interior vs exterior

[mski]

I have a home patrol scanner. Using the stock antenna connected to the unit I was able to receive Philadelphia P 25. When I switched to my exterior Radio Shack antenna mounted up in a tree I can no longer get Philly.
I'm not too experienced in scanner antennas so maybe this one isnt the best for the Home Patrol.
Outdoor VHF-Hi/UHF Scanner Antenna : Scanner Antennas | RadioShack.com

 

[mikepdx]

I have a home patrol scanner. Using the stock antenna connected to the unit I was able to receive Philadelphia P 25. When I switched to my exterior Radio Shack antenna mounted up in a tree I can no longer get Philly.
I'm not too experienced in scanner antennas so maybe this one isnt the best for the Home Patrol.
Outdoor VHF-Hi/UHF Scanner Antenna : Scanner Antennas | RadioShack.com

Very high losses possible at 700-800 MHz

More info:
What coax? Low loss?
How long?
Connectors properly installed? Pre-installed? If not, are you experienced installing coax connectors?
Properly weatherproofed?
Adaptors used?

The reason for all of the questions is that
any issues could cause losses large
enough so that there is virtually no signal left at the receiver at 700-800,
even though you may still hear traffic on lower bands.

 

[teufler]

More inclined to think its the coax. Did you buy it with the Radio Shack antenna or is some coax that you had laying around? If you have another antenna, try hooking the coax to another antenna that you know works, or hook another piece of coax to the RS antenna. If you have an ohm meter, run a continuity check on the coax, this way you can check the connectors and you can check the coax. An outside antenna is superior to an inside stock rubber duck, even if the antenna is not made for the band you desire..

 

[mski]

The coax is the coax that came with the antenna except for the last 15' which I replaced with RG6. The connectors from the stock coax to the RG 6 is a cable TV type connector I have waterproofed.

Maybe it's not the antenna and could be something else.
I put the stock antenna on last night after posting my question and cant get Philly any more like I was able to.
I have squelch at 4 bars and range maxed out. I get stations over 65 miles away with the radio shack antenna.

 

[jonwienke]

I have squelch at 4 bars

That's may be your problem. The higher the squelch setting, the fewer signals squelch will allow through. Also, check to see if you have attenuation turned on somewhere.

 

[DPD1]

Does coax come with that? If it does, I assume it's probably RG58. That combined with the other cable, combined with adapters... Not great for 800 type stuff. The digital systems can be tricky. You can have simulcast issues between sites and other oddities. Sometimes having a better signal can even make it worse.

 

[mski]

With out going outside and looking the stock coax that came with the antenna is probably RG58.

Ia there a better antenna with breaking the bank for exterior use?

I have a 800mhz stubby antenna and it works about the same as the exterior one.