Aftermarke rubber ducks for the BR-330T / BCD-396

[KE7TJK]

Is anyone using an aftermarke rubber duck on their SMA terminated scanner?

I'm looking for one that will improve my reception on 150 to 160 mhz , and have it as short as possible.

I've looked at the wiki, and have looked at the short Comet that Universal radio is offering. http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantht/3938.html

Has anyone used the above antenna, and if so, how well does it work.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[yaesumofo]

These short antennas do not work very well.
If you must have a short antenna go to your closest ham radio shop or sinilar.
If you live in an urban area you will have a NOAA weather station on the air. tune 162.550 (or what ever channel is on th air in your area) and try each one of these antennas. if it hears the weather channel then get it. look for the one that receives the weather station best.
Good luck,
Personally I recomend the short Watson telescopic antenna W881. You can adjust the length (thus iT's ability to hear a particular frequency) it is small. It is not as small as the ones you are looking at buy those are crappy scanner antennas anyway.

The one of the best antennas i can recomend is the MALDOL AH-W100RX . This is one GREAT antenna. again not small but great t pulling in signals.
Yaesumofo

Is anyone using an aftermarke rubber duck on their SMA terminated scanner?

I'm looking for one that will improve my reception on 150 to 160 mhz , and have it as short as possible.

I've looked at the wiki, and have looked at the short Comet that Universal radio is offering. http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantht/3938.html

Has anyone used the above antenna, and if so, how well does it work.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[safetyobc]

The Diamond RH77CA works really well but it is very long.

I have a SMA duckie that is about 7" long specifically for VHF-High. I bought it at Waltel which is now out of business. However, you can still purchase one directly from http://www.antenex.com/

It is a little hard to find, but if you look in the online catalog, you can find it.

matt

 

[W4KRR]

Is anyone using an aftermarke rubber duck on their SMA terminated scanner?

I'm looking for one that will improve my reception on 150 to 160 mhz , and have it as short as possible.

I've looked at the wiki, and have looked at the short Comet that Universal radio is offering. http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantht/3938.html

Has anyone used the above antenna, and if so, how well does it work.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

An antenna shorter than the stock antenna isn't going to improve reception on the VHF hi band. You must choose between improved performance, or shorter length, but you really can't have both. safetyobc gave some good advice, that's what I would do.

 

[Concrete1]

Ckeck out the MH-255 and the HT-55 here:
https://www.webtrix.net/shopcart/ad...pringgreen>Handheld+Radio+Antennas</b></font>

 

[dimab]

Although I have never used this antenna, it may work well if you are REALLY REALLY close to what you're trying to listen to. If you plan on going any distance from the signal, I would bet this would be a terrible choice for clear reception.

I realize you're looking for size first, so if the smallest doesn't work, I can recommend Diamond SHR815 wich is only 6", SMA and whip style.
http://www.rfparts.com/diamond/srh815.html

 

[KE7TJK]

The stock antenna length is ok; I don't want anything longer than that.

I'm specifically looking for a better one than the stock. I don't necessarily want a shortie, but I don't want something over 6 to 7 inches either. I also don't want a telescoping whip.

I have checked at the local radio shop, and they don't have anything. No ham shops anywhere close to my area either.

 

[KE7TJK]

Ckeck out the MH-255 and the HT-55 here:
https://www.webtrix.net/shopcart/ad...pringgreen>Handheld+Radio+Antennas</b></font>

Thanks!

A couple of those would work just fine for me.

Any comments on how they perform?

 

[rhutch]

I've been using the Comet SMA 3 on bell fleetnet in Ontario which is 142 range and it works great I also have the SRH-77 which is the SMA version of the RH-77 from Diamond and the SMA 3 is performing better. It's also shorter and has a fold over feature which is nice.

 

[JHaislet]

I just ordered a Maldol MH-255 earlier today to specifically listen in on 157MHz with a 396T when on the go.

Also picked up a Diamond SRH77CA SMA for stationary listening at home.

Originally, I picked up a (Premier) Pryme RD-9-SMA 7" when I first got the 396T and I haven't been too happy with this antenna on for VHF. While it's advertised as a 2M/70cm antenna, it performs at least 1-2 bars worse than the stock Uniden duckie that came with the 396T.

The differences are very evident when I try to listen on a 157MHz tower thats approximately 18 miles away. Same goes for the two 162MHz weather sites. The RD-9-SMA is practically deaf to one site & very scratchy on the closer one.

 

[K4APR]

I work for a Motorola two-way shop and we keep 800 MHz and 900 MHz antennas for the Jedi series of portables which have the female SMA end on them. I bought a SMA male to male coupler that I use to attach one of these to my 396 for excellent 800/900 reception. If you have a Motorola shop near you, I suggest picking one up. What better antenna than one designed for THAT band? That is, if 800/900 trunking is your primary listening target.

 

[KE7TJK]

I work for a Motorola two-way shop and we keep 800 MHz and 900 MHz antennas for the Jedi series of portables which have the female SMA end on them. I bought a SMA male to male coupler that I use to attach one of these to my 396 for excellent 800/900 reception. If you have a Motorola shop near you, I suggest picking one up. What better antenna than one designed for THAT band? That is, if 800/900 trunking is your primary listening target.

Only Motorola shop here now is a dealer, and that is who I checked with. Motorola decided to shut down their company owned service center a few years ago, and my best resource left with them.

I primarily listen to 154 to 158 mhz; all public safety agencies in my county all are on conventional.

 

[JHaislet]

What antennas are you using for 154-158MHz?

 

[KE7TJK]

On the BR-330T I'm using the stock antenna.

I'm wanting to upgrade it to a better antenna, while keeping the same length for portability.

 

[JHaislet]

I'll let you know how the 3" Maldol MH-255 that I ordered yesterday works as I'm mainly interested in the same VHF band. Hopefully it will arrive sometime next week. I'm hoping it will perform as well or better than the stock 5.75" Uniden antenna.

 

[KE7TJK]

Thanks.

Looking forward to a first hand report.

 

[W4KRR]

There are commercial antennas available for any band you want, that already have SMA male connectors on them, which is what's needed on the '330 and '396. Such antennas are available from Antenex and Centurion (now called Laird). You can find a dealer that sells them or contact them directly. However, I'm not sure if they will sell directly to the public or not.

Otherwise, you will have to use ham radio antennas with SMA connectors, which are readily available from ham radio dealers like AES, HRO, Universal Radio, etc. These antennas are usually tuned for the ham bands, but will usually work well on adjacent bands.

Antenex web site
Centurion web site

 

[KE7TJK]

There are commercial antennas available for any band you want, that already have SMA male connectors on them, which is what's needed on the '330 and '396. Such antennas are available from Antenex and Centurion (now called Laird). You can find a dealer that sells them or contact them directly. However, I'm not sure if they will sell directly to the public or not.

Otherwise, you will have to use ham radio antennas with SMA connectors, which are readily available from ham radio dealers like AES, HRO, Universal Radio, etc. These antennas are usually tuned for the ham bands, but will usually work well on adjacent bands.

Antenex web site
Centurion web site

I navigated both websites with no luck.

The Antenex site wants me to register to look at their catalog, and the Centurion/Laird site did not show any antenna with a SMA connector.

Also, looks like Antenex is also owned by Laird. I also have been to HRO's site, and had no luck there either.

I prefer Larsen antennas, but have had no luck with them either.



I'll wait for a report on the Maldol.

 

[Al42]

On the BR-330T I'm using the stock antenna.

I'm wanting to upgrade it to a better antenna, while keeping the same length for portability.

Since "better" relates directly to "longer", you're looking for something that doesn't exist. No one has figured out how to violate the laws of physics yet.

 

[JHaislet]

Since "better" relates directly to "longer", you're looking for something that doesn't exist. No one has figured out how to violate the laws of physics yet.

By your hypothesis, ANY 6-7" antenna will be better than ANY 3-4" antenna. I respectfully disagree. Just because an antenna is longer doesn't mean it hears better across the spectrum. A shorter antenna made specifically for a certain band can produce better results than a longer, jack of all trades antenna designed for 30-1300mhz. These all-purpose antennas can be quit deaf in certain bands.

Case in point: Pryme RD-9 vs. Radio Shack 800Mhz. The RD-9 is about 1.5" longer than the RS800. Does this mean it picks up the 800MHz traffic better? Of course not, that would be silly to base performance just on length alone. The RS800 kicks the RD-9's tail on the 800 spectrum.