Antenna for Sanpete County
N3krj0statix,
I love Manti and Sanpete County! Whenever I go there it just feels like home, and I'm not even sure why. I wish I could figure out how to live there and still work in my career field (or even better, not work at all).
ok so this might be a dumb question but i got just a regular tv antennae on our roof and i got a cord running from my scanner to it for better range. Realistically i dont think i am getting decent range. My scanner is a old uniden bc148xlt and i am looking to find what kind of antennae i should buy to replace our old one. is there somethin i can get to receive 10-20 miles?
First, a TV input has a an 'impedance' of 75 ohms. Scanners (and most 2-way radios) use 50 ohms. If you were using a transmitter, this would be a big no-no. Since you are only receiving it wont hurt anything, but your reception will be a fair amount less than a 'similar size' antenna designed for 50 ohms. Also, most or all existing TV antennas actually have an impedance of 300 ohms, then they have a little adapter to convert to 75 ohms so it will match the 'TV coax' and your TV. If you ran a separate coax to the antenna and bypassed the converter (is this antenna still connected to your TV?) the match would be even worse. If your 'cord' isn't coax, you should probably just forget the whole thing.
Second, rooftop TV antennas are usually very directional. Thats fine to Rx from a TV tower that doesnt move around, but not so good for mobile radios that keep changing location.
Third, are all your TV channels 13 and above, or do you use channels 2-11 in Manti? If your antenna is only for UHF-TV, your reception on most of the freqs listed by EnosJones will be very, very poor.
Fourth, TV uses 'horizontal polarization' (the antennas are flat). Radios use vertical (they stand up straight).
All that being said, even a piece of wire cut to the right length and placed on your roof COULD get a better signal than the one included on the radio.
As far as a new antenna, thats a tough call for you right now. We know trunking is coming to Sanpete County because they already have towers near Manti, Gunnison, Levan, and soon Indianola. Trunking frequencies are around 850Mhz and you will likely monitor fixed tower location(s) instead of the individual radios. Your ideal antenna right now would be many times larger, heavier, and more expensive than what your ideal will be in a year or two. I might be more prone to spending money on the future, not the past.
If you could come across an inexpensive antenna for marine or ham radio (I think 10-meter) or any mobile antenna for around 155Mhz that doesnt need a 'ground plane', you could mount it on your roof using a bracket and 50-ohm coax and you should be set until you can get a new trunking scanner and a new antenna.
Dont panic about trunking if your not ready for new equipment right now. Surely most local agencies will still 'patch' to the old freqs during the transition period, likely for several years.
If you havent dozed off during this long post and still want more info, just let me know. I'd be glad to help if I can.