Yagi suggestions MECA/Greenfield

[BIGTEXT]

Hello all I'm on the edge of Greenfield using a PSR 500. Using the radio shack rubber 800mhz antenna I can just barely pick up MECA in Indianapolis. I got a sputnik antenna today from Radio Shack not expecting it to help much but I thought I would try. It's actually worse (but wow it really improved conventional frequencies, they come in crystal clear now). So obviously I need a yagi. Does anyone have any suggestions on what yagi to get? I'm not sure how much gain I need. Like I said I can already pick up MECA a bit so it seems like I would only need a small amount of gain.

Thanks everyone!

 

[scannerfreak]

Have a look at the Wilson 301111. It's a great Yagi for a cheap price. Google around you can usually find them for around $40.

 

[AK9R]

A couple of thoughts:

1. Make sure you point your antenna directly at one of the MECA transmitters. MECA is a simulcast system which basically means that the same data is streaming out of all the transmitters simultaneously. But most scanners have a little trouble decoding that digital stream if the radio receives two different transmitters at relatively equal signal strengths. If you just point your antenna in the general direction of Indianapolis, your antenna may receive signals from two or more transmitters at the same time. Pointing the antenna at specifically one tower reduces the problem.

2. Invest in some decent feedline to connect your antenna to your scanner. All coax cable has some attenuation which increases as the length or frequency increases. At lengths up to about 25 feet, LMR240 or RG-8X or equivalent will work. Beyond 25 feet and up to 100 feet, you'll be better off with LMR400 or Belden 9913 or equivalent. These cables are almost a 1/2" in diameter and can be very stiff to work with, so get the flexible versions. You may also get acceptable performance with RG-6 which is what the cable TV company uses for the cable to your house.

 

[K9WG]

I found out that by pointing away from Indy I get rid of the simucast problems.

BTW I made a simple Yagi for 800MHz that I have sitting on my desk. I mounted it on one of the desktop camera tripods (available at Dollar Tree)

http://forums.radioreference.com/gre-scanners/218225-directional-antenna-psr500-simulcast.html

 

[holeinace]

I made one several years ago from a plan I found on the net (easy and cheap). I was on the fringe of picking up Indy and it gave me enough to pick it up pretty well

 

[BIGTEXT]

Well I ended up ordering this https://www.scannermaster.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=20-541566

Hopefully that isn't TOO powerful. I suppose if it is I can try something else, and I have a nice yagi for other uses. I ordered it a few days ago and scanner masters is taking forever to get it shipped. Hopefully it gets here soon. I think I will try aiming the yagi at the 6801 E 91ST ST MECA tower first. That seems like my best aiming point for not hitting any other towers as well.

I am glad I bought "sputnik" though, I didn't realize how much conventional traffic I was missing with just the rubber duck antenna.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I've been scanning for a long time (well I'm only 23 but been scanning since my grandpa gave me a scanner when I was 8 or 9) but just now starting to get into it a little more seriously. Need to get my ham too one of these days.

 

[BIGTEXT]

Also I was going to try and build an antenna with some plans I found on here, but no one sells metal coat hangars anymore!

 

[K9WG]

With 15 dBi gain it might be a bit hot for Indy. You might have to enable the attenuation for MECA (now IDPS). However the directionality should help with the simucast issue. Looks like a nice antenna for the money.