Help with portable Radio

[yanni090393]

Hi Everyone, i have question regarding my portable radio (which is shown in the link below), is it possible for me to put a different antenna on to it, and if i do that is it possible for me to get antenna that has a higher range than the current which is provided w/ te radio when you buy it.  For example i live to far from the airport to be able to listen to the airports tower communication, so is it possible for me to get an antenna that has a higher range so i am able to listen to these frequecies.

http://gre.hk/japan/GRECOM/PSR282/PSR-282.jpg

the link above shows my radio.  Also if you post links of sites that could be useful in purchasing antennas (if it is possible to do what i said above)   Thank You

[Pilot3033]

Yes. The antenna on your radio "screws" off quite easily. Simply pull the antenna up slightly and then twist off. You can replace it with nearly any antenna available for purchase from a local radio shack type store or online. As far as getting coms from the airport, it really depends on how far from the transmitter you are and how high up (aka, unobstructed) your receiver is. Obviously, a roof mounted rig would be optimal if you're not within a few miles of the field, but using a basic radio shack extendable antenna (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103159) and living on higher ground has made communication from fields 15 miles or more away readable.

Keep in mind that the type of scanner you have, and how it is programmed can affect the quality of transmissions. General scanners designed to pick up a broad range of frequencies will not do as well as scanners optimized for the air band.

[Lon]

I bought the "VHF Air Blade Indoor Model Antenna" you'll find here http://www.dpdproductions.com/page_vhf_air.html . I use it with my portable radio, and it works great. I live 15 miles north of Los Angeles International (LAX). Using the short antenna that came with my radio,  I don't get LAX Ground Control at all. With the Air Blade Indoor, I can get Ground Control and the planes on the ground.

[sunburn]

If you want to get your hands dirty you can also mount an antenna to the outside of your house (the higher the better). I have a Diamond D-777 antenna connected with westflex 103 coax cable to a simple Uniden UBC 280-E. I live 18 miles from the nearest airport (East Midlands, UK - EGNX) with a couple of large hills which are a couple of hundred feet higher between me and the airport and I can pick up Tower/Ground quite well, plus RAF bases which are 40+ miles away from me.

Also slightly off the topic, if anyone reading this knows of a UBC-780xlt for sale, please send me a message! I can't find one on ebay anywhere and I don't want to buy one for silly money through online stores.

[yanni090393]

If you want to get your hands dirty you can also mount an antenna to the outside of your house (the higher the better). I have a Diamond D-777 antenna connected with westflex 103 coax cable to a simple Uniden UBC 280-E. I live 18 miles from the nearest airport (East Midlands, UK - EGNX) with a couple of large hills which are a couple of hundred feet higher between me and the airport and I can pick up Tower/Ground quite well, plus RAF bases which are 40+ miles away from me.

Also slightly off the topic, if anyone reading this knows of a UBC-780xlt for sale, please send me a message! I can't find one on ebay anywhere and I don't want to buy one for silly money through online stores.

I think this sounds like the sort off situation that i am in, i live in Northern Athens, and i live in sort off a bowl (mountains to side west side and a sloping hill with out a mountain to the east), i still receive Athens Area Control and the Athens Arrival but im wanting to receive the tower frequencies, i think going to get the antenna that you have just one question, for the coax cable to the radio will i need an adaptor to connect the cable to the radio and also do you have any suggested websites that will sell the antenna and the cable at a reasonable price

[sunburn]

To connect the Coax cable to the scanner you will need a BNC plug. Something like this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=26653

And at the other end, in the case of the Diamond D-777 you will need a PL-259 plug. http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=1605

I brought my antenna from LAM Communcations. http://www.lamcommunications.net/diamond-d-777.html He will also sell the cable and all the necessary plugs too. You will also need a mast of some sort too, but in my case it's only a 6ft aluminum television aerial pole and bracket. But it's also worth doing a bit of research too as to if you can purchase the aerial locally to save on shipping charges.

If it the Diamond D-777 turns out to be expensive, you may want to consider another aerial. I had a ScanKing Discone and that worked pretty well! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROYAL-DISCONE-2000-STAINLESS-STEEL-25-2000-MHz_W0QQitemZ160421588153QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistRadioEquipment_SM?hash=item2559df2cb9 But the D-777 is tuned for airband frequencies where as the Discone is tuned for a wide range of freqs so the risk of interference is greater. If anyone else here has aerial suggestions, feel free to mention them

As for terrain, it's hard to figure out if you'll get the tower freqs without actually trying it first.
I've attached the terrian profile first from my location to East Midlands Airport and the second image is RAF Waddington.

Regards.