Antenna Recommendations Needed

[ArkTex]

So,

I'm on the second floor of a house, and my mag mount antenna is currently out the window, with only the mag mount inside of the window. The window was already broken a little bit, the screen part, so I found an opening and the entire antenna is outside of the window.

So, it's technically outside with me being able to pull it back inside if needed.

I can't remove the screen from the window, otherwise it'd be a perfect place for a discone.

Will test, and if you all want pictures I can do that as well.

 

[TailGator911]

Any outside antenna is a big improvement over the stock rubber duck on the TRX-1. If you are hearing what you want to hear then it's all good. Outside and high is the main goal. The TRX-1 is a decent scanner and should be even better with the mobile antenna outside your window. Have fun with it!

 

[ArkTex]

Any outside antenna is a big improvement over the stock rubber duck on the TRX-1. If you are hearing what you want to hear then it's all good. Outside and high is the main goal. The TRX-1 is a decent scanner and should be even better with the mobile antenna outside your window. Have fun with it!

The thing is I'm not able to hear much of anything now. I have the systems all in their own scanlists, and yet the TRX doesn't keep on a frequency at all. It'll randomly bounce in between signals that ate strong, even when the transmitter is only six miles away.

It worked fine last time, so this time I'm confused as to why I'm not getting anything.

None of the frequencies have changed or gone encrypted. The antenna is in the same place.

 

[TailGator911]

There is a sticky memo here on RR that is a guide for what to check when your scanner is not receiving. Check your connections, service types, etc. It's usually something small and overlooked that causes reception problems. With an antenna outside on a 2nd floor your TRX-1 should be doing quite well.

 

[ArkTex]

There is a sticky memo here on RR that is a guide for what to check when your scanner is not receiving. Check your connections, service types, etc. It's usually something small and overlooked that causes reception problems. With an antenna outside on a 2nd floor your TRX-1 should be doing quite well.

It's not technically outside, there's a hole in the window screen I put the antenna part through. So it's technically both.

 

[wv2vvl]

I just reached the point where I can offer a reccommendation on the Diamond D-3000 discone. I had some difficulty assembling it due to the fact that the bottom radial (skirt) set screws (3M) are so small I lost 2. I had bought a DX Engineering D130NJ discone but it is only a Diamond D-3000 with a new label, so I had spares.

The antenna is not small but the thin radials make it hardly noticeable from even s short distance away.

I was surprised tonight as I had just finished setting up a random-length end-fed long wire antenna on the Antenna 2 input, so I can now compare HF signals between antennas. I started out with WWV on 10 & 15 MHz. on Antenna 2 with acceptable results. I then tried CHU on 3.33 MHz. On Antenna 2 it was noisy but to my surprise when I switched to Antenna 1 (Diamond discone) this standards station was loud & clear

The performance of the Diamond was far better than one would expect a discone. In my experience with these kinds of antennas, they will work well beyond the design specs.

 

[ArkTex]

I just reached the point where I can offer a reccommendation on the Diamond D-3000 discone. I had some difficulty assembling it due to the fact that the bottom radial (skirt) set screws (3M) are so small I lost 2. I had bought a DX Engineering D130NJ discone but it is only a Diamond D-3000 with a new label, so I had spares.

The antenna is not small but the thin radials make it hardly noticeable from even s short distance away.

I was surprised tonight as I had just finished setting up a random-length end-fed long wire antenna on the Antenna 2 input, so I can now compare HF signals between antennas. I started out with WWV on 10 & 15 MHz. on Antenna 2 with acceptable results. I then tried CHU on 3.33 MHz. On Antenna 2 it was noisy but to my surprise when I switched to Antenna 1 (Diamond discone) this standards station was loud & clear

The performance of the Diamond was far better than one would expect a discone. In my experience with these kinds of antennas, they will work well beyond the design specs.

I don't know if a D220R would offer better performance over something like a Larsen or a Remtronix handheld antenna. Get one for 700/800mhz and a second one for 450mhz that are tuned for max performance tuned into those bands. As well, getting a BNC mount and some coax and creating a makeshift base mount for the handheld stuff.