Best portable antenna for airbands?

[Frank]

I know there are some good ones out there (Diamond RH77CA, Maldor AL-500H).
I want some real users opinions on which hand-held scanner antenna works
best for airbands (civil & military)?


Frank

[Bob]

Some of the large, multi-section, multi-band ham antennas like the
RH77CA and AL-500H are much better than the stock duckie, but they were
really designed for a few specific ham radio frequencies. The fact they
work better than stock is more a testament of how bad the stock antenna
is, not that the others are that magical on odd off frequency bands like
VHF and UHF mil air. There is an antenna specifically designed for the
90 to 512mhz band that does work consistently well, especially in the
VHF and UHF air bands, which lie in the middle of its working range. If
you are lucky you can find one surplus for a cheap price like I did. The
antenna is a 14” long rubber duck made by Thales (Racal) for the PRC-148
MBITR multi-band hand held. It costs around $245 new (P/N 3100662-501)
and you have to change the BNC connector on your scanner to TNC or use
an adaptor. I have used one of these antennas on 2m, 220 and 440mhz
amateur freqs and it works noticeably better than the supplied antennas
with various hand helds I have compared it to. It also pulls in VHF and
UHF air way better than the stock duckie on my PRO-43, which is what the
original post is about. You did ask what is the best, didn’t you??
Bob


Frank wrote:
> I know there are some good ones out there (Diamond RH77CA, Maldor AL-500H).
> I want some real users opinions on which hand-held scanner antenna works
> best for airbands (civil & military)?
>
>
> Frank
>
>

[Al Klein]

On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 01:55:42 GMT, Bob > wrote:

>Some of the large, multi-section, multi-band ham antennas like the
>RH77CA and AL-500H are much better than the stock duckie, but they were
>really designed for a few specific ham radio frequencies.

Another possibility is a telescopic antenna - just adjust it for 1/4
wavelength on whatever frequency you need.

[tg]

"Bob" > wrote in message m...
>
<snip>... The
> antenna is a 14” long rubber duck made by Thales (Racal) for the PRC-148 MBITR multi-band hand held. It costs around $245 new

oooph!

[Bill Crocker]

"Bob" > wrote in message
m...
> Some of the large, multi-section, multi-band ham antennas like the RH77CA
> and AL-500H are much better than the stock duckie, but they >were really
> designed for a few specific ham radio frequencies.
[clipped]
> You did ask >what is the best, didn’t you??
> Bob


Where did you find that the Maldol AL-500H was designed for ham radio? All
references I find on the web clearly state it is designed for 116-174MHz and
230-360 MHz aircraft bands. There's also no mention that they're even
suitable for use on 2m/70cm amateur ham radio bands.

Bill Crocker

[Bob]

Your right, I had the AH-510 and other hamster antennas on my mind which
do work nice on commercial bands but some people mistakenly recommend
for air band.
The AL-500 is a great air and mil-air antenna.
Bob

Bill Crocker wrote:
> "Bob" > wrote in message
> m...
>
>>Some of the large, multi-section, multi-band ham antennas like the RH77CA
>>and AL-500H are much better than the stock duckie, but they >were really
>>designed for a few specific ham radio frequencies.
>
> [clipped]
>
>>You did ask >what is the best, didn’t you??
>>Bob
>
>
>
> Where did you find that the Maldol AL-500H was designed for ham radio? All
> references I find on the web clearly state it is designed for 116-174MHz and
> 230-360 MHz aircraft bands. There's also no mention that they're even
> suitable for use on 2m/70cm amateur ham radio bands.
>
> Bill Crocker
>
>