Same setup here. I get excellent coverage on the Phoenix Sub.
What's a good antenna for monitoring railroad?
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prcguy
Member
No it doesn't. A full size 5/8 wave whip will be slightly better than a full size 1/4 wave antenna by slightly more than one dB. When you shorten up antennas like a rubber duck the differences are almost nil. The capture area of a shortened 1/4 wave 9" long rubber duck is the same as a 9" long 5/8 wave. The extra wire within the confines of the 9" long antenna to make it 5/8 wave is almost meaningless.
If you are seeing improvements in a RR specific duck over a stock scanner duck or a random one, its more due to the RR duck being specifically tuned to 160MHz where the others are tuned to the 2m amateur band or somewhere else and have lost some efficiency operating at 160MHz.
To give you an idea of what 5dBd or 5.5dBd gain is, take a simple dipole cut to 160MHz. Its a little less than 3ft tall and has zero dBd gain. A rubber duck shortened to 9" long, even a 5/8 version has a lot less gain than a full size 1/2 wave dipole with zero dBd gain. A popular VHF base antenna for commercial and sometimes RR use is a Stationmaster antenna. The 5.25dBd gain model of the Stationmaster series is 21ft tall. Tell me how a 9" rubber duck is going to have similar gain as a 21ft long Stationmaster?
If you are seeing improvements in a RR specific duck over a stock scanner duck or a random one, its more due to the RR duck being specifically tuned to 160MHz where the others are tuned to the 2m amateur band or somewhere else and have lost some efficiency operating at 160MHz.
To give you an idea of what 5dBd or 5.5dBd gain is, take a simple dipole cut to 160MHz. Its a little less than 3ft tall and has zero dBd gain. A rubber duck shortened to 9" long, even a 5/8 version has a lot less gain than a full size 1/2 wave dipole with zero dBd gain. A popular VHF base antenna for commercial and sometimes RR use is a Stationmaster antenna. The 5.25dBd gain model of the Stationmaster series is 21ft tall. Tell me how a 9" rubber duck is going to have similar gain as a 21ft long Stationmaster?
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I'd say a RH77CA or equivalent would work pretty well for most folks. I have a SH55 Comet on a SR30C Uniden that is a little lighter and not as bulky as the RH77CA. I can't tell any difference between the two. I don't own a tuned Smiley so can't comment on it.
Make your own !
234 (divided by your Freq) Times 12 to convert to inches.
Example for 160.4100:
234/160.4100 = 1.4587 * 12 = 17.505 inches!
Make your antenna 17.505 inches long.
My scanner has a BNC connector, so I used a BNC to female RCA adapter, I just used a wire diameter the same size as the plug hole.
(234 is what you use for a 1/4 wave antenna.)
73's
KC1JPY
234 (divided by your Freq) Times 12 to convert to inches.
Example for 160.4100:
234/160.4100 = 1.4587 * 12 = 17.505 inches!
Make your antenna 17.505 inches long.
My scanner has a BNC connector, so I used a BNC to female RCA adapter, I just used a wire diameter the same size as the plug hole.
(234 is what you use for a 1/4 wave antenna.)
73's
KC1JPY
prcguy
Member
And I will bet a fresh roll of toilet paper that a simple 17.5" 1/4 wave whip will outperform the 9" 5/8 wave Smiley rubber duck.
Make your own !
234 (divided by your Freq) Times 12 to convert to inches.
Example for 160.4100:
234/160.4100 = 1.4587 * 12 = 17.505 inches!
Make your antenna 17.505 inches long.
My scanner has a BNC connector, so I used a BNC to female RCA adapter, I just used a wire diameter the same size as the plug hole.
(234 is what you use for a 1/4 wave antenna.)
73's
KC1JPY
majoco
Stirrer
What "prc" says. Find a telescopic antenna with the right connector and make yourself a chart showing how much to extend it for the frequency you want to listen to. Rocket science it's not.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but I've always had consistently better results in the real world with the Smiley antenna for railroad monitoring. It's also considerably more practical than walking around with 18" of relatively inflexible metal sticking up off your belt, not to mention safer (for you and the radio).
I have used a telescopic antenna at fixed locations, but I've generally found that the improvement isn't consistent enough or impressive enough to warrant using it over the Smiley 5/8 160 model.
I wholeheartedly agree. I grew in a time when telescoping antennas were all you really had for high-gain portable antenna options and they weren't practical at all and generally ended up in cussing when something happened and the hollow metal tubing bent or breached.
And quite honestly, my experiences are consistent with Tom's. The Smiley 5/8 Helical 160 has been the best performer I've ever had on a portable scanner or transceiver. It's also very flexible which makes it less likely that you'll damage it. When actually tested practically appropriately, Smiley's numbers are there within the advertised range.
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I noticed when i had my Smiley that it's more touchy when on my side but when i held the radio in my hand it worked really good but something like a Diamond RH77CA would work great even on my side.
tv0n
Member
Whats a good railfan antenna setup for car (roof mount) and home? Getting nothing in either home or car (which i expected).
I have this antenna and I'm very happy with it, I wanted a dual band so I could monitor both the VHF voice comms and HOT/EOT/DPU frequencies as well.
If you are only interested in the voice stuff a 1/4 wave whip cut for 161MHz will work great and be inexpensive.
For a base station antenna at home, any one of these will work very well, I would choose one that you can tune to the railband.
Of course you can spend a lot more and get something a lot more heavy duty, kind of depends on your budget. If you are mounting an antenna outdoors make sure you use good coax, waterproof your connections, and ground everything properly.
If you are only interested in the voice stuff a 1/4 wave whip cut for 161MHz will work great and be inexpensive.
For a base station antenna at home, any one of these will work very well, I would choose one that you can tune to the railband.
Of course you can spend a lot more and get something a lot more heavy duty, kind of depends on your budget. If you are mounting an antenna outdoors make sure you use good coax, waterproof your connections, and ground everything properly.
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