I'm pretty new to scanning but love it! I'm thinking that I probably miss out on hearing alot of stuff because of the basic "rubber duckie" antenna that I have. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on good antenna's that I could buy for this scanner.. Any suggestions would help and be GREATLY appreciated!
Kalamazoo BC296D user Antenna help!
- Thread starter doggg78
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Two questions:
- Do you mean an external antenna or just a different duck antenna>
- What bands do you listen to mainly. The answer to your question may be different if you only listen to one band, like 800 mhz, versus most or all of them.
...jim
- Do you mean an external antenna or just a different duck antenna>
- What bands do you listen to mainly. The answer to your question may be different if you only listen to one band, like 800 mhz, versus most or all of them.
...jim
I pretty much listen to the 800 channels ... If I am able to get an external antenna will it be able to connect to the scanner? Like I said I'm new to this and have no idea which antenna's will fit onto my scanner.. I'm guessing I'd like to go with high $ antenna's to mid $.. Thanks again for all of your help!
This site is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO informative! I've already learnt so much here at RadioReference.com.
This site is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO informative! I've already learnt so much here at RadioReference.com.
If you get an external antenna, as long the connector on the end of the cable is the same type as on the scanner (BNC) and the opposite gender, it should be no problem.
Since you listen to mostly 800 Mhz, you may want to first try on of the following duck antennas that are tuned for 800 mhz. That way you will also get better reception when mobile. You can always go the external route later.
- radio shack 800mhz duck 20-283
- Larsen SPDA15832, which is an 800 mhz duck that also bends to a 90 degree angle.
I use both and both of the above work fairly well, with the Larsen slightly better than the radio shack one.
...jim
Since you listen to mostly 800 Mhz, you may want to first try on of the following duck antennas that are tuned for 800 mhz. That way you will also get better reception when mobile. You can always go the external route later.
- radio shack 800mhz duck 20-283
- Larsen SPDA15832, which is an 800 mhz duck that also bends to a 90 degree angle.
I use both and both of the above work fairly well, with the Larsen slightly better than the radio shack one.
...jim
You can buy the radio shack one on-line at radio shack.com. The Larsen I bought from another radio hobbyist in the chicago area.
I am not an expert, but I bought a Wilson Y8009EL 301111 Yagi from eBay. It was brand new and has worked out good for me. You will usually have to get your own cable (and possibly connectors) whether you get from a dealer or eBay. The eBay purchase I made happened to be from a dealer.
What I went by was to buy a yagi antenna that is rated for cellular with more than 10DB gain. This is cecause the cellular band is near the 800 range where MPSCS and other 800 user are. So once I saw some I got the model numbers and verified they also covered that range.
Hope this helps.
...jim
I am not an expert, but I bought a Wilson Y8009EL 301111 Yagi from eBay. It was brand new and has worked out good for me. You will usually have to get your own cable (and possibly connectors) whether you get from a dealer or eBay. The eBay purchase I made happened to be from a dealer.
What I went by was to buy a yagi antenna that is rated for cellular with more than 10DB gain. This is cecause the cellular band is near the 800 range where MPSCS and other 800 user are. So once I saw some I got the model numbers and verified they also covered that range.
Hope this helps.
...jim
No prob. Let me know how thing work out for you.
You should have a ringside seat for the city and county switching to MPSCS soon. Good thing you got the 296.
...jim
You should have a ringside seat for the city and county switching to MPSCS soon. Good thing you got the 296.
...jim
Cool! Any info on the id's would be appreciated too. I am in Berrien County.
...jim
...jim
They are supposed to either list them on this site or the mpscs site.. November 7th .. I think he said he was a firefighter here ... OH and I did some more research on antennas and found one that works for all .. ST-2 .. others here on the forum said it was pretty good.. I found one for $35 including shipping.. I just have to buy the connector .. It's also known as a scantenna
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