Antenna for the house

[yorkphotog]

Mainly, my scanners are all in my car... But I've got a 996 at home that I use currently with the stock antenna. I'd like to replace it with something that I can mount outside to try and achieve better signal. I've never done any antenna mounting (aside from on a vehicle) so I'm not too sure where to start. Because of the various systems that I monitor, it does need to be an all-band type. I also don't want to spend a fortune on it and don't want something that will be hugely unsightly - nor a "tower" of any sort..... just something simple to get an antenna outside instead of here on the desk.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[ka3jjz]

There are a few things to keep in mind - I will leave the comments about grounding masts and so on to our Ontario friends who are familiar with regulations in that area;

a. Never mount it near a power or phone line, or where it could fall over in a storm and contact them.
b. Never ignore item a.
c. Don't skimp on the coax. Our Scanner Antennas wiki has a few articles on coax loss issues in the homebrew/tech section. The reason is simple - the higher in frequency you go, losses will increase. You want to keep losses down to a minimum
d. Coax is not waterproof. There are a few ways people waterproof the connections- Coax Seal (which is an electrical tape that is mallable) or sometimes I have heard of folks double wrapping the connections and using a silicone sealant on it. Making sure of this will increase the life of the coax. Be prepared to replace it every couple of years.
e. Disconnect and ground the coax during a lightning storm. Don't take chances.

Discones and ScanTennas (of which there are MANY clones) tend to be a bit ugly but they work. DPD productions has an antenna that is supposed to be wide banded, but I'm not entirely sure of the Customs charges for shipping to Canada. Heck, some folks have had success constructing the off center fed dipole as shown in our wiki. That's probably about as unobtrusive as you can get, really. Do some homework and decide how much 'ugly' you can tolerate, hi.

I'm sure others will jump in here with more, but I think that covers the basics.

73 Mike

 

[nanZor]

I can second the recommendation for the OCFD dipole as shown in the wiki and threads as a very simple and fun way to get started.

Here's the rundown on the simplest:

Get a tv-type 75-300 ohm matching transformer. Radio Shack #15-1230 or #15-1253 do nicely.

Attach 48 inches of wire you have laying around to one screw terminal (or wire lead). Attach 18 inches of wire to the other end. Hang up nearly anywhere with a thumbtack, nail, tape etc. It is ok if you slope or tilt it if you have to. Short end or long end up doesn't really matter.

(If you use a transformer that has wire leads, take that into account and consider it part of the antenna wire itself, so your long end would be something perhaps like 46 inches, and the other end 16 inches. It's isn't too critical.)

Attach a run of coax (the shorter the better) to the transformer - you'll probably need an F-BNC adapter or two. I recommend RG-6 cable as a start, but again, just use what you have laying around and refine it later. Try to run it at least a foot or two straight away from the antenna - then again, it isn't extremely critical.

Enjoy! It really is that simple. Easy to hide behind a desk or in the attic. Keep it at least a foot away from metal objects, or metallic mesh inside walls etc. Later, if you want to play, use larger wire, tubing etc, but for now run what you have laying around.