TV Antenna for pro-106 scanner

[galligan122]

Hey guys,

I have this TV antenna already up at my house. It was up when I got the house but the cables are no longer running into the house. My question is, are there any scanner frequencies this antenna should pick up better than the rubber 800 MHz antenna I am currently using on my Pro-106 scanner? If so I could run the cables in and swap antennas at times, for different ranges. I do plan to get a new 800 MHz antenna at some point soon but was considering using this in the meantime.

Thanks for your input!

 

[KK4JUG]

Is that a TV antenna? I can't see past that circular "thing" but it looks like a ground plane, perhaps for a transmit antenna.

 

[galligan122]

Is that a TV antenna? I can't see past that circular "thing" but it looks like a ground plane, perhaps for a transmit antenna.

Thank you for the response! I just assumed that it was a TV antenna, it’s possibly it could be for something else. It was here when I moved in and the wires have all been snipped (not by me) so without running new I can’t experiment with it. I have read thatTV antenna’s are sometimes a good match for scanners, but I didn’t know if this style was included in that.

Thanks!

 

[mmckenna]

Hard to tell for sure from the underside, but that looks like the RV type TV antennas. Some have a built in rotor.

If it is, they'll be horizontally polarized, where the LMR stuff is usually vertically polarized. So while it may work for 800MHz, there's going to be about 30dB of loss due to the polarization being 90º off.

 

[mmckenna]

Can you get a photo from the side?

Is it a big dome? If it is, it might be a RV direct TV type satellite antenna.

 

[KK4JUG]

I don't think that little pole would support an RV dome in a strong breeze. It looks too flimsy. If you can see any of the clipped wiring, is it flat with only 2 wires or round like coax?

 

[10-43]

When I first read the title, I was thinking it was a conventional TV antenna you would be asking about which you can mount vertically and it will work pretty good since TV frequencies are quite close to Public safety.

But that thing!? I would be surprised if it worked much at all.

 

[galligan122]

Thank you for the responses! I don’t know if this view is helpful or not. Would it do well if 150 MHz or 700 MHz frequencies?

 

[tvengr]

Is that a TV antenna? I can't see past that circular "thing" but it looks like a ground plane, perhaps for a transmit antenna.

We had similar antennas for receiving TV off air in our live news trucks.

 

[galligan122]

When I first read the title, I was thinking it was a conventional TV antenna you would be asking about which you can mount vertically and it will work pretty good since TV frequencies are quite close to Public safety.

But that thing!? I would be surprised if it worked much at all.

Thank you for the response! That may well be the case. I am going to get a 800 MHz specific antenna in the near future but was wondering about using this thing in the meantime. My rubber antenna may be a better option until then, I just wasn’t sure

 

[galligan122]

These are the cables attached

 

[10-43]

Thank you for the responses! I don’t know if this view is helpful or not. Would it do well if 150 MHz or 700 MHz frequencies?

I would be surprised if it did well on 150 Mhz. It appears to be fed by small coaxial cable which likely has tremendous loss at 700 MHz. It probably won't work any better than an antenna attached directly on the radio.

 

[mmckenna]

These are the cables attached

That really looks like the RV style TV antennas.

While there appears to be a number of cables going up the mast, only one appears to actually connect to the antenna itself. The others may be left over from a satellite TV antenna.

The VHF low "TV" band was between VHF Low LMR and FM broadcast, VHF high TV was above VHF high LMR band. TV was also broadcast on the UHF band, from around 500MHz well up into the 800MHz band.

But, remember, like I said above, TV signals are horizontally polarized and the public safety radio you want to hear with your scanner is vertically polarized. That difference is going to result in substantial signal loss. If that loss is enough to keep the radio from receiving will depend entirely on how far you are from the transmitter, the condition of the antenna, the condition and length of the coax cable, and your scanner.

You can try it, it's not going to hurt anything, but don't expect stellar performance.

If you don't need the TV antenna, remove it, replace it with an actual scanner antenna, and replace the coaxial cable.

 

[N6JPA]

Hey guys,

I have this TV antenna already up at my house. It was up when I got the house but the cables are no longer running into the house. My question is, are there any scanner frequencies this antenna should pick up better than the rubber 800 MHz antenna I am currently using on my Pro-106 scanner? If so I could run the cables in and swap antennas at times, for different ranges. I do plan to get a new 800 MHz antenna at some point soon but was considering using this in the meantime.

Thanks for your input!

You need a 300 or 75 ohm to 50 ohm step down transformer to use with a radio scanner. Otherwise the match will affect your reception of scanner signals.

 

[KevinC]

TV signals are horizontally polarized

Not to poopoo on the thread, but a lot (most?) TV stations these days use circular polarization and some of those RV style antennas take advantage of that. But this one looks pretty old and probably doesn't.

 

[p1879]

You do have a mast to use when you get up a better antenna though. Of course, you have to take that one down, remove the 'flying saucer", mount and cable the new antenna...re-erect.

 

[galligan122]

You do have a mast to use when you get up a better antenna though. Of course, you have to take that one down, remove the 'flying saucer", mount and cable the new antenna...re-erect.

Thanks for the reply!! That’s what I’ll do!

 

[galligan122]

That really looks like the RV style TV antennas.

While there appears to be a number of cables going up the mast, only one appears to actually connect to the antenna itself. The others may be left over from a satellite TV antenna.

The VHF low "TV" band was between VHF Low LMR and FM broadcast, VHF high TV was above VHF high LMR band. TV was also broadcast on the UHF band, from around 500MHz well up into the 800MHz band.

But, remember, like I said above, TV signals are horizontally polarized and the public safety radio you want to hear with your scanner is vertically polarized. That difference is going to result in substantial signal loss. If that loss is enough to keep the radio from receiving will depend entirely on how far you are from the transmitter, the condition of the antenna, the condition and length of the coax cable, and your scanner.

You can try it, it's not going to hurt anything, but don't expect stellar performance.

If you don't need the TV antenna, remove it, replace it with an actual scanner antenna, and replace the coaxial cable.

Thanks for the reply! I will be ordering an antenna today