Good antenna for GRE handheld?

[pslel]

Interested in suggestions for better antenna for a GRE handheld, to upgrade from rubber duck.
suggestions for both mobile mount on car (maybe a mag antenna?) and also for one for house. For house I was thinking of not one I had to premanately install outdoors.
What I want to pick up is the Ohio MARCS-IP: Multi-Agency Radio Communications APCO-25 system
Thanks!

 

[ka3aaa]

An out door antenna will work much better than indoor antenna.

 

[krokus]

Interested in suggestions for better antenna for a GRE handheld, to upgrade from rubber duck.
suggestions for both mobile mount on car (maybe a mag antenna?) and also for one for house. For house I was thinking of not one I had to premanately install outdoors.
What I want to pick up is the Ohio MARCS-IP: Multi-Agency Radio Communications APCO-25 system
Thanks!

How far are you from the system site(s) that you want to monitor?

There is an upgrade available, for handheld use, the Remtronix 800B.

ANTENNAS

Minimum +6dB Gain over standard antenna Flexible Whip rubber ducky design Excellent for Handheld Scanners & Ham Radios High Quality and Competitively Priced Engineered and Made In Japan Over 35K sold through OEM & REMTronix brands REM-810S/REM-820S Uniden SDS100 compatible REM-830 Uniden

remtronix.com

 

[jaspence]

In a simulcast situation too much antenna gain can cause poor reception.

 

[Starion]

In a simulcast situation too much antenna gain can cause poor reception.

I agree. What is odd is I have better reception of Fairfax County (P16) Trunking System, Fairfax County, Virginia - Scanner Frequencies with a helica rubber duck antenna (the type that comes with scanners) than I do with a 9 inch antenna specifically made for 800 MHz. The trunking indicator flashes occasionally when I use the rubber duck antenna. If I use a longer antenna, the "T" icon will disappear for half a second. Good luck.

edit: If you decide to mount an antenna indoors, keep it away from metal objects or try to mount the antenna as high as you can. Even metal window frames or pipes can interfere with digital and conventional/analog reception on any band including 800 MHz.

 

[pslel]

thanks for replys, I seem to get spotty reception now even with my local township . Ideally I would want to monitor the adjoining counties , so all withing 30 miles

 

[maus92]

thanks for replys, I seem to get spotty reception now even with my local township . Ideally I would want to monitor the adjoining counties , so all withing 30 miles

You don't want to have too much antenna to receive MARCS if your city / county (like Cincinnati / Hamilton County) has local enhancements (simulcast towers.) You should be able to receive the system in a light structure using the stock antenna. The Remtronics is a good compromise, but your real issue is your radio is not optimised to receive simulcast systems.

 

[stingray327]

If you can't install an outdoor antenna on roof a telescope antenna works better than the rubber duck antenna.

 

[trentbob]

I just noticed that this thread is a few weeks old and brought awake again... If the o p sees this...

If I could suggest just look over the antenna forum for the many many many threads on antennas for handheld scanners. The fact you have a GRE or not makes no difference.

All the threads are basically going to say the same thing. You could just Google your question but leave out the GRE and just say best antenna for handheld scanners and it'll take you to many threads on RR that will all say the same things and will answer your question well.

Plenty of good information here on RR already.

Good luck.

 

[ka3jjz]

I would also be cautious about putting too much antenna on a GRE scanner. They are well known to be prone to overloading, and that's just going to cause more problems than it solves. Putting a decent duckie on it or feeding a small mobile antenna may not cause issues, but using a Yagi or large discone outside is likely to, depending on your local RF environment, of course....Mike

 

[maus92]

I doubt his antenna is the problem - the stock antenna should work OK since MARCS in his area is built for portable on-street coverage. If he wanted a slightly better antenna specifically for this system, then the Remtronics 800 would be a good $25 upgrade. Too much antenna gain / height is not what you want in his case (assuming he lives in a house / light commercial structure in the Cincinnati area.)