Slinky Antenna

[Kosingigglephits]

Good day everyone!

had a thought and figured I'd post it and get some input. I have one of those slinky antennas that I bought off ebay a while back for my SWradio (which i haven't gotten out of the box since I last moved.) and I was wondering what you all thought about using that as a scanner antenna? Would it work good? is there any impedance incompatability or anything like that I should be aware of?

 

[ReceiverBeaver]

Hey Big K !!

You found Chewy! My avatar's long lost cousin! Happy day happy day happy happy fun day !!!! If I remember correctly, I believe Chewy is a Western Red Tailed Kung Fu Chewing Beaver.

I'll have my people call your people and they can get together and do lunch.

The slinky will probably be of service to your scanner only if your scanner includes shortwave. The impedance thing shouldn't be a problem; what you are dealing with here is the length. Long-wire antennas are for longer wavelength frequencies like SW....which is why you have the thing for your SW receiver. Scanners are typically for VHF and up where the wavelengths are much shorter and why they come equipped with shorter antennas.

I'm not saying that it won't hear anything or that it will blow up your scanner. It won't hurt to play with it. I'd leave the coiled sections mostly collasped, maybe spread out only a foot or so and hang the thing up vertically with one coil half pointing towards the ceiling and the other towards the floor. Practically all scanner-type transmissions are vertically polarized. See how it works and let us know.

Experimenting is part of the fun of this radio hobby/service. Good luck!

 

[Kosingigglephits]

Hey there!

It has been a while since I let Domo out so I figured this would be a great place for him!

I may give your suggestions a try. Or I just may wait and buy a new antenna. LOL They are relatively affordable and I have a 20' pole I can use to mount it on.

 

[consys]

I made one. It is streched out in my attic just under the roof peak, about 40 feet end to end. It is one of my best antennas for the california hyway patrol on 42Mhz. UHF & VHF work fine also. The nearest 800Mhz system to me is blocked by a small hill, I have to use an outside yagi to hear it and it's only 8 miles away; I can't hear it on the slinky but didnt expect to.

I always say have a try with it, your milage will vary, but you might be surprized. I've used some unusual things for antennas, some with outstanding results (an aluminum window frame comes to mind). Have fun!