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WOW I MEAN REALLY?!!

TonyV225

TonyV225

W9WDX Amateur Radio Club Member
Apr 18, 2005
5,824
323
143
Wisconsin
I cant believe this and its not the first one Ive seen go for a few hundred bucks!! Ive got 4 or 5 of these things that I dont use nor ever will. One Oof them is all completely redone with LMR coax on the elements and everything in the relay box redone with oxygen free solder ETC!! I have people that hear from other people that I have all these antennas contacting me all the time about these Superscanners and parts I have in my collection of antennas.

Maybe I should Ebay them LMAO!! good lord I cant believe those electrnically switched glorified CB beams would be so sought after!! I just had a guy from a tower company here in Wisconsin call me and offer to come buy the whole lot of these superscanners now I know why!! I told him Ide have to get them all together there stored in different areas of my outside building.

Maybe I should wait?? I wonder if he was looking to make money off them and the extra parts? Reguardless it amazes me thhat these are so popular and Im more suprised that they A.S. stopped making them or nobody started remaking them or something simular!!

Super Scanner Antenna with Control Box Made by Antenna Specalist Hard to Find | eBay
 
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A few locals used them around here back in the 70's. I know of a few still standing, but not in use.

They were popular since they were easy to install, had directionality, small footprint and no rotor was needed.

I think most current buyers are nostalgic or have heard grandpa's skip shooting stories and want to be different and try one.

To me, they are prone to suffer problems and not worth the hassle. They do seem to command a decent price online.
 
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Nostalgia plays a major role. My father wants a one because thats what he had back in the 70's and it worked great for him.
I would gladly buy him whatever he wanted, but the prices being asked are insane.
 
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Not to be pessimistic but there are reasons this antenna has not been brought back into production. The elements are too close together to provide any significant gain in the omni mode. The beam only works in 3 directions and has poor rejection. The relays and cap like to fail too. This antenna filled the need for the operator that wanted both a beam and an omni but wanted to take a short cut by not installing a good performing model of either.
 
I had one when I was a teenager. (16)(1968)
Bought it, the 30 push-up pole, and the coax and put it all together and put it all up with guy wires all by myself.
I only had the efhw sittn' at 15 feet above ground level to compare it to.
Managed to convince myself that it was worth the money and time and the fear I went through standing on the peak of a two story house at the very edge.
I was fresh into this radio hobby and was trying to learn what I could.
Maybe now I might realize that it was the extra height that made any difference.
It has been said that their gain and rejection had been over-stated by the manufacturer.
( I sure find that hard to believe.....lol )
But, if you find yourself in a situation where rejection is of importance and you don't want to become involved in all the other associated with a rotating beam then I guess this is a viable option.
If rejection is not needed then a good 5/8 wave would probably make more sense or maybe one of the newer style antennas that seem to be getting good reviews.
 
The Super Scanner was used a lot in the Nordic countries back in the day.I can't remember just how many I worked back in the 70's and early 80's in those countries. In northern Norway or iceland or even greenland it was hartd to use a rotator as they would always freeze up and would often break due to the extreme cold. Operators would either have to be content with an omni or even worse a fixed beam. With a Super Scanner at least they could have a degree of directivity as well as rejection. Most would set it up so they were beaming to eastern North America/northern South America, one one direction. To Europe/Africa/ Middle East on another and straight over the pole to western North America/New Zealand/Australia/Japan in another. As better advancements in rotators and low temperature lubricants came about the Super Scanner yielded to the conventional yagis.
 
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I saw an antenna similar to this on my parents boat years ago. It was a VHF version that had 4 elements and connected to special Polaris VHF marine radio that looked like it had one of those old fashioned depth finders built into it because it had the spinning wheel with the neon strobe light on it.

Closer examination revealed that the indicators around the circle on this radio were direction bearings! I was amazed. Every time a signal would come over the receiver, the indicator would instantly lock on to their compass bearing. After seeing this, I always wanted to install this feature into other equipment or modify the Polaris for 2 meters.

The Polaris was robbed off the boat before I ever got a chance to fully investigate. At the time there was very little info about this system and this radio was the only commercially sold unit that I've ever seen with this automated direction finding ability combined with the special "super scanner like" antenna.

For some reason, this radio was discontinued not long after it came to market. You can still find them on many Coast Guard vessels in my area. I don't know how they have managed to keep them working in this environment for almost 30 years. The only thing I've seen that is similar would be the 170 Mhz. Lojack tracking receivers installed on some police vehicles. Has anyone else seen similar equipment for 2 meters?
 
Shockwave said:
The only thing I've seen that is similar would be the 170 Mhz. Lojack tracking receivers installed on some police vehicles. Has anyone else seen similar equipment for 2 meters?
Click to expand...

Is that what those three antennas in a triangular layout on police vehicles are for? I was curious about those...


The DB
 
Shockwave said:
Has anyone else seen similar equipment for 2 meters?
Click to expand...

That antenna system was called an Adcock array. It was electronically rotated to determine bearing. There are several manufacturers out there that cover commercial and amateur frequencies. They work well. I had an opportunity many years ago to see on in use when an Industry Canada radio inspector was checking out our commercial broadcast sites. He had one mounted on the roof of his car. I asked for a demo and he was more than happy to oblige. Below is one site that sells various models covering various frequency ranges.

RDF Products V/UHF Mobile Adcock Radio Direction Finding Antennas
 
Back in the 70's, conditions were good, you could use a paper clip to talk DX, so if you made it look different than what was available and were good at marketing, BAM.

As conditions diminished, you had to have an antenna that performed.

When the upcoming cycle finally arrives and conditions are good, the people with questionable antenna designs but can market well, will prosper through the cycle, make their money, disappear as the cycle ends.

That is why it is important to learn antenna theory!

Know when snake oil is in front of you.
 
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