Advice on Diamond RH77CA

[orbital]

I have a Uniden BC246T Scanner and would like to change out the Factory Antenna.
Does anyone have any experience with the Diamond RH77CA.

1. Will replacing my Factory antenna be worth it ?

2. Would the Diamond RH77CA be the best choice ?
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/scanants/2368.html

3. I would like to listen to a Motorola Type II 800mhz trunking system that's about 25 miles away.
Currently I can listen to it but it's very staticy at times...... would the Diamond RH77CA
help this?


PS: I mostly listen to my local Motorola Type II 800mhz trunking system
along with 2 meter Ham freqs.

 

[SAR923]

The RH77CA is not the best antenna for 800MHz but it works great on lower bands. It's pretty big antenna at 17 inches long. I think you might want to try the RS 800 MHz antenna first. It's cheaper, much shorter, and will still do an OK job on 2 meter stuff that's not more than about 20 miles away.

 

[Tom_G]

The diamond is a good antenna. The also have an SMA version of it called the SRH77CA.
The Radio Shack 800MHz antenna will also do very well and its only $17.
It does great on 800MHz, pretty good on 450MHz, and OK on VHF.

Excellent deal for the price...

 

[tbenedict]

I like my RH77CA, but I mostly listen to VHF & UHF Air bands. Mine might pick up 800 a little better than stock, but it still has a lot of static.

In other words, if 800 is your main focus, I would try something else.

 

[eorange]

I have both RH77CAs (BNC and SMA) and the RS 800 MHz. Ditto on what everyone else said:
RS=excellent on 800 MHz and not too bad on everything else
RH77CA=excellent on everything else, "ok" on 800 MHz.

 

[jtsjc1]

I have a 246T and the RH77CA. I live in central NJ and I routinely pick up Bronx, Queens PD, FD etc. I really don't monitor 800MHz but its great for everything else. I am now able to get a/c transmissions clearly, sometimes from 18,000'. Great antenna for about $20. Joe

 

[iMONITOR]

I have both the RH77CA, and the RS800, for various needs. Without question the RH77CA is a great antenna, but not the best choice for the 800MHz band. The RS800 is hard to beat if 800MHz + is your area of interest. Having both pretty much will cover everything quite well.

 

[mbird97x]

I have the Radio Shack 800 antenna on My BC246T and it was a great improvement on the 800 band. Does good on lower stuff too.

 

[bonus1331]

Orbital,
I'm here in Charlotte and have the RS 800 and the Diamond 77CA. For 800 TRS, the best bang for the buck is the Radio Shack antenna. For anything on UHF or VHF, the 77 is the best antenna I have....and I have about 10.

 

[orbital]

Humm...... Sounds like I may have to order them both eventually.
I'm kinda stuck between a rock and a Hard place with One antenna being the
best at one freqs and the other at another. But that's how antenna are, their
design to be tuned and provided maximum coverage at that particular freq.

By the way, I saw 2 different Antenna on the Radio Shack website.
What's the difference between the

" Deluxe Antenna for Handheld Scanner " and the " 800MHz Scanner Antenna " (RS800)

Is the " Deluxe Antenna for Handheld Scanner " just like my Factory Uniden antenna and just a cheap ( All Band antenna )
The Length of this antenna is 9.45 inches Where as the Length of the RS800 is 7 inches

bonus1331
As far as 800mhz goes, I listen to Cabarrus and Mecklenburg county so I'm really leaning toward your comments
since we live in the same area.

 

[bonus1331]

I live in the SE portion of Charlotte and have a hard time getting reception on the Cabarrus TRS with any of the antennas I have including the Scantenna on the roof.

I have learned that to get the best reception for differing bands you have to part with some money and get different antennas.

The Diamond 77CA is an excellent antenna for everything BUT 800 MHZ.

I use the 77 and RS 800 the most out of all my duckies.

Based on some reviews on here, I have a Watson W-889 telescoping antenna on order.

Antennas have kind of become an obsession to me. I'm always looking for better reception.

If you decide to get the Diamond, I would recommend the SRF-40. Which is exactly like the 77CA but is flexible. Sam performance, but it makes it much easier in close areas...like in my car attached to a vent mount.

 

[austinscan1]

Humm...... Sounds like I may have to order them both eventually.
I'm kinda stuck between a rock and a Hard place with One antenna being the
best at one freqs and the other at another. But that's how antenna are, their
design to be tuned and provided maximum coverage at that particular freq.

By the way, I saw 2 different Antenna on the Radio Shack website.
What's the difference between the

" Deluxe Antenna for Handheld Scanner " and the " 800MHz Scanner Antenna " (RS800)

Is the " Deluxe Antenna for Handheld Scanner " just like my Factory Uniden antenna and just a cheap ( All Band antenna )
The Length of this antenna is 9.45 inches Where as the Length of the RS800 is 7 inches

bonus1331
As far as 800mhz goes, I listen to Cabarrus and Mecklenburg county so I'm really leaning toward your comments
since we live in the same area.

The DEEluxe 20-034 is a 2 meter 70cm duck really. I have used it, and it's ok, an upgade over most stock ducks, but there are better antennas out there. You can try it, remember you have 30 days to return it. Austin

 

[ES13Raven]

Is the " Deluxe Antenna for Handheld Scanner " just like my Factory Uniden antenna and just a cheap ( All Band antenna )
The Length of this antenna is 9.45 inches Where as the Length of the RS800 is 7 inches

I have this antenna and it is a good improvement over the stock antenna. It is labeled as "VHF/UHF High-Performance" Handheld Scanner Antenna, so it is mainly geared toward VHF and UHF. The RS 800 MHz is probably better than the Deluxe for 800 MHz.

I hear that the Seeker 800 MHz is the best on 800 MHz. You might also want to look into that one.

 

[scanjunkie]

Do yourself a favor and go with the Radio Shack 800MHz antenna mentioned in the other posts...you won't be disappointed.

 

[ES13Raven]

The Diamond RH77CA is an HT antenna for transmit on 2 meters and 440 MHz. It is a 1/4 wave on 2 meters and a 1/2 wave on 440. Gain is a 2.15 dBi (440 MHz)

Is the RH-77CA tuned specifically for 440 MHz or other frequency ranges too?

 

[Universaldecoder]

Seeker 800mhz, according to various reports and testimonies leaves the RS 800 mhz in the dust.

Just an FYI.

Looks like one of those old 800 mhz analog cell phone antennas (remember those cell phones that came with a suitcase..hahaha).

http://scanfan.hoff.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1143158904

 

[bonus1331]

Had the Seeker and at double the price of the RS 800; I didn't see double the performance. Actually ended up selling the Seeker.

 

[iMONITOR]

I had heard the Seeker is fairly big and heavy on a hand-held also.

 

[bee]

bonus
where may I purchase the srf-40. I have been to univesal's site and did not see it there.

Thanks

 

[nosoup4u]

The seeker outperforms the RS800 on other bands as well. If you only want 800, then I would suggest sticking with the RS antenna just because of the size factor. If you need high 800Mhz Performance and still want good VHF/UHF coverage, then I would suggest the seeker.