base antenna

[HOLEBILLY]

what would be the best scanner base antenna to put on a 40 foot tower in the 100 dollar range that excels in the 800mhz but has decent vhf and uhf.I have had 3 ST2 over the last 3 years, they last about a year before they fall apart.I need something that at lest does as good as the ST2 or even better. THANKS

 

[kb0nly]

You would be better off with multiple antennas optimized for each band, but there is many wideband antennas to choose from.

 

[vdubb16]

i was using a radio shack discone antenna for awhile at 40 ft at sea level. VHF over 50miles was good, UHF from work only 15 miles was good, on occasion id pick up a fire dispatch from appx 40miles on UHF. i didnt have much 800 programmed but it did receive the few channels i had well. locations were within 20mile radius. Even received low band highway patrol pretty well. didnt listen to it much. I think the antenna new runs around $80. However i was using LMR-400 Coax. You must ensure that you tighten the elements properly.