User Antenna Opinions

Home Contents

Introduction This page is devoted to the opinions of radio monitoring hobbyists around the world who have graciously taken the time to write up their thoughts and send them to me to be listed here for your use. Thanks for everyone's contributions, and strong signals! Contents Scantenna vs. RadioShack Discone C. Crane Amplified Good Mobile Antenna Antenna Specialist MONR-51 Smiley Slim Duckies RadioShack Mobile Austin Spectra Russell Industries Duck-15BNC Lab Test Of 10 Handhelds Sony AN-LP1 Active Loop Premier RD-8 Comet SMA501 Antennacraft Scantenna

RadioShack Discone: This antenna compared to the Scantenna performed much worse on all the popular scanner bands. The Discone performed very poor compared to the Scantenna because it lacks a vertical element that many other popular discones have as a part of their design. As a result of the design, VHF LOW was very poor. VHF High was just a little better than low band. UHF (400s) reception was still much less than the other antennas I have tested. (800 MHZ was not tested because of a lack of public services in the region.) In short this antenna fell short in all the performed tests against the Scantenna. As far as gain is concerned, I looked up the specs on the net and found that gain is rated as 0 to -1.5. The hints portion on this product also stated that this antenna is more for transmitting than receiving. I have to agree.

Scantenna by Antennacraft: This antenna is one of the best omnidirectional antennas I have tried. It is a decent receiver in the VHF LOW band. Where the antenna really performs is in the VHF HIGH and UHF (400s) Band. The reception at my BC 9000- I could receive strong VHF Signals crystal clear at 60 miles away and audible signals came in at about 100 miles away. UHF I could pull in strong stations in at 60 miles or more.

The antennas were used in conjuction with a 20 db preamp, but this still can show the differences in the two antennas. I have a ranking table that shows relative performance on a scale of 1 to 10:

RadioShack Discone VHF-lo=5  VHF-hi=6  UHF=6
Scantenna          VHF-lo=8  VHF-hi=9  UHF=8.5

The discone is sold at RadioShack stores for just under $60 The Scantenna is sold at places like Grove or Scanner World for about $40.

My personal opinion is that the Scantenna wins hands down in terms of performance. The price happens to be a nice bonus. If a person lives in a windy environment with strong winds, it can take a toll on the Scantenna after a year or so. I would leave the Discone to use for those who prefer to put an antenna in the attic or for those who are using this antenna for both scanning and HAM use.

I am in no way affiliated with RadioShack/Tandy, Grove, Scantenna, or Scanner World. This is just an opinion of a fellow monitor. HAPPY MONITORING.

Well, I decided to buy one of these powered antennas from C. Crane. This is basically a pair of rabbit ears connected to a little box with an on/off switch. The antenna can either be powered via 2 AA batteries or a 3AC power supply. The antenna has a little swivel stand so one can angle it and it seems to work rather well.

Now the mobile antenna I bought I felt did great on the VHF bands but did not perform all that well on the UHF bands. This power antenna seems to perform real well on all the bands. The improvement for me was to the MilAir band where I now can hear some of the towers where as before I only could hear the planes.

The best performance of this antenna however is in the 800 and 900 bands. Boy, this antenna really licks up the signals on these bands. Here in Sacramento we have 25 chanels of trunked county activity. With the whip that came with the set(a BC9000) the signals of the trunked repeaters were terrible; basically fading up and down. This new antenna corrects that problem and even the distant repeater comes in with little fluttering. I heard data stations that I had not heard before.

On the whole I'm quite pleased with this powered antenna because in my bedroom where the BC9000 is located I have a lot of dead spotting. This antenna gives me some flexibility as I can move the ears around a bit so can shoot for that distant signal.

The antenna has a fairly short piece of coax with an 8th inch pin on one end fed to a BNC adapter. I'd certainly prefer to have an outside antenna but in my apartment complex this is not a reality so I've tried to do the best I can and I think that probably for indoor use this powered antenna is the best because of it's flexibility.

As I said, I was extremely surprised and happy at the 800 performance so if you're thinking about antennas and can't get to the outside consider this one. I also tried this antenna on my portable BC3000 but I wasn't overly impressed with it's performance on this set and it tended to bring in the birdies but I've always found that location of the radio and any antenna is going to be a factor.

I live on the first floor of a 2 story wooden building and if I were on the second floor there would be much improvement still to the reception. If you find the signal isn't coming in all that well always try moving the antenna and or the radio. If I owned this building I'd have an antenna farm here and my wife is pretty cool about the radio stuff even though her thing is the TV set and I don't mean DX.

Valor Mfg. makes these in several bands. There's a VHF ham (144-148) a UHF ham (440-450) a dual band ham (above plus 440-450) and the one I've got. This one (the "MicroMag Tri-band and Scanner Antenna") can be used to transmit in the above 2 bands plus transmit from 824-896; the receive range is 100-1200 MHz. This unit is 13.5" tall, has one of those "rare earth" magnets (if anyone can explain that term, please do!!) that's only about 1" across the bottom, and 9' of RG-174 coax with a BNC connector molded on. The whip has 2 coils and is made of very thin flexible wire; all parts except the BNC are black.

Valor's model number is MM3B, and it cost $29.95.

Performance: Good to excellent across the range listed. It worked just as well as my 5 dB gain ham antenna in VHF, picking up the same distant stations as the bigger unit, in the air band and above. UHF was excellent, getting stations more than 30 miles away. 800 was also excellent. I received a trunked system that I could not hear with any hand held antenna from my home, over a couple of hills and 40 miles away. The magnet worked well too, which surprised me due to the size. No sliding or tipping over at highway speeds up to 75.

Another advantage I found is that you can easily pack it for travel. It's small to begin with, but you can bend it easily to fit any space, or simply unscrew the whip.

Usual disclaimer about the company, etc. and of course your mileage may vary, but I think I've answered my own wish for an all-purpose antenna.

The mount comes with 12'of coax and a motorola pin. The whip seems to be sturdy and has never blown off the vehicle.(speeds up to 70 mph) I found this antenna to perform better than any antenna I have used. It is a hefty unit, but delivers good performance.

I have used the RadioShack mag mount and like this MONR 51 antenna better for performance especially in the 460mhz range. I have not used the Antenna in the 800 MHZ Range because there is a lack of active frequencies in my area. The antenna is rated to perform from 25-1000 MHZ, the instructions indicate that for low band it is set at 37 MHZ right in the middle between 25-50mhz - this works really well in the low range, but if you have no interest in receiving that low you may cut it for a frquency up to 50 MHZ, and a cutting chart is provided. For example I cut mine to 43 MHZ- it just peaks low band performance and HAS NO AFFECT ON PERFORMANCE IN OTHER RANGES as listed in the instructions.

Overall I think the antenna is a great monitor antenna and have had no trouble it. I have developed a Pro and Con list :

Pros

good antenna performance from 25-470 MHZ 470-1000 wasn't tested

antenna is sturdy unit-able to withstand elements and interstate speeds.

has cutting option to enhance low band performance.

Cons

antenna is big-good performance but not for stealth monitoring

has Motorola plug++

price is higher than some but worth it in my opinion

I would like to mention that these are only my thoughts and that I have no marketing relations with Antenna Specialists/Allen Telecom, C Crane, or Radio Shack/Tandy. Happy monitoring!

The UHF model (#45520) was bought for 455 MHz and seems to do a good job but not as impressive as the VHF one.

Construction on both is very good and the BNCs are of good quality.

This antenna costs about $40 at RadioShack. It consists of a 31inch stainless steel whip, a swivel ball base with a PL-259 connector and coax cable with splitter, one lead is for your car radio, the other is for the CB. My first advice is to throw away the cable and the splitter! Get you own cable and common TV splitter. You will have to solder your own Motorola plug for you car radio, but you will get much better reception.

Installation
You should notice an improvement in your car stereo reception on both AM and FM. The hardest part is of course running the cables. Best of all is the stealth aspect of it.

Performance
Excellent all around reception. Much better than a Grove No-tenna or the RadioShack glass mount cell phone look alike. Works best on VHF-lo and VHF-hi. UHF reception is not quite as good on the low bands, but still good enough to receive mountain top transmitters. 800MHz reception is okay for general use, still better than the glass mount.

Overall
I recommend this antenna for anyone that at the very least wants to improve their car stereo reception and have a scanner antenna that doesn’t require any additional holes, or whips. It is an excellent all around scanner antenna. I tested this with a AR8000 scanner. When I had my RadioShack PRO-2037 hooked up to this set up, my car stereo reception went out on both AM and FM. Maybe somebody out there can explain this to me!

Reception
Tested with a AR8000. Not too bad on the AM broadcast band and short-wave. VHF-lo was not as good as the regular stainless 31" steel whip I use for my car radio antenna. Weak stations heard on the 31" whip were nothing but static on the Spectra. VHF-hi performance was a lot better however. Sort of the reverse situation. Weak stations on the Spectra couldn't be heard on the 31" whip. UHF performance was excellent. Probably to good in some locations! On 800MHz performance was far superior to the 31" whip. Reception overall was somewhat cleaner than the 31" whip I use, in part I think because the Spectra is "tuned" to certain frequencies. Off band performance was good as well, as in the civil and military air bands. The Spectra is hard to beat on UHF and above.

Final Thoughts
This is a lot of money for any antenna, much less a mobile one! For this price I'm surprised the VHF-lo reception isn't better. Considering it's not stealth to begin with, I think the extra length needed for better low band performance could have been added. Or at least offering the option of a longer model would be nice. At this price range, there are some other options. A good tri-band ham antenna from Diamond or Larsen is one option. Or the Antenna Specialists new MON-53 scanner antenna, which I plan on trying out next.

I bit the bullet and ordered their model Duck-15BNC antenna which they represent on their web site as a Low Band VHF 30-50 MHz duckie. It is only 6" high and built as if for the military with nice heavy machined knurled metal at the base of the rubber and it is heavily threaded. This threaded end screws into an even more burley heavily machined metal portion which has the most substantial solid plastic insulator I have ever seen, and then terminates into a BNC connector. The total height from the bottom of the BNC is only 8 inches and has nearly no weight at all so it is great for minimum strain on any radio's BNC connector.

Well wouldn't you know it, it kept right up with the Maxon WTA-1 antenna in the 30-50 MHz range. If that wasn't enough to blow me away (happily) I was absolutely shocked to find that when using my police bank set up for the Salt Lake City Police and Fire frequencies, it actually performed better than the stock antenna provided with the AR8200 in the 118-135, 145-148, 154-156, 450-462 and 850-900 MHz range. Can you believe this. It isn't even supposed to do this but it does. So much for theory.

This has got to be the very best antenna for someone that simply wants no compromise in any frequency area and does not wish to change antennas all the time. Best of all it is short, flexible and weighs next to nothing. Can you beat that. Not bad for $28.00.

I called Glenn Cohen at Scanners Unlimited where I tend to get most of my equipment, and told him about this. Suprised as he was to hear about this antenna, he informed me that he used to buy antennas from them years ago and it is a family run operation with real nice folks there. He is ordering this model of antenna immediately and will stock it on my evaluation as he knows how fussy I am.

You have got to try one of these amazing antennas to believe it. I actually had myself all psyched up to believe it would be another disappointment, but what a nice suprise.

Their number at Russell Industries is (800) 645-2202 and their web site for their antenna line is www.russellind.com/Russell/index.html. Pass it on and enjoy. They would love to send their catalogue in email or by snail mail to anyone who is interested.

The results seemed to me so interesting and so matching with the sensations I get during normal usage with my scanners, that I decided to share them with you and your readers. My report has a text part (following) and a graphic part (Acrobat .pdf file). containing plots I drew which give a good pictorial representation of the test results.

Generally a fair compromise is found on dual band rubber-duck whips, that became very popular with the introduction of dual band handheld transceivers. Even if designed specifically to work on the ham bands, all of them are capable to receive on a much wider frequency range that can however be very different from a model to another. Many of the multiband whips I own were supplied in one with the radios I bought, and few others are made by other manufacturers specialised in antenna business, like Diamond and Comet.

Each time I buy a new handheld radio, either a transceiver or a radio scanner, after learning the basic operation, I usually spend one weekend of experiments in order to evaluate if the supplied antenna is better or worse than the others I already own. Until now, I've conducted those test in the most straightforward way: identify some reference signals in the frequency ranges of my interest (not too strong and not too weak), rapidly replace in turn a dozen of antennas on the top of a portable receiver having an S-meter, and take some notes about the relative performance of each antenna at a given frequency. These experiments are time-spending and are also a stress for the connector of the new radio because, for each frequency to be tested, all antennas being compared to the new one have to be plugged and unplugged. Moreover, the availability of reference signals in a wide frequency spectrum is unreliable and scattered in time, and this kind of proceeding requires to be repeated each time a new antenna is added to my set.

This big effort is always worth the time spent because I've better chances to find the antenna that better suits the frequency coverage of a given radio or a specific usage, but...

Tired to operate this way, and willing to get more reliable data, I've set-up a system in my home lab using a signal generator and a home-built microwattmeter. The signal generator feeds a 50 ohm termination and a small radiating probe: practically it is a 5cm, lossy whip, intended to radiate a near RF field without resonating on any tested frequency. Indeed, it offers some privilege to the higher frequency range, but since I'm interested to the relative performance of my antennas, this hasn't a big influence. Very close to the radiating probe there is the antenna under test, plugged in the RF microwattmeter. This microwattmeter is built by a wide band monolithic 2GHz amplifier (MAR-6) followed by a schottky detector and it measures the amplitude of the signal received by the antenna under test. The availability of a stable RF field on any frequency from 1 to 1000MHz has opened the possibility to pinpoint the performance and the characteristics of each antenna I own and I will own.

The actual test has covered a set of 10 dual band an triple band whips with BNC and SMA connectors. This is the list:

Diamond RH77

Diamond RH700

Diamond RH701

Icom FA-B01RE (supplied with IC-R10)

YAESU, no name (supplied with the FT-51R)

YAESU YHA-27 (supplied with an old dual band HT)

Standard Radio, no name (supplied with the C-500)

Icom FA-S270C (supplied with the IC-R2,IC-Q7)

Icom FA-S6270B (supplied with the IC-T8)

Comet SMA503

Diamond RH77
This is the longest whip of the set tested. Its length explains its better-then-the-average performance in almost all frequencies. Compared to the average, it fails a little in the 2m ham band and above 840MHz. It's average on Air band but it shines on VHF hi and it's still very useful on VHF lo where all shorter whips fail. The apparently poor performance on the VHF and UHF ham bands, rated as average or below, is due to the good performance on these bands of almost all whips tested. These results explain why this is my preferred whip when I want to be sure to miss nothing.

Diamond RH700
This design is perfect for ham bands. Before doing this test, I was surprised by the great performance of this antenna on the 2m and on the air band, misleading me to consider it the best antenna anywhere in its length class. But the plot shows the trick: it is really great where it has been designed to be perfect, having a peak at 145MHz but with a deep null from 160 to 280MHz. After this gap, it is almost flat on the average performance, that is good, however. It's interesting to notice on the summary table the difference between the arithmetic and the geometric average over the 150-180MHz band. The former indicates a fair gain over this range, but the latter states for a poor flatness.

Diamond RH701
This should be the "slim" version of the RH700: mechanically it's very thin and flexible. Indeed it reflects the same behaviour of the 700, while being a bit worse on the air band and much worse on the 900MHz band.

Icom FA-B01RE
This antenna, supplied with the R-10, is a surprise. The plot shows a totally different behaviour and, probably, a different design from the dual band whips. Even being the shortest of the batch, it has forced me to change the Y scale on the plot! Accepting a small loss of gain on the air band and the 2m ham band, it outclasses its friends almost everywhere. To be noticed the excellent performance on VHF hi up to 350MHz and on the cellular band. Definitively an antenna for a scanner.

YAESU (for FT-51R)
I don't like this antenna because of its length and stiffness. However, electrically is a good performer on VHF lo, air band, 2m ham, and is fair from 300 to 900MHz. It is not suitable to my preferred listening, as like as many other tested whips, because of the deep null from 160 to 280MHz. It makes the receiver insensitive on the VHF public/private services band that in my country is allocated from 160 to 174MHz. Again, the reader should notice the differences between arithmetic and geometric averaging in the VHF bands.

YAESU YHA-27
This antenna was supplied with an old dual band HT I don't remember. I bought it as a spare antenna for my radios. Its behaviour and look is similar to the RH700: one more whip with good performance on 2m and 70cm ham bands, still capable of acceptable reception on VHF lo, VHF hi up to 900MHz, but almost blind from 160 to 280MHz.

Standard Radio (for C-500)
This antenna is not really good looking: it seems a fuse holder with a BNC on one end and a flexible whip coming out from the other. Its performance is slightly better than the RH700, the FT51 and YHA-27 because the dreadful null is shifted over 170MHz, where it doesn't hurt me. On 900MHz it is below average, but still useful.

Icom FA-S270C
This is an SMA type, sold together with the IC-R2 and the IC-Q7. Thus it is supposed to be suitable for both a scanner and a dual-band HT. But the plot shows it's below the average almost everywhere, and still with a deep null between 160 and 200MHz. Poor performer on 900MHz.

Icom FA-S6270B
SMA type, supplied with the IC-T8. It's the only 3-band whip I tested, being supplied with a 3 bander HT having the 50MHz band. The resonance at 50MHz is evident: 6db over the average. This unique characteristic improves the gain in the whole VHF lo band, but as a side effect of this added resonance a new null is added around 120MHz, affecting the performance on the air band. Over 140 MHz it's similar to the IC-Q7 antenna. Its stiffness discourages portable use because all forces that normally bend a flexible antenna are transmitted to the tiny SMA connector of the radio, with an high risk to break it.

Comet SMA503
One more SMA type, but "thin" style and very, very flexible. The plot shows a behaviour totally different from the average, supported by "on the air" trials. This antenna receives almost nothing below 100MHz. On the air band is still suffering a lot, but the gain rapidly increases from 150 to 180 MHz, reaching the best score in this range where it competes only with the IC-R10 antenna. But apart of this outstanding feat, the SMA503 is an average or poor performer elsewhere, including the 900MHz band where a staple for papers can easily beat it.

Conclusions:
The plots show that there are four different designs in the nine dual band whips plus, of course, one in the only triple band whip. Among the dual band designs, the most common is for the RH700, RH701, FT51, YHA27, C500, FA-S270C. These whips are too short to have a good gain in the VHF lo, and the resonance of the base coil to let them work on the 2m ham band always creates a deep null that sacrifices the performance above 160MHz. This null ends around 200 MHz, and after this frequency these antennas are usable, with slightly different fortune, up to 1GHz. The remaining three dual band whips are different each other. For scanning purposes the RH77 and the FA-B01RE (the IC-R10 stock antenna) are both good. The former gets advantage of its length, the latter benefits of its odd design (someday I'll take an X-rays picture of it!). Far behind there is the SMA503, and it's a pity because the choice of SMA models is still very limited.

Being limited to these ten whips, this test can't be exhaustive. I hope to find the time to add new data to this report whenever I buy a new whip or a new portable radio.

73 de IW9ARO

PDF file (388k)

So I just got one of those new Sony Active Loop Antennas called the AN-LP1. It is a model of Japanese ingenuity as it reminded me of one of those large grease spatter guards you get for your kitchen (when doing that wonderful fried shrimp). It very cleverly opens up from about a 6 inch diameter to a bit over 18 inches. It has a clever small rope at the top which has both a suction cup (for those hotel sliding glass patio windows) and a clip as well (if you don't want the management to know) you can clip in on the inside of the draperies and nobody will be the wiser.

It has a slender filter module that plugs into the base of the loop, and then you plug the main power supply-preselector unit into the module (which has a long wind-up type cable that is much like their wind up antennas they make for their portables). The other shorter end plugs into the radios antenna output, or if your radio doesn't have one, their is a supplied adapter to go from the 1/8 inch plug to clip onto the small portion of the whip to take over.

There is a on-off switch on the little main unit (about the size of an Icom IC-R2) and a dial for the preselector frequency selection from 4 to 20 MHz. Being as this setup is a no brainer, you can just plug everything in and let it rip.

Which is what I did, and I must say I was not disappointed. In the usually crowded 5 to 7 MHz bands in the evening, it was a joy to notice that it not only reduced the noise levels, but allowed reception of several stations that, without the use of the loop, simply weren't there at all. Even on some week broadcasts that were buried in the mud or noise, a switch over to the loop was all it took to then be listening without issue.

Again, this is one of those all to rare products that you simply hook up and "IT WORKS". With the long cord to the antenna, it should be real easy to plug the base unit into your receiver and run the cable across a bedroom or hotel room with ease and just clip the antenna near a window and go.

You really can't go wrong with this ingenious device, especially considering it's modest $79.95 price. I know Sony does caution using this with radios that generate a lot of digital hash, but I noticed none of this whatsoever. Enjoy, I know I will!

The antenna is sleek looking and quite flexible, nice modern style. It is only 1/2" longer that the original antenna that came with my AX400. The BNC connector is gold plated and there is virtually no slip on the BNC to radio fit which showed me how my other Rubber Duck antennas fit loosely.

Comparing the RD-8 to the Standard AX400 stock antenna yielded similar results with the RD-8 having perhaps a slight increase on the signal strength indicator. I tested it at WFM 185.750, and WFM 625.750 only.

I then attached it to my PRO-91 and immediately noticed *alot* more quieting during trunk tracking! I was astounded! The built-in 900Mhz resonator really helps. It has now become my dedicated trunking antenna. I'm going to order another as a spare.

I recommed this antenna to those wishing to upgrade their original TrunkTracker antennas. It cost $25 for it to arrive at my door and the RD-8 comes in a rectangular vinyl case sealed zip-lock style.

I have been following a number of threads here on the Strong Signals page regarding the value of the various "stubby" antennas for monitoring. I thought I would contribute my two cents worth (and probably receive some change back!) I am not including a detailed "scientific" rundown of reception results, etc., just my opinions.

I am using a Comet 501 stubby antenna on my Q7-A Icom transceiver. Now, here is what I have found. Using the antenna for general reception or searching is pointless. If you are trying to hear weak or distant transmissions, forget it. If you are searching for elusive frequencies, forget it.

However: These antennas have a very useful function, provided you accept their limitations. For example: I do a lot of airband monitoring (118-135), but I work on the grounds of a busy international airport! The Comet 501 is perfect here. If fact, it may be the best choice, as sometimes the stock antenna is overloaded by the strength of the signals from the control tower, and the 501 eliminates it!

Stealth is another great advantage, again, as long as you recognize the limitations. I was out at the local mall the other day and, while waiting for my wife to do whatever it is she does at the mall, I was able to listen in to their security/operations broadcasts with the radio in my shirt pocket and a single earphone. Perfect. The signals were local and strong, so the 501 worked great. Same thing the other night at the local race track. (No, I didn't win.)

Transmitting is the same story; for local repeaters or simplex, close-in conversations, these short antennas perform just fine. Just don't expect to hit a repeater 20 miles away!

In conclusion, I would recommend the "stubbies" to anyone recognizing the above limitations. No, they are not a good, general scanning/transmitting antenna, but they fill a nice niche.

After trying various antennas for my Uniden 895, I thought I would never find one that satisfied me. I was going to by a discone but I heard some good things about the Scantenna by Antennacraft. I figured that for $45, I would give it a shot. I purchased it through C. Crane Co.

It also comes with 50' of cable. My first impression when I got it was that it didn't look like it would do much. After I mounted it about 35 feet up on a mast, I turned on my scanner. In 5 minutes, I heard more than I ever heard with much more exppensive antennas.

VHF lowband is fantastic, High band is good, and 800MHz is as good as any other antenna. I am very pleased with this antenna and think that this is a keeper. The drawbacks is that this antenna is rather large and ugly looking. I don't think it would last long in a harsh weather environment.

But for the cost and performance, Its hard to complain. Overall, this antenna is very effective and I would recommend it to all scanner users. Especially those listening to emergency service bands. I learned that spending a lot of money doesn't necessarily mean better performance. I spent the least on this one and got the best results!

Copyright © 2001 by Richard J. Wells