BC72XLT Long-Reach Antenna

[noahp695]

I'm looking for an airband antenna for my Uniden BC72XLT handheld to be able to pull in the radio chatter from KCLL from home. The rubber duckie antenna works fine when sitting in the parking lot of the FBO, but when I move home, approximately five miles from the airport, the reception is pretty much zero. I did expect this when I bought the scanner, seeing as how it's designed for being near the location of the transmission, so now I'm looking to extend that range.

I've looked at a couple other topics on this forum, and a couple others, and the only enticing option I found was this antenna:

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/scanants/1687.html

I'm not sure how if I would just attach it to the scanner and keep the scanner on my desk, or if I should somehow mount it on the wall, or outside of my window (which might be possible, but I'd rather avoid the complication of the cable from the outside to the inside.)

Any suggestions? Also, any possible mounting options for the best reception would be appreciated!

(Also, if I posted this in the wrong section of the forum, please feel free to move.)

[dave]

One way is to mount it using a magnetic mount w/ BNC.  Something similar to this:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantht/4443.html

Of course, in the house you will need something metal to attach the magnet to.

The additional benefit is that you could use that on your car when driving around.  Check the stress on that BNC connector before driving at high speeds, though.

Whether this will work or not depends on :
- the obstructions between you and the airport
- the ambient noise situation in the 118-136 MHz band at your location

More often than not, it is noise that masks signals rather than that signals are weak.  Especially at 5-6 miles away from the airport.  Possible noise sources are power line noise, fluorescent lights, computers and related peripherals, etc.

Dave

[noahp695]

One way is to mount it using a magnetic mount w/ BNC.  Something similar to this:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantht/4443.html

Of course, in the house you will need something metal to attach the magnet to.

The additional benefit is that you could use that on your car when driving around.  Check the stress on that BNC connector before driving at high speeds, though.

Whether this will work or not depends on :
- the obstructions between you and the airport
- the ambient noise situation in the 118-136 MHz band at your location

More often than not, it is noise that masks signals rather than that signals are weak.  Especially at 5-6 miles away from the airport.  Possible noise sources are power line noise, fluorescent lights, computers and related peripherals, etc.

Dave

So I should go ahead and stick with the Maldol AL-500H antenna I linked above?

The magnetic mount seems like a completely viable option, especially when sitting at the airport. Not sure if I could attach it to the wall though...I might have to put a metal plate on the wall, and then mount it onto that.

Stupid modern civilization and it's interference. Don't they know I just want to listen to ATC chatter from my desk? That's all I ask for, really.

Thank you for the reply!

-Noah