Indoor CB Antenna for My BCD436HP Scanner

[BobFam]

I have a Uniden BCD436HP scanner and would like to listen to CB indoors. Can I do it? If so, is there any good indoor CB antenna for it? Thanks, Bob.

 

[doctordialtone]

I have a Uniden BCD436HP scanner and would like to listen to CB indoors. Can I do it? If so, is there any good indoor CB antenna for it?

BCD436HP ANTENNA

Hello, I have recently got a BCD436HP. I am not happy with the poor reception and amount of programming needed. I don't get a lot of channels. I am looking for a all freq, upgrade antenna. Any suggestions on type & supplier in Ontario ( Kitchener area ). Thank you

forums.radioreference.com

 

[BobFam]

Thanks but I did not see any for CB frequencies. Bob.

 

[doctordialtone]

I did not see any for CB frequencies.

Buy the CB Antenna of your choice then make sure you adapt the connector. There is no CB Antenna designed specifically for the 436.

A CB Antenna is a CB Antenna, tuned to CB Frequencies

Best CB Radio Antenna Review

myradiolab.com

Good luck!

 

[BobFam]

Thanks, Bob.

 

[Firekite]

I have a Uniden BCD436HP scanner and would like to listen to CB indoors. Can I do it? If so, is there any good indoor CB antenna for it? Thanks, Bob.

Are you not receiving CB traffic with the factory antenna? Any handheld antenna should work fine. Have you looked at the Diamond SRH77CA?

If you don’t need to carry it around the house with you, you’ll probably have better luck with a nice broadband antenna like a large discone with the whip on top. Mount it outside or in your attic or whatever. Keeps things working well for more than purely receiving CB.

 

[BobFam]

Thanks. No I don't receive any CB traffic on the stock antenna.. Maybe there is no CB traffic in my area. I'll look at the Diamond. Bob.

 

[jonwienke]

Thanks. No I don't receive any CB traffic on the stock antenna.. Maybe there is no CB traffic in my area. I'll look at the Diamond. Bob.

Don't bother. The RH77CA is a good VHF/UHF antenna, but it is horrible at CB frequencies.

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As the chart shows, it doesn't begin to perform until about 120MHz. If you want to hear anything that isn't within rock-throwing distance, you'll need to get an actual CB antenna.

 

[BobFam]

Thanks. That's what I too found out when I researched it. Bob.

 

[Firekite]

11m isn’t going to be “amazing” on anything handheld. I guess you could try out something like the Comet SMA-W100RX and leave it fully extended just to see how it does for you. But if you’re not hearing anything at all, it probably just means there isn’t much going on in your area. Set CB channels up as the only thing being scanned and listen for a while. Otherwise you’re going to need some sort of external super antenna. Knock yourself out:

https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/laird-technologies-crs2-4404

 

[BobFam]

Thanks. I'll look at it. Regards, Bob.

 

[vagrant]

From the factory, CB radios do not put out much power, perhaps around four watts. Unless the person you want to listen to is across the street or using an amplifier, you're going to want an outdoor antenna tuned for 11 meters (CB frequencies). The higher up it is and the longer/taller it is the better. This can be a wire, or a vertical antenna. You'll need some coaxial cable and more than likely an adapter to connect the cable to your scanner. The wire solution will be the most inexpensive. You can position it vertically, on a slope, horizontal or whatever, but each one of those positions will affect the lobe (RX direction). If you want to listen to people driving around and talking on the CB, then you should position it as vertical as you can. There are plenty of DIY wire antenna plans out there on the Internet.

As an example of antenna results, I just dialed up some local guys chatting. One of them is a little over eight miles away and he is using an outdoor antenna. Here are three outdoor antennas I used to receive:
- Using a discone antenna 25' AGL, I could barely tell he was there and I could not understand him.
- Using an OCF (Off Center Fed) inverted V dipole with an apex 33' AGL his signal was an S5 and clear audio.
- Using an Imax 2000 vertical antenna that is 24' long and mounted on 40' of mast, his signal was an S6. This antenna is tuned for 10 and 15 meters as that is where I use it. Still, it picks up 11 meter CB conversations well enough.

An indoor CB antenna is sort of unrealistic. The wavelength CB uses is 11 meters (36 feet). A halfwave wire dipole tuned for 11 meters may work for you. It is a compromise, but such is life. There are shorter antennas that are loaded with a wire coil in order to get closer to the length needed. Remember, most people using CB are already compromising on their antenna length and height. If you really want to hear them you will want to avoid compromising as much as possible.

 

[BobFam]

Thanks. Where I live I can't put up an outside antenna. I just added the CB Favorite to see what happened. I am not really interested in the CB chatter so I am removing the CB Favorite. Bob.

 

[Firekite]

I have a Uniden BCD436HP scanner and would like to listen to CB indoors.

I am not really interested in the CB chatter

It’s fair to say I’m confused.

 

[BobFam]

It's too much trouble fixing up an antenna just for CB. Bob.