radioshack antenna help

[bonk83]

i have a radioshack vhf-hi/uhf it's the small one can you have the antenna to high i have it 25ft high cause it seems like when the winds it looses signal a few seconds the scanner sounds good then the next second it gets fuzzy & like a hiss

 

[w2xq]

Assuming the mechanical connections are properly tightened, the first place I'd look is at the connector on the cable. Broken center conductor, broken shield... ???

 

[ridgescan]

Assuming the mechanical connections are properly tightened, the first place I'd look is at the connector on the cable. Broken center conductor, broken shield... ???

this^definately a short in the feedline or connector.

 

[LtDoc]

The only thing you can say definitely is that there seems to be an intermittent connection somewhere. The usual method of trouble-shooting that sort of thing is to check all connections (that's where the problem is most likely to occur). Are there any obvious deformations in the feed line? Is the antenna assembled correctly?
Good luck.
- 'Doc

 

[buckent]

i have a radioshack vhf-hi/uhf it's the small one can you have the antenna to high i have it 25ft high cause it seems like when the winds it looses signal a few seconds the scanner sounds good then the next second it gets fuzzy & like a hiss

First... there is no such thing as having an antenna too high.. height is always a good thing...

second... ANY connections you make, add noise and cost you signal... you need to be using the best quality connectors and coax you can find and afford. Always try to use a solid continuous run of cable from the radio to the antenna...

Third, if all you are trying to do is receive, then impedance will not make too much of a difference, especially when you are comparing cables like RG-58 and RG-59.. The one thing you do need to watch is your losses... Signal loss in RG-59 is much worse, than with RG-58. and both are pretty much the worst cables you can use with frequencies above 450 Mhz.. using 50 foot runs of RG- 58 RG-59 and LMR-400 you'd wind up with 19.6%, 30.4% and 64.1 % efficiency, and that's before any other losses, like cable kinks, poor crimps, and cold solder joints... My point being you'll lose the majority of the signal in the wire before it ever gets to the radio, just by using the worng cable.. RG-58 is fine for mobile CB installs, but, for 800 digital data, I wouldnt touch it, not even for patch cables..

Last, you were kinda vague about what antenna you were using. I was an R$ store mgr for 5 years and i never heard any of our scanner antennas referred to as 'the small one'... If you are using the discone, or the ground plane, neither one of those antennas offer any real gain on your signal, so you may want to try using an amp, or finding an antenna cut for the Uhf band your systems use, this way you can get some gain, ( amplification) higher Db numbers are always better...

From the sounds of it, your system is barely passable, and as the antenna sways, you have a bad connection that is cutting in and out causing you to lose the signal...

FWIW- Ive got a UHF antenna on a 10 foot mast and tripod mount about 35 ft in the air fed with weatherproofed and siliconed PL-259 crimp on connectors on a 70 foot solid run of RG-8, and a 10dB amp... (per Google 806 ft above sea level)

At 855Mhz, I have coverage of at least 25 miles in all directions, even in the worst weather... at 155 Mhz, I can pull in stations 220 miles away... On 2m I have hit repeaters in SC, NC, TN, GA, AL, and MS...