Antenna for Blue Tail P25RX

[KA9MGC]

As the title says, what antennas are you using with your Blue Tail? Mine hates discones, and I've tried two of them. (an old Radio Shack model, and a new Diamond model)

I have decent luck with the small mag mount supplied with the radio, but no joy with any others so far. I purchased a rubber duck antenna for 800 MHz, and get no signals with it.

To clarify, without using the mag mount, I hear nothing. The discone is up around 18' and is fed with known good coax.

I thought a discone might help the radio, since it covers from 25-1300 MHz. I can transmit 2 meters, 440, and it even has some receiving life on HF for stronger stations. But it's as deaf as a post with the P25RX for some reason.

Has anybody had similar experiences with theirs? Or maybe some ideas about antennas?

 

[Hit_Factor]

I ran mine on a discone for quite a while. Took down the discone to have a new roof installed. I probably won't put it back up, over kill. I could use a paperclip for an antenna and receive our local public safety system.

I'm just running the telescoping antenna that came with the radio, works great. Look up the measurements/frequencies, so you extend to the correct length.

There must be something about your location, and the system you are trying to monitor. Maybe a Yagi is what you need. Radios don't hate discone and rubber duck antennas. Sounds like the wrong antenna for the conditions or a problem with the receiver.

 

[KA9MGC]

When I said 'hate' I just meant it wasn't working as I wanted it to work. Just a slight joke on my part.
I had thought about the location being a problem, it's possible.

I'll give the telescoping antenna a try, after setting it for the range.

 

[cmjonesinc]

At my house I use a TerraWave M3030035O10006O-B about 5 foot over a second story chimney. It's not perfect for my scanning needs but it covers the frequency range I need and I got it for $15 new in box. Mobile depending on the vehicle I have a larid 700/800 nmo, or something like of these but with a sma connector.

https://www.amazon.com/1089-BNC-Mini-Magnet-800MHz-1-BNC-Male-Connector/dp/B01DY8FOK0/ref=mp_s_a_1_4

Obviously the larid outperforms the cheap magmount. But where I scan I have really good tower coverage so it suits my needs.

 

[KA9MGC]

I'll look into the Terrawave, it looks promising.

Thanks.

 

[iMONITOR]

I'll look into the Terrawave, it looks promising.

Thanks.

If you can't find a Terrawave at a decent price, send me a PM.

Bill

 

[turnpike61]

I use a Diamond Discone at about 30 feet, at my location which is at 600 feet on a ridge. It works pretty well, but at 800 MHz, it would probably compare favorably to a Dummy Load mounted at the same height. However, on frequencies 450 MHz and below, the P25RX hears very well with it.

I also found the included Mag Mount for 800 MHz to be a decent antenna to provide with the unit, but only marginally better in my location than the extendible whip. I think the unique characteristics of the 800MHz band (all but one of the P25 systems I listen to) are a big factor here.

Good luck.

 

[cmjonesinc]

I'll look into the Terrawave, it looks promising.

Thanks.

There was a guy on ebay a while back with over 100 of them really cheap. It's well built and preforms great for what it's made for. I only say it isn't perfect for me because I occasionally monitor some vhf stuff, which it obviously wasn't designed for.

 

[KA9MGC]

I appreciate the offer. I'm looking into alternate scanners as well.

I use a Diamond Discone at about 30 feet, at my location which is at 600 feet on a ridge. It works pretty well, but at 800 MHz, it would probably compare favorably to a Dummy Load mounted at the same height. However, on frequencies 450 MHz and below, the P25RX hears very well with it.

I also found the included Mag Mount for 800 MHz to be a decent antenna to provide with the unit, but only marginally better in my location than the extendible whip. I think the unique characteristics of the 800MHz band (all but one of the P25 systems I listen to) are a big factor here.

Good luck.

My Diamond Discone also works very well except for the 800 MHz area. I'll still use it for other bands like VHF Air, amateur radio etc. I have a Terrawave coming from a forum member which should do the trick.

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[shirsch101]

Has anyone ever had experience with a OmniX Base Antenna by DPD?

 

[consys]

As the title says, what antennas are you using with your Blue Tail? Mine hates discones, and I've tried two of them. (an old Radio Shack model, and a new Diamond model)

I have decent luck with the small mag mount supplied with the radio, but no joy with any others so far. I purchased a rubber duck antenna for 800 MHz, and get no signals with it.

To clarify, without using the mag mount, I hear nothing. The discone is up around 18' and is fed with known good coax.

I thought a discone might help the radio, since it covers from 25-1300 MHz. I can transmit 2 meters, 440, and it even has some receiving life on HF for stronger stations. But it's as deaf as a post with the P25RX for some reason.

Has anybody had similar experiences with theirs? Or maybe some ideas about antennas?

Are you either flexing the coax or adding an adapter when you connect to the P25? I've been stumped by both- a missing pin in an sma adapter and a "semi broken" coax that got moved a few to many times while I experimented.

 

[iMONITOR]

Has anyone ever had experience with a OmniX Base Antenna by DPD?

Search results for query: omniX

forums.radioreference.com

 

[KA9MGC]

Are you either flexing the coax or adding an adapter when you connect to the P25? I've been stumped by both- a missing pin in an sma adapter and a "semi broken" coax that got moved a few to many times while I experimented.

No, with the newer discone I ran new coax. In fact, I took the P25 out to the mast using a battery and took most of the coax out of the equation. The Terrawave works very well even inside. I'll mount it outside here shortly, it should do even batter. All I listen to on this radio is P25 police in the area all around 7-800 MHz. I have another scanner for the other bands.

 

[krokus]

My P25RX is rarely used, as I have to connect to my external TV antenna, to get a useful signal. I have not had the time to load up the laptop, drive closer to a site of interest, and try a stock antenna.

 

[shirsch101]

A few years ago a bought a Liger HRF-50 Ultra-Thin HDTV Antenna with Amplifier Signal Booster from Amazon for a TV where I could not get cable to. Verizon now has WIFI cable boxes so I had just put it in a corner of the family room and forgot about. I found it today and gave it a try on my P25RX and I was amazed how great it worked. No matter what antenna I tried from the stock P25RX antenna to an outdoor discone previously, I could never get a RF Signal lower than -105db but when I tried this flat panel HD antenna and moved it around I was getting -78db to -82db constantly on 3 sites in Chester County PA. The great sounding P25RX now sounds even better.

 

[Cheeseburgers]

sma mag mount with remtronics 800mhz, receives great

 

[kb8q]

I'm only 2-1/4 miles from 2 of the 10 Detroit P25 sites. I have great results with the small mag mount antenna that ships with the radio. The antenna is on a shelf next to a 3rd floor window. The P25RX runs 24/7 on a 2021 iMac M1. I can also receive 5 other sites nearby that are not part of the Detroit simulcast system. For me, the P25RX provides the best coverage and dat from the system I'm monitoring. The data logging is highly useful and there are no batteries to constantly charge/change.