markjrenna
Member
I already said it works well for me. But you don't live where I live so who knows how it will work for you... Only one way to find out.
Whistler Scanner Antennas
- Thread starter WhistlerWendy
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To begin with I don't believe Whistler has anything to do with designing them. Both models have been available for years, mabe over a decade on Ebay from Ebay sellers, not Whistler Whistler only started marketing them recently probably in a effort to stay revelant since they canceled their new scanner. Their design is not supported by any technical logic, testing or reviews. Some like they way they look but if true performance is what your looking for, keep looking. It's a gimmick. A bent coat hanger will serve as an antenna probably just as good.
That is what we used many many years ago. You would want a metal coat hanger and would need to shave off the coating where it connects to the scanner.
Don't bother...
I decided not to get one. Figure looks cheesy read somewhere the magnet doesn't hold good on a car.
Wilrobnson
Rock or Something
Whistler Scanner Antennas
Received my multi band desk top antenna 2 days ago. BEST money I've spent on an antenna outside of my OmniX outside antenna. Picking up fire depts on the 453 band other side of Aiken County. Reception on other frequencies that was poor before, now coming in clear. Well worth the try for someone...
I've been too busy this year to figure out a better way to carry it for travel yet (I've had nearly 11 days off since 01JAN2020!), so the Diamond mobile discone has gone with me on most trips.
If I don't get some free time to devote to this issue, the Whistler may become a go-to for a desktop in the house or something, and the big Diamond on the roof will continue feeding other radios.
I really liked it, but, as stated above, one of the must-haves for me is portability. The Diamond mobile resides in it's little vinyl sleeve to be tossed into a suitcase along with a mag mount at a moment's notice ("Hello?" "Hi Wil, I need you in Los Angeles in 4 hours.").
I have one free day in about 2 weeks, I'll look for a viable solution then.
Agreed. I have both Whistler antennas, and both aren't getting any use. The cheaper mobile antenna is actually better than the discone model, but neither is above average. My telescoping Diamond RH789 easily out performs both of them
CycleSycho
Member
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Antennas are like opinions, oh, you know this already? Nuff said...
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Antennas are like opinions, oh, you know this already? Nuff said... .
YMMV. I also have both, and use them every day. The RH789 I bought, on the other hand, was a totaly disappointment and sits unused.
Yes, they are gimmics. Yes, I know I'd do much better with a real discone on top of my house. That's probably not going to happen, although putting one in the attic might, and I'm sure that would also be better.
But I've found the larger one to be much better on VHF than anything else I have, although it's not good on low band or UHF. The smaller one is also pretty good on VHF.
So laugh all you want. I had gift certificates.
That particular antenna is FANTASTIC. I love it, I bought a 2nd one and use one up-stairs and one downstairs. Others have had the same results.
And to begin with, NOBODY CARES if Whistler made it, Apple made it, or Joe Blow made it. I would bet 1 million to 1, they are made in China or some other Asian country like just about EVERYTHING else on the planet. Who cares? Secondly, nobody cares if Whistler designed it, Apple Designed it, Diamond antenna's designed it, or a it fell out of the sky in the Arizona desert from a UFO in 1950. It's for sale, and works great.
As previously mentioned earlier in this thread, a VERY accomplished antenna desinger/electrical engineer who designed antennas for the Luner landers in the 60's and other craft in the 70's looked at it for me, and informed me it would work great and explained why (of which I understood about 5%!). He was dead on right in my experience, and that did not surprise me.
Best antenna I found years ago in a different town for my county's 800 MHz EDACS system (now deprecated) was... believe it or not... my 6M horizontal dipole... go figure. Location, location, location!
Just curious what are you comparing it to?
Just about EVERY scanner antenna ever made and sold in the last 30 years. I have had the unfortunate experience of trying and buying them all over the years, with very poor results out of most of them. My next test will be a Tram 1411 multi-band antenna which is going up 40' to replace an older no-name similar multi-band.
What bands are you monitoring with it?
Pretty much everything, less the low bands below 40MHz. VHF, VHF marine band, 800MHz mot type 2, P25, ...
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