Avidlistner508
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I’m looking for info on the AntennaCraft ANTST2. Is this Omnidirectional? Would I get better 360 reception with a Discone?
Antenna
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Yes both antennas are Omni-directional reception, In my opinion the ST2 outperforms a discone antenna in the way of reception but not build, if you want something that is quite sturdy a Diamond Discone antenna would be the way to go.
Avidlistner508
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Ok thank... had to move the st2 and one of the frequencies I was listening to dropped out. Wasn’t sure if the discone would work better. Guess I’ll try and adjust it.
The antenna has been discontinued for many years. Although it was a good performer, it was poor quality and did not stand up well to sun, ice, and wind. They were constructed of the same thin-walled aluminum tubing and plastic that would deteriorate from ultra violet sun rays.
They used to sell for about $50 and occasionally show up on Ebay for some insane prices as high as $300. :roll:
I have used 3 different scanner antennas mounted at the same location on the same 10-foot antenna mast which clears the roof line of my home. One was the ST2 Scantenna, one was the Radio Shack 20-013 Discone Scanner Antenna and the third is my present antenna which is the Antenna Specialists MON731 all-band ground plane.
In order of best overall performance on all of the scanner bands, this is how I would rate the 3 antennas (YMMV at your location):
1. I have found the Antenna Specialists MON731 all-band ground plane (https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/scanants/3376.html) to be the best performer of the 3. I have had it on my roof now for about 15 years and it has survived the harsh New England winters and very high winds at the top of my hill without any problems or damage (have changed out the RG6 quad-shield coax once).
2. The ST2 Scantenna (https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/scanants/2732.html) had decent performance especially on VHF-Low (30-50 MHz) but did not match the overall performance of my Antenna Specialists MON731. Also as already mentioned above, the long-term durability of the antenna is questionable especially in harsh winter snow/ice and high-wind conditions. The use of a fiberglass reinforcing rod during assembly of the antenna may be useful to prolong the antenna's life expectancy.
3. The Radio Shack 20-013 Discone Scanner Antenna (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-NO...ntenna-Scanner-Ham-Radio-20-013-/132710961525) was the poorest overall performer of the 3 at my location. Reception of UHF (450-470 MHz) from Boston (about 50 miles away) was noticeably degraded compared to the other 2 scanner antennas above. I was "fortunate" in that the antenna was destroyed/ruined by some incompetent roofers who did some repair work on my roof. They ended up paying me for the damaged antenna and I used those funds to purchase my MON731.
safetyobc
Member
I have the Scantenna. I've had it for years! Used it for about 3 years until we moved. Brought it with me and never put it back up. Been in storage for a long time! If they are going for $300 on eBay, I've been missing out lol.
Avidlistner508,
I wanted to jump in here and say Welcome to Radio Reference! This is the place to get answers to all of your radio related questions.
Cheers! Dave
I wanted to jump in here and say Welcome to Radio Reference! This is the place to get answers to all of your radio related questions.
Cheers! Dave
If the Scantenna goes as high as $300.
The Channel Master 5094A I got sitting in my basement should go for an easy $600 then.....
jk
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The Channel Master 5094A I got sitting in my basement should go for an easy $600 then.....
jk
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Avidlistner508
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Where I work they took down our tower that the ST2 was attached to and put up a cell tower and are going to co locate our com equipment. They never made provisions to put our scanner antenna up so I moved it to roof. Problem now is I’m missing a very important frequency. I did gain one I didn’t need though.
See my Radio Reference posting from 08-16-2016 where I gave details and links of 5 ST2 Scantennas that had sold in the preceding 60 days on eBay for prices ranging from $295 to $350. Some of the antennas fetching those prices were not even brand-new: http://forums.radioreference.com/sc...antennacraft-st2-scantenna-3.html#post2627556
safetyobc
Member
Wow. Didn't realize they were worth so much now. Guess I'll look into selling mine then. I don't use it.
This a Scanantenna ?
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safetyobc
Member
This a Scanantenna ?
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Yep, that's it.
Well $50 currently sitting in a trash pile.
Some people have know idea what they have
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Some people have know idea what they have
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This a Scanantenna ?
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What you have in your picture above is the Radio Shack version of the ST2 Scantenna as it has blue plastic insulators. The ST2 Scantenna sold under the Antennacraft brand name had black plastic insulators.
Until radio shack bought out Antennacraft and then they all had blue insulators. I have had both versions. No difference i could tell.
Gotcha.
Never seen one in person.
Just what I came across for sale.
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Never seen one in person.
Just what I came across for sale.
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That's interesting because every Radio Shack ST2 Scantenna (both the earlier model 20-042 and the later model 20-044) that I have seen listed on eBay and elsewhere (and based on a personal purchase) have always had the blue plastic insulators. Additionally all of the listings that I have seen advertising the Antennacraft brand ST2 Scantenna have always had the black plastic insulators. I personally have never seen an Antennacraft branded ST2 Scantenna with blue insulators.
For completeness I checked with a friend of mine who purchased a "fresh stock" Antennacraft ST2 Scantenna from a major large-volume antenna dealer less than a year before the antenna was discontinued. After checking his antenna in his attic he tells me that his "late model" Antennacraft ST2 Scantenna does indeed have black insulators. YMMV
Thanks for the input will keep that for future reference [emoji106]
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