What outdoor base antenna are you using?

[steve_k]

Hello,
I know some of you may think this question may need to be posted in the antenna section of the forms but I wanted to know what outdoor base antenna you guys in the North Carolina area form are using to listen to VHF / UHF as well as Viper towers? I tried to do an exhausted reasearch on choosing the best setup using:
(1) my location (which is Hillsborough NC approx 624 ft above sea level which not sure if that is highest point at Cane Mountian Orange county. GIS will not give elevation levels),
(2) The distance of towers programed in my radio setup which is approx 20 - 50 mile distance. The Viper towers programed are Butner, Raleigh, Durham, Orange, Chatham, Randolph, and Alamance. I also listen to RDU, NCSHP and non trunk channels in the Wake, Durham, Orange, and Alamance counties.
(3)Tried to find out if 800 - 1300 freq are like HDTV signals (some where I read awhile back that HDTV signals have a limited distance of 25 to 30 miles (please correct me if I'm wrong)).
(4) remember reading from a antenna catalog statement that no matter how high your receiving antenna is the limited sight of distance is 60 miles due the curve-ture of the earth. (unless the transmitting antenna is a blow torch and/or the transmitting freq hits skip)
(5) that the longest you want your coax run is 50 ft with using RG6 or LMR600 (I'm deciding on a 50 ft mast ran 35 -40 ft with about 50 ft of LMR 600)
(6) I read that a single wide band antenna is not a good choice.

My questions are:
What antenna do you use for trunking?
So far I have found a DPD Productions antenna I was wondering if best for trunk listening:
700-1000 MHz UHF LP Model Antenna
10 dBi - 10 Elements - SWR 2.0:1 or Less - Semi Directional Pattern - 1/2 Wave LP
Price $119.95
I like it cause it is small, seems to with stand high wind damage but wonder if it will pack enough punch to listen to towers from Butner, Alamance and Gilford Co. So far either the audio is weak or I get signal bars and no audio.
My next question is:
I was wondering if I could get best results by splitting the above antenna with a budget to mid price low/mid band tuned antenna? (would like to try a AOR SA7000 ;}) Any suggestion for a antenna for this freq? I have read about the disavantages of discone antennas so I was wondering what else the market has to offer. I also know that cable splicing will cause signal loss...is there a splitter / amp that will boost the signal? The reason for doing this part is I read from Pboy that NCSHP will stay on the low/mid band for some time and I assume RDU will do the same cause I do not hear any traffic on the 800 freq from them or either I can't ID them.
My last question is:
Has anyone tried to point their narrow beam antenna to more than one tower using a rotor? If so did you get better reception from dbi or gain and if so by how much?

Thanks for any input

 

[murrayustud]

Ok, I'm short on time but here goes...I use a PC Tel 8 element 800mhz beam which I point just slightly south of west..I live in North Raleigh & almost all of my monitoring is west mostly Durham & Greensboro. I use LMR 400 cable and a Motorola broadband preamp mounted about 10 feet before the radio. This works great for me, I also have used my Maxrad commercial fiberglass 3 foot omni directional base antenna 806-900mhz but it didn't do as well with brining in Durham. All my antennas are mounted up about 45 feet and all fed w/ the LMR 400 cable. I tried about every antennas setup available for 800mhz & what I'm using now works the best thus far. Raleigh viper still booms in no matter which antenna I use as I'm only 2.3 miles from the Durant Road sites. More on all this later when I have more time....

 

[steve_k]

Hello Charles,
First let me say thank you for your instant reply. Wow, I knew I was headed in the correct direction by asking a fellow North Carolinan but now I also feel as if I'm receiving a bonus getting advice from a amateur operator who is probly a busy person. Second, I know the area where you are speaking. I was raised and lived on the Six Forks / Bay Leaf end of Durrant rd. I did not think that tower was functional when I programed the frequencies in my scanner and tried for two weeks to see if I get any hits. After reading a post about this tower not functional, I deleted the frequencies. I've visted the database recently and have noticed the changes.....seems there are more frequencies at the Blue Ridge site and some sites have been deleted like Holly Springs (which I forgot to state in my first post that I have programed also) This is the best feature I like about these new radios. I can program the tower name as well as the TGID.
Anyway, I have a few questions on what you have given me so far why it is fresh on my mind. You say you use a PC Tel 8 element 800mhz beam. I tried to find this antenna from PC Tel's PDF Catalog but not sure if I'm finding the same model you have....Do you have a Model # and a prefered place to buy? I take it you don't monitor any low to mid band (VHF/UHF NCSHP) on the two antennas tied together? if you do, how well does it perform? Last question is if you do use the two tied together, what is you objective of having two different style antennas that are tuned for 800 - 900 Mhz? Just wanted to know if I'm missing somthing.

 

[murrayustud]

Steve, email me direct rather than tie up a thread with this....worldclasscoach@aol.com

Thanks look forward to chatting!