Has anyone try this?

[res2cue]

I am really looking for a way use my 2096 as my trucking radio only.
So far my freq ranges are 850-870MHz - MOTII and EDACS, program thru WIN96 as a web import.

In my search quest I came upon this statement which to me sounds correct, yes?

"ANTENNA SYSTEMS:
..... Since 800 Mhz signals are much more subject to coaxial line LOSS, you will need to pay particular attention to the coax you choose. The proper coax cable can make your scanner work wonders and the wrong can make it not pick up well at all. For 800 Mhz you will usually need LMR-400 or Belden 9913 to name a few. This is most important with runs (from scanner to antenna) of more than 50 feet on average. Most scanner antennas come with RG-58 cable which is very lossy in 800Mhz. A medium strength 800Mhz signal can almost disappear at the end of 50 feet of RG-58......."

So with this mine I have try using my R/S 20-176 & Scantenna using RG6 Q/S. both runs of cable are around 60 feet(of course), with very little results. I am trying to pick up freqs, let says no more then 30-40 miles as the the crow flys.
Both are up 45' & I understand the topography has a lot to do with it but I can recive convent freq with these two antennas from stations well over 50 miles away.

My next step is to upgrade to 9913 cable!

NOW for my question,
Has anyone try mounting the R/S 20-283 antenna to an outside mast using some pvc as its base?

Sorry so long, But I am getting fustraed at trying to recive these systems.

Ken

 

[fuzzymoto]

For starters I can tell you the 20-176 works great on 150-160 but not so great on 800 so right off the bat you're at a disadvantage. I'm sure coax will help but coax AND a dedicated 800Mhz antenna will work much better.

 

[Al42]

Let's see:

Assuming that your cable goes straight up, the horizon is about 10 miles from your antenna. Add the horizon at the transmitting end (maybe another 10 miles) and that's your range - 20 miles.

The loss in RG6, for 60 feet at 850 MHz, is about 5.4db, or around 70% loss. (Quad shield or not, the loss is the same.) Belden 9913 - the real stuff, not an imitation - is better. The loss is only about 50% for 60 feet. LMR400 isn't much better. LMR600 is about 30% loss and LMR900 brings that down to 20% - at over $4/foot.

Is what you want doable? Yes, if the transmitting antenna is high enough. If it's below your horizon, no cable will be low enough loss, because there won't be any signal to lose. 850 MHz signals don't go very far through the ground.

 

[mancow]

You should be able to receive them with a little work. I would consider getting a directional yagi antenna and point that in the direction of the system you want. Also, use the good stuff like LMR400 as suggested earlier and keep the runs of coax at a minimum. 40 feet is darn good and should get you decent results with the right antenna and coax.

 

[kb2vxa]

Hi Rescue and all,

Al has the coax issue prety much covered so I'll tackle the antenna issue. You're thinking of using a rubber duckie as a base station antenna? I hope you're joking, I hope I'm not ROTFLOL for nothing. I'm using an Andrew 3dB gain trunk lip mount cell phone antenna on a 4" square electrical junction box cover with 4 3" pieces of 12AWG copper wire soldered to it as a ground plane. Up on my mast holding the ham radio antennas it performs very well. There are plenty of outdoor 800MHz gain antennas available, choose your poison.

Oh, don't be confused between a ground plane and a groundplane antenna. Mobile antennas use the vehicle as a ground plane, the other half of the antenna actually, a groundplane antenna is a complete unit.

 

[LarrySC]

Your issue is not with coax. Its the antenna. Look at this site: www.bncantenna.com There is an 800 mHz 23" dual open coil 1/2 wave over 1/2 wave over 1/4 wave with 5db GAIN. This is the Mfg GAIN not mine. NMO mount. Can be a base ant with Base Kit. If you start out with 5db signal gain at the top, then standard RG-6 works fine. If you start out with a
-0- gain antenna then the best coax maynot help. I have a 2096 for 10 banks of 800 only. I use a 2.5 db gain commerical rubber duck. 20 miles is as far as I have to monitor out of the local area. Good Luck.

 

[res2cue]

Hi Rescue and all,
You're thinking of using a rubber duckie as a base station antenna? I hope you're joking, I hope I'm not ROTFLOL for nothing.

So I made your day then hun, LOL. OK that answers my question. It was just a thought?!

Thanks for the link, Larry.

 

[kb2vxa]

Hi Rescue, Larry and all,

Yup, you made my day and I'm glad you took my sarcasm constructively. Now here's one who didn't get it.

"I use a 2.5 db gain commerical rubber duck."

We call them dummy loads. 2.5dB over WHAT? Perhaps over a standard duck which electrically is a "continuous helical load" meaning a quarter wave wound into a coil making it shorter which exhibits far less than unity gain. That bit of trickery gives hugely inflated figures that should be counted as snake oil when the true measurement of gain is referenced to a dipole or groundplane. I'll bet dollars to police doughnuts that figure (if referenced to isotropic) brings you right back to unity, equivelent to using a groundplane.

When you come to understand how the radiation pattern of an antenna is modified to give aparant gain you'll understand that it doesn't apply to portables with thier antennas pointed at random angles. Without getting technical (do your own studying) you can actually degrade performance under certain conditions using a "gain" antenna.