The Fuzzy World 3um

Question seeking some answers

I have a rooftop antenna for the time being that works great while in the car & such but when i take my scanner out & place it on my nightstand & keep it on & listen to cops & stuff my rubber ducky is the only option. My Rubber Duck is starting to fail as i cant pick up the cops that great & i noticed the connection inside is split. Anyone have a good suggestion for a simple antenna that I can use for in the house & also when I leave the car I can hear whats going on the train side of things. I had radio shacks telescoping antenna before but it had its problems.

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Brent

Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/28660043@N05/

I use the standard "mag mount" scanner antenna from Radio Shack. Cost about 30 bucks and I can hear (in Neenah) conversations in Waupaca and Shops Yard. Might as well get two-one for inside and one for outside.

I agree with Dan. When you have it on your nightstand put the mag mount on something magnetic, like a filing cabinet or even a cookie sheet, and it should work OK.

Brent, are you looking for something more portable, like another duck antenna or do you only want to use the scanner on your nightstand, while at home? Another option if you are only going to use it on your nightstand is to get a outdoor antenna. This would really be your best option to reliably receive whatever you want to listen to but the mag mount idea is easier, less permanent and should work about the same or better when you are at home.

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Tim
KC9FSH
Visit my gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kc9fsh/

Looking at more of the portable ends. not exactly a rubber duck but something that gets good reception that way if i'm ever with someone else i dont have lug the mag mount around.

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Brent

Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/28660043@N05/

There was a link on here (one of Ed W's post maybe...) to a "tuned" rubber duck antenna. Supposed to "double" (?) the standard reception.

Brent check your PM inbox, I'll be sending you a message in a minute.

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Tim
KC9FSH
Visit my gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kc9fsh/

Not bad but Ten96 built an antenna for me that is far more inconspicuous and is very good.


You might want to ask Ten96 if he's willing to build you one of his antenna's.

I'd be interested in learning about those...and if they could be available to others.

I have antennas and mounts available, so if there is any interest I will be more than happy to get them together for whomever. Prices are very reasonable and I use public safety-grade equipment. As I've said here in the past, my day job is in the public safety sector and my "hobby" job is public safety communications equipment repair/installation ranging from a single radio on a boat to entire PSAP renovations. There are a lot of great options available for not a lot of money, and I'm more than willing to work with the "little guy" where a lot of big shops are not (no money in it for them). I'm not in it to make money, just solve problems that others were too ignorant or lazy to take care of in the first place.

The common problem with the lay-person when it comes to scanners is that the stock antenna that comes with a portable scanner flat sucks. The other problem is that there are companies that sell " railroad tuned" antennas for exorbitant $$ because the average railfan will buy it not knowing any better. I'm not trying to take bread off anyone's table, but paying big bucks for this custom stuff is insane.

Also, if we need a "Comms for Railfans 101" for the fuzzy crew, I can do that.

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I generally use a mix of Ham and commercial gear radio-wise, but as far as antennas go...a hole goes somewhere (the higher, the better) and a NMO style antenna mount gets installed (never really cared for mag-mounts Only one I have is for 900 Mhz), and rail mounts...coax suffers a slow death needlessly passing thru doors and such. The antennas are tuned for my particular area of interest or use (Ham and GMRS). This process has never let me down yet. And like Ten96 mentioned, usually any stock rubber duck antenna just plain suck, if you can change it...do it, your received signal will increase!. I have an old UP Motorola MT1000, it is amazing what that old girl hears, imagine it has been setup and tuned for 160-161 Mhz that is where it has spent its life, it just has a super receiver in it.

Just my two cents...

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Dan K.
WX9EMS
WQOC936

After Monday and Tuesday even the Calendar says W T F.

Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/d_kundert/

I'd read that thread...

I feel that my scanning experiences only give me a tiny boost in my railfanning experience. It'd be nice to know the basics and figure out what I'm doing wrong so that I could get a lot more out of my scanning.

Thanks!

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Chris
Denver, CO

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, leading to the most spectacular view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." ~Edward Abbey

Tim H from on here 'fixed' my mag-mount antenna for me when it broke. Since then (from Oshkosh) I can hear radio chatter from Shops Yard all the way to the RTC talking to crews in Waupaca. That's when the atmosphere cooperates. If I could get that more frequently...I'd be all for it.

Chris,

The biggest thing I found that helped me was learning where the defect detectors (talking) are in my area. When I'm trackside I usually have the scanner held on the mainline frequency and am between two detectors. That way I get a heads up as to what's rolling in my direction. If you get near a yard you can usually hear a dispatcher/RTC tell a train that's ready to go if they're going "on signal indication" (usually means not much traffic out there) or if they're "ok for now - meeting 1, 2, 3, etc at siding XYZ (if they're nice they'll give symbols too).

Dan,

Part of my problem is that I only hear half of conversations unless the train crew is VERY close to me. I swapped out the Rubber Ducky for a Rat Shack extendable antenna. It helped some, but not a lot. I probably should get a vehicle mount antenna at some point, but have yet to do so. Also, if and when I move to WNY, it'll be illegal for me to listen to the scanner in the car, so I don't know if I want the auto mount or not....

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Chris
Denver, CO

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, leading to the most spectacular view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." ~Edward Abbey

The antenna I have is a fixed height...but mag mount. I can't speak to how the extendable antenna works.