Baofeng Baofeng BFF8-HP Antenna

[634bmf01]

I just got a Baofeng BFF8-HP and am looking for suggestions for an antenna I can attach to it so I can hear something. I live in a suburban environment with some hills, so I need an antenna strong enough to overcome this so I can at least hear something interesting.

 

[mmckenna]

What, exactly, are you trying to hear? Antennas are frequency specific, so you need an antenna that's designed to receive on the frequencies you want to listen to.

Also, antenna on top of a hand held radio inside a home is about the worst scenario you can have for listening. Add in that it's a $30 radio with a wide open front end and minimal filtering, inside a home with a lot of RFI generators. If you want to hear "something", you no doubt will, but if you want to hear something specific, you need to get a good antenna installed outside the home unless the transmitter is nearby.

 

[ko6jw_2]

Lawrence KS and Douglas County are part of the Kansas Statewide Interoperable Communications System. This is an 800MHz P25II trunked system some of which is encrypted. This means that your Baofeng cannot receive ANY of this. First it does not cover 800, then it does not receive P25 digital transmissions and third NO scanner can receive encrypted systems. The antenna is the least of your problems. Some scanners can receive the unencrypted transmissions on this system but not Baofengs (which are not really scanners anyway). Sorry.

 

[KC3ECJ]

Lawrence KS and Douglas County are part of the Kansas Statewide Interoperable Communications System. This is an 800MHz P25II trunked system some of which is encrypted. This means that your Baofeng cannot receive ANY of this. First it does not cover 800, then it does not receive P25 digital transmissions and third NO scanner can receive encrypted systems. The antenna is the least of your problems. Some scanners can receive the unencrypted transmissions on this system but not Baofengs (which are not really scanners anyway). Sorry.

Maybe he wants to listen to something else.

 

[jwt873]

As mmckenna points out, you need something outside. Assuming that you live in a house, you'd want to mount the antenna as high as possible... at least over the peak of your roof.

One popular and cheap scanner antenna is the discone. Get one of these, stick it on a mast and you should do OK. --> Amazon.com if you can't put something outside, then people have reported getting decent results with the antenna mounted in the attic.

 

[634bmf01]

Lawrence KS and Douglas County are part of the Kansas Statewide Interoperable Communications System. This is an 800MHz P25II trunked system some of which is encrypted. This means that your Baofeng cannot receive ANY of this. First it does not cover 800, then it does not receive P25 digital transmissions and third NO scanner can receive encrypted systems. The antenna is the least of your problems. Some scanners can receive the unencrypted transmissions on this system but not Baofengs (which are not really scanners anyway). Sorry.

Ok. Then what can cover 800 and recieve P25 transmissions?

 

[ko6jw_2]

Ok. Then what can cover 800 and recieve P25 transmissions?

Higher end Uniden scanners can cover 800MHz and receive digital trunked systems. However, some of the Kansas system is encrypted and no scanner regardless of price or other capabilities can receive these transmissions. This is the direction the hobby is going. In some places you literally cannot receive any public safety radio. There may be other things to listen to like railroads and aircraft (Baofeng does not receive air band). I happen to live in an area with essentially no trunking, no digital and all VHF/UHF analog systems. Not for long probably. I'll enjoy it while I can.