Unusually Good Antenna Experience Today
My County is on a P25 Phase 1 system and I use a Radioshack Pro 651 scanner with the standard rubber duck antenna to monitor the counties Fire and EMS frequencies. I also listen to my City's Fire and Police department that is on a Motorola Analog Trunked system. I have all of the county's Fire and EMS frequencies programmed into my 651 but sometimes the Fire and EMS main channel's signal comes in and out and it is gargled at times. Most of the time I have to move the scanner around to be able to get a clear signal and understand what they say. It only does that on the main channel of the Fire and EMS channel, all of the fire TAC channels come in just fine. I'm not quite sure if I need a different antenna or if thats just how the Pro 651 handles those channels. I have done some research on antennas and I found out that the W-801 Regular Gainer antenna is a big improvement compared to the standard rubber duck antenna. Would the W-801 antenna solve this problem?
Today I had an amazing antenna experience. I too have the Pro-651, in fact I have 2 of them plus a Pro-106. I really like the W-801, I would give it a solid 5 stars in performance and value. I have tried a few other antennas which I ended up returning like the Comet BNC-W100RX which for my listening needs was a complete waste. Also, the Radio Shack center loaded telescoping antenna was substandard as well as a Diamond RH77CA. I ended up returning all but the W801.
Then I found an inexpensive little antenna on Amazon with an unassuming name "Valley Enterprises Universal Replacement Antenna" and with that name, the low price and the smattering of negative reviews I didn't expect much. But because it was shipped with Amazon Prime and they stand behind what they sell or fulfill in this case I figured I would have nothing to lose so I ordered one.
As soon as I put it on and listened to my scan list I knew I found something special. My next door neighbor has been scanning since the late 70's as well and has tried numerous antennas as well, more than I have by a long shot. So I called him up immediately and he met me at the fence to listen. The first thing he did is select a P25 Phase 1 system which is notoriously hard to receive typically and his face lit up like a Christmas Tree when the first transmission popped on with crystal clarity.
He immediately asked me to order 5 antennas for him - he doesn't have Prime. I can't say for sure that it will solve your problems but I can say that my neighbor and I are very impressed with the quality and value of this antenna. For $9.99 shipped and no tax I am stunned at the value. It is easily as good as my W-801 in my humble opinion. However, your mileage may vary. Different environment and so on.
By the way, this antenna showed up perfectly straight, very tight and well made with a nice smooth jet-black finish. I would disregard some of the negative comments on Amazon. And if you do get a lemon, remember they are eager to please.
