Improving My Discone

[cassidy1190]

I am trying to improve the reception I get with my discone from RS. You have to screw in all the antennas and they come loose sometimes. Could I soldier them into the main unit.(forgive my misinterpretations of these different parts of the discone lol.)

 

[TeRayCodA]

Could I soldier them into the main

Doubtful...those threads are stainless steel.The apex is chrome plated brass.(not compatible with solder)Anyway,you would probably damage the inner insulating material with the amount of heat you would have to use.

If the elements keep coming loose,I would try some Loctite products "Service Removeable Threadlocker"(I use it at work,great stuff!)
Or,dab a little clear silicone on the threads and re-assemble.That should keep them from working out.

-But keep in mind,that if you ever need to disassemble the antenna,(with the loctite)you may break some of the elements trying to "break them free".

Those elements are light guage walled!

If you really want the Xtreme,use super glue,but you will NEVER get the antenna elements apart again-you'll break the threads off right in the apex!(not recommended)LOL!

 

[cassidy1190]

wow, maybey ill just go up every now and then with a small wrench and tigten them, sounds better than anything else i would need to do lol :lol:

 

[DSYCUTTER]

Hey cassidy.... get urself some locitite at home depot or lowes or local hardware store... it'll last a while and you will not have to worry about loosening

 

[n4yek]

You could put nuts on each element and tighten them down on the
apex after you screw the elements in, that helps too.
Danny
N4YEK

 

[scent]

St Louis Metropolitan Police Dept

System Name: St Louis Metropolitan Police Dept
Location: St Louis City, MO
County: St. Louis
System Type: Motorola Type II Smartnet
System Voice: Analog
Sysid: 0d30
CT: 90.00
Last Updated: 03-07-2005 13:50 Changed talkgroups
Hits: 6416

I have a Discone Antenna T601, hooked up to my BC898T Scanner, I am having problems picking up St. Louis City MO. Police, I live in Hazelwood, Mo. And I am not getting anything on the Trunk System, with the City Police, I am thinking I need a better Antenna to pick up the 800MHz. Freq. Is there anything I can add on to my set-up that would improve my reception ?

 

[N_Jay]

Re: St Louis Metropolitan Police Dept

I have a Discone Antenna T601, hooked up to my BC898T Scanner, I am having problems picking up St. Louis City MO. Police, I live in Hazelwood, Mo. And I am not getting anything on the Trunk System, with the City Police, I am thinking I need a better Antenna to pick up the 800MHz. Freq. Is there anything I can add on to my set-up that would improve my reception ?

How many feet or what type of cable?

 

[cassidy1190]

Its 6 ft of cabel (RG-58, BNC connectors). It goes from my scanner to an adapter which conects the cable to the antenna since its not BNC compatable.

 

[loumaag]

You could put nuts on each element and tighten them down on the apex after you screw the elements in, that helps too.

Especially considering that they come with the antenna just for that purpose. :roll:

 

[fivestarr]

800mhz dedicated antenna

scent,
I use a fixed base antenna for certain fringe area 800mhz reception. It is a Decibel DB-495A "corner reflector" and gives about 6db over a discone. I'll try to post a picture of another one I have laying around.
Fivestarr

 

[fivestarr]

800mhz dedicated antenna

scent,
cant get the pic to upload
fivestarr

 

[fivestarr]

800mhz dedicated antenna

One more try and I give up

[Moderator edit: Please do not upload 1/2 meg pictures. Especially twice. Many people still access this site via dial-up.]

 

[N_Jay]

Re: 800mhz dedicated antenna

One more try and I give up

 

[cassidy1190]

where can i get something like that, I was considering a preamp too.

 

[fivestarr]

800mhz dedicated antenna

Dan,
I get almost all my stuff at America's flea market: EBAY
Just check the antenna section of ham radio or key in "corner reflector" in the opening page every couple of days until something shows up. If I recall, I paid less than 25 bux for it (plus shipping of course). This antenna was sort of an experiment, I had no idea it would work so well. Again, as I have written in other posts, I suggest using hardline (also called heliax and superflex) for your feedline. It makes no sense to me to gather all that signal in the antenna and lose half of it or more in the coax. I use .25 inch Andrew FSJ-50. And seal the weather exposed N-connector with UV proof black mastic "coaxseal" to keep the water out.
fivestarr

 

[cassidy1190]

Wow now that you mention the cable thing (im loosing have my signal :lol: ), I think I might just get new cable. Did u get that on ebay too lol? I only need 6 ft going from 1 scanner to a discone antenna. Can I buy one with BNC connectors already on it or do I have to put them on myself(I really dont want to do that). Thanks for your help.

 

[mancow]

Re: 800mhz dedicated antenna

scent,
I use a fixed base antenna for certain fringe area 800mhz reception. It is a Decibel DB-495A "corner reflector" and gives about 6db over a discone. I'll try to post a picture of another one I have laying around.
Fivestarr

I'm running a 7 element 800Mhz beam into a Cellwave premp with about 25' of LMR400 but where I live I need all the gain I can get.

Do you think that corner reflector would outperform a yagi or should I not bother with it?


mancow

 

[Tweekerbob]

Mancow:

Keep your beam, should be just a bit better than the corner reflector in terms of gain. The corner reflector does have more gain than a discone, but probably not as much as your beam.

Depending on the topography of your area, you can try two things for improved reception using your current set-up: 1. Try aiming the beam in different directions. If a Line of Sight to the system you are trying to hear is not possible due to hills, tall buildings or other obstructions, it might be possible to catch a strong reflection in a totally different direction. You can use a scanner/receiver with an S-meter to identify the best direction or just listen for the cleanest signal.

Another option is to increase the heighth. If you are in flat lands, this may not work. I live in the foothills of California, and since I am not quite at the top of a ridge, heighth increases as low as 5 feet make a difference. But again, if you are in the flatlands, 5 feet won't make a significant (or even noticible) difference in most cases.

Ryan

 

[fivestarr]

800mhz yagi vs. corner reflector

mancow
I agree with tweakerbob. You probably couldnt tell the difference between the corner reflector and the yagi. I think I would stick with the yagi. Yes I did get my hardline on ebay. Make sure there aren't any breaks in the copper shield or kinks in it.
fivestarr

 

[N_Jay]

Wow now that you mention the cable thing (im loosing have my signal :lol: ), I think I might just get new cable. Did u get that on ebay too lol? I only need 6 ft going from 1 scanner to a discone antenna. Can I buy one with BNC connectors already on it or do I have to put them on myself(I really dont want to do that). Thanks for your help.

At 6 feet of cable it does not make much difference.

You probably need to get your antenna up higher.