RadioShack® Outdoor Scanner/Ham Discone Antenna

Comments about RadioShack® Outdoor Scanner/Ham Discone Antenna:

I've owned mine now for 10 years. I just re-built the dipoles out of, believe it or not welding rod high carbon steel, now they won't break off and my reception is probably twice as to what I had before I'm receiving around 100-150 mile radius.with a Radio Shack 2037 model scanner.Ya gotta think and tinker sometimes with what ya got.

Comments about RadioShack® Outdoor Scanner/Ham Discone Antenna:

apparently they have dumbed down the product as my 15 year old model has solid radials and has been waving in the wind for that long

Comments about RadioShack® Outdoor Scanner/Ham Discone Antenna:

I use this antenna for the base antenna of my HAM shack. I will see how it holds up. So far one winter on the roof. Due to the fagility of the radials there should be at least two extra radials for each section in the basic packaging. These are easily damaged when assembling and mounting, even if you take great care due to the materials used for these parts. They tend to snap at the base of the threaded area that screws into the base of the unit. I currently have two broken radials. Once installed and mounted the radials seem to hold up OK. Otherwise, it is a very good antenna that covers a broad frequency range. Reception is great and very quiet on transmit.

Comments about RadioShack® Outdoor Scanner/Ham Discone Antenna:

This antenna receives well & transmits well, just isn't built to withstand ANY wind, I mean a 10mph breeze will destroy the radials. I've had two of these and they are so flimsy, it's like handling paper. If you are going to use it indoors it's great but I DO NOT recommend it for outdoor use.

Comments about RadioShack® Outdoor Scanner/Ham Discone Antenna:

We recently went through Issac and several of us back communications for the NWS in Slidell, LA. Due to the flooding etc the NWS deployed their portable trailer and we were there with ham radio. A second antenna was needed to support packet operation which was on vhf freq. We decided to to use this antenna for packet since it was easy to get up in the air, I used a photo lite stand to get up and we used a j pole for the voice side of 2 meters and 440. Well the the antenna simply cannot take any abuse at all and we were pretty careful handling it but 3 radials broke off. I was able to repair it with ham know how but I cannot recommend this antenna for durablity and would not buy another like it. After some research I think I have found the real manufacturer for parts but so far I think if I spend another $20.00 I think I can make the radials such that they won't break so easily. I went to [@]and got enough parts to repair this antenna. This antenna was put into service only once it has been in storage waiting to be used and very disapointed. The discones are great antennas; but spend the extra money and get a good one with strong hardware. With a triplexer one can put those antennas on many bands. I should make clear the winds were gone and we were only working the flood stage reports.

Comments about RadioShack® Outdoor Scanner/Ham Discone Antenna:

Went together well no issue, but with my two left feet I broke two of the radials, which by the way are very flimsy does not take much to snap.Well anyway I called to buy replacement radials but that was not going to happen Radio Shack does not have them nor did Whan know where to find them ( he suggested [@]!!) Bottom line I suggest if you're looking for a good discone spend a little more and get a good one, you will be happier I'm sure. I learned my lesson, hope you can also. 73, Roger

Comments about RadioShack® Outdoor Scanner/Ham Discone Antenna:

I've had two of these over the past 20 years. This antenna is compact and not affected by wind. Best performance is on VHF high and low, not so hot on UHF. SWR climbs on UHF. If you need a simple antenna for VHF monitoring/xmitting, this works well. You also have the ability to test other radios on other bands. The radials are hollow and will eventually drop off. Replace them with stainless all thread and get another 10 years.
Consider some type of J-pole as an alternative.

Comments about RadioShack® Outdoor Scanner/Ham Discone Antenna:

I bought this to replace the factory antenna. works great i can pick up signal from over 100 miles away. Make sure you tighten everything down and it wont fall apart like some other people are having problems with.

Comments about RadioShack® Outdoor Scanner/Ham Discone Antenna:

I bought this as a solution to the "rubber ducky" antenna on my HT. Easy to assemble, follow ALL directions, tighten all components. I placed this on a 20' mast, I am well impressed with the design and usability. I am a ham operator, I use it on 2 meter (144-148mhz) and 70cm (420-450mhz ) connected to a dual-band HT, at 5 watts on 2 meters I can talk into repeaters almost 100 miles away. I would recommend this antenna to anyone looking for a cheap, good quality antenna to get on the air fast. I will probably buy another to set-up a short range repeater link. 73's

Comments about RadioShack® Outdoor Scanner/Ham Discone Antenna:

Originally used strictly as a wide-band scanner antenna. Later used for transmitting on 50 MHz, 146 MHz, 446 MHz and 927 MHz. Although it will work, it does so only marginally. Additionally, the longer 45 degree elements are prone to breaking over time due to HOLLOW design. The smaller horizontal elements are solid and durable. All-in-all an okay design if you need to monitora wide frequency range for a scanner or transceiver. However, if smaller band coverage is all you need, an antenna more suited to the frequency range needed would offer better performance, gain, etc.