I'm sorry, but another "What antenna for my scanner" thread.

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KD0LWU

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I know you guys are sick of this, and I know this bing my first post makes it that much worse! I've searched and read for three days now, and I THINK I have the right answer, but want to hear some more ideas.
I've been around scanners for years, but have dropped out of it for years as well! But living in KS with the weather patterns we've had this year I've become unsettled. Then with the political unrest we've been seeing, I decided to create a Bail out bag (BOB) with some things I think would be nice if you had nothing left.
I found an old Radio Shack PRO-26, full coverage with FM radio, should be good for information gathering as most of the World band seems to have gone dead in North America.
So, SHTF, or a tornado wipes my house off the face of the Earth, I still have some information coming in.
Wichita is close to me, they have all gone trunked, but all the county utilities in my county and city are 450ish MHZ, SKYWARN is 160ishMHZ and I want good ham coverage as well. I plan on keeping the factory antenna handy also, but from what I've read the Diamond rh77ca seems on paper to be the ticket.
Sorry for the long post, but I've read many of these threads and you guys seem to like having information about what I want to listen to, so I am trying to be descriptive. 800MHZ is of little concern, and if I need it, I will most likely be on top of them, or use the other antenna.
Thank you all for any input you can offer.
 

k9rzz

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I know you guys are sick of this, and I know this bing my first post makes it that much worse! I've searched and read for three days now, and I THINK I have the right answer, but want to hear some more ideas.
I've been around scanners for years, but have dropped out of it for years as well! But living in KS with the weather patterns we've had this year I've become unsettled. Then with the political unrest we've been seeing, I decided to create a Bail out bag (BOB) with some things I think would be nice if you had nothing left.
I found an old
Radio Shack PRO-26, full coverage with FM radio, should be good for information gathering as most of the World band seems to have gone dead in North America.
So, SHTF, or a tornado wipes my house off the face of the Earth, I still have some information coming in.
Wichita is close to me, they have all gone trunked, but all the county utilities in my county and city are
450ish MHZ, SKYWARN is 160ishMHZ and I want good ham coverage as well. I plan on keeping the factory antenna handy also, but from what I've read the Diamond rh77ca seems on paper to be the ticket.
Sorry for the long post, but I've read many of these threads and you guys seem to like having information about what I want to listen to, so I am trying to be descriptive. 800MHZ is of little concern, and if I need it, I will most likely be on top of them, or use the other antenna.

Thank you all for any input you can offer.

Not much to add. Hook it up and away you go unless you have a specific question?
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KD0LWU

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I just wanted to know if that antenna sounded like it fit my needs the best, or if there is something out that covers my needs better?
 

bwhite

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Before you go dropping more $$ see how what you have works out. Heck, I had a base loaded CB antenna that was laying around hooked to my mobile scanner for years. Nope, not the best but it picked up most of what I wanted quite well. You may be pleasantly surprised. If not, you can always upgrade.
 

KD0LWU

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Very good suggestion, but seeing as I've been out of scanners for ten years or better, I'm doing good to find basic stuff lying around! I dug out my RCI-2970 today to clean it up and see about putting it in the truck, but I seem to have lost the power cord! DOH!!!
I found my K40 4ft whip, but no mount!
I have/had a wind up SWL antenna, can't find it, can't find my suction cup mount scanner ant. anywhere either! My discone ant is still up in the air, but my wife has piled so much stuff up in front of the closet, I can't get to the wires! Seeing a pattern here LOL!
 

Cochran_rick

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I bought a Radio Shack Model 20-043 which is a wide band Discone antenna. It covers 25-1300mhz on receive and will even transmit on the VHF and UHF ham bands. I used it on a scanner with satisfactory results and recently have been using it to transmit on the ham bands (VHF and UHF) and was pleasantly suprised that it was a good match with 1.2:1 or less SWR's. It sells for $74.99. I know there are better antennas to be had, but I can't say anything bad about the one I have.
 

k9rzz

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Well, replacing one hand held antenna with another one probably won't make your jaw drop in improvements. Just replacing the stock antenna with another whip won't suddenly make the radio sound like you're on the 50th floor of a high rise building. Some frequencies may sound a `little` better on one or the other, but overall it's probably going to be a wash.
 

KD0LWU

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The discone, which I already own, doesn't fit well in a Bail out bag! The point was portability.

K9rzz, thank you for reiterating what I know, and understand.

I went to my local Radio Shack/ham shop and talked to them about what I wanted, he didn't hesitate, grabbed a Comet BNC24 and handed it to me.
So far I can notice a marked improvement in the 450-460 signals I am getting in. I need to search the ham bands, which I hope to have time for tomorrow and see how it goes.

Sorry I muddied up the forum, I'll stick to read only from here on.
 

bwhite

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You didn't muddy it up. Welcome. And hey, unlike some of these threads it didn't turn snipey if there is such a word but I have a feeling you understand my meaning. I think the general theme is not to go overboard on an antenna mounted directly to your handheld. Regardless of price, even the expensive ones probably don't justify all the additional money but, I'm sure this will stir the pot.
 
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