Post by G-PHIL on Jan 12, 2011 23:36:25 GMT 1
lfsflyer
What scanner have you bought, and do you as you mentioned plug in a TV aerial, didn't it come with it's own aerial.
The higher you are above sea level or the higher your aerial is then the better the reception will be. VHF signals are by line of sight for example, if you live in the middle of a housing estate surrounded by lots of houses and some might be higher than yours then that will block some of the signals or cause poor reception. If you live at the top of a hill and have excellent views across open fields or you can see above all the other roof tops or live in a house surrounded by flat farmland then the better the reception would be.
It doesn't matter how much you pay for your scanner as it's only as good as it's aerial, and as Beemer says the higher the better.
It's better to experiment, try different rooms in your house if it's possible (only if your using a telescopic or other small portable aerial), you would have to get a different aerial first though as a TV aerial is not the correct aerial to use. You can buy dedicated Air band aerials on the net and on EBay the frequencies are between 118.000 MHz and 137.000 MHz.
There are also aerials that cover a wide range of frequencies including military aircraft such as Discone aerials.
See these, cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROYAL-DISCONE-2000-STAINLESS-STEEL-25-2000-MHz-/160531192067?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistRadioEquipment_SM&hash=item2560679903#ht_500wt_1156
cgi.ebay.co.uk/AR50-DUAL-BAND-VHF-UHFAIR-BAND-RECEIVING-ANTENNA-/170579885688?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistRadioEquipment_SM&hash=item27b75a7e78#ht_500wt_922
The Discone can be put in the loft as it would stand up on it's own or it can be mounted outside, the Collinear might fit in your loft depending on how big it is otherwise it will go outside, but you have to take into account what the socket is on your scanner is it a BNC fitting or a PL259 or SO239.
Oh and if I'm not mistaken there's the little matter of planning permission if you intend to put an aerial on your house, so in the loft would be the better option.
Hope this helps you a bit.
Phil
What scanner have you bought, and do you as you mentioned plug in a TV aerial, didn't it come with it's own aerial.
The higher you are above sea level or the higher your aerial is then the better the reception will be. VHF signals are by line of sight for example, if you live in the middle of a housing estate surrounded by lots of houses and some might be higher than yours then that will block some of the signals or cause poor reception. If you live at the top of a hill and have excellent views across open fields or you can see above all the other roof tops or live in a house surrounded by flat farmland then the better the reception would be.
It doesn't matter how much you pay for your scanner as it's only as good as it's aerial, and as Beemer says the higher the better.
It's better to experiment, try different rooms in your house if it's possible (only if your using a telescopic or other small portable aerial), you would have to get a different aerial first though as a TV aerial is not the correct aerial to use. You can buy dedicated Air band aerials on the net and on EBay the frequencies are between 118.000 MHz and 137.000 MHz.
There are also aerials that cover a wide range of frequencies including military aircraft such as Discone aerials.
See these, cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROYAL-DISCONE-2000-STAINLESS-STEEL-25-2000-MHz-/160531192067?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistRadioEquipment_SM&hash=item2560679903#ht_500wt_1156
cgi.ebay.co.uk/AR50-DUAL-BAND-VHF-UHFAIR-BAND-RECEIVING-ANTENNA-/170579885688?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistRadioEquipment_SM&hash=item27b75a7e78#ht_500wt_922
The Discone can be put in the loft as it would stand up on it's own or it can be mounted outside, the Collinear might fit in your loft depending on how big it is otherwise it will go outside, but you have to take into account what the socket is on your scanner is it a BNC fitting or a PL259 or SO239.
Oh and if I'm not mistaken there's the little matter of planning permission if you intend to put an aerial on your house, so in the loft would be the better option.
Hope this helps you a bit.
Phil
