Conventional Reception Antenna Choice

[sectionut]

Current setup is a BCD996T and a radio shack 800 antenna. I'm monitoring Putnam County Ohio MARCS just fine via the closest local site. Problem is they use conventional freq's to send out pages and misc emergency management. Apparently i'm too far out to receive it with my setup. I'm approx 15 miles away from dispatch. 151.46000 and 155.7300 freqs. Should I be able to hearthose with my setup? What would you folks recommend? I have a two story house with TV antenna mast that goes higher than the house. I was considering the antennacraft st-2.

 

[K9WG]

If you have a TV antenna on that antenna mast you might try using it just for fun.... I hooked my scanner up to my TV beam antenna and pulled in a conventional VHF fire department 60 miles away.

 

[sectionut]

If you have a TV antenna on that antenna mast you might try using it just for fun.... I hooked my scanner up to my TV beam antenna and pulled in a conventional VHF fire department 60 miles away.

HA! I think I will. Something to tinker with today

 

[sectionut]

So after checking around a bit it seems folks are having trouble getting Putnam county tone outs

 

[benbenrf]

sectionut

15miles should not be a problem - with correct antenna setup. Choose/find an antenna that offers resonance for 150Mhz - 155Mhz, as opposed to a broad-bandwidth type antenna or the radio shack 800 which is going to have low Gain and loads of noise.

This will provide you with a significant reduction in noise and a Gain advantage (checkout the dB/dBi figure) for the frequency you are trying to monitor.

If its omni-directional you may/may not have to include a mast mount pre-amp and bandpass filter depending on your receivers' front-end selectivity and how much rf noise is on the air in your area, if its directional I see no prob's at all with just the antenna.

For what it worth I have a TDJ-150D from a company called Kenbotong Communications Ltd - good Gain (gives me 10.5dBi on 155Mhz) nice clean antenna factor and H/V 3dB beamwidths pretty much as good as they come, constructed as well as any European or USA product (for a Chinese made product!) - and most importantly: does what it says on the tin and does it very well. Cost - around 20bucks (plus postage).

I see no reason why that shouldn't sort things out for you.