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marksmith

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Depends on what you want to monitor.

I would say the stock antenna would be better for UHF and definitely for 700-800mz. The Diamond might be a little better on VHF, but the SDS100 is not great for that anyway.

A better bet to improve on the stock antenna would be the Remtronix 830
 

jonwienke

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For UHF and VHF, it's way better. For 800MHz, its about the same. The Remtronix800 is a better choice there.
 

ko6jw_2

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Diamond antennas like the SRH77CA are designed as 2m/70cm amateur antennas. As such they will not perform optimally at higher VHF and UHF frequencies needed for scanner reception. Will they out perform stock antennas? Probably. Will they do well for the 700/800MHz range? Not so much. Any antenna for handheld use will be a compromise. Some are physically short. All have an uncertain ground planes and are heavily influenced by nearby objects like your body. The ideal scanner would combine high gain, broadband response and a reasonably short physical length. Not going to happen. The old RS 800MHz antenna and the current Remtronix are monobanders. They do work well in that frequency range. If that's where your primary interests are, by all means get one. If you want 30-50,118-136, 150-174,400-512 and 700/800MHz in one antenna I wish you luck. I've tried many. None are optimal. An external antenna like a discone is a better bet.
 

Salvatorejrc

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Diamond antennas like the SRH77CA are designed as 2m/70cm amateur antennas. As such they will not perform optimally at higher VHF and UHF frequencies needed for scanner reception. Will they out perform stock antennas? Probably. Will they do well for the 700/800MHz range? Not so much. Any antenna for handheld use will be a compromise. Some are physically short. All have an uncertain ground planes and are heavily influenced by nearby objects like your body. The ideal scanner would combine high gain, broadband response and a reasonably short physical length. Not going to happen. The old RS 800MHz antenna and the current Remtronix are monobanders. They do work well in that frequency range. If that's where your primary interests are, by all means get one. If you want 30-50,118-136, 150-174,400-512 and 700/800MHz in one antenna I wish you luck. I've tried many. None are optimal. An external antenna like a discone is a better bet.
Have you ever used the diamond mini discone antenna? I'm trying to find one that is optimal to be inside the house for the time being until I mount it on the roof
 

jonwienke

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Mini discones won't pick up VHF. The length of the elements has to be at least 1/4-wavelength.
 

ko6jw_2

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I've never tried one. It is intriguing, but I think you would be disappointed. It is designed for mobile use. They claim it can transmit in 144/440/900/1200MHz so it could cover VHF. However, its dimensions make me suspicious.
 

522

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I've purchased two antennas for my SDS 100 ... The Remtronix REM-820S and the Diamond SRH77CA.

The Remtronix is my most used antenna..... most of my listening is within the 800 MHZ range... and its the best option for this frequency range in my opinion.

The Diamond SRH77CA is for anything else outside of that range, and it is my next most used antenna .... again in my opinion, its the best wide banded antenna.
 

Bob1955

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Diamond antennas like the SRH77CA are designed as 2m/70cm amateur antennas. As such they will not perform optimally at higher VHF and UHF frequencies needed for scanner reception. Will they out perform stock antennas? Probably. Will they do well for the 700/800MHz range? Not so much. Any antenna for handheld use will be a compromise. Some are physically short. All have an uncertain ground planes and are heavily influenced by nearby objects like your body. The ideal scanner would combine high gain, broadband response and a reasonably short physical length. Not going to happen. The old RS 800MHz antenna and the current Remtronix are monobanders. They do work well in that frequency range. If that's where your primary interests are, by all means get one. If you want 30-50,118-136, 150-174,400-512 and 700/800MHz in one antenna I wish you luck. I've tried many. None are optimal. An external antenna like a discone is a better bet.
The best handheld scanner antenna would be a Comet all metal in black telescoping whip that is 8" collapsed and 40" full length. it is VERY pricey at $34.95 on Amazon.com/The Antenna Farm too. It did NOT help out my Uniden Bearcat BCD-996P2 so I sent it back for a full refund.
Hope this helps you out.
 
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