I see lots of threads from people basically stating “I just got a [model of scanner], what’s the best antenna for it?
Well, it doesn’t make any difference what model the scanner is, the best antenna is always the same: The best antenna is one that is tuned to the frequency or band you want to receive. In other words, if you are trying to monitor the VHF high band, the best antenna would be an antenna that’s tuned for the VHF high band.
Now, most scanners tune multiple bands, and most scanner listeners are interested in more than one band. So, you need an antenna that’s made to cover more than one band. The problem is that most multiple band, or “all band” antennas do better on one band, and are a compromise on other bands.
Hand helds: For a hand held scanner antenna, most after market antennas will work better than the rubber duck antennas supplied with most scanners. Many people recommend and use the Diamond RH-77CA antenna. This is designed as a VHF/UHF dual band ham transceiver antenna, but it does work well as a scanner antenna. For 800 MHz reception, many people use the Radio Shack 800 Mhz antenna, stock number 20-283. It does an excellent job on the 800 MHz bands, and not too bad on the other bands. The Austin Condor is an antenna that is designed as an “all band” scanner antenna. It is rather large, 12 inches long and a half-inch in diameter, but it works well.
Here is a link to an extensive hand held antenna comparison:
http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/antenna.html
Base scanners: A discone antenna may be the best all around base station scanner antenna, as a discone is designed to receive well on a wide range of frequencies. There are a few different ones on the market, they all perform about the same, but the more expensive ones are better built than the cheaper ones. Other “all band” base station scanner antennas include the Austin Ferret, the Antennacraft Scantenna, and the Nil-Jon Super M.
Mobile scanners: There are lots of mobile scanner antennas. Antenna Specialists makes the MONR52 and MONR53, which are large, but work well on all bands. Larsen makes the NMO-150450800. Antenex also makes one.
Here is a link to an extensive mobile antenna comparison:
http://www.northwestradio.com/interceptnw/antennas.htm
Here are some places that sell scanner antennas:
Grove Enterprises:
www.grove-ent.com
Scanners Unlimited:
www.scannersunlimited.com
BNC Antenna:
www.bncantenna.com
Austin Antennas:
http://www.rfwiz.com/AustinAntenna/AustinAntenna_InfoDat.htm
Amateur Electronic Supply:
www.aesham.com
