Sam,

Well the positive aspect to 'trunking' is that the radio frequencies are
much higher. With most US cities, you can get buy with a simple rubber
ducky antenna or a telescopic base antenna. If your city is using
conventional frequencies then you may want to invest in an outside antenna.

The price of an outside antenna is reasonable. I use the Radio Shack
"scanner" antenna (20-043) and it's priced here at $73. It's very easy to
set up. Just get it up as high as possible. Mount it on a PVC pipe or some
kind of pole and you're good to go. The higher up you can get it the
better. (Some people will buy a TV antenna mast... which is like 25ft and
then mount it on that.) Whatever way you choose, just make sure it's secure
and away from any power lines. My antenna has withstood winds up around
70mph, so I'm not too worried about weather.)

You'll need to buy RG-58 coax cable. Plug one end into the antenna and the
other into the scanner. Most scanners have a "BNC" connector type. You'll
need a small adapter to convert between the coax and BNC. Ask the RS
salesman for that. It's like $5.

For receiving - almost any antenna will work. I think the RS scanner
antenna is the best value without going overboard. It should last you for
years. The antenna is usually a one-time investment. You'll see
"discone" a lot. That's a pretty typical type for a base scanner. Now, why
some vary in price from $50 to $250 - I don't know. They claim better
performance, but that might be stretching the truth a bit. ;o)

Another retail store I use is "Universal Radio" - they're very nice and will
take time to answer questions for you. They have a nice online site to look
at gear, accessories, etc. http://universal-radio.com/

Their prices are very good btw on most products.

Here's their direct link for antennas:
http://universal-radio.com/catalog/scanants.html

Here's their direct link for scanners:
http://universal-radio.com/catalog/scanners.html

PS. Some of those antennas show the assembly instructions... so you can see
what's all involved. Usually it's just screwing things down. Pretty
straightforward.


Good luck,
-Nick


"ScannerNewbie" wrote in message
news
Thank you Nick for your great post. I'm studying the web site you
referenced. Very informative. Can you tell me, is an outside antenna a
good accessory and can it be attached to the scanner without much
technical knowledge? Is one type of antenna better tyhan another?

Samantha