Yep ..... Another Antenna Decision Thread .....

[Ganuke]

Hello. Well as some of you may have read in the general scanning and / or Pennsylvania scanning forums ..... I was recently in the market for a new scanner. Through research on it and with help / information from those who posted in those threads ..... I ended up making that decision on purchasing the Uniden BC346xt. It just arrived yesterday ..... and as of yet I have not gotten to try it out big time just yet.

But the new scanners arrival has lead me to wondering if the antenna I have to use with it is the best I could have based on my preference. My now previous scanner is a Radio Shack Pro 95. not long after purchasing it going on 5 years ago ..... I purchased the Diamond RH77CA antenna ( with BNC connection ) to use with it.

That previous scanner and the Diamond RH77CA antenna has been through alot over the years. The antenna does have a slight bend to it which just doesn't seem to want to go completely straight any longer. That in itself may be lessening signal / reception strength ..... maybe. But beyond that ..... as I said the antenna has a BNC connection. The new Uniden BC346xt scanner I just got has a SMA antenna connection. But it does come with a SMA to BNC adapter. So my wondering there is ...... will that adapter be lessening the signal / reception strength vs. if I just purchased a new antenna with a SMA connection that will fit right onto the BC346xt ?

So that is the background. And as I said above ...... even if there would be little / no signal or reception strength loss from the slight bend in this antenna or the SMA to BNC adapter use ...... that still leaves me wondering if now 5 years later ...... is there a better all band antenna on the market that I could purchase ? It would also need to meet my preference of not being a ' big ' type antenna ...... in other words I am not looking to get an antenna to mount in my attic or outside ...... and am not looking for an antenna to attach to my vehicle.

I'm wondering about an antenna that I could attached right to my Uniden BC346xt ..... and carry around. Is there one available now that is better in signal / reception strength ( gain ? ) ..... as well as in frequency coverage ( all band ? ) ..... better than my current Diamond RH77CA antenna would be to use ? And if there isn't any better antenna available to purchase than the Diamond RH77CA ..... because of the slight permanent bend to the one I have ..... as well as the SMA to BNC adapter ..... would you recommend that I purchase a new Diamond RH77CA antenna with a SMA connection to fit right onto my new Uniden BC346xt ?

So far I've done a litttttttlllllle researching of this on the Internet ...... ( but really up to just a couple days ago was in the research / decision mode for which new scanner to get. ) I also did use the search feature here at Radio Reference both for just this forum and site wide ...... and most of the results I get in posts ( at least anything decently recent ) seems to be talk about attic / outdoor / car type atennas ..... using coax, etc.. Like I said above ..... I'm not looking for that kind of antenna setup. Just what would be the best antenna to attach right onto my Uniden BC346xt and carry around.

Antenna length shouldn't really be an issue for me. I think the Diamond RH77CA antenna is around 15 inches in length and I've been fine with that over the years. And I would imagine if there is a better antenna out there to attached right to the scanner ...... they wouldn't be too much longer. Also while I am looking for info / opinions / etc. on the best antenna I could purchase ( meeting my no attic / outdoor / vehicle type antenna ) preference ...... I guess I would also prefer the flexible type antenna over a hard telescoping type. ( I'm not clumsy ..... but think that a hard telescoping type antenna would be much more prone to being snapped in half. ) And I also wonder about a telescoping type antenna ...... if there is always the need to extend its length to the frequency range I'd want to listen to. I'd prefer to be able to pull in as full a frequency range as possible without having to adjust lengths to pull in frequencies from one range at the cost of not being able to receive frequencies on other ranges. Still though ..... if you feel there is a hard telescoping type antenna out there that is better than a Diamond RH77CA ...... don't hesitate to say so. If I get one like that I will just have to be more careful with it.

Hopefully everyone hasn't been turned off from the start of reading this post in thinking " NOT Another Which antenna is best Question " ....... and left the thread with no response. As I said I did use the search feature here at Radio Reference and still came up short on the info I am looking for. So please do reply .....and thank you in advance for doing so .....


Ganuke

 

[FrankJ]

The Diamond RH77CA is the best portable antenna for all bands EXCEPT the VHF Low Band (30-50 Mhz)........

Frank

 

[rvictor]

The antenna that you've got is fine even with the slight bend and through the SMA/BNC adapter. If you do decide to replace it, then I would suggest that you look at the Diamond RHF40 which is the same basic antenna except that it's made out of a super flexible material which allows you to bend it or coil it as you desire. It has the same length and specs as the RH77. I really like mine.

Dick

 

[Ganuke]

Thanks for the replies Frank and Dick. ( I also seen that Dick had posted in the ' Scanner decision ' thread I made recently in the General Scanning forum. )

So the Diamond RH77CA antenna I have with slight permanent bend and use of the SMA to BNC connector on the new Uniden BC346xt scanner I purchased should be fine ..... really nothing better. Well except for maybe the Diamond RHF40 that Dick mentioned.

I will take a look into that Diamond RHF40 antenna. It has the exact same length and specs as the Diamond RH77CA I have ? Does it come in a SMA connector type ? Even with the exact same specs as the Diamond antenna I already have ..... it does look interesting in being able to flex it to a fixed state as shown in the picture you provided.

It makes me think that could have an extra benefit of being able to bend the upper end of the antenna in the direction where a certain frequency signal of wanted reception is strongest ..... unless I'm wrong about that. I guess the different material that the Diamond RHF40 is made of would not decrease reception / signal strength compared to the Diamond RH77CA which is flexible but not to a fixed coil state ?


Edit Ok ..... I just now did a quick Google search for the Diamond RHF40 and from that went to a site which has this page that shows I think all the Diamond antenna models currently on the market. Among those are the Diamond RH77CA antenna I currently have as well as the Diamond RHF40 antenna suggested by Dick. Dick .... you say you have the RHF40 Diamond antenna ..... when you coil / bend it to a fixed state ...... but then later want to straighten it back to it's full length ..... is it easy to do so and it stays upright fully ? ( Just makes me think that over time ...... repeated bending / coiling to another position other than its full straight length ...... may have it where it won't want to go straight any longer in time ..... hhhmmmmm ..... )

They do seem to have much the same specs as far as gain and length. But one other question I now have is about dual / tri band. It looks as though the Diamond RH77CA I currently have is listed as a dual-band while the Diamond RHF40 is listed as a tri-band. There is also one there ( SRH999 ) listed as a quad-band. At risk of sounding really stupid ( if I already havn't before here at Radio Reference ) ..... what would be the main differences in a dual / tri / quad band antenna ? Probably oversimplifying it ..... it makes me think a tri-band antenna would be overall better than a dual-band antenna. So even with much the same specs ..... the RHF40 ( tri-band ) would be better than my Diamond RH77CA ( dual-band ) ?

......... Another question I now have which I did see a thread somewhat about when doing the search on antenna info the other day ...... that is ...... is there any adapter of sorts that would allow connection of 2 antennas to one scanner for reception at the same time ? The reason I ask that is ...... I've read where the Diamond RH77CA is not much good ( if any good at all ) at the 800 Mhz frequency range. The now old Radio Shack Pro 95 I had before was capable of trunking ...... but I never did program any trunking frequencies into it.

With getting this new Uniden BC346xt scanner now ...... I'd like to find some trunking frequencies for the area where I live ( West-Central Pennsylvania ...... Cambria county ..... and also I am able to get reception from the surrounding counties. ) But yeah ..... I'd like to find some trunking frequencies for this area to try out ...... but am figuring using the Diamond RH77CA antenna ( or if I were to purchase another antenna such as the Diamond RHF40 suggested by Dick ) that it would not receive much if anything at the 800 Mhz range.

So that then would require me also purchasing I guess an 800 Mhz specific antenna. Doing some looking around I seen this antenna at ScannerMaster ...... maybe would be good for scanning specifically the 800 Mhz range ?

So that would mean the need for 2 antennas. As I asked above .... is there any adapter which I could connect right to my BC346xt that would allow me to have 2 antennas ( such as Diamond RHF40 and the 800 Mhz antenna from ScannerMaster linked above ) at the same time ? Or would that be impossible .... or just a bad thing to do ( like the use of both antennas at the same time would cause major interference with each other and I'd receive even less than if I'd just change to the 800 Mhz antenna whenever I'd want to listen to trunking frequencies ? It would be nice if this was possible to do though ..... without any negatives.

I assume the SRHF40 Diamond antenna is exactly the same as the Diamond RHF40 antenna except that it has a SMA connection ...... which then would be the one I'd purchase for the Uniden BC346xt and do away with having to use the SMA to BNC adapter.

Thanks again for the replies. And if anyone else has thoughts / opinions on the best portable type antenna to use ...... please do post up here. But it may just be that options for this are limited ...... I just thought that maybe with so many things of technology changing fast ..... ( ya can purchase a new specced out computer today and have it be outdated a couple months later it seems ) ...... thought that maybe technology changed with portable scanner antennas over the about 5 years since I purchased the Diamond RH77CA antenna.


Ganuke

 

[rvictor]

It makes me think that could have an extra benefit of being able to bend the upper end of the antenna in the direction where a certain frequency signal of wanted reception is strongest ..... unless I'm wrong about that.

I have no reason to think that bending the upper end of the antenna is going to do anything constructive. I like the more flexible version because it's easy to carry, can be bent to vertical if the scanner is laying on the table, and less likely to get damaged if accidentally bent since it can return to whatever shape you put it in.

I guess the different material that the Diamond RHF40 is made of would not decrease reception / signal strength compared to the Diamond RH77CA which is flexible but not to a fixed coil state ?

Since the specs are the same, I can't see that the flexible material would change the signal strength.

Dick .... you say you have the RHF40 Diamond antenna ..... when you coil / bend it to a fixed state ...... but then later want to straighten it back to it's full length ..... is it easy to do so and it stays upright fully ? ( Just makes me think that over time ...... repeated bending / coiling to another position other than its full straight length ...... may have it where it won't want to go straight any longer in time ..... hhhmmmmm ..... )

I've bent it a lot, including bending it into the circle as shown in the photo and see no signs as yet of any problem getting it back to full vertical. Can't say it will last forever, but I'm not worried about bending mine.

But one other question I now have is about dual / tri band. It looks as though the Diamond RH77CA I currently have is listed as a dual-band while the Diamond RHF40 is listed as a tri-band. There is also one there ( SRH999 ) listed as a quad-band. At risk of sounding really stupid ( if I already havn't before here at Radio Reference ) ..... what would be the main differences in a dual / tri / quad band antenna ? Probably oversimplifying it ..... it makes me think a tri-band antenna would be overall better than a dual-band antenna. So even with much the same specs ..... the RHF40 ( tri-band ) would be better than my Diamond RH77CA ( dual-band ) ?

Frankly, I think that the RH77CA, SRH77CA, RHF40, and SRHF40 are functionally the same antennas and that the descriptions are just differently worded. They all claim the same gain over a regular HT antenna, and claim to cover 2 m/70 cm and receive to 900 MHz. These types of antennas are always a compromise since they are limited in size and cover a number of different bands. I feel that any of these antennas would produce results that you would be unable to distinguish from the results with any of the other three.

As far as the SRH999, it is longer and claims to cover both lower and higher frequencies than the others. If you need those specific frequencies, then it might be worthwhile, but I have no experience with that particular antenna.

If I were you, I'd use the antenna that you already have with the adapter that comes with the radio and see how it goes. The differences are not likely to be very great and may not even be noticeable. The only reason that I mentioned the RHF40 was that in another thread you seemed headed toward buying an antenna to avoid the need for the SMA/BNC adapter and if you are going to do that anyway, then it is worth considering the SRHF40. Not only isn't the adapter likely to make any noticeable difference in the antenna performance, but to me it represents the advantage that I'm not stressing the antenna connection of the radio each time I change antennas. So in this way, I actually consider it an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

......... Another question I now have which I did see a thread somewhat about when doing the search on antenna info the other day ...... that is ...... is there any adapter of sorts that would allow connection of 2 antennas to one scanner for reception at the same time ?

The simple answer is "No". Use one antenna that represents the best compromise of the bands that you want to listen to.

Dick

 

[Ganuke]

Dick ..... thanks for taking the time to read through my last post and answer through the questions I had as well as add some extra info. to it all.

And sorry to overuse your knowledge ..... but at least so far in this thread you have been the one to answer / reply the most. So from my previous post I had asked about what may be the differences ( pros / cons ) of what I had seen on that antenna page I linked to of dual / tri / quad band antennas. Like the SRH999 Diamond antenna which is listed as a quad band ..... and that you say is longer and ( maybe ) would offer better frequency coverage in the very lower and very higher frequency range compared to either the Diamond RH77CA or RHF40 / SRHF40. But the better reception from that antenna on the very upper and lower ends of the frequency range I guess could come at a cost of lessened reception toward the middle. At least that is one of the things I have gained from you ..... a good antennas main strength in one area likely would come at a cost in another area.

And at this time ..... many of the local conventional departments I'd be most interested in receiving had moved up the frequency range ( from like the 30.XXX ) to most of them now being in the 400 Mhz range. I think that is listed as a strength of the Diamond RH77CA ( and I assume then also the RHF40 Diamond antenna ..... and the SMA equivalents. ) So maybe it comes down to that there is nothing really greater in a portable antenna for me to purchase over the Diamond RH77CA I currently have.

For now I plan to do what you suggest. That being spending less time searching around for what could be a better antenna over what I currently have ..... and spending more time getting use to using my new Uniden BC346xt and all the features of it that are new to me over my now old RS Pro 95. That would also include getting a good number of conventional frequencies input into Free Scan for upload to the new scanner. And it will also include reading the cd / online versions of the user manual for the scanner. ( Which is a current rant of mine ..... I like the technological way of most things ...... but as for user / owner manuals just prefer hard copy that I can take to any room or outside to read and try out a new product instead of being bound to the computer. )

Oh and ..... as for the possibility of there being some adapter of sorts to use 2 portable antennas at the same time on a scanner ...... I kinda figured as much that no such thing is really possible but figured I''d still ask anyway.

Not to take away from all that Dick has provided in this thread in replies to me ..... but still if anyone else has additional info or different info to add about a ' best portable scanner antenna ' to have ..... do still chime in. I do like to learn where I can. In doing some online research about this ..... I came across a few sites that even suggested what seemed to be using insulated wire connected around the BNC / SMA connector on a scanner to add extra reception. I don't really plan to try something like that right now ..... certainly not with a new still under warranty scanner. After I get through the cd / online manuals for the BC346xt and get use to it completely, get Cambria county and surrounding county frequencies input, and then see how it all receives for me compared to how my Pro 95 did ...... maybe then I'll consider purchasing a new antenna. And as of right now it would seem to be the Diamond F40 model suggested by Dick ...... same specs as the 77CA but with the interesting ability to bend and coil without harm. Seems it would be next to impossible to damage.

While I am at it ..... there was another thing I had on my mind wondering about ...... not antenna related I guess ...... and thought about making a new thread asking about it but may just ask here for now instead. I also did some searching about it on the Internet and found next to nothing so maybe it isn't possible.

That would be is it possible to receive am radio on a scanner ? What I mean is actual am ( songs, news, talk ) radio from stations in ones given area ? I think I read that on my new BC346xt ...... it can receive FM radio ....... but no mention of am radio. So I'm thinking receiving am radio might be possible on some scanners ..... but probably not the BC346XT.

( The main reason I ask is ..... a minor league baseball team local to where I live switched their radio broadcast from fm to an am station this year. That team being the Altoona Curve. I can still listen to their games from their online website when I don't go to the games ..... but still would be nice to listen to them on the radio when at home and outside in the summer months. Unfortunately ...... the am station that broadcasts the Altoona Curve powers down each evening about the time of the 3rd inning. Bah ! ) So just wondered the possibility of being able to tune that am radio station into the scanner for possible listening of the game. ) Like the question of 2 portable antennas with one scanner being a ' no ' ..... I'm guessing it is also a ' no ' with receiving am radio stations on the new scanner I have now. But again just had to ask .... and think some very knowledgeable people here such as Dick could give a straight answer on it better than info from numerous Google searches could bring up.


Ganuke

 

[rvictor]

The lowest frequency available on the 346 is 25 MHz which is way above the AM broadcast band which covers roughly 515-1715 kHz (.515-1.715 MHz).

Dick