Better Scanner Antenna

Radio scanner antenna set up
Band specific antenna is very important

2 Meters (144-148 MHz)

70 Centimeters (420-450 MHz)

33 Centimeters (902-928 MHz

[anthonyshepard]

Outstanding explanation on handheld antennas.
My name is Anthony. I have been a communication scanner for over 50 years. I have owned everything from rotary-dial transistor radio scanners to crystal to programmable digital radios of today. Your information on what type of antennas and their lengths are outstanding. Scanning can get a little expensive, but once you find tune you're radios with a specific antenna you will enjoy the hell out of this hobby SCANNING.
MAY THE SCANNING BE WITH U.
🐢🇺🇸📻🐢🇺🇸📻🐢🇺🇸📻

[kevinpond]

I have speaker wire alligator clip to my lampshades framing. Works great.

[Tomsfoolery.]

Great informative video! I've owned a P25 scanner(pro-2096) for over a decade to listen to local law enforcement and never knew that I shouldn't have the antenna (stock) extended all the way for better reception. I'm going to retract it and see if that helps. Thanks man!

[skideric]

Really does NOT have to be that complicated. I use a DIY Dual Stacked DTV Antenna that was left next door at RV Business.It is well designed with Solid Aluminum Radials, two sets stacked Vertically. Picks up ALL Air Traffic, 460 Mhz Range, 161 Mhz Range, Weather, etc with no probs.I have an Xtreme 1 to 8 Amp on it to feed 4-5 Scanners & 2-3 TVs.Lots of TV antennas will work well with a good bit of what's out there.JUst always get antenna up high as possible & outside if possibleJust never know until you try it.

[johnmoore]

You can calculate the exact full wave length by dividing the center frequency in MHz into 300. The result will be the length in meters. You can convert that to inches by multiplying by 39.37.

So full wave length = (300 * 39.37)/frequencyInMhz.

If you use a quarter wave antenna (1/4 the value derived by that formula), it needs a ground plane attached to the shield side of the coax cable.


A half wave antenna has to be fed in the middle, but then you need a balun transformer to take your 52 ohm coax to balanced 75 hom.

Other wavelengths, for best operation, need to be fed with some sort of matching network.

One problem with this kind of antenna is that they tend to be narrow band - they work best at the exact frequency you used in the formula above, but not as well for frequencies farther away.

One approach to use is a discone antenna, which you can buy, which is very wide band, at some cost in gain. You could then hook up multiple scanners to the same antenna, if you put an amplifier and splitter in front of them. I plan to do that.

Another problem is that the higher gain an antenna has, the more directional it is, which means it has less gain in directions other than where it is pointed. For vertical antennas that usually isn't a problem unless you are listening to aircraft that might be nearly above you - but then, they are likely to have strong signals so the lower gain doesn't matter.

The overall subject is very complex.

[benmeyer]

The only problem I see with running my antenna that came with my RadioShack pro-197 shorter for p-25 is in my scan list I also listen to air bands, it would be kinda annoying to have to extend and collapse the antenna every time I wanted to listen to a certain band, however your video was very informative so thank you for posting it!

[williambotts]

I took a 102" steel cb whip that was damaged on the end, cut it down to 36", installed it outside on a mount, used adapters to attach rg6 coax to it and run it inside to a ws1065 scanner. I pick up p25 and fm broadcasts. But could I do better?, all stations I have installed are local and static free and real clear. I want a good setup without spending a lot as I am on a fixed income. thanks and great video.

[thelowmein]

Ok you say to choose an antenna for the specific frequencies you want to listen to, what if I like to listen to a variety of things and change often? Is there a one-for-most antenna?

The rubber duck on my bc75 scanner seemed to pick up everything from CB all the way up to HAM in the 500s. Is there a better performer replacement that will still get that range

[jackmichael]

Hi, what external receiver antenna can you recommend for my SONY AIR-8 radio? If I can easily make the said antenna, can you please give me the details? I plan to install the antenna on top of our steel water tank, which the antenna will have a height of about 50 feet from the ground. As a private pilot, I just want to monitor the airband frequency of 118-136 MHz.

[dmgx]

Are you seeing digital encryption in your area? I'm in SC and most are not encrypted. I mostly monitor 800 P25 for my local City, County and State. I have gained alot of knowledge from your channel.

🙂👍

[anthonygallo]

Hi, love the set-up. Your my new best friend. Im a licensed ham I use my 2m 70 cm ham antenna, pics up aircraft, and fm they are close on the band chart. What I don't get is I have a ittty bitty antenna on a baofeng uv5 r. Im in jersey and I pick up NYPD like they are across the street not the river. Same on my old radio shack pro 33.i have a Whistler trx-1 and I can't even figure out how to turn it Maybe u can do a vid on digital. Great work

[gegecalled]

doesn't an out door antenna give you more and better reception?

[spaghettibender]

Make a vhf dipole take 2 lengths of wire 19 inches long connect coax happy scanning 📶

[spectrexiii]

I've tested that steel whip nmo antenna you showed on a mobile set up. Not the greatest as you've said. I love the Larsens, one of which I'll be testing is the new one with spring base advertised closer to frequencies I wish to receive better in Pinal/Maricopa counties per radio reference. I opted to use that cb/scanner hybrid on the market. Keep the ears open fellow east valley resident!

[anthonysaggio]

Hello great video what kind of radio is the radio fire radio

[QUADBOYification]

Does it even matter how thin the antenna is? Can it be a thin wire on a spool that you unwind?

[shokid]

You can say that again I have so many Scanners my wife thinks I’m a lunatic but again it’s a hobby just like all my guitars it’s a hobby

[stooges]

Great info you have given, thank you!

[Christopher]

How do you know what frequency the p25 runs at

[kumd]

Hey there, thanks for the helpful video. Although I’m still confused a bit. I’m trying to find the proper antenna and maybe you could help? I currently use a RH77CA antenna on a BC245XLT Uniden scanner. I listen to only one band which is 460Mhz. Is this antenna sufficient or do you think I need one more band specific? I receive quite a bit of static when listening and sometimes it’s hard to make out what they are saying. I am new to scanning and I am not sure if this is normal. Your input is much appreciated!