Will extra 5 feet of mast make a difference?

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radio10-8

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I think I said it all in the title. I have RS Discone on a 5 foot mast on the roof my house and I hear everything in my area just fine. I have some mountains within 5-10 miles of me that as far as I know are not blocking any signals because they have antennas mounted on one of the peaks. I was given an extra antenna mast and I could get one more if needed, but do you think 5 or 10 extra feet would make a difference in what I can hear. I listen to AIR, police and fire on VHF and UHF and I have not tried to listen to anyone greater than 30 miles from me. Finally, last question, during a storm the grounding wire I had came loose from the roof section so before I climb up to the roof to fix the wire I wanted to get your feedback on adding another mast.
 

wlmr

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If you're getting good signals from everything you want to listen to - I'd say don't add the height unless you have other things that absolutely NEED to be done at the same time. Remember that you'll loose signal when you add length to your feed cable. For 5 feet unless it's cheap cable the distance shouldn't be an issue but your mileage may vary.

Is there any distant stuff you currently don't get that you are hoping for with the extra height? (Or are those mountains you mentioned gonna limit anything extra from even being possible?!?)
 

radio10-8

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wlmr, There are no other stations I was hoping to hear, I hear everything I want to just fine. The mountains are not a factor because there are no populated areas on the other side of them. I was just wondering if the extra 5 feet of hieght would magically allow me a greater listening distance? Maybe I am missing something. I see the photos of other users antennas and they are mounted very high. I guess I have antenna envy?
 

fineshot1

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I do not think 5 feet will buy you enough to justify doing it unless you were already planning on
replacing your cable with a better quality choice at the same. I'm a Nay sayer....
 

wlmr

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wlmr, There are no other stations I was hoping to hear, I hear everything I want to just fine. The mountains are not a factor because there are no populated areas on the other side of them. I was just wondering if the extra 5 feet of hieght would magically allow me a greater listening distance? Maybe I am missing something. I see the photos of other users antennas and they are mounted very high. I guess I have antenna envy?

It's not the height of your antenna, it's the quality of the signal! ;)

I can't say whether there's something more you would hear or whether you'd hear the existing stuff better. You're the one at your location who'll have to answer that. IF you were asking how do I get a marginal signal to come in better, Antenna height and better coax/feedline would be at the top of people's responses.

If you are feeling somehow insignificant due to not having a tall antenna mast, that's going to have be something you take up with a professional. As with any type of "enhancements" if you feel you need to, go for it!

(My appologies for the bad and quite silly tongue-in-cheek inuendos!)
 
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andy404ns

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On the other hand if you have the extra mast just sitting around not doing anything... well I would put it up. Or maybe you want to put another antenna up on a separate mast? Or you could take up swordfighting and practice with it? Well probably not that last option.
 
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Five feet of height will buy you about 1 mile of "line of sight" signal distance in a perfect world. In reality, once you get above surrounding rooflines and trees, five feet doesn't mean much.

With that said, I like to have all the height I can, and have my main scanner antenna at 40' and can tell you I get a few more distant signals than I did when it was at 30', so there was some improvement, although small.

MUCH more important things are good cable (LMR-400 is great), good connections, and a good ground.
 
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