Antenna Question
 

Is there a difference between antennae used for hand held scanners and base
station scanners? I seem to recall something about it and I'm foggy on the
details. Any links would help.

Thanks,
BJ

what do you mean difference?
size wise yes!

mike

"plushbee" wrote in message
...
Is there a difference between antennae used for hand held scanners and
base
station scanners? I seem to recall something about it and I'm foggy on
the
details. Any links would help.

Thanks,
BJ

This is going to probably sound stupid but something in the volts or watts
or whatever. Like i say, any links would be much appreciated. I don't
expect an enormous explanantion. I'm really new to this and my local radio
shack doesn't know much.
Thanks


"mikeFNB" wrote in message
...
what do you mean difference?
size wise yes!

mike

"plushbee" wrote in message
...
Is there a difference between antennae used for hand held scanners and
base
station scanners? I seem to recall something about it and I'm foggy on
the
details. Any links would help.

Thanks,
BJ

Antennas for handhelds are usually "rubber ducky" style, that is, short (6"
to 9"), rubber-covered, flexible antennas. They are generally designed for
a wide range of frequencies, and as such, generally exhibit mediocre
performance.

Base antennas vary greatly in style, but are much larger and require
mounting to a mast of some sort. Since they are mounted at some distance
from the receiver (usually outside), a length of coaxial cable is needed to
connect them to the radio. They generally perform MUCH better than handheld
antennas.

Besides being cut to resonate at the frequencies of interest, all antennas
require a RF (radio frequency) ground of some sort to be effective.
Handheld antennas rely on proximity to your body for RF grounding, which is
not a very effective way to ground an antenna. Vertical base antennas often
use radials (multiple horizontal or downward pointing elements) for their RF
grounds, which allows them to be tuned much more effectively, and therefore
more efficient with well-controlled radiation patterns. These concepts are
just the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot of science and experience
involved in proper antenna design...far beyond what I could easily describe
here or understand myself.

Ratings for power capacity are irrelevant for scanner use (receive only),
but for transmitting applications, base antennas are almost always rated for
higher transmit powers. Handheld antennas are generally rated in the 5 to
10 Watt range, while base antennas can be rated anywhere from 50 Watts to
thousands of Watts depending on the design.

- Doug


"plushbee" wrote in message
...
Is there a difference between antennae used for hand held scanners and
base
station scanners? I seem to recall something about it and I'm foggy on
the
details. Any links would help.

Thanks,
BJ