- Joined
- Nov 27, 2005
- Messages
- 1,048
I have been happily using a Radio Shack 20-176 antenna for 4 months. It is mounted on a 10-foot mast on my roof. I recently purchased an ST-2 (Scantenna), reinforced it with a fiberglass rod and mounted it on the mast late Thursday night. The 20-176 sits at the top of the mast and the ST-2 cross-member is mounted just above the mid-point of the 10-foot mast (maybe about 7-feet up). This allowed me to get the bottom of the main ST-2 element above the roof and the top of the main ST-2 element still a little below and a little offset from the lower 20-176 elements. Both are on identical RG-6 coax.
There has been quite a bit of discussion on mounting 2 antenna on one mast and also comparing the 20-176 to the ST-2; so I wanted to post at least some preliminary results. I've been monitoring for a few hours a night for only 2 nights so these are early results.
After 4-months of use on my 20-176 I had a pretty good idea of what I was able to hear and how strong the signals were. With the ST-2 it is obvious that I'm hearing new frequencies and stronger signals. I'm MOSTLY in the 150-161 range but I can tell you all sorts of air frequencies are now popping up in the 120-137 range. It also seems to do better on the 450-470 range and acceptable in the 40-50 range.
Of course it is very hard to accurately compare the two antenna because on many signals I get 5 full bars on BOTH antenna. And in fact on one or two frequencies in the 40-50 range my magmount Antennex ABSCANC (also on the roof) does better than both but this is no huge surprise.
It is clear that the reception appears better and I am hearing more. My best test was hearing our local pizza delivery place talking to their car. On the 20-176 the pizza place was clear but the car was silent. On the ST-2 both were clear. This same thing happened on a fire call also when they switched to their fireground freq. The ST-2 is clearly better for me in my location and on my scanner with my frequencies.
I'll spend some more time with it and see if I can quantify the results even more. On night one I heard a great nuclear power plant EMA drill from an area about 40-miles away. Perhaps I just never heard it before on the 20-176 but something tells me it was the ST-2 that pulled it in.
Time will tell how well this ST-2 does. Clearly it is better than the 20-176, however I'm sure the rain, snow and wind will give it a good test over the long run.
I will post more as I have more time with the new antenna. I just cleared out ALL of my search lockouts and broadcast screen entries so I suspect I'll be busy testing this new antenna out.
Mark me satisfied and the ST-2 worth the money and effort.
There has been quite a bit of discussion on mounting 2 antenna on one mast and also comparing the 20-176 to the ST-2; so I wanted to post at least some preliminary results. I've been monitoring for a few hours a night for only 2 nights so these are early results.
After 4-months of use on my 20-176 I had a pretty good idea of what I was able to hear and how strong the signals were. With the ST-2 it is obvious that I'm hearing new frequencies and stronger signals. I'm MOSTLY in the 150-161 range but I can tell you all sorts of air frequencies are now popping up in the 120-137 range. It also seems to do better on the 450-470 range and acceptable in the 40-50 range.
Of course it is very hard to accurately compare the two antenna because on many signals I get 5 full bars on BOTH antenna. And in fact on one or two frequencies in the 40-50 range my magmount Antennex ABSCANC (also on the roof) does better than both but this is no huge surprise.
It is clear that the reception appears better and I am hearing more. My best test was hearing our local pizza delivery place talking to their car. On the 20-176 the pizza place was clear but the car was silent. On the ST-2 both were clear. This same thing happened on a fire call also when they switched to their fireground freq. The ST-2 is clearly better for me in my location and on my scanner with my frequencies.
I'll spend some more time with it and see if I can quantify the results even more. On night one I heard a great nuclear power plant EMA drill from an area about 40-miles away. Perhaps I just never heard it before on the 20-176 but something tells me it was the ST-2 that pulled it in.
Time will tell how well this ST-2 does. Clearly it is better than the 20-176, however I'm sure the rain, snow and wind will give it a good test over the long run.
I will post more as I have more time with the new antenna. I just cleared out ALL of my search lockouts and broadcast screen entries so I suspect I'll be busy testing this new antenna out.
Mark me satisfied and the ST-2 worth the money and effort.
