Best handheld scanner antenna????

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billybob123

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Any opinions on what the best overall handheld scanner antenna for pulling in weak signals ??


Billybob
 

billybob123

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I should have been more specific , I want to monitor VHF LO , VHF HI , and 800 & 900 mhz trunking .



Billybob
 

ervin1

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my opinion as far as price and reception would be the rs 800mhz rubber duck..lotta people however prefer the diamond srh77ca it is a little longer in length about 15 inches
 

Mach_1

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ervin1 said:
my opinion as far as price and reception would be the rs 800mhz rubber duck..lotta people however prefer the diamond srh77ca it is a little longer in length about 15 inches

I have both of these and for what I listen to (800 & VHF Hi) the diamond rh77ca works great (for me). No penalty on 800 (compared to the RS 800 duck) and I'm getting much better reception on the VHF Hi. However, the VHF lo reception seems to be virtually non-existent (for me anyway)...
 

billybob123

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I have heard of the RH77ca I will pick one up and give it a try since I only heard possitive things about it. Thank you all.

Billybob
 

drosenstein

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I have a SRH77CA on my 396T. It is the SMA connector version of the RH77CA.

It does very well for all around use, but isn't great on 800Mhz stuff. It does OK on the local 800Mhz systems. It isn’t good on a little more distant systems. It is also a bit long and awkward on a belt.

I have been pleasantly surprised by my new Comet SMA503. On my IC-91 it works very well as a dual band ham antenna and it works surprisingly well across all the public safety frequencies. It is also much shorter than the RH77CA.

Also, be sure to check out the Maldol MH-255, a great antenna for VHF/UHF public safety, although it's somewhat poor on 800Mhz.

Dave
 

BaLa

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Mach_1 said:
I have both of these and for what I listen to (800 & VHF Hi) the diamond rh77ca works great (for me). No penalty on 800 (compared to the RS 800 duck) and I'm getting much better reception on the VHF Hi. However, the VHF lo reception seems to be virtually non-existent (for me anyway)...

the RH77CA works pretty good of VHF Lo for me....
I can hear MSHP Troop I Dispatch from work (outside in open area) (~60 miles)
and Troop D from home inside (~30 miles)

I do believe they Tx with quite a bit of power though.
 

kb2vxa

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Hi Billybob,

Have you noticed all the wildly differing opinions, all of them off the beam and confused as a blind hunter with a bird dog chasing cats?

"I want to monitor VHF LO , VHF HI , and 800 & 900 mhz trunking ."

You'll find that squeezing all that into one antenna as difficult as that blind hunter trying to tell the difference between a quail and Dan Quayle. While SOME may be worthwhile for VHF Hi and 800, VHF Lo requires a Low Band antenna and still reception will be difficult under less than ideal conditions. To put it simply, unless you live in the shadow of the tower reception will be less than optimal because no antenna made meets your expectations.

Perhaps if you rephrase your question you'll get more appropriate answers and always remember the only opinion that matters is your own. Perhaps something along the lines of "Which antenna is better for what band(s)?" will get you farther but PLEASE avoid the word "best" or again all you'll get are more opinions.
 

sony

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carmelof said:
Hello,I use the Diamond RH-771 and they are a very good Hand Held Antenna.

Good Luck Lino Melbourne Australia.
I have heard of this antenna before any pics of it and the cost? Which freqs. is it good for or is it for all?
 

unitcharlie

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Hi billybob....
The following is based only upon what I can hear tempered by what I have heard from my scanners--I have used a number of non-stock antennas in the past two decades. I have been using a Diamond RHF 40 antenna for two weeks now.
This antenna is 16" long and very flexible but I can hear stuff on VHF Hi that I couldn't with the Rat Shack 800; I am hearing trunked systems that I couldn't monitor unless I was within a few miles... I can't report on VHF Low becuase there is only one agency licensed in the area I monitor and I have never heard anything on their freqs, ever.... I bought this antenna because I wear my PRO 96 around my neck while working a scene I broke a Rat Shack 800 and the top plate of my radio when I took a tumble...
My only complaint is that it spins around the base because the BNC isn’t as tight as I would like but that might be a design feature given the length (I have attached it to my radio using some 550 cord and cable ties--it fell off once). It is weird (see picture) It took some learning but I can now bend the extra ten inches of antenna down so I am not poked in the face with it (then bend it up if I need to use the extra length to her something) while working... at 30 bucks it has been a real gem.
 
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sony

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unitcharlie said:
Hi billybob....
The following is based only upon what I can hear tempered by what I have heard from my scanners--I have used a number of non-stock antennas in the past two decades. I have been using a Diamond RHF 40 antenna for two weeks now.
This antenna is 16" long and very flexible but I can hear stuff on VHF Hi that I couldn't with the Rat Shack 800; I am hearing trunked systems that I couldn't monitor unless I was within a few miles... I can't report on VHF Low becuase there is only one agency licensed in the area I monitor and I have never heard anything on their freqs, ever.... I bought this antenna because I wear my PRO 96 around my neck while working a scene I broke a Rat Shack 800 and the top plate of my radio when I took a tumble...
My only complaint is that it spins around the base because the BNC isn’t as tight as I would like but that might be a design feature given the length (I have attached it to my radio using some 550 cord and cable ties--it fell off once). It is weird (see picture) It took some learning but I can now bend the extra ten inches of antenna down so I am not poked in the face with it (then bend it up if I need to use the extra length to her something) while working... at 30 bucks it has been a real gem.
The Watson or Wilson Y-881 Super-Gainer antenna I have is about the same size except it is very thin The cost of this an tenna is in the neighborhood of $45.00
 
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