LIScanner101
Completely Banned for the Greater Good
1 /4 wave whip, 5 / 8 wave whip, 5/8 wave over 5/8 wave, collinear etc…..for a "scanner only" buff this is confusing to me but the understanding of what's best in certain situations might help me understand this phenomenon. I have noticed when I listen to the typical scanner bands on long antennas such as the Antenna Specialists MON- Series (which seem to give me the BEST coverage OVERALL so far) I tend to experience the following:
VHF low (my range is 33MHz to 46MHz): Base stations usually very clear to excellent, mobiles choppy depending upon how close (either always clear or always scratchy).
VHF high (around 155MHz): ALMOST ALWAYS excellent. VERY little choppiness or picket fencing. Only noise depends upon signal strength (either always clear or always scratchy).
UHF (450-480MHz typical). Strange! I hear a LOT of picket fencing on this band and it doesn’t seem to follow “the closer the better rule”. It seems like there is no pattern as to whether or not I will pick this band up well or not. NOTE: I am NOT talking about “scratchy” signals that seem distant. What I am referring to is, if I am stopped in traffic, I can pick up Anytown FD clear as a bell on UHF, but as soon as I start driving, it gets choppy. This RARELY happens on low band, high band or 800MHz.
800MHz: Almost always clear, very little choppiness. This surprises me.
I have tried this with all my MONs. With the DPD 5/8 over 5/8 800MHz antenna I 800MHz is of course EXCELLENT, VHF high is very good, low band suffers a little but UHF STILL picket-fences. Even with the “venerable” Laird tri-band that many people love, UHF still suffers:
My conclusion: So far, my best antenna overall seems to be my MON-Series, but even with those, UHF seems elusive.
Is there something about UHF that makes it prone to picket-fencing?
Would going to a simple ¼ wave or a 5/8 over 5/8 dedicated UHF help?
VHF low (my range is 33MHz to 46MHz): Base stations usually very clear to excellent, mobiles choppy depending upon how close (either always clear or always scratchy).
VHF high (around 155MHz): ALMOST ALWAYS excellent. VERY little choppiness or picket fencing. Only noise depends upon signal strength (either always clear or always scratchy).
UHF (450-480MHz typical). Strange! I hear a LOT of picket fencing on this band and it doesn’t seem to follow “the closer the better rule”. It seems like there is no pattern as to whether or not I will pick this band up well or not. NOTE: I am NOT talking about “scratchy” signals that seem distant. What I am referring to is, if I am stopped in traffic, I can pick up Anytown FD clear as a bell on UHF, but as soon as I start driving, it gets choppy. This RARELY happens on low band, high band or 800MHz.
800MHz: Almost always clear, very little choppiness. This surprises me.
I have tried this with all my MONs. With the DPD 5/8 over 5/8 800MHz antenna I 800MHz is of course EXCELLENT, VHF high is very good, low band suffers a little but UHF STILL picket-fences. Even with the “venerable” Laird tri-band that many people love, UHF still suffers:
My conclusion: So far, my best antenna overall seems to be my MON-Series, but even with those, UHF seems elusive.
Is there something about UHF that makes it prone to picket-fencing?
Would going to a simple ¼ wave or a 5/8 over 5/8 dedicated UHF help?
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