CB antenna to scanner question

[nyscan00]

Hi I just bought a cheep CB antenna ($12) and was wondering if I get a BNC adapter and connect to my 780xlt scanner , how will reception be affected?? I monitor lowband, VHF, UHF and 800mhz freq

I know the CB antenna is tuned to 27-28mhz but will it work on ohter frequency bands?? 46.xx mhz + ????? :?:

Any info would be great!
Thanks!!

 

[nmfire10]

Crappy.

 

[W4KRR]

It will work to some extent, but the farther away from CB frequencies you go, the worse the reception will be. Your best bet will be to use a dedicated scanner antenna.

OTOH, if most of your monitoring is in the VHF low band, especially the low end of the VHF low band, then a CB antenna would probably do pretty well.

 

[tglendye]

For $12 + an adapter- why not? Don't be surprised if you're not thrilled with the results, however. OTOH, I had one in high school and right after ('90) that was mounted on a '79 pick-up. I gotta believe the antenna was probably that old. It picked up excellent on vhf-low and also did a good job on vhf-hi and uhf. I think I remember being told newer antennas are manufactured to eliminate radio waves that are not within the band it is tuned for, however.

TG

 

[Thunderbolt]

I have a friend who did the same exact thing and his VHF-low band reception was fantastic. However, VHF-high band and above was worthless. You would be better off to buy an antenna that is correctly tuned for the bands you wish to monitor, and the CB antenna would be ideal for low band.

73's

Ron

 

[nyscan00]

ok thanks for all the info + help

What mobile magnetic antenna do u reccomend for multi - band scanning ? ( I monitor all freq....lowband to 800mhz trunk)

Thanks again

 

[GlacierClipper]

I am using a mobile cell phone antenna as an outside antenna and the reception is great.

 

[Halfpint]

Hmmmmmmm... I've just gotta weigh in here. {GRIN!} I've tried *all sorts* of antennas over the last, I kinda hate to admit it, 40 or so years scanning. Funny thing is that while there are differences between antennas the amazing thing is that for the most part when it comes to scanning they aren't all that great. (This not to say that a stacked pair of yagis is going to be the same as a discone or a groundplane. ) I've got several "CB" antennas that work even up into the 800MHz - 900MHz range but then I also have some others that a just plain `stinkers'... err... `sinkers' even on CB. I've also got some antennas that are *supposed* to be only 800MHz and are completely `deaf' on 900MHz and up while doing a pretty good job down asl low as 450MHz - 470MHz and other that basically go from 800MHz up with nothing below.

My `favorite' antennas these days are a couple old A/S `disguise' CB/AM/FM mobiles, amazingly enough the *factory* AM/FM antennas on our two Explorers, and on `base' I've currently got a RS 20-043 discone, no-name `el-cheapo' `cellphone' mag mount, home made `active' antenna made with the whip section of a RS 20-032 mag mount scanner antenna, and a no name `el-cheapo' mag mount CB antenna. Depending upon just who/what I'm listening to you'll find that just about every one gets fairly evenly used the majority of the time. As I sit here I am listening to our County's 460MHz stuff off of the CB antenna, the State's 800MHz system off of the discone, the D.I.A. EDACS system off of the `active' antenna, and Denver's EDACS PS system off of the `el-cheapo' `cellphone' antenna. Maybe tomorrow, if we aren't experiencing the threat of more `interesting?' weather I'll have them hooked up differently. (I've also used several of my SWLing `longwire' antennas from time to time.)

Basically it all comes down to trying out an antenna to seem if it does what you want it to do. All the `fancy figures' are going to do is give you an idea of what the maker thinks they've made *scanner-wise*. 'Course when it comes to transmitting it becomes a whole new `ballgame'. {VB GRIN!} Then one doesn't have all that much `lattitude' to `play around with' the majority of the time. (Years ago I used to get a `kick' out of `loading up to' a paperclip and then making a QRP contact half way around the world and *that* isn't all that much of an antenna! {VBSE GRIN!} Which just goes to show that there are still times when everything seems to `go out the window'. {CHORTTLE!})

 

[hey]

Try a VHF Marine antenna

 

[INDY72]

For Lo band, I use a cut down steel CB whip attached to a mag mount that is a scanner based BNC mount. It works great for lo and hi band, but isnt hot on UHF or others... For just VHF Hi and UHF I have an old element that was originally on an police interceptor which I can switch out for that usage, and for 800/900 I use a shortened radio shack element with one coil. If I am gonna travel through multi band areas which is most of the areas I monitor lol, I use the combo element as it works ok on Lo, great on Hi and UHF, and not too shabby on 800/900.

 

[K5MAR]

As halfpint points out, most anything can be made to work as an antenna. It's a case of how well it works that most are interested in. In a metropolitan area with lots of repeater systems, and lots of pager, cellular, and other interferring systems, a less than stellar antenna might even be good, reducing interference. Out in more rural areas, these same antennas might not get the job done. You just need to try something and see how it works for you.

As for a mag mount antenna, people seem satisfied with the Radio Shack antenna, although it doesn't work well in my area. If you do decide to buy one, there is a mod on the StrongSignals website that is supposed to improve it's performance. http://www.strongsignals.net/access/image/antennas/bearwires.gif
Beyond that, Antenna Specialists and Larsen (both name brands in the antenna world) make multiband scanner antennas that can be mag-mounted. I use an Austin Spectra, but at $80 without mount, this might be a bit more than you are looking to start with.

Good luck and Happy Scanning!
Mark S.

 

[LarryN]

I have done the paperclip thing with my 94. Belive it or not my reception IMPROVED! I was working in a building with a metal roof that caused lousy reception inside. During lunch I would go and eat in my car of behind the building. Reception would be fine then. I had an old 15 chanel BC base/mobile that I used in the mid to late 90's with a CB attenna that worked well. I was using it to monitor UHF. (140-160 is UHF right?). IMHO if it is cheap I will try anything. Thats how I end up with so much junk fron garage sales. :lo

 

[ShawnCowden]

Try a Dual-Band Ham Radio Antenna !!! vhf-uhf
With luck i got a glass mount the other day at radioshack as a clearance price of $$ 4 dollars

My friend back home in Kentucky used just a wire to transmitt on his 2 meter ham radio. u can do the same just get the swr length and cut it to it. Littler the antenna the higher the band bigger ant the lower the band. and i bleieve that most handheld antennas are uhf- fatter then the vhf- skinner antenna