>SMA adapter for your Baofengs.

 

[pb_lonny]

I am working on some wire aerials for VHF and UHF bands, I will post some designs once I have them documented.

 

[5600]

Many thanks for the reply, that was helpful.

I have actually hacked together a planar antenna which has been a success and I've not even had to mount it up high!

 

[pb_lonny]

Glad to hear it is working so well for you.

 

[spongella]

You may want to try a indoor beam antenna that you can rotate by hand. I've used them with amazing results, but my elevation is almost 300 feet ASL. Also, any 2meter/440 MHz ham antenna with gain might deserve a try.

 

[5600]

You may want to try a indoor beam antenna that you can rotate by hand. I've used them with amazing results, but my elevation is almost 300 feet ASL. Also, any 2meter/440 MHz ham antenna with gain might deserve a try.

I'm only about 30m ASL but it might be worth a try. I've been meaning to get a small 3d printer for a long time and thought it might be worth making a discone and covering it with copper tape.

 

[spongella]

I'm only about 30m ASL but it might be worth a try. I've been meaning to get a small 3d printer for a long time and thought it might be worth making a discone and covering it with copper tape.

Check the ARRL Antenna Handbook for designs. You might find a copy at a library. I made a few of their UHF designs using PVC as the boom and welding rods as the elements. Used these for receive only though.

I hear ya' about the landlord not wanting antennas. I once lived in an apartment house and was able to put up a vertical with radials by giving the landlord an extra $15 a month - he said this was for possible wear and tear on the roof hihi.