Discone

[tesco1]

Would i be able to get better reception on my Discone if i kept twisting the mast round fractionally and turning the Discone and then testing it, many thanks.

[Oblivian]

Discones are designed to be omni-directional. That is the same spread in all directions. So it is highly doubtfull. If you are getting low performance it will be due to the range the antenna is capable of lowering the gain at higher frequencies

[tesco1]

Many thanks Oblivian, i put this Discone up this weekend, the reception seems better on Airband, i can get Manground + Arrival and Departures repeat info plus others i could not get with my small mobile Antenna. I still cannot get anything on some pre programmed banks ie PMR 466, and nothing much on pre programmed CB.

[fungus]

Many thanks Oblivian, i put this Discone up this weekend, the reception seems better on Airband, i can get Manground + Arrival and Departures repeat info plus others i could not get with my small mobile Antenna. I still cannot get anything on some pre programmed banks ie PMR 466, and nothing much on pre programmed CB.

Discone antennas are designed to cover a broad range of frequencies and are better at some frequencies than others and those frequencies will depend on the antenna design itself. I've found from experience mine is no good at all here for some frequencies like the Government Radio Network but good for the airband. Add an amplifier into the equation and you'll amplify certain frequencies and kill others. Elevation (of the antenna, not you) will affect reception also as the higher you mount it the better but you'll add to the cable losses. As Oblivian has stated you can turn it until the cows come home and it will make little if any discernable difference.

Regards,
Gregg

[tesco1]

Thanks fungu,s, i think it might take another say half a metre in height, there is a bit of slack cable left (RG 213 ). As i said i have a GRE PSR 295 scanner bought from Japan, it has pre programmed banks in it, one of the banks is PMR 466, if i search that i do not get anything. I saw it somewhere that you need NFM to pick them up, does this scanner have that, if not why have they pre programmed them in ? not had much luck with CB either.

[Birdie]

Thanks fungu,s, i think it might take another say half a metre in height, there is a bit of slack cable left (RG 213 ). As i said i have a GRE PSR 295 scanner bought from Japan, it has pre programmed banks in it, one of the banks is PMR 466, if i search that i do not get anything. I saw it somewhere that you need NFM to pick them up, does this scanner have that, if not why have they pre programmed them in ? not had much luck with CB either.

See the antenna pattern here:

http://www.patternmagus.com/database/patterns/pattern_page.php?dir=1

[fungus]

Thanks fungu,s, i think it might take another say half a metre in height, there is a bit of slack cable left (RG 213 ). As i said i have a GRE PSR 295 scanner bought from Japan, it has pre programmed banks in it, one of the banks is PMR 466, if i search that i do not get anything. I saw it somewhere that you need NFM to pick them up, does this scanner have that, if not why have they pre programmed them in ? not had much luck with CB either.

I'm not familiar with that particular scanner but from what I've found on the net it seems to have only AM/FM, and doesnt have NFM. I purchased a Uniden Bearcat desktop UBC966T here in oz (principally for the fact that it covers analogue and digital as it was rumoured that the airband was going digital) which cost around $1,000 (aussie) which has NFM but you have to be prepared to pay for that. It came pre-programmed with (among other frequencies) the GRN (Government Radio Network) for New South Wales (where I am) and also South Australia (which is utterly useless here) so you cant necessarily take any notice of all pre-programming. These devices can be made in a number of countries for different markets and the pre-programming can be somewhat misleading.
You may find something here about PMR 466 which may enlighten you as to whether your scanner is capable of picking it up;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PMR446

Whether you hear anything on particular frequencies can also depend on the antenna you plug into the scanner particularly when you depart from using the supplied antenna. I use different antennas connected to the scanner for different purposes. This is also the case with our ADS-B units in that an antenna (type, location and elevation) can have a huge affect on reception.

Regards, and hope this helps
Gregg

BTW as far as I know the airband isnt yet going to digital from analogue.

[tesco1]

Many thanks