whats a good antenna

[Paul_26HAS961]

Hi there new to the SWL I have just purcessed a Radio Shack DX-394 with mods have read up on the scanner and i'm happy on what i have read.My question is while i wait for the scanner to arrive what would be a good antenna to use i'm thinking long wire or are there any other types i could set up,many thanks Paul

 

[IMD262]

25'-30' of wire will do you good.You could go longer for better performance on in the lower part of the spectrum but the DX-394's frontend tends to overload.

 

[Wire Weasel]

25'-30' of wire will do you good.You could go longer for better permormance on in the lower part of the spectrum but the DX-394's frontend tends to overload.

Yep, that's all you need. You can used good shielded coax to get the feedline out of the house - away from possible inside electrical noise - then add (solder) the 25-30 feet of wire onto the center conductor and string it up in a tree branch or someplace. A diagonal slant will be good or if you can manage to hand it straight up that will be dandy as well.

good luck

 

[Kamikaze]

Not sure about the 394 but if it's anything like the DX-440 a chunk of wire works.

Problem is these radios do not have adaquate front end bandpass filtering so a really good antenna will make unwanted stuff appear.

With all the noise generating devices in the home and neighborhoods anymore, I like balanced antennas.

 

[Paul_26HAS961]

hi Wire Weasel,Kamikaze thanks for the replys all taken aboard and will get to work on a long wire this weekend,many thanks

 

[Kamikaze]

hi Wire Weasel,Kamikaze thanks for the replys all taken aboard and will get to work on a long wire this weekend,many thanks

Have fun while there's still stuff on shortwave left.

Be sure to check out WBCQ:

WBCQ The Planet

 

[cordova lucky 13]

Hi PAUL ; I had a dx-394 for years & thought it was a good rig; never had a problem with overload on any of my antennas . Just remember to turn your gain back to the lower end when starting to search out a signal at least till you get the feel of the band your working & how it works . Then you can turn the gain up to catch the weeker signals , some times the signal is better cut back to clean up audio ? have fun try homebrewing some of your own antennas ? Bob. "lucky 13".

 

[radiohobby]

I use my cb antenna when I am not using it for cb work, picks up great on it.

 

[rumrunner]

I don't know about front end overload. When I put up 30' of wire I have "back end underload". - I use 300' +/- of varying gauges of copper wire. (Google "beverage antenna"). I feed it to my Kenwood TS-430s in the aux ant input and it switches between the bev and whatever transmit ant I'm using. My 1948 Hammarlund HQ-129X (hot) loves it. ALSO - Do not overlook a really good ground for your rig. It will be quieter with better receive.

 

[Eastside]

I bought a Diamond Discone antenna from universal a few yrs back and it works good.