Railroad Forums 

  • Perm. mobile RR scanner Ant.

  • Discussion related to railroad radio frequencies, railroad communication practices, equipment, and more.
Discussion related to railroad radio frequencies, railroad communication practices, equipment, and more.

Moderator: Aa3rt

 #324054  by ColonyLine
 
You are correct in the general sense. Don't spend the money if you don't have to. I have to use commercial antennas because my business channels are in the same radios as the RR channels(only receive), you can't transmit through scanner antennas.

 #325538  by Conrail4evr
 
Well, I know I'm a little late to chime in here, but a 5/8 wave antenna will work better than a 1/4 wave antenna will, though granted, they are a lot taller...if you can deal with that though, go for a 5/8 wave antenna.

If you want something that's already pre-tuned and ready to roll, magnet mount and all, I'd recommend the Railcom antenna:
http://railcom.radio-dealers.com/aservd ... 4&cat_id=3

If you don't mind a bit of sweat though, you can easily purchase a Radio Shack antenna and cut the antenna to the correct length.

Course, if you wanted REALLY good reception, you could get a radio instead of a scanner, but that's a whole 'nother ballgame...