#: 7504 S15/Railfans 14-Sep-89 00:40:44 Sb: #BETTER SCANNING ANTENNA Fm: Frank Wassner 74076,1514 To: ALL Anyone who uses a portable scanner should be interested in the following: There is a better alternative to the "Rubber Ducky" antenna that came with your scanner. It is manufactured by AEA and is called the "Hot Rod". It is a telescopic whip at 1/2 wavelength for 2 meters (146-172MHZ). This antenna (when fully extended) will extend the range of your scanner tremendously... so you can hear the trains as well as the dispatchers!! I have even heard talking hot box detectors from as far as ten miles on my Bearcat with the Hotrod. (THD's transmit only a watt or so of power, and are extremely hard to pick up, especially with the rubber ducky) And if you don't have the space to fully extend the antenna in a particular situation, it will function as well as the rubber ducky when fully collapsed. You've got to try this antenna to believe it!!! It will fit any scanner that uses a standard BNC connector. If yours doesn't have a BNC, you will need an adapter. The number to order is AEA # HR-1. The price is $19.95 The place to get it is Amateur Electronic Supply They have a toll free order line. It is: 1-800-558-0411. (1-800-242-5195 in WI) They accept Master and Visa. BTW, AES also sells all kinds of scanners. Note: The HR-1 antenna is designed for the 2 meter band, that is 144-172 MHZ. It will not function well in the 440 MHZ band, but there is one designed for that band also. I don't know of any RR freqs that aren't in the 2 meter band!! PS: I don't work for AES or AEA, but am an Amateur Radio operator, and have been using the HR-1 for some time and it has proven itself many times over!! Happy Scanning....... Frank...... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- #: 7555 S15/Railfans 14-Sep-89 22:42:58 Sb: #7504-#BETTER SCANNING ANTENNA Fm: Bob Snyder 74425,17 To: Frank Wassner 74076,1514 (X) Sounds interesting. I'm not familiar with the term "BNC" connector. I have a Regency HX1500 - do you know if this is the same connector? Bob ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ #: 7566 S15/Railfans 15-Sep-89 02:12:54 Sb: #7555-#BETTER SCANNING ANTENNA Fm: Ted Deller 75515,1456 To: Bob Snyder 74425,17 (X) Bob: Just as a footnote, the BNC connector on top of your scanner would have two little bumps sticking out of it, sort of like those knobs on Frankenstein's neck. Hope that helps. Ted ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #: 7630 S15/Railfans 16-Sep-89 21:47:53 Sb: #7566-BETTER SCANNING ANTENNA Fm: Bob Snyder 74425,17 To: Ted Deller 75515,1456 (X) Thanks. I'd say I have the BNC connector on my Regency. It has the typical bayonet lugs on the sides as you described. Bob ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #: 7603 S15/Railfans 15-Sep-89 20:27:10 Sb: #7555-#BETTER SCANNING ANTENNA Fm: Timothy G. Stillman 70135,157 To: Bob Snyder 74425,17 (X) There are four types of antenna plugs used on Scanners. PHONO plug, same as used on Stereos. Center pin, cup shaped outer housing. MOTOROLA plug, same as used on Auto Radios, center pin; outer housing returns over cable. PL 259, used on most Two-Way radios, center pin;.screw threads on outer shell. BNC (comes in sdeveral sizes) evolved from TV patch cords that get moved around a lot, same size as PL 259 is most common, sort of a quarterturn twistlock. Male has pins, Female has slots and detent slot. There are also F connectors, as used on TV coax, TV cable hookups, etc; plus my Cellular has a treaded fitting that is between a PL259 and an F connector. BTW, most F connectors use the stripped end of the cable for a center "pin". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ #: 7631 S15/Railfans 16-Sep-89 21:48:07 Sb: #7603-#BETTER SCANNING ANTENNA Fm: Bob Snyder 74425,17 To: Timothy G. Stillman 70135,157 (X) Wow! What a run-down. Thanks for the info on the connectors. Quite a choice. Guess it creates an entire industry for making conversion adapters for going from one type to another! Bob ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ #: 7662 S15/Railfans 17-Sep-89 06:55:14 Sb: #7631-BETTER SCANNING ANTENNA Fm: Timothy G. Stillman 70135,157 To: Bob Snyder 74425,17 Sure does, and your nearest Radio Shack is often out of stock of the ONE that you need, but has all the rest (in dozens)!!. (grin). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #: 7560 S15/Railfans 15-Sep-89 00:03:40 Sb: #Scanner Antenna Fm: Frank Wassner 74076,1514 To: 74425,17 (X) Hi Bob; The BNC connector is one of the industry standard connectors and is probably the most common alltogether. It is the type usually found on scanners like your Regency and my Bearcat, as well as on all kinds of electronic test gear. In all probability, your scanner does use the BNC type connector. It is a "twist-lock" type of connector, and is roughly 3/8" in diameter. I believe that the only scanners that don't use BNC connectors are the Radio Shack models. If you do buy the HotRod antenna, I'm sure you'll love it! I think it's especially useful in railfanning because of the relatively weak signals that trains send, leaving it up to us listeners to improve our receiver sensitivity as much as we can. An efficient antenna (like the HotRod) is our best answer to this dilemna. As an Amateur Radio operator, I can appreciate what a good antenna will do for a radio transmitter as well as a receiver. One other note... as you probably have already figured, or noticed, the higher in altitude you go, the better your reception with your scanner. That's the nature of VHF radio waves (the ones the RR's use). I enjoy "dx-ing" (long distance listening) with my scanner, but unfortunately when I'm high up in some mountain getting great radio reception, the RR's I'm listening to are a long way off down in the valley... that's life!! I guess I've said enough... hope I was of some help to you. Happy scanning. ============= Frank ============ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- #: 7629 S15/Railfans 16-Sep-89 21:47:47 Sb: #7560-Scanner Antenna Fm: Bob Snyder 74425,17 To: Frank Wassner 74076,1514 (X) Thanks for the information. It was very informative. From what you described, I'd agree my Regency has the BNC type connector too. I'll look for the HotRod; sounds very worthwhile. Bob ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EOF -- JGK 9/22/89