back of set antenna for 898t

[bigcam406]

hey folks,just wondering what the the best back of set antenna i can buy for my 898t. as of now,im picking up local broadcasts(i live in south oshawa),as well as getting new york state troopers,niagara county sherriffs,rochester police,buffalo police(on good days) and toronto police fire etc.with the factory uniden antenna.i live in an apt with no balcony so my space is limited.went to durham radio but their selection was limited to outdoor discone and mobile antennas.any suggestions? thx

 

[SAR923]

Get the Radio Shack center loaded telescoping antenna and a right angle BNC adapter. That's going to give you about the best you'll get without a base station antenna.

 

[af5rn]

http://www.durhamradio.com/ks3-micro-magnet-mobile-scanner-antenna.html

Stick it to the top of your 898 and plug it into the BNC. You'll be pleasantly surprised with the results! And it has the added benefit of being useful as a mobile if you decide to take the radio with you in the car.

 

[bigcam406]

thx for the quick replies.i appreciate it

 

[bigcam406]

well, i took your advice and bought the antenna and i was surprised,it wasnt too good.reception stunk compared to the factory uniden unit.needless to say,im taking it back tomorrow.hopefully they will exchange it for something else.thx for your input anyways,justa shame it didnt work as well as i hoped.

 

[af5rn]

Which antenna? Two different people gave you two different recommendations.

 

[iMONITOR]

Choosing the right antenna has little to do with the scanner itself, but rather the frequencies, or bands you want to monitor. What works well on the 800MHz band will be a poor choice for the 150MHz VHF band, and even a worse choice for VHF/Lo, ie; 30-50MHz. Antennas designed for VHF, will not perform great for the 800MHz band.

Wide band antennas, the ones that claim they're designed for everything work, but not great for anything.

Then there is the issue of height.

 

[bigcam406]

sorry,for the omission,bought the ks3 that was recommended.the guy over at Durham Radio highly recommended it as well,as i wanted to monitor all frequencies,as i previously mentioned in my original thread,i was picking up quite a bit with the original Uniden unit.140-170,400-470,and 800mz are the frequencies that are being listened to.thx for your replies

 

[W4KRR]

sorry,for the omission,bought the ks3 that was recommended.the guy over at Durham Radio highly recommended it as well,as i wanted to monitor all frequencies,as i previously mentioned in my original thread,i was picking up quite a bit with the original Uniden unit.140-170,400-470,and 800mz are the frequencies that are being listened to.thx for your replies

When it comes to an antenna attached to the back of the radio, the one supplied with the scanner is about as good as you're going to get, at least for all band monitoring. The Radio Shack telescoping whip mentioned above may offer a little improvement on the VHF low band, but it will not be much better than the stock antenna on VHF high, UHF, or 800MHz. A band specific antenna, like the Radio Shack 800MHz antenna would possibly offer improvement on the 800MHz band, but the other bands would suffer. My advise is to stick with the supplied antenna, if it must be attached to the back of the radio.

 

[bigcam406]

thx for everyones input,well appreciated!

 

[af5rn]

Sorry it didn't work out for you. The KS3 is so similar to the PMM3B that I figured it had to perform similarly. And those who use it here report it is indeed an excellent performer. My PMM3B receives superbly when stuck on top of my Bearcat 996.

How are you measuring performance? Are you listening to a known good signal and looking at the S-meter for more bars than before? Are you listening to a known poor signal and expecting miracles? Or are you just judging by ear? I mean, no back-of-set antenna, or even the PMM3B is going to perform miracles, so you may simply be expecting too much. I guarantee you it is working better than the stock antenna, but indoors is indoors, and you can only do so much, ya know?

Since you already have the thing, you should try to maximise it's performance by finding the optimum place to stick it. The higher, the better. And metal ground plane is essential. A tall metal filing cabinet is great. A metal air conditioner unit is good too. In a pinch, a metal pie plate set up on a high shelf will do. Getting close to a window is helpful. Antennae are like real estate: location! location! location!

Good luck!

 

[bigcam406]

i returned the antenna today and exchanged it for a max8135,and im very glad i did.huge difference! as far as my location,i live in a 3 storey 8 plex,and i have a large window ledge in my living room that i set the antenna on.im picking up the usual frequencies,but with stronger signals,and im picking up frequencies that i havnt been able to get previously.thx for all of your inputs,well appreciated.

 

[af5rn]

Is it connected to a mag mount, or what?

The 8135 is an excellent antenna, but certainly not a "back of set" antenna like you were looking for, lol.

What bands are you using it on, and is it performing well on all of them?

 

[blueangel-eric]

it appears the 8135 is only for 800mhz so it won't cover the other bands you wanted. and what kind of mount did you use? Did you rule out the other antenna, you took back, if it had a faulty cable? I've bought a hershey kiss antenna only to find out the BNC was faulty and had to exchange it.

 

[af5rn]

I was kind of wondering that too. I mean, there's no doubt that the 8135 will outperform most anything on 800, so if that's the only thing he's listening to, then the difference is going to be notable. But whether it will get anything in the lower bands very well is hit or miss.

 

[bigcam406]

well, i like to clarify a few things.the reason i went to a mobile instead of a back of set is because a)convenience,can adjust locations much easily than moving the whole scanner with a back of set antenna and b) lack of aftermarket back of set antennas up here without doing the mail order thing.i talked to a few distributors up here(durham radio included) and they both basically said that i'd be more satisfied with a mobile. as for frequencies,in my original thread i stated that i was getting great reception on 140-170,400,and 800,but it was a pain in the rear to mount the scanner on the window ledge,hence the question about a back of set.just for the record,the max8135 is mag mounted,and i did a frequency search and found that even though its designed for 800mz,my reception on all frequencies has improved,especially the 140-170 and of course the 800.i appreciate all of your inputs and look forward to talking to you in the near future.thx