I could also comment on the antenna question,
personally I mainly use the Dressler ARA-2000 active antenna
but a good discone with a low noise preamp would be just as fine.

Preamps are usually required on high frequencies due to signal loss
in the cable, so to overcome the noise you'd use a preamp.
(well, technically you use a line-amp. to overcome the cable loss
and low noise preamp to increase sensitivity)
I'd go with active antennas for any UHF reception.

1GHz (microwave) you mainly use directive antennas,
dish and/or horn or yagi is most common and very effective,
though very narrow band, you won't find anything to cover
1-3GHz, you'd probably not have more than 0.1GHz span
using a helix so you'll need an antenna for every purpose.....

//Greg

(excuse me for improper pronunciation and/or formulation,
I'm not from UK, I'm swedish

"Walter - kg4bvd - SAR Comms Dispatcher" wrote
in message
...
What would you listen to there anyway? Just some digital beeps and
gibberish? There is nothing such as clear voice there! You are
wasting
money!

who says clear voice is my only interest? There's a spectrum of
different things up there and I want to investigate things and expand
my knowledge. I'm certainly not going to achieve that listening to a
neg-bot like you.

"Rog" wrote in message
...

you would hear a HELL of a lot more on a transistor radio that you
would up in the 3GHz your waffling on about,
R

ok Rog, you stick to your transistor radio and I'll do what I wanna
do.

"tg" wrote in message
...

"Walter - kg4bvd - SAR Comms Dispatcher" wrote
in message
...
What would you listen to there anyway? Just some digital beeps and
gibberish? There is nothing such as clear voice there! You are
wasting
money!

who says clear voice is my only interest? There's a spectrum of
different things up there and I want to investigate things and expand my
knowledge. I'm certainly not going to achieve that listening to a neg-bot
like you.

You have been told there is not much worth listening to up in that range,
you have been advised to save your money, yet all you seem to do is reply in
an abusive manner every time anybody posts anything that you don't want to
hear, WHY should anybody advise an arse-hole like you
Rog



I choose Polesoft Lockspam to fight spam, and you?
http://www.polesoft.com/refer.html

"Brian Kals" wrote in message
k...

"tg" skrev i en meddelelse
...
I'm a newbie upgrading to a 3GHz scanning system so I'm no looking
round for recommedations and feedback on antennas that perform up
to 3GHz. I would rather spend extra for a professional level
antenna than go for a cheaper option. The AOR DA5000 looks good but
I'd appreciate any tips before I start shelling out money. I'm
currently scanning with a D130 discone which works well but it only
goes up to 1300MHz. Thanks for any advice.

Hi TG.

Well it depends very much on what you want to hear.
Is it ground or space trafic?

both if that's at all possible Brian...
I have noticed that upper spectrum antennas tend to be more narrow in
the frequencies they target, unlike lower spectrum discones which try
to cover a wide range. So I'm none the wiser at this stage.

"Rog" wrote in message
...

"tg" wrote in message
...

"Walter - kg4bvd - SAR Comms Dispatcher"
wrote
in message
...
What would you listen to there anyway? Just some digital beeps and
gibberish? There is nothing such as clear voice there! You are
wasting
money!

who says clear voice is my only interest? There's a spectrum of
different things up there and I want to investigate things and
expand my knowledge. I'm certainly not going to achieve that
listening to a neg-bot like you.

You have been told there is not much worth listening to up in that
range, you have been advised to save your money, yet all you seem to
do is reply in an abusive manner every time anybody posts anything
that you don't want to hear, WHY should anybody advise an arse-hole
like you
Rog

'You have been told there is not much worth listening to ' - that's
what I call arrogance.
I never asked anyone for advice about what was available in the upper
spectrum. I never asked for anyone's opinion on how I choose to spend
my money. I simply asked for advice and feedback on a suitable antenna
designed to work in that range, that's all. Whether or not I want to
take a look in the upper spectrum for myself is entirely up to me,
It's actually no-one elses business. You are not at liberty to make it
your business. Now unless you've got experience with antennas designed
for the upper spectrum I wish you'd just back off.

"Greg" wrote in message
...
I could also comment on the antenna question,
personally I mainly use the Dressler ARA-2000 active antenna
but a good discone with a low noise preamp would be just as fine.

thanks for your feedback Greg but I see the ARA-2000 only goes up to
2G and the scanner I'm intending to use goes to 3G and I want to be
able to utilise the full range of the scanner.

"S F" wrote in message
...
The main thing is if there was a broadband antenna for the frequency
of interest, the losses in the cable, even a few feet could kill a
signal above 1G .

but isn't that why we have active antennas? to overcome the losses?
also your comments contradict these antennas:
http://www.wimo.de/wifi-omnidirectio...ntennas_e.html
and they're supplied with cables that go up to 8 meters.

The main thing is if there was a broadband antenna for the frequency
of interest, the losses in the cable, even a few feet could kill a
signal above 1G .

but isn't that why we have active antennas? to overcome the losses?
also your comments contradict these antennas:
http://www.wimo.de/wifi-omnidirectio...ntennas_e.html
and they're supplied with cables that go up to 8 meters.


Sure, I use 30meter H-1000 cable at 1.4-2.8GHz, you just need adequate
amplification, most cable types have diagrams showing the attenuation
at certain test frequencies.
http://www.elfaelektronika.lt/cgi-bi...914-25&lng=eng
For instance.... there's more types of cable to compare with, but personally
I like the Belden H-1000, double-shielded with copper braid and foil,
all for a reasonable cost....
You simply just don't use 100m RG174 at GHz frequencies :-)

"Greg" wrote in message
...
The main thing is if there was a broadband antenna for the
frequency
of interest, the losses in the cable, even a few feet could kill a
signal above 1G .

but isn't that why we have active antennas? to overcome the losses?
also your comments contradict these antennas:
http://www.wimo.de/wifi-omnidirectio...ntennas_e.html
and they're supplied with cables that go up to 8 meters.


Sure, I use 30meter H-1000 cable at 1.4-2.8GHz, you just need
adequate
amplification, most cable types have diagrams showing the
attenuation
at certain test frequencies.
http://www.elfaelektronika.lt/cgi-bi...914-25&lng=eng
For instance.... there's more types of cable to compare with, but
personally
I like the Belden H-1000, double-shielded with copper braid and
foil,
all for a reasonable cost....
You simply just don't use 100m RG174 at GHz frequencies :-)

what type of antenna are you using for 2.8GHz?