The Best antenna.....................

[ksabo]

for the new GRE PSR-500 scanner. I listen to the 150. *** range, the 400.*** range, the 800.*** range and whatever else I can find. Has anyone had great sucess with an aftermarket antenna on their PSR-% ? And is a mag roof antenna the best for in the truck ? If so, what brand and model ? Please let me know what y'all think, OK?Your advice would be appreciated.
Thanks much, Kenny

 

[af5rn]

How far are you from the systems you want to monitor? Are you urban, suburban, or rural? Are you on a tight budget? Are you afraid to drill holes in your vehicle? Will your wife divorce you if you put a big, ugly antenna on her car?

We need to know all these things to answer your question (which has already been asked and answered in half the topics in this forum) intelligently. There really is no "one size fits all" answer.

And no, a mag mount should be only a very last-ditch choice. It sucks.

 

[jon_k]

And no, a mag mount should be only a very last-ditch choice. It sucks.

For someone totally wet behind the ears, any explanation on why? They pick up signals as good as a non-magnetic counterpart don't they?

 

[Airdorn]

Life should have taught you by now that its going to be a compromise.

Unless you are willing to get 3 different antennas for each of those bands, then you need to get something that is a COMPROMISE... you are compromising efficiency for the luxury of having a single antenna to "cover it all".

Get that scantenna.. it will cover 150 and 400 pretty darn well, and the 800 band fairly well.

Once you get lost in the dystopian underworld of scanning, you can get a nice 800mhz curly-cue mag mount to cover that band better.

Later, when you're truly lost, you'll have 4-5 antennas to cover each of the major bands, and may be 1 or 2 yagis to interrogate 1 or 2 of the most prominent bands as much as possible.

 

[af5rn]

Get that scantenna.. it will cover 150 and 400 pretty darn well, and the 800 band fairly well.

Can't say I've ever seen a Scantenna mounted on a truck, but hey, I bet it does work well... so long as you don't drive, lol. :lol:

The problem with mag mounts is not the antenna itself. It is the mount. Yes, two identical antennae theoretically work just as well. But the difference is in how they are mounted. And a direct, physical connection between an antenna and a metal ground plane (like a roof or trunk lid) makes a very significant difference over any other type of mount. I've said it once, and I'll say it many times over; there is no substitute for ground plane. It doesn't matter how good your antenna is, if it's not mounted directly to the metal ground plane, it will not perform nearly as well as it could. And a magnet is not a direct mount.

 

[N1BHH]

Mag mounts don't suck, it's just the antenna that's connected to it. Let's be more accurate and say that they aren't the best but that they are more precisely a compromise and a convenience. They can be used and removed rather quickly. The reasons for a mag mount can be multiple, to remove when not in use, to remove when parked in the city, so as not to draw attention.

The best antenna for me may be the worst antenna for someone else. I use the Larsen NMO-150/450/800 and NMO-2/70 antennas on my van. Yes, with mag mounts, I don't want them ripped off when I'm in the city, I don't want them to be an advertisement when parked there. It is always best to permanently mount any antenna to the body of the car, drill a hole, place the mount and route the cable. But when you want to remove it, it should be easily removed by you, not a criminal.

The best location for an antenna is on the roof, next best is the rear deck, the worst is the front deck (too close to the noises produced by the engine) and any antenna will do, just depends on what you want to hear and how much you are willing to compromise. The NMO-150/450/800 is a compromise antenna but it works well for my needs. There are many more antennas out there which do the trick, so it's best to explore the antenna wiki here: http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Scanner_Antennas

The wiki is a good place to look over antennas and their capabilities. Yes, size does matter in some cases, if you want a big antenna that hears Low Band real well, get a big one, an antenna for UHF don't need much. I have great success with a quarter wave on UHF for that range of frequencies. A quarter wave on VHF will work quite well from VHF through 800 with no major setbacks.

 

[af5rn]

It is always best to permanently mount any antenna to the body of the car, drill a hole, place the mount and route the cable. But when you want to remove it, it should be easily removed by you, not a criminal.

I'm not really sure what you are trying to say here. Are you implying that it is more difficult for a thief to steal your antenna from a mag mount than from a permanent mount?

 

[SAR923]

Read the post again. He's saying you can easily remove a mag mount and throw it in the car when you don't want to draw attention to the fact your car has a scanner. I realize you can unscrew most NMO mount antennas and accomplish the same thing but the mount is still there and advertises that something might be in the car. In parts of this country, completely removing and storing the antenna more than compensates for the slight amount of difference that a permanent mount offers in reception. Your reception is really bad if your radio is missing when you get back to the car.

 

[N1BHH]

I'm not really sure what you are trying to say here. Are you implying that it is more difficult for a thief to steal your antenna from a mag mount than from a permanent mount?

If you park in a high crime city any object on your vehicle, including your vehicle could be stolen. Using a mag mount will keep you from having to replace your investment, by removing it from the vehicle and stashing it away, out of the eyes of thieves. Mag mounts can be easily removed. I remove mine and hide them when I go into the city, I don't want to lose my investments. I don't know what you are confused about, it's all about quick removal by you so that nobody else gets their hands on it. SAR2401 says it another way, so what's the confusion? Save your investment or have it stolen?

 

[ScanTheFreqs]

although mag mounts offer many convienences other mounts dont, they do have the poorest ground out of all of them, (since they are the most unsecure) which will make for the poorest reception out of all of them,
dont get me wrong, im not "bashing" mag mounts, i own and use one myself but even i can admit their performance is crap compared to an actual drilled mount, if you want a mix of performance and convienence, shoot for a trunk lip mount, thats what i wish i would have done

 

[af5rn]

I don't know what you are confused about, it's all about quick removal by you so that nobody else gets their hands on it. SAR2401 says it another way, so what's the confusion? Save your investment or have it stolen?

Sorry, I wasn't disagreeing with you. I just honestly wasn't clear about what you were saying. I understand now and agree.