How much should an external auto antenna help?

[exalti]

I have a Pro95 which works wonderfully when not moving. In my vehicle I get a lot of dropouts I assume because I am only using the whip. I see RS has a couple of scanner antennas available:

One is a magnetic mount and the other is a "cellular lookalike". Does anyone have any first hand experience with either of them that coupd say if it is worth the $35?

THanks very much.
-Al

 

[Voyager]

I have a Pro95 which works wonderfully when not moving. In my vehicle I get a lot of dropouts I assume because I am only using the whip. I see RS has a couple of scanner antennas available:

One is a magnetic mount and the other is a "cellular lookalike". Does anyone have any first hand experience with either of them that coupd say if it is worth the $35?

THanks very much.
-Al

I see a lot of people using the mag mount with the coils. I have one at home on my desk and it seems to work fairly well. Lookalike antennas are compromises since performance is not the design goal.

An enternal antenna will help greatly - especialy on the lower frequencies.

Joe M.

 

[jerneedog]

I'm using the Magnet-Mount Mobile Scanner Antenna from Radio Shack and it has helped out tremendous.
I bought this one because I'm planning on buying a new truck in January, and
figured this was the better way to go for me right now.

I think you'll be happy with the results you get from this antenna.
Good luck in your decision.

 

[Voyager]

I'm using the Magnet-Mount Mobile Scanner Antenna from Radio Shack and it has helped out tremendous.
I bought this one because I'm planning on buying a new truck in January, and
figured this was the better way to go for me right now.

I think you'll be happy with the results you get from this antenna.
Good luck in your decision.

Yep - that's the 'one with the coils'.

Joe M.

 

[LarrySC]

Test show that a portable scanner receives better using an antenna that is grounded to the car. You can compare that installation by visiting www.bncantenna.com

 

[Voyager]

Test show that a portable scanner receives better using an antenna that is grounded to the car. You can compare that installation by visiting www.bncantenna.com

They also show that a permanent mount antenna in the roof works better than a grounded antenna anywhere else, but not everyone wants to drill a hole. Besides, the difference isn't that great between a mag mount on the roof and a permanent mount on the roof. There is a small difference, but nothing compared to a mag mount vs a rubber duck on the scanner.

Tests also show that low loss cable is better than RG-58, but even most commercial installations don't use low loss cable - even on 800 MHz. And that makes a larger difference than the mag mount vs the permanent mount!

On the other hand, tests have shown that gain antennas DO NOT always work better than non-gain antennas due to the angle of radioation -especially in hilly or urban terrain. Just an interesting fact I thought I would bring up.

Joe M.

 

[LarrySC]

Here in the south we dont drill holes in car roofs. We use MAXRAD L-brackets bolted to the fender lip.

 

[AZScanner]

Here in the south we dont drill holes in car roofs. We use MAXRAD L-brackets bolted to the fender lip.

FWIW, I've had MUCH better results using a Larsen trunk mount 144-170MHz ham antenna than any mobile scanner antenna. Runs about $65 by the time you factor in the connector, base and whip (all sold seperately - you buy the pieces you need, then assemble) but it's definitely worth it.

-AZ

 

[unitcharlie]

with apologies....

with an external antenna you will hear much more of what you bought you radio to hear.... i have used the stock rat shack mag mount for years have never missed a call that i needed to hear.... there are better ears out there but for the price it is very reliable, picks-up very well and is inexpenisve to replace if lost while flying down the highway (mine pulls free at about 80 miles per and have lost one when the cable was sliced by the door frame as the antenna dangled in the slip stream) or in less friendly parts of town....

 

[N2QCE]

An external antenna will most always help. For V/UHF I use a Radio Shack 2m/440 ham mag mount antenna. It seems to work fine for trunked 800 MHz, too. It mostly depends on what you are listening to and how far they are from your present location.

 

[nmfire10]

Test show that a portable scanner receives better using an antenna that is grounded to the car. You can compare that installation by visiting www.bncantenna.com

www.waltel.com

Any questions you have, he will tell you anything you need to know and then some. Somehow I trust him a lot more than that worthless BNC thing. I highly recommend Waltel for anything you need relating to antennas. Prices a great, wide selection, and a website that doesn't suck.

If you can permanently mount your antenna with an NMO, you should do it. It will work so much better than a cheapo maggot mount. I have always used the L-Bracket by the hood with an Antenna Specialists scanner antenna. That works really good. The roof or trunk lid would work even better but I don't have the garage clearance to accomodate that.

 

[thumbtrap]

Jeff is good people, to borrow common net phraseology. He was able to get me what I wanted quickly, even though it wasn't something he normally stocks.

 

[EMS12]

I use a tuned 800mhz 3db gain antenna on my truck. It is a NMO type with low loss cable.

I notice a big diffrence over the performance of the Rat Shack Mag mount scanner antenna and the 800mhz duck.

But not every one want to drill holes in there roofs.

But nothing beats a NMO for ground and performance.

 

[Voyager]

I use a tuned 800mhz 3db gain antenna on my truck. It is a NMO type with low loss cable.

I notice a big diffrence over the performance of the Rat Shack Mag mount scanner antenna and the 800mhz duck.

It suffices to say that ANY antenna designed for a single frequency band should outperform a multi-band antenna of similar design. Same for a mobile antenna outperforming a portable antenna. A permanent mount will always outperform a mag mount (again, as long as the antennas are of similar design). An antenna mounted on the roof will always outperform one mounted on the trunk or fender (same disclaimer). Last, low loss cable will always outperform standard cable for similar lengths.

Joe M.

 

[K5MAR]

I tried the R/S mag mount antenna, and was not impressed with it's performance compared to a Larsen commercial 150/460 MHZ dualband antenna (even on bands outside the Larsen's range, such as 44 MHz and 800 MHz). But there is a mod on the Strong Signals website that is purported to improve the antenna greatly. I haven't tried it, but here is the link:

http://www.strongsignals.net/access/image/antennas/bearwires.gif

I would imagine that even the R/S magmount would be an improvement over using the stock duck on the scanner. I did find that putting the stock duck on a window lip mount helped greatly. R/S used to sell these but I don't know if they still do, haven't seen them lately. There are others that sell a similar mount, perhaps somebody here knows of a source.

Mark S.

 

[exalti]

I tried the R/S mag mount antenna, and was not impressed with it's performance compared to a Larsen commercial 150/460 MHZ dualband antenna (even on bands outside the Larsen's range, such as 44 MHz and 800 MHz). But there is a mod on the Strong Signals website that is purported to improve the antenna greatly. I haven't tried it, but here is the link:

http://www.strongsignals.net/access/image/antennas/bearwires.gif

I would imagine that even the R/S magmount would be an improvement over using the stock duck on the scanner. I did find that putting the stock duck on a window lip mount helped greatly. R/S used to sell these but I don't know if they still do, haven't seen them lately. There are others that sell a similar mount, perhaps somebody here knows of a source.

Mark S.

I find the antenna to be about as effective (a little more maybe) than the 800MHz rubber duck held up to an open window (uncomfortable to say the least). It is pretty good but if I can improve it a little it will seem worth having. Where would one find the correct materials to make these rod length adjustments? I don't think the sections are long enough to extend this much.

Thanks for the posts everyone.
-Al A.

 

[thumbtrap]

I use a tuned 800mhz 3db gain antenna on my truck. It is a NMO type with low loss cable.

I notice a big diffrence over the performance of the Rat Shack Mag mount scanner antenna and the 800mhz duck.

But not every one want to drill holes in there roofs.

But nothing beats a NMO for ground and performance.

I have an 825 mhz 3db gain ant, and I stuck it on a trunk lip mount nmo. It's noticably better than the glass mount in outlying areas. Of course it doesn't receive CB at all, but what'dya expect?

 

[EMS12]

I use a tuned 800mhz 3db gain antenna on my truck. It is a NMO type with low loss cable.

I notice a big diffrence over the performance of the Rat Shack Mag mount scanner antenna and the 800mhz duck.

But not every one want to drill holes in there roofs.

But nothing beats a NMO for ground and performance.

I have an 825 mhz 3db gain ant, and I stuck it on a trunk lip mount nmo. It's noticably better than the glass mount in outlying areas. Of course it doesn't receive CB at all, but what'dya expect?

LOL :shock:

 

[exalti]

I tried the R/S mag mount antenna, and was not impressed with it's performance compared to a Larsen commercial 150/460 MHZ dualband antenna (even on bands outside the Larsen's range, such as 44 MHz and 800 MHz). But there is a mod on the Strong Signals website that is purported to improve the antenna greatly. I haven't tried it, but here is the link:

http://www.strongsignals.net/access/image/antennas/bearwires.gif

I would imagine that even the R/S magmount would be an improvement over using the stock duck on the scanner. I did find that putting the stock duck on a window lip mount helped greatly. R/S used to sell these but I don't know if they still do, haven't seen them lately. There are others that sell a similar mount, perhaps somebody here knows of a source.

Mark S.

I find the antenna to be about as effective (a little more maybe) than the 800MHz rubber duck held up to an open window (uncomfortable to say the least). It is pretty good but if I can improve it a little it will seem worth having. Where would one find the correct materials to make these rod length adjustments? I don't think the sections are long enough to extend this much.

Thanks for the posts everyone.
-Al A.

 

[SAR923]

You can use the whip replacement at http://www.radioshack.com/product.a...me=CTLG_008_009_005_001&product_id=21-988 to do the modifications. You're correct that you need a new whip to cut up since the mag mount sections don't extend.