Another dumb question . . .

[KB2GOM]

Would an external antenna -- discone, Scan King, etc. -- tend to overload a handheld scanner (BC125AT, SDS100, etc.)?

 

[mule1075]

Would an external antenna -- discone, Scan King, etc. -- tend to overload a handheld scanner (BC125AT, SDS100, etc.)?

Depends on a lot of variables. Location of near by high power radio transmitters etc. If you are asking if a difference between a handheld or base/mobile unit I have not seen a difference.

 

[KB2GOM]

Depends on a lot of variables. Location of near by high power radio transmitters etc. If you are asking if a difference between a handheld or base/mobile unit I have not seen a difference.

So basically, the circuitry of handheld in terms of electrical performance is the same as its base/mobile twin . . . for example the SDS100 and SDS200 or 536/436?

That's good to know. When I wrote for Passport to World Band Radio, there were some portables that were tuned "hot" to maximize the performance of their attached whip antennas and hooking up, say, a long wire could easily result in overloading.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[MDScanFan]

For what it’s worth my handheld scanners, including the 125AT, exhibit lots of intermodulation products when connected to a wideband outdoor antenna like a discone. The only way I can mitigate it is to add notch filters at the antenna input. For instance, one for the 152 MHz and another for 162 MHz when I try to listen to the marine band. My base scanners tend to exhibit the same issue.

 

[WB9YBM]

Would an external antenna -- discone, Scan King, etc. -- tend to overload a handheld scanner (BC125AT, SDS100, etc.)?

It's more a function of how strong a signal is when it arrives in your receiver; the external antenna would be a help for distant or low-power stations, but if you've got close-in or high-power stations nearby, yeah, there's a risk for over-load as well as adjacent frequency "splatter". I had that happen with an older ham radio hand-held when I hooked it to a base station antenna (an omni-directional at 50')--at least that old model radio I was using just wasn't intended (and therefore not designed for) long-haul work (although technological advancements made since then may have improved the situation somewhat).