Using 3 Antennas with One Scanner

[Metrofire31]

I am considering changing the antenna array on my car from mag mounts (two anntenna - one 800 and one VHF/UHF) to 3 low-profile lip-mounts - one 800, one VHF, one UHF. Should I use a splitter or a multicoupler to bring the three signals into one feed to the scanner? Anyone have any experience with this? I'm also curious as to whether this arrangement will provide as good or better a signal to the scanner as would a 150/450/800 single antenna?

 

[trooperdude]

The correct term is a triplexer.

Do a search here on the forum.

It's been discussed dozens of times.

It's not going to make that much of a difference in the mobile scenerio you describe.

 

[Skypilot007]

You could also use a simple 3-way coax switch. Your scanner would use whatever antenna you select with the switch. Using a triplexer would eliminate the need to switch as it will do it for you automatically.

I recently did this with my mobile because I had the extra antennae and mounts laying around. I used 3motorola trunk lip mounts with a 1/4 wave whip for VHF and UHF and a motorola 3db 860 MHz whip like the NJSP have on thier cruisers and a 3-way anttena switch. In my case it did improve reception on UHF over the larson 150/450/800 scanner antenna on my local system. I was really looking for some improvements on 800Mhz but it did not improve, its just about the same on 860MHz. It was just an experiment. I didn't intend on leaving the 3 antannae on the car. I have since switched back to the larson, it works good enough coupled with a quality pre-amp.

 

[Metrofire31]

Preamp

Thx, SkyPilot. Sounds like you did pretty much what I'm considering doing. Curious about two things. 1) what made you switch back to the 150/450/800 single antenna, and 2) what kind of "quality amplifier" did you use?

 

[Metrofire31]

One other thing...

I forgot to add that one of my main motivations for wanting to switch to the three low-profile (Phantom) antennas is that, while I love the Larsen 150/450/800 antenna, I'm tired of it banging the heck out of my low garage door. The Phantoms are great because they also are never a factor when I enter parking decks, as I often do.