Best Antenna for Handheld Scanner for VHF/UHF

[5Rya]

Planning on getting the BC125AT and primarily listen to VFH and UHF frequencies. What would be the best antenna to get? Thanks

 

[gewecke]

Planning on getting the BC125AT and primarily listen to VFH and UHF frequencies. What would be the best antenna to get? Thanks

Outside antenna? Inside? For your vehicle? A little more info is needed here. 73, n9zas

 

[5Rya]

I will be using it inside my house walking around with it so it would be a portable handheld antenna.

 

[gewecke]

I will be using it inside my house walking around with it so it would be a portable handheld antenna.

There are Many to choose from, my choice is not the best but it works. I use a Mfj-1717 17" bnc whip. You can see it on Mfj.com :wink: 73, n9zas

 

[Hans13]

There are Many to choose from, my choice is not the best but it works. I use a Mfj-1717 17" bnc whip. You can see it on Mfj.com :wink: 73, n9zas

I think you mean MFJ Enterprises Inc.?

 

[prcguy]

For me the best I've found for VHF/UHF/800 is the Austin Condor.
prcguy

I will be using it inside my house walking around with it so it would be a portable handheld antenna.

 

[SCPD]

Diamond RH77

 

[gewecke]

I think you mean MFJ Enterprises Inc.?

Thanks Hans, lol. Yep, my mistake. . 73, n9zas

 

[KD1UA]

Diamond RH77

Ditto

 

[Hans13]

Thanks Hans, lol. Yep, my mistake. . 73, n9zas

Any time. It happens to the best of us.

 

[chillymac99]

what about for a digital Phase 1 and 2 scanner? I live in the Virginia Beach. I can only pickup Virginia Beach . I need to find one that I can pickup Norfolk and Chesapeake. What is a good antenna for a Radio Shack Pro-106 handheld scanner?

 

[N8IAA]

For me the best I've found for VHF/UHF/800 is the Austin Condor.
prcguy

Bit of an overkill for the 125. It outweighs the scanner:lol:
But, I do recommend the MFJ antenna. It works better for me than the RH77.
Larry

 

[KD1UA]

what about for a digital Phase 1 and 2 scanner? I live in the Virginia Beach. I can only pickup Virginia Beach . I need to find one that I can pickup Norfolk and Chesapeake. What is a good antenna for a Radio Shack Pro-106 handheld scanner?

Phase 1 & 2 I use the Remtronics 800Mhz Duck for general receiving I prefer the Diamond RH77CA.
These 2 antennas will cover most scanning needs

 

[chillymac99]

The Diamond RH77CA does not work for me. I still cannot pickup Norfolk or Chesapeake on the 800 MHz.

 

[trp2525]

Planning on getting the BC125AT and primarily listen to VFH and UHF frequencies. What would be the best antenna to get? Thanks

If you are looking for something short/small that you can easily carry around with you in your pocket or on your belt, I would highly recommend the Comet MH-255 3" stubby antenna. I use it on my BCD396XT and have had excellent results with it on VHF-High and UHF. It performs as well as (or better than) the full-size Uniden stock antenna that came with my scanner and it is half the size of the 6" stock antenna. It is a dual-band antenna and can be used for transmit (5 watts maximum) on 153-157 MHz and 460-470 MHz. It has an SMA male connector so you will have to use a BNC-to-SMA adapter if your radio has a BNC antenna connector.

Manufacturer's website: Hand-Held Antennas | Comet Antenna

The Antenna Farm: http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/comet-mh-255-351.html

Ham Radio Outlet: COMET-NCG MH-255 Antenna HT Dual Band Other

 

[br0adband]

The Diamond RH77CA does not work for me. I still cannot pickup Norfolk or Chesapeake on the 800 MHz.

Depending on your monitoring location you're more than likely not going to pull in the Chesapeake or Norfolk systems on 800 MHz with just a small duckie antenna of any kind. You may end up having to do something that's mounted higher than just on the scanner using an extension cable and possibly even doing the antenna mount itself outside or as high as possible next to or even directly on a window with the potential for non-blocked signal reception.

As a native of Portsmouth and a somewhat centralized location in that city I could, from that location, pick up most anything save for Suffolk and Hampton/Newport News traffic with a handheld but of course the last time I was actually "back home" was 2001-2002-ish so I'm sure things have changed. Even so, when I was at home and using a BC-246T the trusty RS800 and the Diamond RH77CA always seemed to get me everything I was hoping to monitor without issues and that included Norfolk PD/Fire and Chesapeake as well.

The Diamond RH77CA is a fantastic antenna in and of itself and works great even on the 800 MHz range but not if the system you want is a considerable distance away - for that you're going to want something tuned to the 800 MHz band specifically such as the RS800 (not quite so easy to locate nowadays) or the growing-more-popular-all-the-time Remtronix 800 MHz "clone" of the RS800 which many report to be as good if not slightly better than the good old RS800 that so many of us have come to depend on the past 20+ years or so. For 800 MHz systems the RH77CA isn't going to match the performance of the RS800/Remtronix clone, not even close, so if you really need to monitor those you're going to have to get an 800 MHz tuned antenna.

Your location in Va Beach will make a big difference because of sheer distances and obstructions along the way as the city tends to slope down in elevation towards the ocean edges in the southeast.

Newer scanners should have enough sensitivity to get something if you get the antenna up a bit, but unless you're living in some apartment building 15+ stories up you're going to have issues with reception from those two cities and just a handheld-mounted antenna.

 

[Joseph11]

The ANLI RD-9H here is my favorite. Works really well with VHF high and UHF. Not too bad with 700-900 MHz, either.

 

[GTO_04]

Depending on your monitoring location you're more than likely not going to pull in the Chesapeake or Norfolk systems on 800 MHz with just a small duckie antenna of any kind. You may end up having to do something that's mounted higher than just on the scanner using an extension cable and possibly even doing the antenna mount itself outside or as high as possible next to or even directly on a window with the potential for non-blocked signal reception.

As a native of Portsmouth and a somewhat centralized location in that city I could, from that location, pick up most anything save for Suffolk and Hampton/Newport News traffic with a handheld but of course the last time I was actually "back home" was 2001-2002-ish so I'm sure things have changed. Even so, when I was at home and using a BC-246T the trusty RS800 and the Diamond RH77CA always seemed to get me everything I was hoping to monitor without issues and that included Norfolk PD/Fire and Chesapeake as well.

The Diamond RH77CA is a fantastic antenna in and of itself and works great even on the 800 MHz range but not if the system you want is a considerable distance away - for that you're going to want something tuned to the 800 MHz band specifically such as the RS800 (not quite so easy to locate nowadays) or the growing-more-popular-all-the-time Remtronix 800 MHz "clone" of the RS800 which many report to be as good if not slightly better than the good old RS800 that so many of us have come to depend on the past 20+ years or so. For 800 MHz systems the RH77CA isn't going to match the performance of the RS800/Remtronix clone, not even close, so if you really need to monitor those you're going to have to get an 800 MHz tuned antenna.

Your location in Va Beach will make a big difference because of sheer distances and obstructions along the way as the city tends to slope down in elevation towards the ocean edges in the southeast.

Newer scanners should have enough sensitivity to get something if you get the antenna up a bit, but unless you're living in some apartment building 15+ stories up you're going to have issues with reception from those two cities and just a handheld-mounted antenna.

X2! The Remtronics antenna is VERY good and NO adapter is required for the Unidens if you get the SMA version!

GTO_04

 

[gewecke]

X2! The Remtronics antenna is VERY good and NO adapter is required for the Unidens if you get the SMA version!

GTO_04

True, effective for 700-800mhz. But not all that effective for Vhf/Uhf which is what the op mentioned he was interested in. My suggestion would be the MH-255 for vhf/uhf . 73, n9zas

 

[iMONITOR]

The Diamond RH77CA does not work for me. I still cannot pickup Norfolk or Chesapeake on the 800 MHz.

The Diamond RH77CA, is intended for dual-band amateur radio on 2 meters and 440 MHz. It is a 1/4 wave on 2 meters and a 1/2 wave on 440. While it will receive the 800MHz band, it is not the best choice.