Thinking about getting a antenna

[vonivo]

Hello all,

I am thinking about getting an antenna to bring in some of the freqencies a little clearer that i listen to and to reach a bit further. I am still verry new to this and have been programing my new scanner night and day searching (this site) and googling everthing i can to get more frequencies.

I have read up a bit on antennas here but would like some imput on a model to buy i am a bit low on funds but am open to any suggestions you have. Listed below are some frequencies that i have been listing to to give you info on what range i am trying to capture (but not limited to).


460.3500MHz
460.1000MHz
453.0500MHz
460.2250MHz
460.4250MHz
460.3500MHz
460.4500MHz
154.7400MHz

I do have a large tv antenna attached to the roof of my house that is not in use anymore would i be able to use that?

 

[nighthawks]

Scantenna from Antennacraft

Hello all,

I am thinking about getting an antenna to bring in some of the freqencies a little clearer that i listen to and to reach a bit further. I am still verry new to this and have been programing my new scanner night and day searching (this site) and googling everthing i can to get more frequencies.

I have read up a bit on antennas here but would like some imput on a model to buy i am a bit low on funds but am open to any suggestions you have. Listed below are some frequencies that i have been listing to to give you info on what range i am trying to capture (but not limited to).


460.3500MHz
460.1000MHz
453.0500MHz
460.2250MHz
460.4250MHz
460.3500MHz
460.4500MHz
154.7400MHz

I do have a large tv antenna attached to the roof of my house that is not in use anymore would i be able to use that?

TV antennas are not any good, wrong freq. range.

Check this one out.

This omni-directional scanner antenna will equal or outperform any competitor on the market. Its dipole-cluster design utilizes broadband techniques to provide continuous frequency coverage from 25-1300 MHz, offering superb reception of public safety, civilian and military aircraft, hams, personal communication devices, maritime, CB-- anything in its frequency range


http://www.grove-ent.com/ANT7.html
Or do a search on eBay, I found a few starting about 38 bucks.
Hope this helps.
John

 

[car2back]

TV antennas are horizontally polarized to pickup Television broadcast signals, and are designed with very specific frequencys in mind. You might be able to get 'ok' VHF reception if you turned the antenna on it's side, making vertically polarized. the UHF elements of a normal TV antenna are very directional though, and you won't hear much unless you have it aimed at the source of the signals you're trying to monitor. All in all, a TV antenna doesn;t make a very good scanner antenna.

 

[wise871]

If you don't want something as big as the Scantenna, you might also look into the Radio Shack 20-176. I have two of them along with the Scantenna. For me in my area, the 20-176 does just as good, if not better on VHF/UHF.

 

[iMONITOR]

If you don't want something as big as the Scantenna, you might also look into the Radio Shack 20-176. I have two of them along with the Scantenna. For me in my area, the 20-176 does just as good, if not better on VHF/UHF.

I agree! For it's size, and price, the Radio Shack 20-176 works very well!

 

[vonivo]

If you don't want something as big as the Scantenna, you might also look into the Radio Shack 20-176. I have two of them along with the Scantenna. For me in my area, the 20-176 does just as good, if not better on VHF/UHF.

ok that one looks clost to my budget how would i if i do need to ground it? I will be mounting it on my roof so i guess ill need some cable to my comp. room also.

 

[vonivo]

Oh yea and 1 more thing how about durability and mounting............Buffalo, NY winters can get nasty

 

[vonivo]

do you need to ground these antennas?

 

[vonivo]

Bump...

 

[emscapt9816]

Make This...

It's fun, it's easy, and you'll have a sense of accomplishment when you're done! http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41921

 

[fuzzymoto]

I have both of these antenna. They both work well. The ST-2 (Scantenna) does a little better on most of what I listen to. I have both the mast and coax grounded on both.

 

[vonivo]

It's fun, it's easy, and you'll have a sense of accomplishment when you're done! http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41921

thanks for the reply where do you find paint that will not interfer with the reception? where do they sell non-conductive paint?

 

[vonivo]

I have both of these antenna. They both work well. The ST-2 (Scantenna) does a little better on most of what I listen to. I have both the mast and coax grounded on both.

im thinking of going with the RS antenna how did you ground it?

 

[vonivo]

thanks for the reply where do you find paint that will not interfer with the reception? where do they sell non-conductive paint?

oh and do you need to use plastic for the connector? do they need to not touch eachother? is that why you dident use a metal t connector?

 

[fuzzymoto]

im thinking of going with the RS antenna how did you ground it?

I have the 20-176 at the top of a 10 foot mast and the ST-2 about half way down that same mast (low enough so the elements of each are not too close). I have a groud wire running from the mast to a grounding rod. I also installed a grounding block with a ground wire to a grouding rod. The block grounds the coax. I'm sure it's not perfect but it works and of course I remove the coax from my radios when I'm not home.

I had the 20-176 in the attic for a while and although its better outside it worked pretty good up there. I also have trie done in my office. It works OK but I have a feeling that the odler radio I use and the fact that my building has a lot of concrete and steel limits how any antenna will perform in that setting. I've tried others and the 20-176 is pretty close to all of them.