SDS100/SDS200: Austin-Condor antenna?

[NS9710]

Would this antenna with the SMA connector work with the Uniden SDS100, I wouldn’t mind getting one, however the weather proofing lip on the scanner has me concerned it may not properly fit

 

[jtwalker]

If the specs don’t specifically say “works with SDS100”, then it is very doubtful that it will fit.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Do you still have the SMA to BNC adapter for your SDS? Get the BNC Condor. I have one and it fits my SDS just fine with the adapter. Only caveat is you'll need to gently press down on it as you're turning the antenna to remove it

 

[jtwalker]

Do you still have the SMA to BNC adapter for your SDS? Get the BNC Condor. I have one and it fits my SDS just fine with the adapter. Only caveat is you'll need to gently press down on it as you're turning the antenna to remove it

This is what I do. I have Jon’s bnc adapter and it stays on my SDS100 all the time and I switch out bnc antennas as I choose, or connect to multi coupler when at home.

 

[chief21]

For what it's worth, I've tried several types of Austin antennas over the past years. The specs make them sound great, but I've never been impressed with how they actually work in the real world. Of course, your mileage may vary.

 

[hiegtx]

For what it's worth, I've tried several types of Austin antennas over the past years. The specs make them sound great, but I've never been impressed with how they actually work in the real world. Of course, your mileage may vary.

That was my experience with one of the Austin Condors. I purchased one quite some time ago, to use on one of my 396XTs. At that time, most of the cities and agencies of interest to me were using conventional VHF-high or UHF frequencies.

I did not see any improvement in reception on any of the more distant stations, and for some, it was almost worse than the generic OEM antennas. I tried it on several of my other scanners, with a different set of frequencies, but I was still less than impressed with its performance. It was relegated to my ‘junk’ drawer, and still there gathering dust.

While it did not work for me, there’s enough comments from members who did see better results. So, it may work for some areas. Perhaps the one I got was somewhat defective, or something about my agencies of interest that the Condor did not handle well.

As always, YMMV.

 

[RandyKuff]

The adapter that @jtwalker speaks of looks like this... But Jon has been MIA for a few years now... I also have one...
It is like the standard adapter that you can buy but has a turned down lip to fit the SDS100 properly so the center pin seats in far enough
to get a good connection...
It's also supported in place by the raised lip of the scanner and is far superior than Unidens adapter...

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

For what it's worth, I've tried several types of Austin antennas over the past years. The specs make them sound great, but I've never been impressed with how they actually work in the real world.

I did not see any improvement in reception on any of the more distant stations, and for some, it was almost worse than the generic OEM antennas.

Yeah I'm not terribly impressed with mine either so I tossed it in a drawer. My Remtronix outperforms it on most bands I've tested

 

[prcguy]

I have several Condor antennas and on VHF they are a big upgrade in performance. On UHF and 800 a little better but you have to go back and forth with a stock antenna to really tell.