On Sun, 5 May 2013 07:57:59 -0400, "Tom" wrote:

From the center of the SO239 connector on the antenna there is no continuity
between anything. Only continuity between the threads of the SO239 and the
antenna length.

Here is my lousy photos of the inside of a Diamond X50 antenna after
the former owner backed over it with his pickup truck:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Misc/slides/x50-01.html
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Misc/slides/x50.html
My guess(tm) is that the X200 base structure is similar. As I recall,
there should be continuity between the center conductor and the lower
element. However, the crumpled brass phasing section(?) in the middle
of the antenna has no continuity through the center conductor. The
end wires go in about 2" and stop. This may be the lack of continuity
that you're seeing.

That bottom fiberglass piece looks glued in there pretty good I don't want
to break the seal , I think the water might be getting in from that half way
connector.

Don't try to remove it. The fiberglass radome extends into the cast
aluminum base and is glued with something I couldn't soften. I had to
use a hack saw at the point of entry to remove the radome, which also
shortened it about an inch. No loss for me since the X50 was already
destroyed, but I woudln't do it with a potentially good antenna.

Can this antenna be modified for broader band scanner use?

No. The design is not inherently broadband and everything you change
affects everything else.

Most of my
interests in the scanning will be the marine bands (156 ish megs) and VHF
and UHF ham bands anyway.

The X200 will work on 2m and 440MHz. Marine band (156-163MHz) is a
bit of a stretch from 144-148MHz) but may work. VSWR will be high,
but since you're not transmitting, that shouldn't be a huge problem.
Try it and see what happens.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558