Outdoor Antenna and Coaxing wire and other parts to buy??

[JimBobTerp]

Hi
I am new to maybe doing this I am looking to buy a outdoor Antenna and Coaxing wire and also other parts so I can get a better monitoring actives that can come in a lot clear. So can someone give me all the links to all the stuff I will need to buy from this site Scanner Master - Police Scanners by Uniden Bearcat, AOR and Radio Shack. or RadioShack - mobile phones, MP3 players, laptops, and more if they still sell that stuff for your police scanners. I hope some can give me a feed back and links. Cause I am going to check with my dad after I get my Tax return in the mail and take some of my $$ and pick this stuff up I hope.

Thanks a lot.

I have Uniden BCD996XT and using FreeScan to program it. I also live in Easton,PA Northampton County

 

[hoser147]

Here is a good place to start Scanner Antennas - The RadioReference Wiki

 

[jackj]

There are a lot of good antennas on the market. What you should buy depends on what you want to hear. Check out the Wiki here for some good info. You'll get plenty of advice on which type of coaxial cable to buy, two things to remember about coax in order of importance.

1. Less loss per 100' is good. Loss is measured in db/100 foot and the loss doubles for every 3db increase.
2. Impedance match is good. Antennas are 50 ohm, radios are 50 ohm. If you can satisfy point number 1 then 50 ohm will be better than 75 ohm.

Good luck, you have discovered the bottom-less pit in which to throw money.

 

[ka3jjz]

The question about impedance is generally moot - it swings so wildly depending on the frequency and other factors, that it should be only taken as a nominal amount, not as an absolute. The actual loss due to impedance mismatch on a receiving application is very small (transmitting is a whole 'nother can of worms)....73 Mike

 

[kb2vxa]

Coaxing wire? What are you coaxing it to do and why does wire need coaxing to do anything? (;->)
Seriously and just to set you straight, "coax" (pronounced co-axe) is a contraction of the words coaxial cable meaning two conductors share the same axis one inside the other.

 

[n5ims]

For an outdoor antenna, you also need to get the necessary items to properly ground the mast, antenna, and coax. Do a search at this site on antenna grounding for some good information on what's required. At a minimum, you'll need ground wire (minimum of #6 solid copper - larger is better), an 8 foot ground rod, the correct clamp to attach this ground rod to the ground wire, the correct clamps to attach the ground wire to your mast and/or antenna (attaching to several locations on the mast is best - also attach to antenna if design permits), coax lighting arrestor, and any necessary coax connectors.