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My new MagMount scanner antenna
After a couple of hours on the road with it I can't say the reception is a whole lot better than the Larsen glass mount I had. But it looks cool.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...x/DSCN0074.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...x/DSCN0075.jpg
:thumb2:
all you need now is a remote, and pretend you're controlling an RC car
BTW, did anyone else notice we can +rep people now?
Quote:
Originally Posted by cell21633
Nice magmount erick
Cell-- +rep??
Totally looks like a CB antenna, which is a bad thing in Houston. You're gonna get broke into very soon. I'd stuff that thing in the trunk each and everytime you park. If the performance is no better than the glass-mount, then you were probably better off with the glass-mount. What kind is it? Brand and model number? That design just doesn't look very efficient at all for UHF and 800mhz (what practically everything in South Texas is) communications.
Erick, what kind of antennae would you recommend for a hand-held? I'd like to get one CB antennae and a 800-900 mhZ one.
Just for a handheld though, no car-mounting types.
I'ts a Radio Shack 391/2" fiberglass whip. 29.965 to 27.450Hz tuning rangeQuote:
Originally Posted by Stealth Stalker
Yeah, I figured it was a CB antenna. Your scanner performance is going to be crap with that. It's like trying to receive Ka band with an X band Fuzzbuster. And it tells every low life in Houston that there's something in your car worth stealing that isn't bolted down. Unless you just really want to look like a CBer for some reason, I would strongly suggest you get rid of it.
sh!+! Well, it will work for my CB I guess. It was a damn good price too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stealth Stalker
I'll lurk around for a scanner specific antenna then.
Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by erickonphoenix
Look for a glass mount 800mhz anteanna. They look like old school cell/carphone anteannas
good, I got one of those already.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucky225
Yeah, it would work fine with a CB. But antennae are very definitely band specific, and need to be designed for a specific band range. The CB band range is not even in the same neighbourhood as public safety in south Texas, so your range is going to be extremely limited in those bands.Quote:
Originally Posted by erickonphoenix
Are you looking for high performance, or for style and stealth? I have evaluated a LOT of scanner antennae and can make some recommendations that would suit your needs best.Quote:
I'll lurk around for a scanner specific antenna then.
what would you recommend for stealth?
Surely you mean 26.965 and not 29.965, but regardless this is worthless to you when it comes to scanning and quite honestly probably would not impress even on the frequencies it is meant for. Stealth Stalker knows what he is talking about.Quote:
Originally Posted by erickonphoenix
Uhh...
People are actually stupid enough to steal a $40 CB radio?
WTF is the world comming to...
I think people who steal should have their hands chopped off like they do in China.....
I've got my fixed antenna reinstalled on the scanner now, but I hate it. It sticks way up over the dash and into the windshield. I hate stuff on my dashboard or interfering with my line of sight.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stealth Stalker
Do you have any specific recommendations? I was going to look over lunch today but got sidetracked by another project.
It's going to depend on what bands (frequencies) are your priority. In the Houston area, where everything is pretty much 460 and 860mhz (looks like Chicago/Cook County is in the same range), your best bet for a combination of stealth and performance is a dedicated 800mhz antenna, that looks just like the old cellphone antenna. It's only 11 to 13 inches long. You can get glass mount and avoid drilling a hole, and get surprisingly good performance. Or you can drill a hole (or use an existing hole) and mount it to metal and get superb performance. It will mag mount too, if you prefer. Those antennae are all over eBay for ten to fifty bucks.Quote:
Originally Posted by cell21633
http://i3.ebayimg.com/04/i/05/cd/aa/a6_1.JPG
One of the best scanner antennae out there, the same that Alex Roy uses, is the Maxrad BMAXSCAN1000, which I've picked up on eBay for as little as $15 bucks. There's one on eBay now for $29.95, and that's about average. It's 19 inches long and covers all bands well. You can hole mount it or mag mount it, your preference. Not quite as unassuming looking as the above antenna, but still quite compact and performs great. Arguably the best all round scanner antenna on the market.
http://www.theantennafarm.com/74191.jpg
Of course, for pure stealth concerns, it's hard to beat simply using a coupler that plugs your scanner into your stock AM/FM radio antenna. Certainly not ideal, performance wise, but good enough in an urban environment, and is definitely the stealthiest of all. They run about twelve to twenty dollars, max.
Stealth -- On the 2nd antenna what type of connector comes with it? Standard BNC? Be nice to have one of those for my Pro-97.
The antenna itself mounts with an NMO mount to the vehicle. Whatever kind of connector you put on the end of your coax to attach to your radio is up to you. Typically, a lot of antennae do not come with the vehicle mount or the coax, so you just get what you want, whether it be a hole mount, a lip mount, a mag mount, or whatever. Unlike CB antennae, professional grade scanner antennae are not plug-n-play deals. You have to buy the antenna and the mount and the coax and the connector, choosing the connector that is suitable for your particular radio. You may have to search around eBay to find a coax and mount with a BNC already on it, because it isn't that common. The easiest way is to just get the coax and mount with whatever connector is on it, then buy a BNC adapter for it at Radio Shack for five bucks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucky225
One more entry worth considering for a combination of stealth and performance is this:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...ants/1190.html
http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...nants/1190.jpg
Thirteen inches long. Tiny but STRONG little ceramic magnet at the base. Performs surprisingly well on UHF and 800. The drawbacks are broadbandedness, which decreases performance a bit from the previously mentioned antennae, and very thin coax cable, which also diminishes performance a little. The good news is, that skinny coax makes it easier to mount unnoticeably, as opposed to that big, fat coax connected to most mag mounts. The coax cable is only around nine feet long though, as this thing is made for throwing temporarily up on your roof, without regards to how it looks with the cable running in your window. So, if you mount it on your trunk, you'll end up having to get a few feet of coax extension to get it to your scanner up front. Still, it's cheap, stealthy, and good bang for the buck in an urban/suburban environment.
yea, I was afraid you'd say that :/
I'm just lazy =)
Alex uses the Antenex ABSCANC, which is a tri-band 150/450/800MHz. Is this possibly the same antenna re-branded as a Maxrad? They look awfully similar. The Antenex costs about $25, so getting it for $15 would be quite the steal.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stealth Stalker
144A scanner antenna
Ooops, you're correct. It's been awhile since I saw the pics, and I was thinking it was the Maxrad. The Antenex looks similar, but has a different base. Both are good antennae. I have not used the Antenex, and their antennae are generally not as well regarded in the industry for performance or durability. I would expect it to perform roughly as well as the Maxrad though. Larsen also makes a tri-band that looks almost identical to the Antenex that a lot of people swear by.
Some guy had several of the Maxrads on eBay back in April for fifteen bucks each. I grabbed three of them just to have spares, since the price was so good. There are always people selling old stock and liquidation stock on eBay, so it pays to look around for awhile before buying.
I have had some good luck with my Magmount BNC Scanner World 25-1300mhz antenna.... It is built very durable
I used to not be able to pick up one trunked system at all in my area, but now its crystal clear!
This is switching from a rubber duck antenna.
It was $40
I have noticed a significant increase in all signal clarity!
I need to paint the base of it black so it blends in better...
This one?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ovencleaner
http://www.scannerworld.com/images/m...c.original.jpg
That's one I haven't tested, and I've been wondering how well it worked.
Its shorter than that one....Quote:
Originally Posted by Stealth Stalker
It works pretty well for 800mhz and 400mhz systems I am listening to.
Not great for scanning CB is my only complaint...
honestly I don't think a CB antenna or scanner antenna will make someone more willing to break into a car
Heck I had one guy ask if i had a cop car at a rest stop cause i had so many antenna's
You're not thinking like a crackhead, Rob! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by crazyVOLVOrob
Auto burglary remains very high in urban areas. Anything they can grab out of there to sell for another ten dollar rock. A CB antenna means that there is an electronic device in there that is not permanently installed, meaning easy to steal.
most crack heads would just try to rip the antenna off the back of the carQuote:
Originally Posted by Stealth Stalker
I honestly doubt a crackhead would steal a CB there isn't a large enough black market for them....
As the price of something goes down the black market value goes down.
Most CB's that i have seen are permanently installed.
Crackheads have moved on from CB's to radar detectors and GPS's