Are any scanner antennas better than the others?
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MavrickMA
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Are any scanner antennas better than the others?
I've got an Astatic through-the-glass antenna on my BCT8 and it seems to be fine. But I thought that since there is such a vast difference between CB antennas, maybe there is the same with scanner antennas?
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Idaho Annie
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busman
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they just cover different freqs. i live out in the sticks and they dont use trunking out here. 155.790 mhz. is the sheriff. some anntenas cover the 900 mhz. i got i tee on the back of my base scanner and it allows me to hook up a couple different lenghts of antenna. like the discone outside base scanner antenna has all them diferent size little antennas on it for different freqs. scanners are pretty forgiving on antennas for receiving. remember your not transmitting on them . im sure yours does just fine. inless your targeting that 900 mhz. freq. maybe.
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Zumlin
Yes they have different Frequency coverage and like Other antennas they vary how they receive.
A through the glass may pick up less than a Roof magnet mount antenna for example...
The specs on that Astatic is 112-1200Mhz.
I have seen them listed to cover as low as 25Mhz and as high as 1300Mhz..
But then they vary in size and overall look....
A through the glass may pick up less than a Roof magnet mount antenna for example...
The specs on that Astatic is 112-1200Mhz.
I have seen them listed to cover as low as 25Mhz and as high as 1300Mhz..
But then they vary in size and overall look....
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MavrickMA
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Zumlin wrote:Yes they have different Frequency coverage and like Other antennas they vary how they receive.
A through the glass may pick up less than a Roof magnet mount antenna for example...
The specs on that Astatic is 112-1200Mhz.
I have seen them listed to cover as low as 25Mhz and as high as 1300Mhz..
But then they vary in size and overall look....
Is there a better mag mount antenna that won't add a lot of height. My truck is already pretty high as it is and I do go into parking garages on a regular basis. The through the glass already hits in some garages. I also don't want to lie it down on the roof and have it roll around and scratch up the paint....
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Zumlin
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nightwatcher
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I use a diamond Rh77ca antenna on the inside of my truck. It is hooked up to a GRE super amp and a 10' bnc extension to the back of my BCT15. It works really well, Especially for being inside the cab. I pick up everything from 50MHz to 800MHz trunked. I can usually hear about 50 miles or so with just that.
SWP GENERAL LEE-with mtndewnut faceplate
Cobra 29wxnwst-blue lights, tread plate case
Cobra 29LTD SE Chrome
Uniden PC78 Elite
Uniden PC76
Palamor 300HD
BCD396T
BCT15
*its better to have and not need than to need and not have*
Cobra 29wxnwst-blue lights, tread plate case
Cobra 29LTD SE Chrome
Uniden PC78 Elite
Uniden PC76
Palamor 300HD
BCD396T
BCT15
*its better to have and not need than to need and not have*
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MavrickMA
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Thanks, I'll look into that.nightwatcher wrote:I use a diamond Rh77ca antenna on the inside of my truck. It is hooked up to a GRE super amp and a 10' bnc extension to the back of my BCT15. It works really well, Especially for being inside the cab. I pick up everything from 50MHz to 800MHz trunked. I can usually hear about 50 miles or so with just that.
How do you like your BCT15? I've been toying with upgrading from my BCT8....
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nightwatcher
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I like the bct 15 very much. It is awesome if you use arc15 to program it. Has good ears and lots of features. It is the same size as a Cobra 29 so I have it mounted on an extended mount with my radio. The orange back display is cool at night too. If you need something capable of scanning digital, I would look at the bcd996. It is the same size and has many of the same features but is a digital trunking scanner. Hope that helps a little. If you have any more questions, ask away.
SWP GENERAL LEE-with mtndewnut faceplate
Cobra 29wxnwst-blue lights, tread plate case
Cobra 29LTD SE Chrome
Uniden PC78 Elite
Uniden PC76
Palamor 300HD
BCD396T
BCT15
*its better to have and not need than to need and not have*
Cobra 29wxnwst-blue lights, tread plate case
Cobra 29LTD SE Chrome
Uniden PC78 Elite
Uniden PC76
Palamor 300HD
BCD396T
BCT15
*its better to have and not need than to need and not have*
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Ricky bobby
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U got a pic?nightwatcher wrote:I use a diamond Rh77ca antenna on the inside of my truck. It is hooked up to a GRE super amp and a 10' bnc extension to the back of my BCT15. It works really well, Especially for being inside the cab. I pick up everything from 50MHz to 800MHz trunked. I can usually hear about 50 miles or so with just that.
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crazytruker
As with any thru the glass antenna there is always loss. Receive only is not as critical as Tx/Rx however, I would stay clear of glass mounted antennas even for a scanner. For mobile ops I'm not sure what all is out there. Radio Shack makes a mag mount. The whip is segmented with insulators to vary the length of each segment for the varying freq coverage. I'm not a fan of Radio Shack but for stuff like scanners it's ok. An antenna that has different length elements I have found to be better at receiving than one big antenna. 800 mhz requires a short antenna, 33 mhz, long and so on. Just as in all radio equipment. The lower the freq. the longer the antenna. Goes for receive only too.
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steved
Not that its correct, but I have ran magnetic, through-glass, and stud mount scanner antennas...
The best setup for receive is what I currently run...and it is NOT a scanner antenna. I have a stud mount that will accept a stinger from a Wilson 5000 (a stinger I actually cut too short for the W5000)...it is basically the mount for an FM/AM antenna whip. I have it mounted on the corner of my toolbox behind the cab...using the coax that came with a cheap CB antenna, with a TNC or BNC (?) connector to hook to a handheld Pro-82 Rat Shack Scanner.
It is more sensitive than anything I have owned...I can hear NOAA weather stations over 150 miles out, stations I could not here with the other antennas that were sold as "scanner" antennas. I also used this antenna with my BC350A I ran for a while (its dedicated for a base scanner now)...the distance I could hear transmissions was awesome, and that wasn't skip.
Other than height, I recently considered running a 102" whip in place of the W5000 stinger, but I chickened out before I got around to it...but I would think the added 3 feet might gain me some more distance!
steved
The best setup for receive is what I currently run...and it is NOT a scanner antenna. I have a stud mount that will accept a stinger from a Wilson 5000 (a stinger I actually cut too short for the W5000)...it is basically the mount for an FM/AM antenna whip. I have it mounted on the corner of my toolbox behind the cab...using the coax that came with a cheap CB antenna, with a TNC or BNC (?) connector to hook to a handheld Pro-82 Rat Shack Scanner.
It is more sensitive than anything I have owned...I can hear NOAA weather stations over 150 miles out, stations I could not here with the other antennas that were sold as "scanner" antennas. I also used this antenna with my BC350A I ran for a while (its dedicated for a base scanner now)...the distance I could hear transmissions was awesome, and that wasn't skip.
Other than height, I recently considered running a 102" whip in place of the W5000 stinger, but I chickened out before I got around to it...but I would think the added 3 feet might gain me some more distance!
steved
