What antennas do you guys find the best for civil airband?

[squale]

what outside roof mounted antennas that is?

I'll be using a Pro-97 and Uniden 246T scanner

 

[N_Jay]

Re: What antennas do you guys find the best for civil airban

what outside roof mounted antennas that is?

I'll be using a Pro-97 and Uniden 246T scanner

If all you want is civil are I would get a ground plane cut for the center of the band, and use good 50 ohm cable. (Since it will be a matched system, why lose any signal you don't have to.

 

[squale]

I heard that a Diamond Discone with LMR-400 50-foot would be my best setup.. what do you think?

I mainly want civil airband but would also like police/fire,etc.

 

[ksmoscanner]

I use a MON731 base antenna from antenna specialists. I use it with 30 feet od LMR 400 and have found nothing that beats it in the 118-136 range. Tough contruction but kinda expensive at $100.00. Does a good job in other bands as well.

With this unit I hear distant ground and air stations I cannot get with any of my discones or other groundplanes. For example I live in South KC, I can now hear the ground side of the KCI airport darn near 2.5 counties away very consistantly. (Approx 40 miles.)

I got mine at universal radio.

my 2 pennies.......
Gregg

 

[eorange]

I used a Diamond Discone and it performs very well. It also has no trouble picking up Mil Air in the 225-400 MHz range - I hear aerial refueling operations quite frequently.

Erik

 

[kingpin]

I actually use an air band antenna for my setup. It's a 1/4 wave with a ground plane tuned for the 108-136 MHz air band. While made for use at a small airport for unicoms and such, it works superbly for the job. I paid about $40 for it and it works great on upper VHF too.

 

[squale]

you think your antenna made specifically for airband will do much much better than a Diamond Discone?

 

[kingpin]

I'd have to say so. I've had both and while the diamond discone is a great antenna, an antenna tuned for the specific frequency is always going to be better. My airband antenna has 3 db gain to it while the discone doesn't. I haven't had time to compare both on a s-meter but some signals that came in with a little hiss with the discone, come in full quieting. It was a good investment for me because I spend allot of time in this band. Now, if I could only get one for Military UHF!

 

[Halfpint]

you think your antenna made specifically for airband will do much much better than a Diamond Discone?

There could be a good possibility that it actually could. But then there are also the possibilites that it could be a `toss up' or the discone could do better. And while Diamond makes good antnennas for the most part, and their discone(s) are good antennas, it doesn't mean that they are the *only* ones that do make good antennas.

I'll admit that I happen to like their discones myself but I have also had good luck with other brands, too, and sometimes have actually suggested that someone try one of them instead of the Diamond for *their* `situation'. It sounds like his `specific use' antenna is doing pretty much exactly what he's wanting and he's happy with it. If it's the case that all he, or the other feller, wants to listen to just that and nothing else then why bother going and getting a discone from any maker? Sure they both may want to eventually listen to something else later but, when they do, they can then put up something else either replacing or augmenting the other antenna. (Since it appears that we actually *are* going to be *finally* moving to a new place *I* have actually taken down most of my `antenna farm'. But, before we finally were sure, *I* didn't have just one antenna to try and cover everything. While I can see that some people may not be able to have an `antenna farm' for various reasons, some beyond control for assorted reasons, I suspect that quite a few of use *do* have something approaching an `antenna farm' because we *have* found out that there really isn't a `universal' antenna made that is really `universal'. [Yes! I *do* know the `characteristics' of the discone quite well. And they are*definitely* `the jack of all trades *and* master of none' type antennas. You might get lucky and get one that just happens to work a bit better on your `pet' freqs or you might not. {WAN GRIN!} All *6* discones I have had up, including 2 from the same maker, have had their `good' and `bad' `ranges' and they *all* were different!) I am *not* `knocking' your choice of antenna and maker but basically just pointing out that the original questioner is going to have to *try* and figure out from all the examples given which one is going to end up best fitting his situation whether it is where he can locate the antenna or what he can spend *along* with what he wants to `hear' now and eventually. The only thing *we* can do is let him know what has worked, or is working, for us in this *almost* `voodoo world' of antennas. And, *possibly*, giving *some* info about the situation of the antenna like mounting, coax, length of run of the coax, terrain, distances to the signal(s), and the like? {VB GRIN!}

Having said all that I will say that because of the distances involved here the `best' air-band' antenna I used was one quite similar to the one that KINGPIN is using. Having an antenna that was `cut' for that specific range was the `best fit' for the job. The `multi-band' antennas I tried, *including* a couple discones, just couldn't `hack it' it *here*! I had it up on a 20' push up mast and used 50' of the `highest quality' coax I could find at the local RS and I installed the connectors myself after cutting off the `F' types it came with. And while the terrain around here is basically somewhat `flat' comparatively speaking for this part of Colorado it was the distances, an average of around 35 - 40 miles or so that was the main problem. A neighbor about a mile down the road got great results with an `off brand' `multi-band' base antenna!? (In fact the antenna I used I bought from him after he discovered that it didn't work for him but the `off brand' did! And... Nope! I *didn't* sell him the `off brand' antenna. I really don't know just *where* he actually got it! {GRIN!} What counted, in both of our cases, was they worked for *us*.)

Just an `Olde Fart's' 2¢ worth. {GRIN!}

 

[kingpin]

Here's the antenna I use with EXCELLENT results. This one is up for auction. If you have the $$ for a dedicated air antenna, this one works like a chanp!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4548604235