Viper does RS still sell the antenna the only one i know of is an all band ant that doesnt work,can u be a lil more specfic on how ya rigged it up?Thanks
MECA Digital: reception issues and solutions
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A Mobile antenna on a piece of metal, pizza pan, cookie sheet, etc will provide a ground plane and help the antenna work. Then you may need an adapter to fit it to your scanner.
A good low profile antenna I have and use occasionally is a 1/4 wave cell magnet mount with a TNC to BNC adapter. It sits out side the vehicle and get good reception, also improves reception inside the house. There are several out there, and any truck stop, (like the one south if Indy), should have a selection of antennas along with adapters.
Viper43
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It's the http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102525 and in most stores I use a "through the roof" BNC type mount which is actually a panel mount BNC then run LMR 400 (thin type)
to the scanner. Simple yet it works. If you don't want a permant setup then use an old mag mount CB base with a PL-259 to BNC adaptor and the LMR 400 cable in place of the CB cable unless it has really good cable already.
V
They make a car window lip mount with a BNC and fairly good cable, or there are several commercial magnet mounts with a BNC base which has a good cable for two-way radios.
They even make one with suction cups for window mounts.
http://www.scannerworld.com/content/product/model/SCAN9BNC
Or you could use a window mount antenna, some like, some hate, and some don't work depending on how much metal is in your window glass.
Godd selection here
http://www.scannerworld.com/content/product/category/Mobile%20Scanner%20Antennas
Viper43
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Why spend $500 on a scanner then skimp on the antenna and cable, heck, I wouldn't skimp on a $5 scanner antenna for that matter as the antenna and cable are the most important part of gettng the best recepton possble. Add to it the fact the RS 800Mhz duck s a proven antenna, and for less than $50 you can have an excellent setup, not "fairly good" cable that wll give fair results at best....
Reminds me of a certan fire department that bought 45 new radios for $1200 each then bought surplus antennas in a lot of 50 for $100 and wondered why all their new radios wouldn't transmit or receive. Even after being told it was the antennas they failed to fx the issue until they burned up 4 of them..... Granted a scanner won't fail the same way but performance does on reception.
V
Reminds me of a certan fire department that bought 45 new radios for $1200 each then bought surplus antennas in a lot of 50 for $100 and wondered why all their new radios wouldn't transmit or receive. Even after being told it was the antennas they failed to fx the issue until they burned up 4 of them..... Granted a scanner won't fail the same way but performance does on reception.
V
What you suggest is overkill, costly, and the results would be hard to measure with out special equipment. we are talking about 5 to 10 feet of cable here. There is barely any loss. Most cable loss is measured per 100 feet.
Getting a 4-6 inch piece of metal the size of toothpick on the roof in a mag mount would produce amazing results. Better than a RS duck. Get it up ten more feet and reception might almost double. A metal antenna beats a RS duck every time.
Viper43
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lol, you contradict yourself as usual, first saying it's overkill then saying it won't work, well I have tried over 50 antennas and stll the best performance is the setup I suggest, whch BTW orgnally came from someone who builds and repairs 800Mhz trunked systems. And the LMR 400 doesn't just cut down on loss, it also blocks out interference , whch, wth todays cars/trucks is much more mportant than it was before. The RS 800Mhz has proven it'self time and time again, where "wire" antennas have failed.
V
V
No I didn't read it again. The LMR cable is a waste of money and is overkill, especially for short run. It is not needed, you might see an improvement in a 50 foot run, a little better in a 100 foot run. A CB mag mount and cable is a waste of money. Larsen makes some nice mounts. 100% better than radio shack. A rubber duck is nothing but a dummy load for a transmitter and actually has a negative gain in propagation studies.
I'm just to keep people from wasting their money, and expecting miracles, when there are good cheap alternatives out there. It's your/their money... I want them to have all the facts.
And there are better ducks out there than the RS 800, strong signals site has information posted on one such study. Google for more. A metal rods outperforms ducks every time.
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www.scc-ares-races.org/emergency_operations_and_ht.htm
If you want to listen to MECA, get an 800 MHz yagi. Get the shortest run of coax possible. Point it to the direction of the site you want to hear.
If you want to listen to UHF/VHF freq's than buy another scanner, and put a VHF/UHF discone on it.
Come up with a new inventive use for the rubber duck
It takes at least a 6db change in gain to notice a diffrence. RG-8 is in the area of 6 to 8 db attenuation over 100 ft. LMR-400 is 4 to 6 db attenuation.
RG-8 runs anywhere from 30 to 50 cents per the foot. LMR-400 runs 70 to $1.30 per the foot.
If you have a short run, like most listeners do, to the attic, or a mast outside the bedroom window, is double the cost worth almost no noticible increase in reception?
If you want to listen to MECA, get an 800 MHz yagi. Get the shortest run of coax possible. Point it to the direction of the site you want to hear.
If you want to listen to UHF/VHF freq's than buy another scanner, and put a VHF/UHF discone on it.
Come up with a new inventive use for the rubber duck
It takes at least a 6db change in gain to notice a diffrence. RG-8 is in the area of 6 to 8 db attenuation over 100 ft. LMR-400 is 4 to 6 db attenuation.
RG-8 runs anywhere from 30 to 50 cents per the foot. LMR-400 runs 70 to $1.30 per the foot.
If you have a short run, like most listeners do, to the attic, or a mast outside the bedroom window, is double the cost worth almost no noticible increase in reception?
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After reading many posts extolling the virtues of the RS 800 MHz rubber duck, I bought one. I was not impressed.
Years ago, I bought a handheld frequency counter from a company that is now out of business. With the counter, I bought their set of single-band rubber duck antennas for VHF-Low, VHF-High, UHF, and 800. I later sold the counter, but I kept the set of antennas. I'm still using the 800 MHz antenna from that set for monitoring 800 MHz systems. In my unscientific testing, it works better than the RS 800 duck.
As for LMR 400, I agree that any cable in the RG8 class (0.405 inch diameter) is overkill for most hobbiest mobile installations. I can't see that a mobile installation in a passenger car or SUV would require more than 20 feet of feedline between the antenna and the radio. At that length, you aren't gaining much by going with LMR 400.
But, this is all mostly off-topic. There are other places and other threads on RR to talk about antennas and feedlines.
Ok, tell us what you have, or do to monitor or know about antennas and coax for this system?
Some of that info came from a Fed study. It is quite accurate, as I said it is still used in propagation studies. (That means how far the signal will radiate and what areas it will cover).
Any one receiving MECA from Hamilton County?
I finally got around to programming MECA into my 396T. However, the reception is poor with the RS 800Mhz antenna. Perhaps, I need a better antenna; however, I have no problems receiving the SAFE-T traffic from the Marion County towers with the 800Mhz antenna. Are the signals from the MECA system weaker than the SAFE-T signals?
I finally got around to programming MECA into my 396T. However, the reception is poor with the RS 800Mhz antenna. Perhaps, I need a better antenna; however, I have no problems receiving the SAFE-T traffic from the Marion County towers with the 800Mhz antenna. Are the signals from the MECA system weaker than the SAFE-T signals?
W9NES
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I also have problems hearing MECA when I get outside the Marion County Line at 96Th and Michigan Road. When I am at I-465 and Michigan Road with a Radio Shack 800Mhz Duck on my Uniden BC 396T[ I do not get a control channel].When I am at 9800N Michigan Road in Hamilton County I have problems getting MECA but have no problems getting safe-t on the Boone County safe-t tower at 106Th and Michigan Road.You might try to program The safe-t tower site at 106Th and Michigan Road.Also known as the[ Dist 52 Simucast for Boone County] and you should be able to hear all the talkgroups on safe-t that are assoicated with the Boone County site.Hope this helps...
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It is amazing that Marion County didn't join SAFE-T. Then again, consider who was in office at the time the decision was made to go with the P25 system...just another bone-headed decision by the former Peterson admistration.
djl998
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No it's not amazing. SAFE-T doesn't have anywhere near the capacity to handle Marion County's traffic. The radios are compatible, and from what I understand, many MECA radios have SAFE-T TG's programmed in them and vice-versa. So the interoperability is there if it's needed, such as with certain collar county fire departments on mutual aid calls.
The reception problems you're having occur depending on where in the county you're located, because MECA's signal is simulcast on several towers. Uniden scanners are known not to handle MECA nearly as well as RS/GRE scanners.
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Yes, I've updated to 3.01, set to P25, and I have four CC programmed. I've also experimented with the AGC and P25 Adjust Level settings. Still, very poor reception...garbled and broken up most of the time, but with strong signal strength. Any recommended settings? Thanks.
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Racin06 where are you located and what type of antenna are you using?,I owned a 2096 and had the same problems,I returned the the 2096 and got the Pro-197,I have only 1 CC programmed but 4 is recommended because if meca switches CC,I will have to find the alternate,my radio works flawless now so i dont wanna touch it,lol,I live in the downtown Indpls area and use the stock antenna,P25 Auto ,Attn off,Narrow FM set to NO,Dig AGC On,Super Track ON and Multi Site Off,T Tables: Default,Good Luck.
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