Antenna question
- Thread starter N0FPY
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I make my own antennas for my handheld 800MHz scanners. The homemade antenna shown below works better than ANYTHING I've ever purchased. I've tried the stubbie "race" antennas, several different ham 2-meter antennas, the Radio Shack dedicated 800MHz antenna, etc, etc.... This one works the best for me, in my area of the south metro, on the east Hennepin system. Your mileage may vary....
I start with a standard BNC crimp connector designed for RG-6 or RG-59 coaxial cable. I cut it about 4 inches long and carefully pull out only the center conductor, which I keep and I throw the rest away. Then I take my BNC crimp connector and I use a pliers to remove the crimp collar, it just pulls off and I throw that away. I feed the center conductor through the BNC connector and drop a dab of solder onto the back side of the connector just to make sure the conductor doesn't move. Then I use 2 or 3 layers of heat shrink tubing to make it look and feel like a typical "rubber duck" antenna. After it has cooled, I cut it to the finished length and then dip the end of the antenna into liquid electrical tape 2 or 3 times (letting it dry between dips) and voilà, instant homemade 800MHz scanner antenna that helps against strong signals and simulcast distortion problems.
The finished antenna below is just shy of 3.5 inches long. I made this antenna probably 5 or 6 years ago and it's seen very heavy use on almost a daily basis. Works great.
I start with a standard BNC crimp connector designed for RG-6 or RG-59 coaxial cable. I cut it about 4 inches long and carefully pull out only the center conductor, which I keep and I throw the rest away. Then I take my BNC crimp connector and I use a pliers to remove the crimp collar, it just pulls off and I throw that away. I feed the center conductor through the BNC connector and drop a dab of solder onto the back side of the connector just to make sure the conductor doesn't move. Then I use 2 or 3 layers of heat shrink tubing to make it look and feel like a typical "rubber duck" antenna. After it has cooled, I cut it to the finished length and then dip the end of the antenna into liquid electrical tape 2 or 3 times (letting it dry between dips) and voilà, instant homemade 800MHz scanner antenna that helps against strong signals and simulcast distortion problems.
The finished antenna below is just shy of 3.5 inches long. I made this antenna probably 5 or 6 years ago and it's seen very heavy use on almost a daily basis. Works great.
If your interest focused on public safety everything but fire paging is on the ARMER system and fire paging is usually simulcast there too. So you're not missing anything.
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