OmniX Antenna in Attic

[N9JIG]

Has anyone here used an OmniX antenna in their attic?

My 40 year old ST-2's don't seem to work as well as they did and I am looking to replace these venerable workhorses with something new.

Thanks!

 

[hfd376]

Has anyone here used an OmniX antenna in their attic?

My 40 year old ST-2's don't seem to work as well as they did and I am looking to replace these venerable workhorses with something new.

Thanks!

Have you tried replacing the coax and replacing the 300 ohm balun? My Radio Shack version is around 24 years old, and I replaced the balun and cut new connectors on the RG-11 cable. It brought the performance back.

 

[N9JIG]

I did last winterand it seemed not to make a difference on any of the 3 that I did. Not sure why they just aren't performing as well as they did in the past.

I am collecting the stuff needed to replace my entire antenna farm in the attic now that I have downsized the radio collection so I will be replacing all the coax and antennas, going from 25 antennas (15 of which had been used at any given time) to 10, all with LMR400 coax, all at the same length. The only difference will be the type of connectors at each end and the actual antennas they are connected to.

 

[NYRHKY94]

Has anyone here used an OmniX antenna in their attic?

My 40 year old ST-2's don't seem to work as well as they did and I am looking to replace these venerable workhorses with something new.

Thanks!

Rich:

Yes. I currently have the OmniX hanging from a rafter in my attic (far right in the attached picture). Results are quite good on my county P25 system (700-800MHz), as well Analog.

Mike

 

[iMONITOR]

Has anyone here used an OmniX antenna in their attic?

My 40 year old ST-2's don't seem to work as well as they did and I am looking to replace these venerable workhorses with something new.

Thanks!

I've used them in my home office on a light stand, works very well. Better than a discone.

 

[mass-man]

I was gonna say an attic isn’t the best place for an antenna but my Omni X is up there in the rafters! Fed by 20ft of LMR240 I get very good results on civilian n mil air band, VHF, UHF and a couple of ham 902 repeaters! Sorry no 700/800 out here in the sticks!

 

[Ubbe]

...Not sure why they just aren't performing as well as they did in the past....

It could very well be the higher noise levels these days. LED lamps, switched power supplies, and all kind of electronics. They install those low energy light bulbs in the street lights that seems to emit a lot of RF hash. In my country, maybe in the whole of europe, they have banned light bulbs using normal wolfram and now only sell LEDs in the stores. Also solar panels seems to be a huge problem even at VHF/UHF frequencies. For me it has changed a lot in noise levels compared to 10-15 years ago. Shortwave are almost unusable and higher frequencies are full of spikes and dead carriers.

/Ubbe

 

[krokus]

I did last winterand it seemed not to make a difference on any of the 3 that I did. Not sure why they just aren't performing as well as they did in the past.

What changed with the environment? Neighbor sourced RFI?

 

[nycrich]

Has anyone here used an OmniX antenna in their attic?

My 40 year old ST-2's don't seem to work as well as they did and I am looking to replace these venerable workhorses with something new.

Thanks!

There is nothing wrong with your antenna. Most likely the balun or cable connector due to corrosion/humidity. However if you want to upgrade remember the OmniX does not have the full frequency range depending on what you are listening to.

 

[N9JIG]

I am thinking it is likely the coax. I am using RG6QS intended for satellite dishes on the ST2's.

My plan is to use 10 50 foot LMR400 cables with appropriate ends (N and PL259 at the antennas, BNC, N and PL259 at the near end) for the 9 antennas (with a spare cable) and eliminate the patch panel. The patch panel is convenient but adds loss and potential points of failure.

With the reduced amount of radios and a bunch of unused antennas cluttering up the attic this will help standardize things and help keep things neat and tidy. I will keep the ST-2's for now and connect one to one of the LMR400 cables and see how well it works.

 

[jrl44430]

Here is the balun I use. It is well worth the money.

Outdoor Balun/Matching Transformer Deluxe

The Channel Master CM-3203 Outdoor Balun Matching Transformer Deluxe is an upgraded professional grade balun for any outdoor tv antenna that does not have an integrated balun.

www.channelmaster.com

 

[BITT211]

attic use works fine for me , never mounted oustide . only uhf in my area , I have several yagis uhf in attic also. may be selling soon to buy another yagi uhf . works great for uhf , other bands not tested .

 

[bearcatrp]

Would have thought receiving through shingles wouldn’t work very well. May have to try this.

 

[popnokick]

Depends on the shingles. Most asphalt OK. Stucco, California Taco Bell-style, or anything with aluminum… not so great. May work but with much higher signal attenuation.

 

[NYAirOne]

attic use works fine for me , never mounted oustide . only uhf in my area , I have several yagis uhf in attic also. may be selling soon to buy another yagi uhf . works great for uhf , other bands not tested .

You thinking of selling the OmniX? Which model you have? General band or the Milair one? I might be interested in it.

 

[krokus]

Here is the balun I use. It is well worth the money.

Outdoor Balun/Matching Transformer Deluxe

The Channel Master CM-3203 Outdoor Balun Matching Transformer Deluxe is an upgraded professional grade balun for any outdoor tv antenna that does not have an integrated balun.

www.channelmaster.com

What makes that balun better than the older style?

 

[jrl44430]

Read about it here.

https://www.amazon.com/Channel-Master-CM-3203-Performance-Transformer/dp/B004XRRAYU/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3GB2SB61LLP0Q&keywords=cm3203&qid=1641217700&sprefix=cm3203%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3

 

[NYAirOne]

attic use works fine for me , never mounted oustide . only uhf in my area , I have several yagis uhf in attic also. may be selling soon to buy another yagi uhf . works great for uhf , other bands not tested .

I sent you a private message on the antenna.

 

[N9JIG]

Well, I ordered an Omni-X and I also ordered all new coax and the ChannelMaster balun. I will try the balun on one of the ST-2's and see how that works out, if it does I will retain an ST-2 in the attic antenna farm. I will let you all know the results!

 

[737mech]

Well, I ordered an Omni-X and I also ordered all new coax and the ChannelMaster balun. I will try the balun on one of the ST-2's and see how that works out, if it does I will retain an ST-2 in the attic antenna farm. I will let you all know the results!

Which model did you order Rich? Omni X or Miltenna Omni?