Base Antenna for Handheld (BCD436HP)

[ScubaJungle]

I'd like to set up an antenna that will give me the benefits of having a base/mobile station with my handheld. I'm assuming people do this and just wire the coax to their handheld.
Right now, I'm on the fifth (top) floor of a building, however, I believe that signals coming from behind me (other side of the building) are being blocked/dampened by the concrete/brick. I would like to set up a decent, small to mid-size antenna that I can stick above my balcony onto the roof, so I can get good signal reception from all sides.

Does anyone using a handheld with base antenna, or anyone else have any opinions, thoughts, or tips on where to start? I'm fairly new to radios in general so I appreciate any advice I can get.

I get fairly good reception with the stock BCD436HP antenna for my 800mhz channels, so, ideally, I would like an antenna that will give me the best ability to find new signals I previously couldn't get.
I would say 800mhz, 200mhz, and 400mhz are the top three bands Im looking to receive, but I'd like to be able to get better reception on everything from 20mhz-950mhz (although I know this isn't ideal and best remedied with a single antenna for particular band).

From research so far, it seems like discones are a popular choice for this kind of objective. Would this be my best bet, or are there others better suited? I'd like to make it myself to save money and have a project to do as well.

 

[jonwienke]

Indoor Discone Antenna Setup

For those who for whatever reason can't set up an outdoor antenna, this setup works quite a bit better than a ducky/whip. Antenna: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QVPGKHU/ Stand: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E0PPG0/ The stand tubing is the exact right size to fit the antenna...

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[mmckenna]

What Jon linked is probably a good solution.
Most property owners/managers won't want anything permanently attached to the building, so a stand alone antenna support can be a good solution.
You -may- run into some property owners that won't want anything that looks even remotely like an antenna, so it's a good idea to check first.

The portable mast with either some weight or guy lines to hold it in place would be simple to set up. Some have even used flower pots filled with concrete and a piece of pipe stuck in it. Not sure how much height you need to get above your roof line, but be careful with any install.

Discone antennas are a good choice for wide bandwidth, they'll match the frequency capability of your radio. They are not the "best" antenna, but a good all around option.

A couple of things to consider….
-Signal loss in coaxial cable is a real thing. As the frequency goes up, so do the losses. As the cable gets longer, losses go up as well. Put some careful consideration into your coaxial cable.
-Heavy coaxial cable connected to the antenna jack on top of your portable scanner is a recipe for damage. Run the heavier coaxial cable from your antenna to a point near where your portable radio will be. Use a thin/light/flexible coaxial cable to make the final connection to your radio.
-Make sure the support mast is stable. You won't be a popular neighbor if your antenna contraption falls off the balcony and lands on someone's car, head, chihuahua, brand new TV, etc.

Be ready to take it all down in a storm. You don't want wind blowing it down, and you don't want lightning finding it. Remember, it doesn't require a direct lightning strike to damage your radio. Even a nearby strike can induce enough energy into the antenna/cable to damage your scanner.

 

[ScubaJungle]

What Jon linked is probably a good solution.
Most property owners/managers won't want anything permanently attached to the building, so a stand alone antenna support can be a good solution.
You -may- run into some property owners that won't want anything that looks even remotely like an antenna, so it's a good idea to check first.

The portable mast with either some weight or guy lines to hold it in place would be simple to set up. Some have even used flower pots filled with concrete and a piece of pipe stuck in it. Not sure how much height you need to get above your roof line, but be careful with any install.

Discone antennas are a good choice for wide bandwidth, they'll match the frequency capability of your radio. They are not the "best" antenna, but a good all around option.

A couple of things to consider….
-Signal loss in coaxial cable is a real thing. As the frequency goes up, so do the losses. As the cable gets longer, losses go up as well. Put some careful consideration into your coaxial cable.
-Heavy coaxial cable connected to the antenna jack on top of your portable scanner is a recipe for damage. Run the heavier coaxial cable from your antenna to a point near where your portable radio will be. Use a thin/light/flexible coaxial cable to make the final connection to your radio.
-Make sure the support mast is stable. You won't be a popular neighbor if your antenna contraption falls off the balcony and lands on someone's car, head, chihuahua, brand new TV, etc.

Be ready to take it all down in a storm. You don't want wind blowing it down, and you don't want lightning finding it. Remember, it doesn't require a direct lightning strike to damage your radio. Even a nearby strike can induce enough energy into the antenna/cable to damage your scanner.

Thanks guys, Im gonna check out that link. It definitely cant be permanent as I'll be gone in a few months, something that I can put up/take down easily would be much better.
I would probably only need about 15feet to get from indoors/couch to roof; im not sure how much loss gains over length but it definitely wont be over 20 feet.
If I can get something portable enough, I would ideally like to even take it down at night when Im done with it, but whatever I can make to ensure that it's safe and stable. Thanks for the tips, Im going to save all of this to reference when I do get something together.

 

[mmckenna]

I would probably only need about 15feet to get from indoors/couch to roof; im not sure how much loss gains over length but it definitely wont be over 20 feet.

20 feet isn't a big deal. Figure on a bit of extra so when you move you've got some more flexibility.
For a short run like that, some off the shelf RG-6 cable tv/satellite TV stuff would work just fine. It's cheap and flexible enough to not be a problem. You'll need to do some adapters to match the antenna and your radio, but that's easy enough.
Other option would be something like LMR-240.
And honestly, I'd not have a problem with 20 feet of RG-58, which is pretty low tier stuff.

 

[ScubaJungle]

20 feet isn't a big deal. Figure on a bit of extra so when you move you've got some more flexibility.
For a short run like that, some off the shelf RG-6 cable tv/satellite TV stuff would work just fine. It's cheap and flexible enough to not be a problem. You'll need to do some adapters to match the antenna and your radio, but that's easy enough.
Other option would be something like LMR-240.
And honestly, I'd not have a problem with 20 feet of RG-58, which is pretty low tier stuff.

Thanks,
I'll probably go with the better, even if unnecessary, because I will be moving and will probably require more in the near future.

I did some experimenting yesterday and hooked up the SDR blog v3 dipole antenna (the longer one, I believe it's ~4ft total) to the scanner, and I got much better reception below 300mhz.
Above that, and specifically 700-900mhz, however, the stock rubber duck outperformed it/did the same - so there's no point in using anything other than the regular antenna for that.
However, since I don't need an antenna for those bands, I can now focus a bit more on a smaller range, so is there an antenna type that would outperform a discone, but still give me a somewhat wide range, perhaps 300mhz and down?

My budget is not very large for this, and these $50~ discones look attractive price-wise, but does anyone know if they are any good? THey seem to have pretty good reviews.

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[mmckenna]

I'd carefully consider your budget. Those are pretty low tier antennas. If you are going to be moving them around frequently (putting them up, taking them down at night), you are probably going to have issues.

MFJ is an amateur radio brand know for low cost/low quality products. The joke is M.F.J. = Mighty Fine Junk.

Tram is also a low tier brand.

Never heard of Harvest.

I understand the desire to keep the costs low, but if you spend $50 on an antenna and end up replacing it with another one in 6 months due to failure, wouldn't it be easier to just buy a higher quality antenna now?
Diamond makes some decent discone antennas. They'll cost some more, but will last longer. I scored one for free about 10 years ago and it's still up on my roof. Have not had any issues with it.

 

[ScubaJungle]

I'd carefully consider your budget. Those are pretty low tier antennas. If you are going to be moving them around frequently (putting them up, taking them down at night), you are probably going to have issues.

MFJ is an amateur radio brand know for low cost/low quality products. The joke is M.F.J. = Mighty Fine Junk.

Tram is also a low tier brand.

Never heard of Harvest.

I understand the desire to keep the costs low, but if you spend $50 on an antenna and end up replacing it with another one in 6 months due to failure, wouldn't it be easier to just buy a higher quality antenna now?
Diamond makes some decent discone antennas. They'll cost some more, but will last longer. I scored one for free about 10 years ago and it's still up on my roof. Have not had any issues with it.

Of course, if they are junk then it's not worth it, I agree. I just wasn't sure if it was a brand-name price difference type thing. I believe I saw a Diamond discone for about $100, which is reasonable.
Over $100 I'd really have to evaluate if it's worth the money (or make a little side fund) just to be able to hear random things since all the local public safety, hospital, aiport, and amateur comes in crystal clear. I'd like to try to get some of the stuff just out of range like military and forest service, environmental, statewide/federal, as well as just finding new stuff I haven't yet seen.

If I can get a good deal on a diamond, then I think I'll do that. I do want to make one, but I think for my first one + lack of knowledge thus far, I should just buy one that is guaranteed to be made right.

 

[mmckenna]

Sounds like a good plan.
Part of the fun of the hobby is to experiment.

Starting with a known good antenna and cable is a smart idea. Discone antennas are not easy to make on your own, at least not for your first antenna. Not impossible, but takes some time and skill.

If you want to try making your own antenna, do some searching on quarter wave ground plane antennas. They are frequency specific, so you can make one for specific parts of the bands you want to listen to. Since discone antennas have no appreciable RF gain, and neither do quarter waves, they'll work just as well. Drawback is the quarter wave antennas are (mostly) band specific. The benefit to a discone is they cover a wide amount of spectrum equally poorly.

 

[jonwienke]

Tram is a budget antenna, but it's fine for indoor use. I'd go with a higher-tier antenna if it was going to be installed outside, but for indoor/attic installation, its more than adequate.