Seriously considering getting a discone for my scanner. I did some research and searched the threads. TONS of info on them. So much so that it was confusing to digest and really didn't get me anywhere lol. So have a few questions of course.
1) is there any particular style, design or brand I should stay away from. I see they come in various designs and prices that range from cheap to stupid expensive. Lowest frequencies I really need to cover are around 100mhz. So don't need one that goes down to 20mhz or something. And I obviously don't want to pay 200 dollars for something that doesn't work any better than one I could get for 50 bucks, just because of the brand name. And transmitting will never be an issue, this is receive only for my 325p2 scanner.
2) Would it hurt anything if I ran 50 ohm coax with the connector designed for the antenna down to my grounded 75 ohm connector block I already have? I am sure they make an adapter, or I can just cut it to the right length and put my own connector on it.
3) Would building my own be any better or worse than just ordering one? I downloaded a program that shows you to build one and calculates all the lengths and stuff. Looks like it would be fairly easy to build out of simple fencing material. Or if I wanted to get really fancy I could use copper or something. Parts would probably cost me about as much as ordering a cheap one though (50 dollars or so).
1) is there any particular style, design or brand I should stay away from. I see they come in various designs and prices that range from cheap to stupid expensive. Lowest frequencies I really need to cover are around 100mhz. So don't need one that goes down to 20mhz or something. And I obviously don't want to pay 200 dollars for something that doesn't work any better than one I could get for 50 bucks, just because of the brand name. And transmitting will never be an issue, this is receive only for my 325p2 scanner.
2) Would it hurt anything if I ran 50 ohm coax with the connector designed for the antenna down to my grounded 75 ohm connector block I already have? I am sure they make an adapter, or I can just cut it to the right length and put my own connector on it.
3) Would building my own be any better or worse than just ordering one? I downloaded a program that shows you to build one and calculates all the lengths and stuff. Looks like it would be fairly easy to build out of simple fencing material. Or if I wanted to get really fancy I could use copper or something. Parts would probably cost me about as much as ordering a cheap one though (50 dollars or so).