Scanner Antenna

[Brandon Headley]

I had a quick question about scanner antennas. I was searching around ebay for a mag mount and stumbled upon a suction cup antenna. I was wondering if anyone has used one? It come with two suction cups and stays on the inside of the vehicle. I figure I could stick it to the back window and leave my handheld scanner in the center console. Anybody got any advice? It is only $10 and I might just go ahead and get it to try it out. Thanks.

 

[rdale]

Check to make sure the frequencies it is tuned for are the ones you want to listen to.

 

[MattKaskavitch]

I would just spend the extra $7-$10 and buy a cheap ($15-$20) magnet mount scanner antenna. You will benefit with using your car as a ground plane vs. just having a wire in the car or putting your rubber ducky on a suction cup mount outside.

I use to have a double suction cup mount where I could connect my Uniden rubber duck antenna onto it and suction it to the window outside. It did help, but not like a mag mount antenna will.

It's worth the few extra bucks...

 

[Brandon Headley]

Here is a link to one of them. It says it covers 30 - 1200 MHz.

http://cgi.ebay.com/UNIDEN-AT002-Glass-Mount-SUCTION-CUP-SCANNER-ANTENNA_W0QQitemZ270305662515QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item270305662515&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1308%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Alright, thanks for the advice. I had never seen them before and was just wondering. I will probably get a nice mag mount here soon.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

Nothing says good reception - better - than getting the best antenna you can afford.
That applies equally to cell phone antennas, HAM's, CB's, and so on...

 

[Brian Hurst]

I had one of those antennas that came with a undent scanner I bought they are pretty crappy!Better off with a magmount.

 

[rdale]

Uniden? Their handheld antennas are pretty good, if you're just using a handheld in the car, really any sort of external antenna will be fine for the comms you want to hear.

 

[MattKaskavitch]

Here is a great example of what you need

http://cgi.ebay.com/MOBILE-POLICE-S...yZ149988QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Has a range of 20mhz to 1.2ghz which will cover anything you'll need to listen to.

Just remember a mag mount is the way to go. When you get it, just be sure to stick it on the roof of your vehicle rather than the trunk if you can.

As always with ebay, check their feedback and bid smart.

Hope this was helpful!

 

[David Drummond]

Until the first time you pass a truck coming the other way on a two lane road and both of you are doing at least 70mph and a windy day. The mag mount flies off, hits the end of the cable and smashes out your window. That was the last time I used a mag mount.

 

[MattKaskavitch]

Until the first time you pass a truck coming the other way on a two lane road and both of you are doing at least 70mph and a windy day. The mag mount flies off, hits the end of the cable and smashes out your window. That was the last time I used a mag mount.

That sounds unfortunate David! Don't here much of that happening since most antennas don't have much wind load.

Rare earth magentic bases are wonderful

 

[David Drummond]

Happens more often than you think. I have seen plenty of chase vehicles out on the plains that have mags with either the cord or zip ties or something securing them to roof racks. This has been mentioned many times over the years by chasers here on ST.

A previous scanner ant disc thread:
http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8739&highlight=mag+mount

Other chasers with unfortunate results with a mag mount:
http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3664&highlight=mag+mount

 

[Brandon Headley]

Well. That is kind of scary. I don't want to drill any holes but maybe there is some way to attach it to the lip of the bed on my truck. Has anybody done this? What kind of mount would I need to do that?

 

[John Erwin]

Well. That is kind of scary. I don what to drill any holes but maybe there is some way to attach it to the lip of the bed on my truck. Has anybody done this? What kind of mount would I need to do that?

You have a pickup? There are some great stake-hole mounts out there that are pretty good.

Here's a sample (there's many others out there): http://www.hamcq.com/antenna-mounts/stake-hole-antenna-mount/prod_51.html

 

[Brandon Headley]

I have a chevy s10 it doesn't have stake pockets. That would be handy though.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Happens more often than you think. I have seen plenty of chase vehicles out on the plains that have mags with either the cord or zip ties or something securing them to roof racks. This has been mentioned many times over the years by chasers here on ST.

I have had mag mount antennas that have flied off my vehicle when passing a semi on a windy day. Always been fortunate to not get my window knocked out though. I learned real quick to tie it down to my roof rack with velcro. It has worked perfect ever since.